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Loyalty NewswireDecember 14, 2023

This Week’s News

The weekly Loyalty Newswire from The Wise Marketer delivers a curated list of the latest news and announcements from around the globe on all topics related to customer loyalty. We share news on a spectrum of topics, all with the intention of giving you an “info boost” to start your week.

The Loyalty Newswire makes it simple for busy professionals (that means YOU) to quickly digest important industry news and to *maybe even* enable you to star in your next big meeting.

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Air India announces plans to expand Flying Returns FFP

Air India announced plans to expand its ‘Flying Returns’ frequent-flyer program from the current four million to 20 million members within the next four years, a senior airline executive told Business Standard. Flying Returns currently has a partnership with over 35 companies, including 25 airlines, which are part of the Star Alliance group. Air India plans to expand its number of partners to over 50 by the end of March.

Founded by the legendary JRD Tata, Air India pioneered India’s aviation sector. After 69 years as a government-owned enterprise, Air India and Air India Express were welcomed back into the Tata group in January 2022. As part of its renewal plan, Air India is navigating a five-year transformation roadmap and recently secured the world’s second-largest aircraft order with 470 planes.

Fontainebleau celebrates opening of new Las Vegas location with Bleau Points rewards program

The Fontainebleau hotel on Miami Beach is truly an iconic resort property. Made famous in the opening scene of Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger, the hotel was refreshed over recent times and continues to stand as a “must visit” location in South Florida. Now, the Fontainebleau is opening in Las Vegas. The $3.7 billion project is said to be 18 years in the making and consists of a 67-story property with 3,644 rooms, 36 bars and restaurants (21 to open at launch) and eight retail spaces.

“Bleau points” the name of the new program, allows guests to earn value through casino gameplay, hotel points, restaurants, bars, lounges, day and nightlife venues, the Lapis Spa and Wellness, fitness center and in Fontainebleau-owned retail shops on site, according to the release. Program members can also earn “play points” via slot machines and redeem those points as slot play credits at eligible machines. Pre-enrolling in Fontainebleau Rewards gives new members a 30 percent discount for certain rooms booked between Friday and March 31.

Augeo buys loyalty marketing unit Entertainment from Cardlytics

Kigo, an Augeo subsidiary, announced it is acquiring Entertainment® to advance Open Loyalty™ innovation & elevate digital offer experiences As Augeo marks its 18th consecutive year of growth, nearing half a billion in annual revenue, the acquisition advances Kigo’s mission to transform loyalty engagement through dynamic digital experiences. Entertainment brings strong merchant relationships across major offer categories, experienced sales, and technology teams, as well as tens of thousands of value-rich, hyper-local and national offers. The combination means Kigo is positioned to offer more personalized, localized, relevant rewards delivered seamlessly through its proprietary digital asset delivery system and industry-leading universal loyalty wallet technology.

C-Suite Level Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™ Education to be Delivered in Europe in 2024

The Loyalty Academy™ (LA), the education platform of the Wise Marketer Group (WMG), has partnered with The European Loyalty Association (ELA) to offer customized certified training to ELA members delivered by the Loyalty Academy and powered by The Wise Marketer (TWM). “This is a huge milestone for the ELA and we are thrilled to be working with the most recognized loyalty training entity in the world as our exclusive education partner, the Loyalty Academy, who offers the CLMP™ [Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional™] designation” remarked ELA’s Chief Executive Officer, Hadie Perkas.

More details of the “Hub” events offered by the European Loyalty Association and their annual Big Handshake event are forthcoming and details of the educational offerings will be detailed at that time. “We recognize that the executive suite is time-starved yet places strong value in remaining current,” commented Aaron Dauphinee, CMO of the WMG, “The customized modules we deliver at each of ELA’s events we’ll be the same quality as our course curriculum but designed for a c-suite level of comprehension and pace.”

American Express Strengthens Membership Rewards ® Program in India with Reward Xcelerator

American Express announced that it has added a new feature to its Membership Rewards Program in India, the ‘Reward Xcelerator’, exclusively created for Platinum Charge Cardmembers. In this press release, the company said the new initiative offers Platinum Charge cardmembers the opportunity to earn up to 20X rewards across a range of premium brands, including Darveys, Tata CLiQ Luxury, and Kapoor Watch Company. Amex also offers other benefits to card members in India, including health insurance, personal accident insurance, life insurance, critical illness insurance, and travel insurance. Amex also offers a Reward Multiplier, which allows card members to earn up to 5X Membership Rewards points.

Fuel Rewards® Program Introduces Exclusive Offer for Grubhub and Grubhub+ Members

 PDI, the convenience retail technology company powering the Fuel Rewards® program, and Grubhub, a leading online and mobile food ordering and delivery platform, announced today a new offer for Grubhub customers. Anyone who uses Grubhub can link their Fuel Rewards® account to their Grubhub account and save 5 cents per gallon on their next fill-up at participating Shell stations for every $50 spent on Grubhub. Additionally, members of Grubhub+, Grubhub’s loyalty subscription program that gives members access to unlimited $0 delivery fees on eligible restaurant and convenience orders over $12, are able to earn complimentary Gold status in the Fuel Rewards® program for 5 cents per gallon in everyday savings. Grubhub+ members can stack both offers, with a total Fuel Rewards® savings of 10 cents per gallon.

“For more than 10 years, we’ve welcomed new Fuel Rewards® members and added relevant value for existing members with new ways to save on both gas and with other leading brands,” said Brandon Logsdon, President of Consumer Engagement at PDI. “It’s fantastic to extend the opportunity to Grubhub customers as they connect their favorite loyalty accounts to stack and save.”

Runa partners with ShopBack

Runa, the global digital value infrastructure for instant B2C payouts, announced a partnership with ShopBack, the largest cashback and rewards platform in Asia-Pacific. According to this market study published by Growth Market Reports, the global cashback market is set to reach $5.7 billion by 2031, and its surge in popularity is a testament to the increasing control consumers seek over their finances. In the newly announced partnership, Shopback will leverage Runa’s global merchant network to offer customers cashback on purchases at over 4,000 online, in-store, and gift card brands, including household names like Amazon and Ebay. Full press release can be found here.

RaceTrac completes acquisition of Gulf Oil

As reported here, RaceTrac Inc.’s purchase of Gulf Oil LLC is now official. Headquartered in Atlanta, family-owned RaceTrac is RaceTrac is No. 13 on the 2023 Convenience Store News Top 100 list and the No. 22 on the list of largest privately held companies in the United States. RaceTrac has nearly 800 retail locations across 12 states.

As part of the transaction, RaceTrac acquires Gulf’s iconic brand in the United States and Puerto Rico, all Gulf-branded distributor and license agreements comprising approximately 1,100 branded sites, as well as exclusive rights to market fuel at eleven Massachusetts Turnpike service plaza locations.

Barilla shopper marketing team partners with 84.51 to

When Barilla’s shopper marketing team noticed rising sales of their Protein+ pasta line, they wanted to double down on the momentum, but were lacking deeper insights into the driving factors. To learn more about the characteristics of Protein+ pasta purchasers, identify Protein+ prospects buying similar products and leverage these insights to inform an engagement plan with current and prospective customers, Barilla worked with 84.51°’s Collaborative Cloud, a platform helping the CPG industry unleash the potential of their data science teams. 

Barilla deployed its data science resources against 84.51°’s shopper behavior data to uncover actionable insights quickly and build science-based audiences. After building a model to identify households with a high likelihood of buying Protein+ pasta among other insights, they deployed personalized offers to current and prospective customers using Kroger Precision Marketing. As a result, Barilla produced a 1.8X increase in household penetration uplift and a 1.7X lift in incremental return on ad spend.

7Bit Casino introduces Crypto Rewards

Founded in 2014, 7bitcasino is an online crypto casino with players from 250 countries worldwide. The company website says it stands for responsible gaming and will never let its players hurt their bankrolls. Their mission is all about “fun” and “to make you forget about all troubles and worries” by spending time at the casino. New to us, maybe not to you, is the concept of Bitcoin gaming, a novel approach used by online casinos to create flexible, secure, and speedy gaming experiences. 7bit Casino has announced the introduction of crypto gaming options for its VIP Loyalty program. Here is a third-party review of that program. 7bitcasino is owned and operated by dama n.v., a company registered and established under the laws of curacao.

Career Opportunities and Jobs in Loyalty Marketing

We’ve gathered some interesting career opportunities across the Loyalty Marketing industry. We share here a partial list of all that is on our desk and there are excellent brands represented. To learn more and express your interest, please click through the individual links below.

We also have a curated concise list of executive level resources and other professionals who are available to support your team. If you are interested in connecting with anyone on the list, please email Bill Hanifin. All inquiries are managed in a confidential manner.

Stay. Loyal. Always.