There are so many confused customers and loyalty brand managers out there, not really understanding what a coalition loyalty programme is, so we thought it would be worthwhile trying to best explain it.
The truth is, we could repeat what several chapters of exceptionally well written journals say to outline all the different types of loyalty programme structures. For today, we decided to not compare coalition programmes to others, but to simply state what it is and how it works.
Globally, they have been in existence for quite a while, with global brands such as AirMiles, operating out of Canada (reaching 66% Canadian households) and Nectar (reaching approximately 50% of UK households) and Avios in the UK. Truth’s definition is as simple as this: It is a loyalty programme which collects the loyalty currency from multiple (often not competing) partners (brands) across a consumer’s wallet spend. The coalition brand is the programme itself (i.e. independent brand to the merchant/partners).
An interesting coalition programme in South Africa is the MySchool | MyVillage | MyPlanet programme.This programme may be seen by many as Woolworths’ loyalty programme or 1 of Woolworths’ armoury of loyalty tools.
This is however not 100% strictly true. Whilst it is a subsidiary of Woolworths, it operates as a standalone subsidiary which has other brands such as Engen Foodstop, Kalahari.com, Waltons, Altech Netstar to name a few, as well as Woolies as partners.
Obviously, in MySchool’s case, the cardholder doesn’t take home the points, but allocates them to their beneficiary – e.g. kids' school, or a charity or environmental cause.
The MySchool | MyVillage | MyPlanet coalition programme, commended for their contribution to loyalty, won 3 awards at the 2014 Loyalty Awards in London. The awards included:
* Best Loyalty Programme of the Year Middle East and Africa
* Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative linked to Loyalty
* Best Loyalty Programme Marketing Campaign of the year 2014
One of the main benefits for the consumer joining a coalition programme, is that it allows the collection of points & rewards faster; collect across many different brands into one pool of points for your loyalty reward.
There's been a buzz recently in the South African loyalty market place about the latest coalition programme: Avios, Travel Rewards Programme.
Avios entered the South African market place in 2013 and although being a global brand, it has been tailored to meet the needs and desires of the South African consumer by offering rewards opporunities both locally and internationally.
Earlier this year, Avios was named the Best Loyalty Programme of the year in the travel industry, across Europe, Middle East & Asia, by the 2014 Loyalty Awards in London.
You can also hear more about the Avios Travel Rewards Programme from the South African General Manager, Andries Zietman, also interviewed on the Expresso Show by clicking here.
