Executive Interview with Roger Williams Head of Loyalty, COE Marigold
Roger Williams is Head of Loyalty at Marigold’s Center of Excellence. Roger’s industry experience is rooted in the launch of Air Jamaica’s 7th Heaven frequent flyer program, and he has progressed over the years to become a near one-stop shop for travel loyalty wisdom.
This interview is one to listen to at least once, as Roger shares about the current mission and activities underway at Marigold, then goes on to address how Marigold has cracked the code on creating habits and driving customer engagement as well as proving the ROI of loyalty investments to the C-Suite. He talks about how “loyalty is backwards” with suggestions to fix this and also puts the role of CDPs in perspective vis a vis Loyalty Management Systems.
The first time I met Roger, he was the one holding the microphone as he interviewed me for his Load Factor TV show. Today the tables are turned. You’ll hear about the Golden Moments in Loyalty, the meaning of “2160” and much more.
Marigold is a company that has grown both organically and through acquisition. The Center of Excellence is about one year old, and I learned there is not just one, but three, focused on Loyalty, Messaging, and Personalization (including Zero Party Data strategy). The teams have global reach and are populated by people with diverse profiles including strategists and technical solution architects – all handpicked by Marigold leadership.
Talking with Roger is like sitting down to dinner with your favorite friends and relatives to enjoy a table full of comfort food. You know you are in the right place and will leave highly satisfied. Just as he describes Marigold, the plant, as a “helper plant” that nurtures others in the garden to grow, this interview will help you to prepare for a successful 2025.
If you want to meet up with Roger in person, be sure to attend Loyalty Summit CXM in Los Angeles on Feb 5-6. He will be there as will The Wise Marketer.
A guide for the time-starved
1:02 – Who is Marigold?
5:21 – The Loyalty Center of Excellence.
7:59 – Top themes from 2024.
12:55 – “2160” – Cracking the Code of Engagement.
14:40 – Big L and Small L loyalty.
15:02 – What CMO’s Need to Know about Loyalty in 2025.
17:38 – Cracking the Code of Loyalty ROI.
20:20 – Wrapping up the conversation.
21:04 – Where to find Roger Williams in Q1 2025.
Editor’s Note
Roger Williams, Head of Loyalty Center of Excellence at Marigold
Roger currently oversees Marigold’s Loyalty Center of Excellence, which optimizes the company’s loyalty platform and services as one cohesive solution for the company’s enterprise clients.
One of the first professionals to earn a Certified Loyalty Marketing (CLMP™) designation, Roger has worked with major global brands and over 200 airlines to develop pioneering strategies in loyalty.
Roger began his career as an airline frequent flyer program manager, among other marketing, alliance, and revenue optimization roles. Roger worked for airline industry tech giant Sabre as a Strategist and co-founded various startups where he invented an innovative hyperlink loyalty engagement concept using Blockchain.