SunLife has launched an integrated campaign in support of its new Guaranteed Funeral Plan. The drive, delivered by launch specialist agency Five by Five, spans out-of-home, experiential, DRTV, radio, door drops, direct mail and local press ads.

Running with the strapline, ‘Let’s talk about the F word,’ the creative is all about breaking the social taboo around funeral planning by using another social taboo. The campaign has launched in Hull, Torquay and Eastbourne, and will run until 31st October.

Each year, SunLife produces the UK’s longest-running study into the costs of funerals. The 2018 findings showed that despite the average funeral costing over £4,000, only 6 percent of people in the UK have a pre-paid funeral plan in place, compared to 70 percent in the Netherlands.

Colin Clark, head of strategy and planning at Five by Five, said: “SunLife is the market leader in over-50 plans, and with that in mind, we wanted to cast that net even wider and cement the brand as the go-to funeral plan provider. Death isn’t exactly a hot topic of conversation. This is uncharted territory and to be successful, we had to go out with something that disrupts the market and draws in a wider audience. SunLife trusted us to take the brand to new places, and hopefully ‘the F Word’ serves as the next step to breaking the taboo.”

Ian Atkinson, Director of Marketing at SunLife, added: “Our ‘F word’ campaign aims to bring the topic of funerals to the forefront. As a nation, we need to start talking about what we want when we die, to spare our families more stress and upset at such an emotional time.”

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There is a growing trend for brands to create their own loyalty programmes, rather than sign up to coalition loyalty schemes, says Belinda Clark of RAPP UK

When Sainsbury’s announced it was buying Nectar from Aimia earlier this year, we all nodded knowingly. That made sense. As the retailer that issues the most Nectar points and provides the most rewards¹, it’s not surprising they saw value in owning the coalition, rather than merely being a part of it.

But when news broke that Avios.com would close on May 20^th, with Avios currency transferring across to the Executive Club², it signalled a clear change. And, of course, we can’t ignore the imminent merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda and what that means for its loyalty strategy – but we do know that there is a growing trend by big brands away from third-party-owned coalition programmes and towards brand-owned programmes.

So if brands (especially big brands) are no longer buying into coalition-driven loyalty, that raises the question: is there any future for coalition loyalty programmes?

Recent evidence would suggest, no.

Why? Because coalition programmes are not designed to drive loyalty to any one brand. They drive loyalty to the coalition at the expense of individual brand loyalty. Yet this individual loyalty is ultimately what brands are after, as it offers the best long-term value.

Coalition programmes have instead leant on the marketing potential from their massive customer databases. But many brands have found this access to be limited, too – limits that could deepen when GDPR legislation comes into force on May 25th – less than two weeks from now. While aggregate data, insight and trends are useful to a point, customers are demanding more than being treated in aggregate. And brands have responded by creating their own customer databases, which are arguably bigger and better than those available from a coalition.

Coalitions undoubtedly benefit the consumers who are members by allowing them to earn and burn points from just one programme. But as the value of a point begins to decline³, so too does a coalition’s popularity. Without value, the simplicity of earning and burning in one program simply loses its sparkle.

So what lessons can brands learn from coalitions?

When done well, brand-owned programmes can achieve many of the benefits of a coalition… and more. Yes, it will require investment, or a coalition purchase such as Sainsbury’s and British Airways have opted for. But this investment is in more than just a programme; it’s in your customers, your company’s data collection capabilities and your competitive advantage.

There are some simple tips for those running loyalty programmes:

OPTIMISE THE VALUE EXCHANGE
Coalitions were known for their no-brainer value-add. Over time this became a reason for customers to share their data; but while the value-add has eroded over time, the principle of offering a strong value exchange (namely, rewards for data) still holds true as it makes the exchange valuable for both sides.

TO REMAIN RELEVANT, ENSURE YOU REMAIN VALUABLE
For all customers, a valuable programme is one that offers something in exchange for their continued purchase. But as the point declines in value, so too does a programme’s popularity, unless it’s able to demonstrate value beyond just monetary terms. In the case of Nectar, this meant its alignment with Sainsbury’s and its ability to target their customers with personalised offers based on their purchases. Something which gave loyal Sainsbury’s customers yet another reason to shop.

SIMPLICITY, SIMPLICITY, SIMPLICITY
Coalition programmes that last get this one right every time. They offer a programme with a minimum of steps to join, participate and earn and burn. This familiarity of structure was key to their success because it meant customers knew what to expect without having to re-learn the rules every time.

But if brands are to succeed in a coalition-less world, they also need to go above and beyond this. They need to:

BE GENEROUS:
With much more than just their money – their time and people too. Because money doesn’t talk like it used to! Customers demand brands be generous with their entire offering in an effort to make them feel special and give them a reason to return again and again.

BE VALUABLE – AND MAKE PEOPLE FEEL VALUED…
To be valuable means to offer something that customers see real value in. While rational reasons like money are still core parts of this equation, to be a valuable programme means to give customers bragging rights (think myJohn Lewis…free coffee and cake anyone?). To make people feel valued, means to make the programme feel like it’s been created just for them – even if its offering is available to everyone (think Harvey Nichols’ complementary concierge service…yes please!).

DELIGHT WITH AN EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE…
A simple, seamless end-to-end customer experience is now expected as standard. To delight now means to make customer’s lives easier; to demonstrate shared values and to improve their experience not only with you, but with the environment and community you both live in.

The best of both worlds really is possible, as Sainsbury’s and British Airways will no doubt demonstrate in time. While coalition programmes used to make sense, they just don’t cut it in today’s world. And as Sainsbury’s and British Airways have now shown us, a new world is opening up. And that world just so happens to be owned and run by brands.

Belinda Clark is Senior Strategist at RAPP, a London-based integrated agency which is part of the Omnicom Group. Rapp works with clients including Rapp UK is based in London, working with clients including PayPal, Virgin Media, Mercedes Benz and Nestlé Waters.

Sources:

¹ Sainsbury’s buys Nectar rewards scheme from Aimia for £60m. The Financial Times. February 1, 2018 https://www.ft.com/content/584f106e-0766-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5

² British Airways’ Avios scheme is closing down – here’s everything you need to know about your points. UK Business Insider. April 11, 2018
http://uk.businessinsider.com/british-airways-avios-frequent-flyer-scheme-closing-points-2018-4?r=US&IR=T

³Sainsbury’s Nectar point cut angers customers. The Guardian. 10^th April 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/apr/10/sainsburys-cuts-to-nectar-points-anger-its-customers

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A new experiential marketing company, VIP (Very Important Pooches), has launched to offer brands a route to target dogs and their owners.

VIP will be appearing at more than 30 events this summer, kicking off with PugFest – the UK’s only official pug festival – on June 18^th. The agency plans to run a VIP Zone, a dedicated event space offering an array of attractions for pooches, at each event. The VIP Zone will feature a VIP bar offering treats, Snuffle brand dog beer and pooch-friendly ‘pawsecco’; fun for four-legged guests in need of refreshment to unwind, including a giant four-metre tennis ball, ball pond and paddling pool; and a glamorous red carpet area and pooch photo booth for VIP selfies, allowing dog owners to capture and share their VIP experience.

All visitors to the VIP Zone receive a free doggie bag of exclusive samples, goodies and promotional vouchers from the industry’s biggest brands. W

Maria Amany, VIP event co-ordinator, says: “We believe every pooch is a VIP. That’s why we’re so excited to be launching The VIP experience at shows across the UK this summer. We look forward to welcoming and meeting thousands of very important pooches and their owners to enjoy all of the attractions and free treats in our VIP Zone.

With the UK’s 8.5 million dog owners spending more on their pets each year, the dog product market is booming. A January 2017 U.S. study found that the average dog owner uploads a picture or posts about their pet on social media six times per week, while one in ten have even created a social media account for their pet. VIP points to the rise of dedicated pet social media sites such as Dogster and MyDogSpace as evidence that the UK’s dogs are more valued than ever before, both by their owners and by the pet industry’s leading brands.

VIP is a bespoke marketing and promotions agency working solely within the dog marketplace. Its mission is to deliver outstanding promotional campaigns for clients using a suite of proven marketing approaches to build brand awareness with dog owners and drive sales. It aims to use online and offline channels to create an integrated marketing network that will enable VIP and its brand partners to target 8.5 million dog owners across the UK. With a focus on sampling through local dog shows and events, VIP plans to develop a comprehensive database and use sophisticated data analysis to provide both VIP the agency and its brand partners with insights into product trends as well as information for product development and marketing.

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INFINITI, the luxury car maker, is surprising customers in London and the South East this Valentine’s Day with bouquets of flowers delivered to their door.

The gesture is part of a Valentine’s Day campaign for the flagship INFINITI Q60 Sports Coupé, created by TMW Unlimited.

The campaign also features a film that will play out on screens in the Westfield Centre – where INFINITI have a pop-up store – and across INFINITI’S social channels.

Created under the banner ‘Love is… in the detail’, the film uses macro shots to draw out parallels between the beautiful detailing in the Q60 and a handcrafted bouquet of roses. We then see the bouquet chauffeured in the INFINITI Q60 to the door of an unsuspecting customer.

As well as 30 and 60-second versions of the ad, the campaign will also include outdoor ads. It launches on Valentine’s Day.

Sandra Subacius, Digital Marketing Manager at INFINITI, says: “At INFINITI we are proud of the craftsmanship that goes into every detail of our cars, so it was a good fit to highlight the parallels with the preparation of the flower designs, and of course, the opportunity to delight our customers with a small token in Valentine’s Day. The video was a great way of sharing this across all our markets with a simple message and beautiful imagery.”

The video can be viewed on INFINITI’s YouTube channel.

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Clipper Teas, the Fairtrade tea brand from Wessanen UK, is launching a three-tiered summer sampling campaign for its green tea range, designed to position the brand as the “Queen of Greens.”

The Fairtrade brand, which currently produces more than 15 green tea variants, will distribute over 250,000 samples of its flagship Pure Green Tea throughout July. The campaign will feature a mixture of face-to-face hit squads, office-based sampling and free samples in ASOS mail deliveries.

BEcause Experiential Marketing has been hired to mastermind the live hit squad aspect of the campaign. An all-female ‘Clipper Crew’ of green tea ‘queens’ in flower-chain crowns, will tour high-footfall outdoor areas within the M25 over nine days of live activity, distributing samples from bicycles and trailers with simple, rustic charm. Public spaces around Wimbledon Park showing the tennis championships on giant screens will be amongst the areas targeted.

To support the hit squad activity, Clipper has engaged GemsAtWork to manage an office-based sampling campaign, whilst Response One has been tasked with coordinating free samples in all mail order deliveries from online fashion retailer ASOS throughout July.

The new campaign aims to champion the delicious, natural taste of Clipper’s Green Tea range as well the health benefits of green tea, and the company’s ethical heritage. It builds on the brand’s quirky Truthful Green Tea Shop pop-up activation earlier this year, which took a humorous hidden camera approach to highlight the difference between Clipper’s green teas and those produced by many other manufacturers.

Gill Green, Marketing Director at Wessanen UK, comments: “Demand for green tea continues to boom, yet within this highly-competitive marketplace we believe our green tea reigns supreme. This concerted sampling drive will allow us to directly reach potential customers that may not have experienced our great-tasting tea before, and to introduce them to our range of delicious, all natural flavours. It is also an opportunity to chat with consumers about the difference they can make to the lives of tea workers and their families, just by drinking a cup of Fairtrade tea from Clipper.”

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Sparks hits the mark for Marks & Spencer

‘National Treasure’ Marks and Spencer introduced its first store card, ‘Sparks’, in 2016, offering a personalised loyalty scheme and benefits to both food and clothing customers. Aimed at generating maximum take up of the loyalty card, a major pre-launch campaign was developed including high profile media coverage and an extensive direct mail campaign.

Challenge

M&S approached The Lettershop Group (TLG) to help with the challenge of how to best capture the interest of 2.7 million customers with an informative and interesting direct mail campaign, which would encourage recipients to register online for the Sparks card.

Solution

No matter how complex the idea, TLG always works on the principal that ideas can be made a reality by creative thinking and clever engineering. Print and Scheffer finishing lines were designed and then made by the in-house engineering team to produce a premium product to meet the clients’ needs.

Results

A premium-feel pack was created using an offset 6-page double thickness carrier which was inserted into a paper wrap.  The loyalty cards were attached mechanically inline, ensuring such a large mailing was cost-effective whilst being turned around quickly and to the highest standard, as expected of this leading brand. Within weeks of launch the campaign had over 3.6 million registered Sparks customers.

An M&S spokesperson says: “We approached the Lettershop team with an idea which they made into a very effective reality, engaging with our customers and promoting the benefits of Sparks.”

The Lettershop Group is a sponsor of the IPM Awards 2016.

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The IPM has launched The COGS Awards 2016, the recognition programme for service partners, and is encouraging members and non-members alike from service sectors such as handling, risk, print, staffing, digital, event and risk management to seize the opportunity to show the world how their contributions have helped create world-class promotional campaigns.

The entry deadline is 12.00 midday on Monday July 11th 2016.

Now in its sixth year, The IPM COGS awards programme is constantly setting benchmarks and driving up the standard of promotional activity.

Examples of last year’s award-winning work can be found on the IPM website. 

The full list of categories for The COGS Awards 2016 is below:

• Coupons
• Print Management
• Risk Management
• Digital
• Promotional Merchandise
• Experiential and Event
• Handling and Fulfilment
• Staffing
• Direct Marketing
• Loyalty
• Prize, Incentive and Reward
• PR and Marketing Communications
• Innovation
• Cross Border Activity/Multi Territory
• The IPM COGS Awards Company of the Year.

Information on the criteria for each category is on the IPM website as are details of how to enter, timings and costs.

You have to be logged in to the IPM site to view details of how to enter, but registration is free.

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Amaze One, the CRM agency based in London, Manchester and Bristol, has appointed Paul Kennedy as its new Data Strategy Director.

Kennedy, the former Head of Consulting at Callcredit Information Group, will lead data strategy for Amaze One with input into Occam, the St Ives sister company. His role will include sourcing, designing and packaging of innovative new data propositions – and new revenue streams – for clients.

“Paul’s skills and experience make him a natural fit for Amaze One,” says Managing Director, Neil Evans. “The new opportunities he will be identifying and developing will be a key point of difference between Amaze One and our competitors.”

Kennedy, who also held previous roles at Experian/ClarityBlue, MM Teleperformance, Royal Mail and PA Consulting, says: “Given the absolutely critical role that data now performs in marketing communications, I am looking forward to helping brands realise its full potential by enabling customer experiences that are profitable for clients.”

Amaze One is a collaboration between St Ives Group companies Amaze Ltd and Occam DM Ltd. Established to break down the inherent silos of traditional CRM processes, Amaze One provides insight-driven creative communications by blending data and digital disciplines to engage customers and deliver long-term, profitable relationships for clients.

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Amaze One, the CRM agency based in London, Manchester, Somerset and Bristol, has appointed Tom Rowland-Hill as Head of Business Development, following a strong year of growth set to continue into 2016.

In his new role, Rowland-Hill will be responsible for driving new business across target sectors. He will report directly into Janet Snedden, Deputy MD.

He joins Amaze One from RAPP, where he was responsible for winning and cultivating key accounts including Nestlé waters: San Pellegrino, Perrier, Buxton and Nestlé Pure Life. He was also instrumental in RAPP’s win and development of a new global CRM enablement model for L’Oréal, which will deliver targeted, multi-channel campaigns across owned, earned and paid media.

He brings with him a wealth of experience in delivering new agency growth having previously worked as an Account Director with Havas Helia, with clients including Waterstones, Barclays Wealth and First Great Western.

Neil Evans, Managing Director at Amaze One, says: “This role is pivotal for Amaze One. We’re looking forward to combining Tom’s proven abilities with our unique approach to CRM and client delivery. We’re sure they’re going to be a perfect, productive match as we look to build on the success of our first year.”

Amaze One is a collaboration between digital agency Amaze Ltd and database marketing specialist Occam DM Ltd, both St Ives Group companies. It was set up to break down the inherent silos of traditional CRM processes, providing insight-driven creative communications by blending data and digital disciplines to engage customers, and deliver long-term, profitable relationships for clients.

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