McDonald’s has signed a deal with The Smiley Company, master licensee for the Rubik’s Cube, for the iconic 1980s puzzle toy to feature in McDonald’s Happy Meal offers in multiple countries.

In a deal brokered by global customer engagement agency The Marketing Store, which has worked closely with McDonald’s for many years, the multi-territory promotion will appear in McDonald’s restaurants across various European countries, the Middle East, Africa and North America.

The campaign launches in France this month (July 2018) and will then roll out across other territories from August through November 2018, including Italy, Spain, Austria, UAE and Canada, amongst many others.

It is not clear yet whether it will be running in the UK, where restrictions are in force on the use of toys and licensed characters to promote food and drink products. Promomarketing has asked McDonald’s for clarification on this point.

Unusually, the Happy Meal Box will be transformed from its traditional tented ‘house’ design into a Cube shape to mirror the Rubik’s Cube for the duration of the campaign.

Children enjoying a Happy Meal at participating McDonald’s will have a choice of four different bespoke Rubik’s Cube toys; including square 2×2 cubes and rectangular 3×2 cubes as well as rounded versions of these, with a total of 12 different toys to choose from.

The unique promotion will also feature a product mash-up between Rubik’s and a major Hollywood animation film studio’s properties appearing on the toys alongside the iconic Rubik’s Cube colours and trademark twist and turn mechanism.

Nicolas Loufrani, CEO at The Smiley Company, says: “We have worked closely with The Marketing Store and the whole team at McDonald’s and are really pleased with the innovative and high quality content of this campaign. From the robust mini Cubes and the unique Rubik’s Cube shaped Happy Meal box to the TV ads and bespoke games created for the Happy Studio app, every aspect of the promotion has been crafted to perfectly leverage the Rubik’s brand mission of encouraging children to PLAY SMART and further our goal of bringing intelligent play to kids of all ages.”

The Smiley Company will be leveraging the partnership with McDonald’s to drive the ongoing Rubik’s brand extension program and “to realise our plans to take the brand to new consumers, with particular emphasis on engaging the brand with children aged from 3-8 years old, as our brand mission continues to focus on creating new toy partnerships for this age group,” Loufrani adds.

To support the promotion’s launch in the markets where it will be appearing, there will be a 360° marketing campaign, supported by a TV advertising featuring the Happy Meal mascot ‘HAPPY’ playing with a Rubik’s Cube in a 26 and 13 second spots. There will also be series of ‘How to Solve’ short video tutorials launched on social channels to help kids solve the bespoke Happy Meal Rubik’s Cubes, and a McDonald’s Happy Studio app takeover.

Additional marketing materials will include in-store POS, branded balloons, colouring sheets, wall stickers and window decals which will help amplify the Rubik’s brand identity throughout the promotion.

The launch of the activation in France is being supported with an influencers’ campaign while other national markets will also see major marketing initiatives.

The Smiley Company is a brand licensing company which originated in France and which holds the intellectual property rights to the classic smiley face symbol face symbol in more than 100 countries (although not the United States, where the symbol originated).

In addition to the smiley symbol, it also holds licensing rights for Rubik’s Cube and related properties, and recently launched a major brand extension program for Rubik’s. This draws on Rubik’s iconicity, rich heritage and archive and the resurgence of retro gaming and geek culture, while utilising Smiley’s own industry leading design studio and world class distribution channels.

The company says global demand for Rubik’s is now at the highest levels since its launch in 1980 and a number of industry leading partners have already signed up across categories including apparel, back to school, gift, live events and attractions, partworks, promotions and publishing.

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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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Independent shopper insights consultancy Shoppercentric has published its Shopper Stock Take Index for a third year, which reveals that 41% of consumers use store loyalty cards ‘a lot’ and 47% use them ‘occasionally’. Only 1% of survey respondents said they had never heard of loyalty cards.

However, Danielle Pinnington, Managing Director at Shoppercentric, warns: “Retailers and brands must keep a finger on the shopper pulse and appreciate that each customer is now using a range of strategies to cope with increasing pressures on household budgets. Which categories or sectors will suffer most this year is likely to depend on how they react to changing shopper needs.”

Pinnington adds: “With shoppers picking and choosing between stores for particular items based on their own experience of how well different retailers deliver, there is even greater pressure to differentiate and create memorable in-store experiences. Equally, avoiding or challenging misconceptions based on bad experiences has become more important. If, as our report shows, shoppers are actively widening their repertoires, loyalty as we used to know it is an outdated term.”

Shoppercentric collected more than a thousand online survey responses from shoppers, covering how they felt about the stability of their household budgets, how their shopping habits are changing, and what brands and retailers need to do as a result.

The 2018 Shopper Stock Take index reveals that while shoppers aren’t yet feeling the same pinch as in the worst of the recession, they are certainly starting to feel more pressure. Only one in four claims to be unaffected by the current economic situation, with a considerable proportion of UK shoppers having to make minor changes to spending.

The speed of change is rapid – just 12 months ago, the proportion of those making minor changes was just 16%, but today it stands at 44%. 26% of shoppers have noticed prices increasing a lot, and 56% have noticed small increases.

Shoppers primarily put these increases down to the state of the economy (54%) and Brexit (50%), although the exchange rate, cost of ingredients and greedy companies are also ‘blamed’ by a fair proportion of shoppers.

80% of shoppers are now “being careful to avoid waste”, while 75% are “avoiding being tempted to buy things I don’t need”. 50% are “going out of their way to find the best prices” and will “split shopping across different stores to get the best deals.” 60% are now buying “own label where I can to keep costs down” and 33% are now using “online shopping to check spending as I go.”

2017 saw a continued increase in the proportion of shoppers who had abandoned weekly main shops in favour of shopping little & often – rising from 11% to 16%. This year, however, there has been no change in that figure, suggesting this trend may have reached its ceiling.

Instead, shoppers are becoming more active as they make the most of the choice available. Shoppers’ average repertoire has changed to five stores or websites in the last fortnight, up from four in 2017. 26% of UK shoppers say that they fit their grocery shopping in where and when they can. 33% of shoppers switch stores based on what they need – to get the best places for what they want (versus 28% in 2017).

The biggest change in the five channels covered by the report was in the use of discounter stores – up 13% on 2017 figures to 57% of UK shoppers. Use of the Big Four supermarkets rose by four percentage points on 2017 figures to 83%. There was no significant change in convenience store or online grocery usage penetration – 49% and 30% of shoppers using those channels respectively.

With the exception of Smart TVs, all digital devices covered by this report saw increased usage by UK shoppers. Computers/laptops were cited as the most used touchpoint – up six percentage points on 2017 figures to 63%. In second place were smartphones with a huge 18 percentage point increase on last year to 45%.

Interestingly, despite a number of retailers and brands moving away from catalogues, usage by shoppers rose to 22%– up four percentage points on 2017.

There has been a seven percentage point increase to 58% in the number of shoppers that have been triggered to shop by content on their smartphone. Using a smartphone to carry out ‘research’ has remained on a par with last year at 61%. However, using the device to ‘find’ an item has risen from 56% to 60%, while the number of shoppers using smartphones to buy a product has gone up from 37% to 42% of shoppers.

However, despite the considerable shift in shoppers using their smartphones as they shop, particularly in relation to actual purchasing, there has been no increase in the uptake of mobile-based promotions, which remains at 20%.

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The Marriott Rewards loyalty programme ran a 3,000,000 points giveaway in the UK at the end of January, to demonstrate that it offers much more in addition to hotel stays – and gave one lucky member a trip to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, USA.

Marriott Rewards wanted to highlight the fact that its members can put their points towards exclusive money-can’t-buy experiences, such as Master Chef cooking classes, golf lessons with PGA professionals or trips to the Super Bowl.

Marketing agency ignis was briefed to support the Marriott Rewards programme and communicate its unique ‘Moments’ offering. It created a campaign on Facebook offering users the chance to win 40,000 Marriott Reward during the whole of January 31st 2018, enough to buy a hotel stay or a Marriott Rewards Moment.

To launch the campaign, one Marriott Reward’s Member and NFL fan was recently surprised at BBC Studios with an all-expenses paid trip to the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, USA.  A video features the winning fan, Lee, joining podcasters and BBC Radio Live NFL commentators Jason Bell and Osi Umenyiora on set as a ‘special guest’ – only to be further surprised with tickets to the 2018 Super Bowl (see pictures). The full video was broadcast across Marriott Rewards social channels and UNILAD on 31st January 2018.

Viewers were invited to comment on the video using the hashtag #MembersGetIt to be in with a chance to win points to put towards their exclusive Marriott ‘Moments’.

Lauren Fitzgerald, Manager, Portfolio Partnership Europe, Marriott International, said: ‘We worked in partnership with the NFL to create authentic content featuring a real Marriott Rewards Member. For us it was essential to capture a genuine moment of surprise and delight.”

Nick Peters, Executive Creative Director at ignis added: “The video and social activity demonstrates that by utilising partnerships effectively you can create inspiring content that will communicate the fantastic Rewards offering to a broad audience.”

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A new report from customer science and retail data experts dunnhumby reveals that the most frequent 20% of shoppers are responsible for 69% of a brand’s sales on average over the course of a year and 76% of a brand’s sales over a five-year period.

This directly challenges influential claims by academic Byron Sharp in his 2010 book ‘How Brands Grow’ that the most frequent shoppers are responsible for only up to 50% of sales, which many marketers have interpreted as downplaying the importance of the core customer base.

Adam Smith, head of media strategy at dunnhumby, said: “Thanks to Byron Sharp we have seen much debate around the value of marketing to your heaviest brand buyers, but this report reveals that marketers will be missing a trick if they focus solely on mass marketing at the expense of talking to highly valuable existing buyer segments. The research implies an optimal marketing strategy with a much greater balance between acquisition and retention than Sharp would advocate, while still going after your widest available market.”

The dunnhumby report, ‘Mass Marketing or Tailored for your Tribe?’, analyses the impact the most frequent brand shoppers have on sales over time, using the Pareto 80/20 rule as a measure (e.g. 20% of a brand’s customers are responsible for 80% of sales).

The trend for brands within a category to be reliant on a small group of customers is especially prominent with smaller brands by market share. Whereas market-leading brands realised 66% of sales from their top 20%, for other non-leading brands the figure rose to 78%.

“The growth of a brand’s market share is still in line with Sharp’s findings,” Smith adds. “Big brands have a lower Pareto share than small brands and the implication is that growth is associated with developing customers who are light and infrequent buyers. However, this research demonstrates conclusively that the value of the heaviest buyers has been under-estimated and is more in line with Pareto than not. Furthermore, significant differences between categories suggests the need for FMCG marketers to more fully understand the drivers at both brand and category level to optimise marketing investment. A simple one-size-fits-all mass marketing approach will not produce the best results and we see this with many of the brands we work with.”

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More than half (58%) of consumers aged 25 to 34 say they’d be likely to spend more money on a brand’s products and services if they were part of its community, according to research from content agency Dialogue.

Millennials are far more committed to brand communities than the average across all age groups, which was still a creditable 40%, suggesting a tangible return on investment through fostering brand communities across the board. However, millennials consistently come out as the age group that is most committed. Some 50% also agree that they are more likely to stick with a brand than switch to competitors if they are part of a brand’s community.

Overall, brands that engage their consumers by inviting them to join a community, where they can access exclusive content and interact with other people who buy the brand, are likelier to create long-lasting relationships, according to the survey. Furthermore, developing a strong brand community can create a viable, long-term support mechanism, increasing the value of existing customers by turning them into advocates, suggesting products or services they like to other people.

Other key results include:

• 37% of all respondents are more likely to stick with a brand than switch to competitors if they are part of a community.
• Quality of service turns consumers into brand advocates in the travel sector, according to 41% of all respondents.
• Quality of products makes consumers brand advocates in the luxury (44%) and automotive sectors (37%).
• In luxury, respondents across all age groups most value discounts and offers from brand communities (47%), followed by invites to exclusive events (25%), receiving exclusive products (22%) and access to exclusive online content (19%).
• Email is the consumer’s preferred channel for communication with brands, with social media and magazines the next most popular channels.

In total, 1,200 UK consumers were surveyed by Censuswide on Dialogue’s behalf, exploring attitudes towards brand community, loyalty and communications, with a focus on the luxury, automotive and travel sectors. The research was commissioned to help brands understand why building effective communities is a valuable tactic in an era when marketers’ efforts are polarised between hyper-personalisation and mass media broadcast.

Commenting on the report, Dr Charles Seger, School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, says: “Belongingness is one of our basic human needs. We are motivated to both assert our group identification and our individuality. Brand communities can allow us to fulfil these motives. People will stay loyal to brand communities that provide a unique experience, allow us to express our self-concept, and engage us with a meaningful community.”

Chris Seaward, General Manager of the Dialogue client Porsche Club GB, adds: “Reaching a new lead is an expensive thing for a brand to do. Through a community like the Club, the Porsche brand can connect with people already engaged with the brand, and tapping into this existing community becomes cost effective. There is additional value for members and the brand as enthusiasts are regularly invited to visit the Factory in Stuttgart to see latest designs and development.”

Zoe Francis-Cox, Agency Director at Dialogue, observes: “Big data has transformed the marketing landscape. However, as the opportunities for starting a dialogue continue to multiply thanks to an increasing variety of platforms, the quality of conversations is suffering. This is most noticeable when trying to engage millennials.”

She adds: “Consumers are constantly seeking inspiration and information but over-reliance on tech-focused tools can mean that brands are communicating in a way that is intrusive, blunt and ultimately ineffective. Our research shifts the emphasis from a data-or-nothing approach. Respondents believe, as we do, that the buzz of brand communities cultivates long-term relationships, brand advocacy and boosts sales.”

The full findings from this research are available in Dialogue’s research report, The Benefits of Brand Communities, which can be downloaded here. An infographic is available here.

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Marketing services experts Multi Resource Marketing (MRM) is working with the world’s second biggest selling candy brand, Mentos, on its Me&You on-pack loyalty programme in the UK. Me&You gives Mentos fans access to a unique code which unlocks a series of special offers on must-have experiences which they can share with friends and family.

Mentos, the UK’s fastest growing mint brand, is owned by international confectionery company Perfetti Van Melle Corporation. Mentos now has four million UK consumers, selling close to 100 million rolls a year.

MRM fully developed and manages the Mentos Me&You online loyalty platform and sources a selection of money off discounts, ‘2 for 1’ deals and prize draws from selected partners. Offers change monthly and can include: 25% off a Vineyard tour for two people; 15% off a bouquet from Flying Flowers; 20% off at ecommerce site Boohoo; and free fitness classes with Move GB.

To claim these rewards, consumers need to buy a pack of Mentos, go to www.mentosmeandyou.co.uk and enter the unique code which can be found inside the packaging.

Mentos candy is the number two candy brand in the world. First produced in the Netherlands in 1948, it is currently sold in more than 130 countries worldwide. Perfetti Van Melle is an Italian-Dutch global manufacturer of confectionery and gum, created in 2001 following the acquisition of Van Melle of the Netherlands by the Italian Perfetti Group.

Established in 1993, MRM is an independently owned multi-award winning marketing services provider based in Leicestershire, England. A member of trade body the Institute of Promotional Marketing, the company provides both digital and physical fulfilment marketing campaign support to some of the UK’s best-known brands, companies and organisations.

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Every Sub made in Subway stores across the UK today (November 3^rd 2017) will trigger a 5p donation to a the Fare Share food bank charity, to help feed people in need.

The promotion marks World Sandwich Day and the fast food chain will also be handing out free Six Inch Subs to people who downloaded and registered the Subcard app by October 30^th. Anyone who did hit the deadline was rewarded with 500 points – the value of a Subway Sub – to spend today in store. If the points aren’t spent by midnight today, they will disappear.

FareShare has 20 regional centres in the UK focusing on providing nutritious meals to vulnerable people. Donations to the charity will be triggered both by purchases of Six-inch Subs and also by redemptions of the free sub offer both on World Sandwich Day and the day before.

All Subway Stores accepting Subcard are participating in the promotion.

Subway is the world’s largest submarine sandwich franchise, with more than 44,800 locations in more than 113 countries. It is a committed partner to the UK Government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal and is the only QSR to have endorsed eight of the nutrition-related pledges. The Subway brand has reduced salt, eliminated trans fats, displays energy information on menu boards, cut KJ/Kcal across the product range and increased access to fruit and vegetables as part of a balanced diet and reduced saturated fat.

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New packaging technology is helping promotional marketers create even greater impact on the way people shop, says Chris Baldwin from Sodexo. PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Technology is moving faster than ever with new ways to find, buy and redeem products popping up every day.

Not to state the obvious, but that makes technology more important than ever in driving a successful campaign — and brands who get on board with innovation can reap the benefits in terms of appeal and functionality. Great tech should make life easier, right?

Is there anything new about packaging technology?

According to the Savvy Cynics 2016 Consumer Promotions Survey Report, nearly 70% of people either look for, or are attracted by, promotional messages on product.

Clearly, on-pack promotions have traditionally played a huge role in promotional campaigns but the whole industry is now changing dramatically and with it come new packaging opportunities.

Retailers can tap into innovative packaging ideas, overcoming issues around space, design, and manufacturing to reach more customers and make an impact.

Augmented Reality – looking forwards, and up, and down….

A ‘newish’ way to take your conversation with customers to the next level is with Augmented Reality (AR). With AR, brands can boost an offer with loads of extra, fun content. Consumers simply use a zapcode to access more info from games – and competitions too.

Casper Thykier, co-founder of AR specialists Zappar, is a leader in AR technology. He says: “If you get the three Cs right, you get engagement and dwell time.”

In this case, the three Cs are:

• Context
• Call to Action
• Content

Thykier adds: “AR packaging is great for increasing frequency with your product and giving you rich data analytics, turning your physical products into a living, breathing multimedia channel you control.”

Some of the best examples in recent years include inspiration from traditional consumer promotions, fused with technology to appeal to the discerning 21st century shopper.

In 2011 Heinz used technology created by Zappar’s rival, Blippar, to grant access to a Heinz recipe book (which when you think about it is a surprisingly traditional offering.) By downloading the app and holding it up to a Heinz ketchup bottle, shoppers could view the recipes which appeared on pages as if they were on the bottle itself. Heinz used this to drive people to its Facebook page to access more content.

NFC Keeping in touch with your Customers

Near Field Communication or NFC for short is also allowing consumers to interact with brand packaging. By tapping their smartphones on the labels the tags transfer data between devices wirelessly and without data or internet required.

Potential brand applications are numerous, such as advertising, shopper activation and engagement and loyalty schemes.

Malibu recently used NFC technology to great effect as part of their #BecauseSummer campaign in September 2016. They encouraged consumers to tap the image of a Malibu sunset on select bottles, to gain access to exlusive content, as well as being entered into prize draws.

Let’s get personal…

Personalised experiences with brands have become easier than ever thanks in part to a rise in digital printing.

Brands such as Marmite, Coca Cola, Nutella and Vaseline have seized the opportunity to create fully bespoke personalisation for consumers and considering that the worth of the digital print for packaging market was valued at £10.5bn in 2015 and is expected to grow annually by 13.6% according to a study by Smithers Pira, I think we can agree this trend is set to explode in popularity.

Coca Cola’s ‘Share-A-Coke’ campaign which featured 100,000 of the most popular names printed on bottle labels around the world contributed to a 6.8% increase in Coca Cola’s global Facebook community, as well as boosting their index scores from 9.6 to 12.4 on the first day of the campaign alone.

So has digital printing reached its tipping point?

With so much potential in this approach to packaging, not to mention digital printing’s economic and speed to market advantages, it’s a proven way to engage with customers whilst remaining very cost effective, so it seems like a no-brainer to continue going forward.

As technology continues to advance and experiences with AR, NFC and iBeacon become more seamless, Global brands have an exciting opportunity to exploit ‘new-age packaging’ to create a new kind of customer experience that has a holistic focus on the creation of ‘marketing moments.’

Those brands able to find the right balance of brief, slick and seamless product interactions with their audience, will reap the most reward-  building trust, relationships and loyalty over time in the most fun way possible.

Chris Baldwin is Director of Consumer Programs at Sodexo. The Sodexo family, which includes the Promorati brands Protravel, Filmology, Fotorama and Entice, is Headline Sponsor of The IPM Awards 2017.

Fotorama, part of the Sodexo family has published a new eBook, How new technology is driving the promotional marketing industry, taking a closer look at the digital revolution and how it can help marketers influence shoppers.

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We’ve heard it all before – but, as we enter one of the most uncertain economic periods in recent history, rewarding customers for loyalty really is now more important than ever, says Chris Baldwin of Sodexo. PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

A loyal customer is more profitable and their value cannot be overstated; and, with so many new technologies becoming mainstream in 2016, there is a great foundation to build on and refine in 2017 when honing a strategy for loyalty.

Here are the five top loyalty trends of 2016 that should shape your strategy in 2017.

Personalisation

With 65% of marketers seeing loyalty schemes as an essential part of the marketing mix, retaining customers is imperative – and personalisation has a key part to play in keeping shoppers loyal.

Tesco have been doing it for years; you buy something in store and you’re offered Clubcard points on similar products.

As a more tech savvy generation takes over, this has evolved to include cookies and suggested ‘items to buy’ following internet shopping.

Brands need to take a leaf out of the retail playbook and take personalisation on board, making it a huge part of what they offer their consumers. Whether this is through a points system or through preferential treatment via a membership scheme or loyalty platform, it is important to remember that adding specific value to an offer makes it infinitely more attractive.

Be technologically advanced

These days, offering a coupon on promotional packaging is just one of the ways to offer consumers added value. Technology means there are now so many other avenues available to get in front of consumers.

Much of the new technology available to be used in promotions can be delivered via an app or smartphone camera, and that means that the speed at which redemption can be achieved is extraordinary.

Brands can deploy coupon and barcode scanning apps, which can recognise scanned receipts or QR codes displayed on restaurant tables offering instant-win prizes, or sophisticated 3D object recognition software which identifies products within the real world space and can then offer real-time sales promotions.

Travel experiences

Walk through any supermarket and you’ll find promotions offering luxury getaways and chances to win ‘once in a lifetime experiences’ on the shelves. With 75% of people saying they would be interested in entering a travel promotion, this trend looks set to continue. The idea of an experience as a reward isn’t new; in fact, research shows that Millennials prefer this type of reward over cash bonuses, so it is important the B2C market tap into this to reward loyal customers.

Travel is easier than ever before, and short city breaks can also hold appeal when it comes to rewarding loyalty. A price-sensitive choice becomes far less clear-cut when, for example, there is the option to renew your current insurance and potentially win a city break versus having to research a new provider for a minimal saving.

Instant rewards

Although we may have found them annoying at some point, no one can deny the effectiveness of text alerts from your favourite stores or push notifications direct to your mobile offering limited time discounts or exclusive prizes.

With Millennials coming into their own in the consumer market, the time is ripe for instant rewards. The Millennial generation question the traditional ways of doing things and are more willing to research for themselves. So for them, a push notification reminding them that their insurance is due for renewal, but with the added value of a downloadable £20 e-voucher is a very attractive prospect.

The gratification offered by an instant tangible reward helps to inspire loyalty in a generation often seen as frivolous. Marketers know that Millennials tend to have less loyalty to brands and will often chop and change to get the best deals, rewards and benefits. Therefore, it is important that rewards are not only personalised, but also readily and instantly available without the need for additional communications.

Retention is the new buzzword

On average it costs a business 5 to 10 times more to acquire a customer than it does to sell to an existing one and just a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to 25%-100% increase in profit. Current customers spend roughly 67% more than new customers so it pays to appeal to this demographic.

The autosave password function means that customers can return again and again to their favourite retailers making it prime space to host promotions rewarding loyal customers.

By encouraging customers to log in via a specific portal with enticing discounts and rewards for doing so, brands and businesses can reinforce brand recognition and loyalty simply by being convenient and offering added value. There is a great opportunity to create brand association every time they use the portal. For example, offering additional discounts on further products in the range or in partnership with other brands makes the reward not only more attractive but also more memorable.

The 21st century is fast paced, with older technology making way for the new, and a younger and savvier generation holding the purse strings. It’s more important now than ever before to keep rewards attractive for loyal customers. ‘Instantancy’ – the demand for instant rewards – and convenience are key aspects that will only become more prevalent going forward as we rely more and more on technology in our day to day lives.

The ways in which we access and interact with traditional consumer promotions continues to evolve at an alarming rate. However, with great change often comes great opportunity and the promotional marketing arena is no exception to this rule. In 20 years’ time, we may look back and regard this as the age of digital experimentation; but whilst there is so much new ground to cover, the chances for creative and exciting ways to interact with customers are yet to be fully explored.

Chris Baldwin is Director of Consumer Programs at Sodexo. The Sodexo family, which includes the Promorati brands Protravel, Filmology, Fotorama and Entice, is Headline Sponsor of The IPM Awards 2017.

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