Let's Talk Loyalty

Paula Thomas

“Let’s Talk Loyalty” is an industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals.

If you work in loyalty marketing, join us every week to learn the latest ideas and marketing insights from loyalty specialists around the world.

Check out our website on: http://www.letstalkloyalty.com/

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794 episodes
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Episodes794

Newest first

Jun 20, 2023 · 47 min
#395: Understanding Loyalty in Czech Republic & Key Take-Outs from The European White Paper
This episode focuses on the loyalty market in The Czech Republic, featuring expert insights from Radek Hrachovec. Radek has dedicated the last 20 years of his professional life to loyalty programmes and direct marketing and is one of the most skilled practitioners in Central Europe and a Partner of the Voxwise company. Radek is a key contributor to the “Understanding Loyalty in Europe” White Paper created by Mando-Connect in partnership with YouGov, which explores loyalty membership, appeal and impact across 24 European Markets. Listen to learn about the loyalty landscape in The Czech Republic – what membership, appeal and impact look like in this market – and which are the programmes and key innovations to be inspired by. Hosted by Charlie Hills. Show Notes : 1) Radek Hrachovec 2) European Loyalty Whitepaper 3) Mando-Connect 4) YouGov 5) Voxwise 6) Net Loyalty Score introduction
Jun 19, 2023 · 5 min
#394: Everyday Loyalty - Connecting Customers, Members and Merchants (Short Summary Show)
Listen in to hear Tom’s short summary show from the original podcast hosted by Paula Thomas featuring a conversation with James Berry, Commercial Director, Valuedynamx at Collinson where he shares game-changing concepts he believes are becoming pivotal for loyalty professionals. Listen to Tom’s views on the dramatic changes in consumer behaviour, and some of the innovative ways that Collinson have found to connect programs, consumers and merchants in order to ensure loyalty programmes become even more relevant in everyday lives, as well as emerging technologies like NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Hosted by Tom Peace. Show Notes: 1) James Berry 2) Valuedynamx (Part of Collinson Group) 3) #216: Everyday Loyalty - Connecting Customers, Members and Merchants
Jun 14, 2023 · 43 min
#393: Loyalty and Awards - Travel Loyalty Conference and Connecting in Brazil
Today’s conversation features our friends from the *Loyalty and Awards* conference, which is the largest annual conference dedicated to loyalty managers in the travel sector. Ahead of this year’s event in Rio de Janeiro, Ravindra Bhagwanani, shares his views on the state of the loyalty industry in 2023 and some of the key challenges he sees for loyalty practitioners in the travel sector. These trends of course are also helping to shape the content and agenda for the Loyalty & Awards conference agenda being planned for our meeting in Brazil this October, so listen to hear the topics that I’m looking forward to hearing presented on stage this year. Ravindra also highlights some key improvements in this year's Golden Loyalty Awards, to inspire those of you who operate programs to enter your programs. Listen to enjoy some insights and inspiration on travel loyalty and the upcoming Loyalty and Awards conference with Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director of Global Flight. Show Notes: 1) Ravindra Bhagwanani⁠ 2) Loyalty and Awards 3) Golden Loyalty Awards 4) Loyalty & Awards conference agenda
Jun 13, 2023 · 36 min
#392: Leading Retail Loyalty Brand, TFG Delivers Real Personalisation
Fionna Ronnie is Head of Customer and Loyalty at The Foschini Group. Whilst TFG is based in South Africa, it spans 5 continents, 26 countries and has 34 leading retail brands in its stable. Its loyalty program, TFG Rewards,is the biggest in retail in South Africa with 30 million + members. Fionna shares KPI results, data strategies, customer centric retailing approach and how the Customer team are the life blood of TFG Rewards. This team underpins everything driven for a future customer narrative of this extremely impressive retail group. Hosted by Amanda Cromhout. Show Notes: 1) Fionna Ronnie 2) The Foschini Group 3) TFG Rewards
Jun 12, 2023 · 5 min
#391: Loyalty Insights from Asia - Speak Like a CEO (Short Summary Show)
Listen in to hear Tom’s short summary show from the original podcast hosted by Paula Thomas featuring a conversation with Henry Christian. LinkedIn loyalty guru and independent loyalty consultant. Henry has many years of experience guiding brands and managing loyalty programmes throughout Asia. Henry shares insights on the importance of speaking like a CEO, leveraging customer data and how A/B testing can prove valuable instead of making assumptions for members versus non-members. Henry shared strategies for membership retention and acquisition talks about a very important principle that loyalty is not a program, it is an outcome to expect from your customers. Hosted by Tom Peace. Show Notes: 1) Henry Christian 2) LinkedIn Loyalty Post – Speak Like a CEO 3) #215: Loyalty Insights from Asia - Speak Like a CEO
Jun 7, 2023 · 38 min
#390: The Barbeque Legends Club - Helping Aussie's Barbeque Better
Today’s episode features an award-winning Australian retail brand that has won recognition both as the “Innovation Champion of the Year” as well as being rated one of Australia’s COOLEST brands! Barbeques Galore is a nationwide speciality retailer that is dedicated to nurturing Aussie’s love of outdoor cooking and helping everyone “barbeque better”. We are joined by Mike Ainsworth, General Manager of Marketing and Customer with Barbeques Galore, who shares the insights behind their Barbeque Legends Club. As you will hear, this wonderful proposition uses the power of community, education and inspiration from Australian barbeque industry legends, to help their customers find even more joy and connection with their friends and families when they gather together around the barbeque flame! Listen to learn some truly innovative loyalty insights from Mike Ainsworth and the Barbeque Legends Club. Show Notes: 1) Barbeques Galore 2) Mike Ainsworth 3) Barbeque Legends Club
Jun 6, 2023 · 50 min
#389: Loyalty in Indonesia with GoTo Group - The Largest Digital Ecosystem in Indonesia.
Today’s episode features Indonesia's GoTo Group, which is the largest digital ecosystem in the country. This Group is a publicly-traded company, and it combines on-demand services like ride hailing and food delivery, as well as e-commerce functionality and financial services under various brands. Their first platform is the first one in Southeast Asia to host these three essential use cases in one ecosystem, and it already captures a majority of Indonesian consumer household expenditure, which is even more impressive when you realise that Indonesia also enjoys the fourth largest population of any country on the planet! In 2022, the GoTo Group appointed Henry Christian as their SVP Head of Loyalty, and today he joins us to share the amazing opportunities and of course challenges of driving profitable behaviour change for such an exciting business with so many internal and external stakeholders to delight. Henry is truly a “global voice of loyalty”, so listen today to hear my conversation with Henry Christian from GoTo Group, all about driving loyalty for the largest technology brand in Indonesia. Show Notes: 1) GoTo Group 2) Henry Christian
Jun 5, 2023 · 5 min
#388: Relaunching The Shangri-La Hotel Rewards Program (Short Summary Show)
In 2022 Shangri-La transformed their beloved Golden Circle loyalty program into a powerful direct-to-consumer platform, to include digital marketing, mobile and e-direct capabilities, social media and content development, rewards marketing operations and global brand partnerships. Listen in to hear Tom’s short summary show from the original podcast hosted by Paula Thomas featuring a conversation with Kevin Siew, formerly Vice President and Head of Shangri-La Circle, the latest innovation from the Shangri-La International premium global hotel management group. Hear how they have crafted their latest proposition to further enrich their appeal to travellers of all ages and backgrounds, and allow for greater freedom and flexibility, including iconic lifestyle partnership. Hosted by Tom Peace. Show Notes: 1) Shangri - La Hotels & Resorts 2) Shangri-La Circle 3) Kevin Siew, Former Vice President and Head of Shangri-La Circle 4) #213: Relaunching The Shangri-La Hotel Rewards Program
May 31, 2023 · 45 min
#387: Meet Mastercard - One of the World's Largest Loyalty Services Providers
Let’s Talk Loyalty today features Mastercard, who as well as being one of the world’s leading payment providers, are also in fact, one of the world's largest loyalty services providers. With so much global loyalty expertise, we were thrilled with the opportunity to meet Stephanie Meltzer-Paul, Mastercard’s Executive Vice President of Global Loyalty, who joins us today to share Mastercard’s latest announcement and partnership with Expedia called “Travel With Rewards”. Stephanie also shares her insights on some of the emerging trends in loyalty in 2023, garnered across the incredible roles she has held in her career to date, leading loyalty and driving performance for various multi-billion-dollar digital channels for some of the US market’s biggest hospitality and restaurant brands. Listen to learn from this inspiring conversation with Stephanie Meltzer-Paul, Executive Vice President of Global Loyalty with Mastercard. This episode is sponsored by Mastercard. Show Notes: 1) Mastercard 2) Stephanie Meltzer-Paul 3) Expedia 4) Travel With Rewards 5) Expedia Group and Mastercard turn everyday spending into extraordinary experiences
May 30, 2023 · 43 min
#386: Partnerships and Personalising for Airline Loyalty Profitability
This episode of Let’s Talk Loyalty shares some early insights from one of the keynote speakers at this year’s Loyalty & Awards conference in Rio de Janeiro. CarTrawler is one of Ireland’s great technology success stories, and as a B2B technology brand that partners with many of the world’s leading airline loyalty programs to deliver their car rental proposition, we were delighted with the opportunity to chat with their Head of Loyalty - Heather Nolan. Listen to this episode to learn Heather's fascinating perspective on the principles of partnerships and driving loyalty in the travel industry, particularly for younger demographics who might not yet travel frequently enough to qualify for top-tier status and bonuses, yet who are incredibly important for the future growth and profitability of any airline. Show Notes: 1) CarTrawler 2) Heather Nolan 3) Loyalty & Awards - Rio de Janeiro
May 29, 2023 · 5 min
#385: Circle K's Award-Winning "PLAY or PARK" Programme in Ireland (Short Summary Show)
Circle K Ireland is a highly successful and well-known fuel convenience retail brand in Ireland, the market leader for food, fuel and convenience retail. Tune in to hear Tom’s summary from the original podcast hosted by Paula Thomas featuring a conversation with Eadaoin Keane, Head of Marketing for Circle K Ireland who won the “Best Loyalty Programme 2021” from the Irish Loyalty Awards for their “Play or Park” programme. Circle K’s "PLAY or PARK” loyalty programme features gamification, rewards and charitable contributions, benefits the members and business in equal measure. Listen to hear how Eadaoin and her team continue to build new campaigns within “PLAY or PARK” to support Irish Olympic athletes, connecting with customers through local community activations, growing the programme’s membership and ultimately winning the hearts of Irish customers. Hosted by Tom Peace. Show Notes: 1) Circle K Ireland⁠ 2) Eadaoin Keane 3) Irish Loyalty Awards 4) "Play or Park" 5) #212: Circle K's Award-Winning "PLAY or PARK" Programme in Ireland
May 24, 2023 · 48 min
#384: Global Leaders Maintain Focus on Customers and Stakeholders
Today’s episode features a discussion with Eliot Hamlisch, the CMO of AMC Theatres, the largest movie theater chain in the world. AMC has long been a leader and innovator in its category, where it pioneered the multiplex cinema and now has over 10,000 screens across nearly 1,000 theatres in the US and Europe. As CMO, Eliot oversees a range of important functions for the company, including its Stubs Insider, Premiere and A-List programs. In the podcast, Eliot shares how the value of his experiences working with companies including American Express, Deloitte and Wyndham prepared him for the role at AMC and of course, the common thread of strategically having a focus on the customer translates into innovation and delivering measurable value. You’ll also hear about how AMC also focuses on investors, and not just institutional ones but individual retail investors. There’s a program for them too, called AMC Investor Connect. Learn how committed leadership and a big brand translate into opportunities to innovate, grow and deliver a great experience for customers and other stakeholders. Hosted by Phil Rubin. Show Notes: 1) Eliot Hamlisch⁠ 2) AMC Theatres 3) Adam Aron - AMC Theatres CEO ⁠on Twitter 4) AMC Investor Connect.
May 23, 2023 · 39 min
#383: TGI Fridays’ Strategic Focus On Loyalty: Fridays Rewards
Lindsay Eichten is a seasoned loyalty executive across multiple industries, but in her role as Director CRM, Loyalty & Media, she leads a small team to deliver the launch of Fridays Rewards for the iconic brand, TGI Fridays. Lindsay highlights that loyalty is a key strategic initiative for TGI Fridays, which therefore means she has the support and the focus on her team’s deliverables in this role. She emphasizes how starting the change management process with the chain’s front line staff has been critical to understand what makes a great restaurant loyalty experience and to get the buy in from the team at the front line. Finally, Lindsay supports how important it is to secure the right technology partner, which can work on a global scale for a brand as expansive as TGI Fridays. Hosted by Amanda Cromhout. Show Notes: 1) Lindsay Eichten 2) TGI Fridays 3) NEW Fridays Rewards 4) Data Delivers
May 22, 2023 · 5 min
#382: Loyalty Lessons from USA Convenience Chain Yesway (Short Summary Show)
Yesway is one of the fastest-growing convenience chains in the United States, and was voted the U.S. Convenience Chain of the Year in 2021. Tune in to hear Tom’s summary from the original podcast hosted by Paula Thomas featuring one of the leading marketers in U.S. convenience retail, Derek Gaskins, Chief Marketing Officer of Yesway. Derek shares the exciting challenge of keeping customers loyal while acquiring new stores with products that customers love, and building a leading retail brand that combines the best of them all. He also explains how Yesway have embraced loyalty at the heart of their business, and how they are leveraging their award-winning “Yesway Rewards” program to support their ambitious growth. Hosted by Tom Peace Show Notes: 1) ⁠Yesway⁠ 2) Derek Gaskins⁠ 3) Yesway Rewards 4) #204: Loyalty Lessons from "USA Convenience Chain of the Year" - Yesway
May 17, 2023 · 49 min
#381: "Share" - The Multi Award-Winning Loyalty Programme from Majid Al Futtaim Group UAE
This episode features a multi-award-winning loyalty program from one of the leading retail, entertainment and hospitality conglomerates in the Middle East region. Majid Al Futtaim was founded in 1992 and now employs more than 43,000 people, operating a portfolio of more than 270 outlets in 15 countries, including 25 shopping malls and 13 hotels, as well as holding the exclusive franchise for Carrefour supermarkets in 37 markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. With such a huge portfolio of lifestyle brands, designing, developing and executing a successful loyalty program was an immense challenge for the group and yet, they have achieved huge success for this complex yet compelling multi-brand programme. Joining me today to announce their latest awards and share some of the insights for the “Share” customer loyalty program is Kashmira Motiwalla, Group Head of Loyalty for the Majid Al Futtaim Group, based in Dubai. Show Notes: 1) Kashmira Motiwalla 2) Majid Al Futtaim Group 3) Majid Al Futtaim Group's "Share" latest awards - The Marketing Society UAE
May 16, 2023 · 46 min
#380: Understanding Loyalty in Europe - Getting to know Samsung Members
This episode focuses on the pan-European loyalty programme, Samsung Members, featuring expert commentary from Cathryn Lodwidge and Laura Moore. Laura is the European Head of Customer Data-Driven Marketing Retention & Loyalty and Cathryn is the European Cross Channel Retention Lead at Samsung Electronics. They are very passionate about developing and delivering global loyalty solutions that delight customers across multiple markets and, under their stewardship, Samsung Members has gone from strength to strength. They are key contributors to the “Understanding Loyalty in Europe” White Paper created by Mando-Connect in partnership with YouGov, which explores loyalty membership, appeal and impact across 24 European Markets. Listen to learn about Samsung Members – what the programme proposition is, what the big new news is and how the programme adapts its approach to different local market needs across Europe. Hosted by Charlie Hills. Show Notes: 1) Cathryn Lodwidge 2) Laura Moore 3) European Loyalty Whitepaper 4) Mando-Connect 5) YouGov
May 15, 2023 · 6 min
#379: Mando-connect and YouGov Research on What Brits Want From Loyalty (Short Summary Show)
In March 2022 Mando-Connect and YouGov launched their first report, “What Brits Want From Loyalty Programs Now“. This comprehensive, independent research analyses the topics, attitudes, opinions and behaviours that are driving the loyalty industry today in the UK, one of the most sophisticated and diverse markets for the loyalty industry worldwide. In this week’s episode of Let’s Talk “a little” Loyalty, Tom reviews the learnings from last years reports and looks at where we are a year on. Tune in to hear Tom’s summary from the original podcast hosted by Paula Thomas and featuring Charlie Hills from Mando-Connect alongside Nick Fishbourne from YouGov. Hosted by Tom Peace Show Notes: 1) Mando-Connect 2) YouGov⁠ 2) Charlie Hills 3) ⁠Nick Fishbourne 4) “What Brits Want From Loyalty Programs Now” Research Report 5) #203: Groundbreaking Research on What Brits Want From Loyalty
May 10, 2023 · 41 min
#378: Loyalty Strategy Insights for 2023 with Epsilon's Shannon Ottinger
This episode features one of the loyalty industry’s leading strategy experts! Shannon Ottinger is the Vice President of Loyalty Consulting at Epsilon, based in Atlanta, and in this episode, she shares some extraordinary experience and insights on the key loyalty concepts that brands are excited about in our industry in 2023. Listen to hear how Epsilon is helping clients begin to measure *emotional* loyalty, a concept we all know is absolutely critical to focus on with our members, but it can be extremely hard to create emotional loyalty and even harder to measure it! Shannon also shares how brands are thinking about localizing their global loyalty strategies as well as other exciting examples of some exceptional loyalty programs she admires around the world. This episode is sponsored by Epsilon. Show Notes: 1) Shannon Ottinger 2) Epsilon 3) Forrester Research Report: Epsilon named a Leader in The Forrester WaveTM: Loyalty Technology Solutions, Q1 2023
May 9, 2023 · 57 min
#377: Loyalty Program Principles for Success and the Role of Loyalty Program Communications.
This episode is focused on the role of customer communications in driving customer loyalty. Rick Ferguson is a loyalty thought leader, with proven success in transforming traditional corporate communications into innovative, storytelling content across multiple platforms on a global scale. Today, he shares insights from his more than 20 years’ experience, including a reminder of the three fundamental drivers of customer loyalty - trust, commitment and reciprocity. We also discuss how our member communications can drive emotional loyalty - a lever that's often neglected as a way to optimize our programs. Show Notes: 1) Rick Ferguson 2) Phabolousity
May 8, 2023 · 5 min
#376: Leveraging Known Customer Data to Acquire New Members (Short Summary Show)
Loyalty programmes are traditionally designed to retain customers, but rarely is that incredible data used by marketing teams to inform how they run acquisition campaigns to ensure they focus on “profitable” new customers – quality over quantity! This technique has proved invaluable as cookies have disappeared from the toolset that digital marketers have relied on for so many years. In this week’s episode of Let’s Talk “a little” Loyalty, Tom showcases how we can all use the data and profiles of your most valuable loyalty programme members to help acquire new customers with the same profit potential, from the original podcast hosted by Paula Thomas and featuring Joseph Taylor, previously SVP of Strategic Consulting and Operations for Epsilon. Joseph shares real case studies and examples of brands who have already leverages this clever idea – so you can too! Hosted by Tom Peace Show Notes: 1) Joseph Taylor 2) Epsilon Guide to Personalisation 3) ⁠Epsilon 4) #201: Leveraging Known Customer Data to Acquire New Members