July 14, 2025 • 14 mins
How Customer Loyalty Is Shifting in 2025 | CEO’s Desk with Mark Johnson
In this episode of The CEO’s Desk, Loyalty360 CEO Mark Johnson unpacks key insights from the 2025 State of Customer Loyalty Report, including year-over-year trends, strategic shifts, and executive sentiment around loyalty programs.
Why did the number of brands planning loyalty program overhauls drop from 79% in 2024 to 64% in 2025?
What’s driving a 10-point increase in executive support for loyalty?
What does “operationalizing loyalty” really mean—and how are brands doing it?
We explore the realignment of priorities among leading brands, including:
The decline in reward innovation and the rise of personalization
Growing executive buy-in and enterprise-wide support for customer loyalty programs
Challenges with brand partnerships, gamification, and integrating new technologies
The shift away from broad acquisition tactics toward deepening value for existing members
Whether you’re a loyalty marketer, brand strategist, or CX leader, this conversation offers tactical insights and strategic context to help you optimize loyalty performance in a changing landscape.
📝 Don’t miss next week’s episode, where we dive into team structures, loyalty KPIs, and how high-performing brands are measuring success.
👉 Subscribe to stay updated on loyalty trends and best practices
🔗 Learn more at Loyalty360.org
#CustomerLoyalty #LoyaltyPrograms #LoyaltyMarketing #CXStrategy #Loyalty360 #CustomerEngagement #Personalization #Gamification #BrandPartnerships #CEOInsights
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Good afternoon and good morning everyone.
Welcome to another episode ofthe CEO's Desk, Loyalty360's
exclusive podcast, where we diveinto the trends, challenges and
opportunities shaping thefuture of customer loyalty.
I'm here, as always, with MarkJohnson, CEO of Loyalty360, and
today we're taking a closer lookat the 2025 State of Customer
(00:25):
Loyalty Report, specifically,the year-over-year shifts we've
seen since our study in 2024.
This is one of our mostanticipated studies every year
because it really reflects thebrand members and all the brand
marketers' insights from theirprograms, and it offers some
really really valuable insightsinto how brand priorities are
evolving, how internal dynamicsare shifting and where loyalty
(00:49):
is gaining or, in some cases,losing momentum.
So let's jump into the keythemes and what they mean for
loyalty leaders.
Mark, I want to start, I think,with one surprising data point.
In 2024, we saw 79% of brandstold us they were planning to
update, enhance or completelyoverhaul their loyalty programs.
This year, that number droppeda bit to only 64%.
(01:11):
What do you think is behind the15-point decrease in responses
on that one?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, I think the biggest challenge there is that
there are some kind of headwindsthat impact a brand's decisions
with regard to kind of how theylook at customer loyalty.
But one of the big things weare seeing and hearing about is
kind of operationalizingcustomer loyalty.
So you know, if 80% of them hadan interest in redoing,
enhancing or completelyrevamping, you know that's a
(01:37):
pretty big number Right now.
You know all those people thatmay have added incremental
functionality, redone theirprogram last year, are really
focused on operationalizing thecustomer loyalty program and we
heard that at the conference aswell.
Should I bring on more partnersor should I optimize and make
sure the ones I have now areactually the right ones?
So I think that that's a bigpiece of what we're seeing and
(02:00):
making sure they have thatinternal alignment, but making
sure the program is working inthe manner that it was designed
to do.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So do you see this as a sign that brands are finally
stabilizing their loyaltystrategies?
Or is it possible that we'rejust seeing some hesitation on
that one due to the economicpressures or scrutiny of the ROI
for loyalty programs?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, ethan, I think it's a little bit of both.
I think there are somechallenges with regard to the
economic headwinds uncertainty,tariffs, no tariffs, you know,
do you have product, not havingproduct?
But getting back to thatoperationalizing the program,
making sure that everyone withinthe organization understands
the program, understands itsgoals, objectives and how it
(02:42):
should be being viewed right,and one of the things that we
saw at the 2025 Loyalty Expo,too, is that this idea of
leaning into customer loyalty sonot offering discounts, not
offering special offers topeople who aren't part of the
program Truly againoperationalizing.
Making the program as effectiveand efficient as it can be.
(03:02):
Knowing that you may require a3% discount to shop at American
Eagle or you may just want thenew product extension that
Sephora has for your wife.
It's really understanding thedata and that takes a
significant amount of time,investment, but also continued
focus on the organization.
But more brands are saving allthe offers for their customer
(03:25):
loyalty members right, andthey're truly leaning in, so
moving money away fromtraditional acquisition, maybe
paid search, and then they'refocused on.
You know, if we have 45 millionpeople on our program, how do
we get the most out of them?
How can we optimize thatprogram again to get the best
performance we can see.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
So, at the same time that we're seeing some of this
increased scrutiny and someinternal re-strategizing about
how to invest in the programs,we're also seeing that internal
support for loyalty is growing.
Brands reporting high orexceptional support rose from
49% to 59% year over year.
What do you think is drivingthis increase in executive?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
buy-in.
I think there are a couplethings there.
Having an executive buy-in hasbeen a big focus for the members
of Loyalty360.
And most of the people who takethis program either come to the
conference or this survey.
Either come to the conferenceor are members.
So I think there's a little bitof maybe some confirmation bias
in there.
But also there is kind ofgrowing focus on customer
(04:29):
loyalty.
The brands that are doing well,they have the metrics, they have
kind of a culture that allowsthem to make some quick
decisions fail, fail fast.
But there is definitely moreand more people we hear, that
view their program as a leader.
Oftentimes in the past andwe've seen that in a couple of
surveys too there's kind of abrand envy.
(04:51):
Right, a person works at brandX and brand Y is their
competitor.
They feel they have betterresources, better alignment, the
program is funded better, it'smore differentiated, it's not
suffering from that sea ofsameness thing.
But over the last couple ofyears we've started to see that
switch a little bit, where thereis internal pride within the
programs that they're runningand they feel that they're doing
(05:11):
better than you know, thantheir competitors.
So that's really really good tosee.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
That's awesome.
Yeah, I mean, do you think thatthat's a sign that we're
finally seeing customer loyaltybreak out of the marketing silo
and becoming more of anenterprise-wide asset for
companies?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Yeah, absolutely.
And for those who are leadersin customer loyalty quote
unquote those are the brandsthat continue to set that bar
right.
They have a customer-centered,customer loyalty focus.
They have one individual,whether it's a CMO or chief
customer officer, that truly hasall things rolling up that
(05:48):
pertain to the customer, to them.
So they have great line ofsight in it.
Again, they have theorganizational alignment there's
executive buy-in, they'remaking strategic investments
that are driving the engagementwith their customers but, most
importantly, they're listeningto and understanding the
customers and trying to respondin kind.
So there is kind of a focus ofa holistic approach to the
customer.
And I think the brands that dothat, even from pod structures
(06:10):
they have within theorganization that are diverse,
where they have marketing,operation, finance, the focus on
customer loyalty, as we'vetalked about, is pretty
significant and continues togrow.
And the silos, at least for thebrands that are doing well and
have highly performing programs,they seem to be viewing it much
more as an enterprise-wideasset programs.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
They seem to be viewing it much more as an
enterprise-wide asset.
That's awesome.
So, speaking of theimprovements everyone's making,
last year we saw everyonetalking about new reward options
.
That topped the list ofenhancement priorities with 88%,
but this year that dropped tojust 58% of respondents saying
it was their top priority.
Meanwhile, we saw enhancedpersonalization rise to the top.
(06:52):
Why do you think that newreward innovation is no longer
the lead focus for a lot ofthese programs?
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Again, I think it gets back to that
operationalizing the programs,right.
So so many people have lookedat new reward options.
They want enhancedopportunities for engagement,
right.
They want a higher perceivedvalue in the product.
But there's challenges thereand we've heard that at the
conferences over the last coupleof years is integrating new
(07:20):
technologies, reward options canbe a problem, especially in
maybe a highly regulatedindustry like finance.
So a bank may not be able tointegrate a new reward option.
So they've been asking thecurrent vendors they're working
with to help support that.
So if you have more personalizedrewards or more unique
(07:40):
redemption options that allow anearlier engagement, it requires
integration.
So, and I think again, you know, if there are some economic
headwinds, it's going to dropoff a little bit because there's
a cost associated withintegrating these pieces into
the program, not only cost ofthe program itself but that
whole marketing awareness,understanding of the customer.
(08:03):
And in times of kind ofeconomic uncertainty we've been
hearing just value, value, value, value is what customers are
asking for and we've heard thispretty consistently.
Too Many customers are comingto the brands that are running
these programs saying how canyou help me?
Right, so a new reward optionmay not be applicable or apropos
(08:23):
.
Right now it may be.
You know how does a grocer goback to their CPG partners to
offer a little more?
You know income or value inthat program to help them get
through that daily or weeklygrocery purchase.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Yeah, awesome.
So as you're thinking aboutthose things, are you seeing
that brands are shifting theirattention more to like
optimizing the delivery ratherthan just expanding the reward
portfolio?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah, absolutely, because you know there was a
clarion call probably two yearsback for simplification in the
programs.
Right, a number of programs, alot of airlines redid the
program, simplified it and madeit less valuable to the customer
and we all saw the blowbackthat was associated with that.
But yeah, this whole idea ofoperationalizing, making sure
that customers understand theprogram, making sure they
(09:11):
understand the customersunderstand the program, making
sure they understand the valueof the program and how that
customer can help them, as wementioned, in times of this
economic scarcity or uncertainty, loyalty program can be kind of
a great tool to address that.
But if the customers don'tunderstand the value of the
program, they don't understand.
If you've changed it 14 timesover the last three years,
making sure they understand thatvalue in the communication,
(09:33):
consistent communication andmaking sure that there's
alignment again with theproducts and services, I think
that that's a big push becauseagain you don't want to bring on
something new, a newpartnership, a new strategic
offering, if it's not resonatingwith your current customers.
So this whole optimization iskind of the lead point for many
brands now.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Yeah, definitely I know.
I've heard that from a fewpeople during interviews and
I've heard people talking aboutways that they're trying to
simplify the explanation andalso just create content, to
create explainers for how to usereward programs so that people
know what they can do with them,because so many people were
still struggling with that.
That we continue to hear aboutis gamification.
Those numbers remain relativelystable from year to year in our
(10:19):
report, and digital experienceactually slightly declined as an
enhancement desired enhancementfrom 61% to 58%.
Are these initiatives levelingoff because they've just reached
saturation or are brandsrunning into too many
executional hurdles?
What do you think is going onwith that offer?
Yeah, I think there's a coupleof things and I think it's
(10:40):
pretty similar year over year.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So gamification, zero party data, using quiz,
commerce, leaderboard, whateverit may be to kind of initiate
and ingratiate yourself with acustomer is still very important
.
But at the end of the day, it'show do those systems work with
your current systems right?
Great platforms out there Take,for example, cataboom.
(11:03):
They do great work with thecustomers.
They can integrate withwebsites or they can offer kind
of more standalone swipe to winspin.
You know the spinning wheel yousee on the discounts asking you
.
You know what your interestsare, what your family's
interests may be, but reallymany brands still struggle with
regard to how your marketingorchestration engine can really
(11:24):
get that into market to theright customers.
So I think it's prettyconsistent year over year.
Gamefication we continue to seethose who are running programs
seem to be getting a good shortand longer term list.
A good short and longer termlist because it does add a
fairly rich data set, that zeroparty data that can truly impact
the efficacy of the program.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Awesome.
Well, one other shift that'sworth noting.
We saw brand to brandpartnerships fell a bit from 57%
to 51% as a prioritizedenhancement.
Do you think that's becausepartnership strategies are just
becoming more selective, or doyou think that brands are
turning inward and focusing moreon internal experience
(12:07):
development in-house?
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It's a little bit of both.
Development, in-house it's alittle bit both.
But with partnerships we've hadthis trend over the last three
or four years where brands aremoving away from kind of mass or
affiliate-based partnerships.
Where the car rental companieshave the same airline offer
right, they're looking todifferentiate it.
But that becomes complex.
Right, it becomes complex in anumber of ways.
Do you have the technology thatenables you to do that?
(12:31):
Do you have alignment with thatbrand?
And that can be a significantchallenge even getting kind of
marketing buy-in from both toco-promote the program.
So they're significantly morechallenging than they were
before.
I mean, we had a conferencesession two years ago with Bank
of America, accor andCampgrounds of America and just
even the marketing partnershipsthat used to be one or two pages
(12:52):
now are six, seven, eight pages, significant legal sign-off,
knowing your customer financialdue diligence.
That's needed.
It's significantly greater.
And brands are still talkingabout partnerships.
But again, going back to thatreward integration, they're
looking for ways that they canleverage current technologies to
make partnerships work.
Right, because the morecustomized the offering is, it's
(13:16):
more challenging from an ROIinitially to kind of map out
what the return will be.
But also there is a challengewith regard to getting it into
not only the technology queuebut into the marketing queue as
well, and I think that thatprovides a little bit of
reticence from brands to do thatright, so they have to get it
(13:37):
doubly approved, and that canprovide challenge Awesome.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Well, I think that that's all the time we've got
for today, mark, but I wanted tomake sure that everyone comes
back.
Next week we're going tocontinue diving into the state
of customer loyalty report.
We're going to look at morestatistics from our brand
marketers, talk about thingslike team structures and
strategic priorities andeffectiveness and how you
measure those things within acustomer loyalty program.
(14:05):
So be sure you join us nextMonday for the second half of
this awesome episode of theCEO's Desk.
Thanks, mark.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Thanks everyone.
Good afternoon and good morning everyone.
Welcome to another episode ofthe CEO's Desk, Loyalty360's
exclusive podcast, where we diveinto the trends, challenges and
opportunities shaping thefuture of customer loyalty.
I'm here, as always, with MarkJohnson, CEO of Loyalty360, and
today we're taking a closer lookat the 2025 State of Customer
(00:25):
Loyalty Report, specifically,the year-over-year shifts we've
seen since our study in 2024.
This is one of our mostanticipated studies every year
because it really reflects thebrand members and all the brand
marketers' insights from theirprograms, and it offers some
really really valuable insightsinto how brand priorities are
evolving, how internal dynamicsare shifting and where loyalty
(00:49):
is gaining or, in some cases,losing momentum.
So let's jump into the keythemes and what they mean for
loyalty leaders.
Mark, I want to start, I think,with one surprising data point.
In 2024, we saw 79% of brandstold us they were planning to
update, enhance or completelyoverhaul their loyalty programs.
This year, that number droppeda bit to only 64%.
(01:11):
What do you think is behind the15-point decrease in responses
on that one?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, I think the biggest challenge there is that
there are some kind of headwindsthat impact a brand's decisions
with regard to kind of how theylook at customer loyalty.
But one of the big things weare seeing and hearing about is
kind of operationalizingcustomer loyalty.
So you know, if 80% of them hadan interest in redoing,
enhancing or completelyrevamping, you know that's a
(01:37):
pretty big number Right now.
You know all those people thatmay have added incremental
functionality, redone theirprogram last year, are really
focused on operationalizing thecustomer loyalty program and we
heard that at the conference aswell.
Should I bring on more partnersor should I optimize and make
sure the ones I have now areactually the right ones?
So I think that that's a bigpiece of what we're seeing and
(02:00):
making sure they have thatinternal alignment, but making
sure the program is working inthe manner that it was designed
to do.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
So do you see this as a sign that brands are finally
stabilizing their loyaltystrategies?
Or is it possible that we'rejust seeing some hesitation on
that one due to the economicpressures or scrutiny of the ROI
for loyalty programs?
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Yeah, ethan, I think it's a little bit of both.
I think there are somechallenges with regard to the
economic headwinds uncertainty,tariffs, no tariffs, you know,
do you have product, not havingproduct?
But getting back to thatoperationalizing the program,
making sure that everyone withinthe organization understands
the program, understands itsgoals, objectives and how it
(02:42):
should be being viewed right,and one of the things that we
saw at the 2025 Loyalty Expo,too, is that this idea of
leaning into customer loyalty sonot offering discounts, not
offering special offers topeople who aren't part of the
program Truly againoperationalizing.
Making the program as effectiveand efficient as it can be.
(03:02):
Knowing that you may require a3% discount to shop at American
Eagle or you may just want thenew product extension that
Sephora has for your wife.
It's really understanding thedata and that takes a
significant amount of time,investment, but also continued
focus on the organization.
But more brands are saving allthe offers for their customer
(03:25):
loyalty members right, andthey're truly leaning in, so
moving money away fromtraditional acquisition, maybe
paid search, and then they'refocused on.
You know, if we have 45 millionpeople on our program, how do
we get the most out of them?
How can we optimize thatprogram again to get the best
performance we can see.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
So, at the same time that we're seeing some of this
increased scrutiny and someinternal re-strategizing about
how to invest in the programs,we're also seeing that internal
support for loyalty is growing.
Brands reporting high orexceptional support rose from
49% to 59% year over year.
What do you think is drivingthis increase in executive?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
buy-in.
I think there are a couplethings there.
Having an executive buy-in hasbeen a big focus for the members
of Loyalty360.
And most of the people who takethis program either come to the
conference or this survey.
Either come to the conferenceor are members.
So I think there's a little bitof maybe some confirmation bias
in there.
But also there is kind ofgrowing focus on customer
(04:29):
loyalty.
The brands that are doing well,they have the metrics, they have
kind of a culture that allowsthem to make some quick
decisions fail, fail fast.
But there is definitely moreand more people we hear, that
view their program as a leader.
Oftentimes in the past andwe've seen that in a couple of
surveys too there's kind of abrand envy.
(04:51):
Right, a person works at brandX and brand Y is their
competitor.
They feel they have betterresources, better alignment, the
program is funded better, it'smore differentiated, it's not
suffering from that sea ofsameness thing.
But over the last couple ofyears we've started to see that
switch a little bit, where thereis internal pride within the
programs that they're runningand they feel that they're doing
(05:11):
better than you know, thantheir competitors.
So that's really really good tosee.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
That's awesome.
Yeah, I mean, do you think thatthat's a sign that we're
finally seeing customer loyaltybreak out of the marketing silo
and becoming more of anenterprise-wide asset for
companies?
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Yeah, absolutely.
And for those who are leadersin customer loyalty quote
unquote those are the brandsthat continue to set that bar
right.
They have a customer-centered,customer loyalty focus.
They have one individual,whether it's a CMO or chief
customer officer, that truly hasall things rolling up that
(05:48):
pertain to the customer, to them.
So they have great line ofsight in it.
Again, they have theorganizational alignment there's
executive buy-in, they'remaking strategic investments
that are driving the engagementwith their customers but, most
importantly, they're listeningto and understanding the
customers and trying to respondin kind.
So there is kind of a focus ofa holistic approach to the
customer.
And I think the brands that dothat, even from pod structures
(06:10):
they have within theorganization that are diverse,
where they have marketing,operation, finance, the focus on
customer loyalty, as we'vetalked about, is pretty
significant and continues togrow.
And the silos, at least for thebrands that are doing well and
have highly performing programs,they seem to be viewing it much
more as an enterprise-wideasset programs.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
They seem to be viewing it much more as an
enterprise-wide asset.
That's awesome.
So, speaking of theimprovements everyone's making,
last year we saw everyonetalking about new reward options
.
That topped the list ofenhancement priorities with 88%,
but this year that dropped tojust 58% of respondents saying
it was their top priority.
Meanwhile, we saw enhancedpersonalization rise to the top.
(06:52):
Why do you think that newreward innovation is no longer
the lead focus for a lot ofthese programs?
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Again, I think it gets back to that
operationalizing the programs,right.
So so many people have lookedat new reward options.
They want enhancedopportunities for engagement,
right.
They want a higher perceivedvalue in the product.
But there's challenges thereand we've heard that at the
conferences over the last coupleof years is integrating new
(07:20):
technologies, reward options canbe a problem, especially in
maybe a highly regulatedindustry like finance.
So a bank may not be able tointegrate a new reward option.
So they've been asking thecurrent vendors they're working
with to help support that.
So if you have more personalizedrewards or more unique
(07:40):
redemption options that allow anearlier engagement, it requires
integration.
So, and I think again, you know, if there are some economic
headwinds, it's going to dropoff a little bit because there's
a cost associated withintegrating these pieces into
the program, not only cost ofthe program itself but that
whole marketing awareness,understanding of the customer.
(08:03):
And in times of kind ofeconomic uncertainty we've been
hearing just value, value, value, value is what customers are
asking for and we've heard thispretty consistently.
Too Many customers are comingto the brands that are running
these programs saying how canyou help me?
Right, so a new reward optionmay not be applicable or apropos
(08:23):
.
Right now it may be.
You know how does a grocer goback to their CPG partners to
offer a little more?
You know income or value inthat program to help them get
through that daily or weeklygrocery purchase.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Yeah, awesome.
So as you're thinking aboutthose things, are you seeing
that brands are shifting theirattention more to like
optimizing the delivery ratherthan just expanding the reward
portfolio?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah, absolutely, because you know there was a
clarion call probably two yearsback for simplification in the
programs.
Right, a number of programs, alot of airlines redid the
program, simplified it and madeit less valuable to the customer
and we all saw the blowbackthat was associated with that.
But yeah, this whole idea ofoperationalizing, making sure
that customers understand theprogram, making sure they
(09:11):
understand the customersunderstand the program, making
sure they understand the valueof the program and how that
customer can help them, as wementioned, in times of this
economic scarcity or uncertainty, loyalty program can be kind of
a great tool to address that.
But if the customers don'tunderstand the value of the
program, they don't understand.
If you've changed it 14 timesover the last three years,
making sure they understand thatvalue in the communication,
(09:33):
consistent communication andmaking sure that there's
alignment again with theproducts and services, I think
that that's a big push becauseagain you don't want to bring on
something new, a newpartnership, a new strategic
offering, if it's not resonatingwith your current customers.
So this whole optimization iskind of the lead point for many
brands now.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Yeah, definitely I know.
I've heard that from a fewpeople during interviews and
I've heard people talking aboutways that they're trying to
simplify the explanation andalso just create content, to
create explainers for how to usereward programs so that people
know what they can do with them,because so many people were
still struggling with that.
That we continue to hear aboutis gamification.
Those numbers remain relativelystable from year to year in our
(10:19):
report, and digital experienceactually slightly declined as an
enhancement desired enhancementfrom 61% to 58%.
Are these initiatives levelingoff because they've just reached
saturation or are brandsrunning into too many
executional hurdles?
What do you think is going onwith that offer?
Yeah, I think there's a coupleof things and I think it's
(10:40):
pretty similar year over year.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
So gamification, zero party data, using quiz,
commerce, leaderboard, whateverit may be to kind of initiate
and ingratiate yourself with acustomer is still very important
.
But at the end of the day, it'show do those systems work with
your current systems right?
Great platforms out there Take,for example, cataboom.
(11:03):
They do great work with thecustomers.
They can integrate withwebsites or they can offer kind
of more standalone swipe to winspin.
You know the spinning wheel yousee on the discounts asking you
.
You know what your interestsare, what your family's
interests may be, but reallymany brands still struggle with
regard to how your marketingorchestration engine can really
(11:24):
get that into market to theright customers.
So I think it's prettyconsistent year over year.
Gamefication we continue to seethose who are running programs
seem to be getting a good shortand longer term list.
A good short and longer termlist because it does add a
fairly rich data set, that zeroparty data that can truly impact
the efficacy of the program.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Awesome.
Well, one other shift that'sworth noting.
We saw brand to brandpartnerships fell a bit from 57%
to 51% as a prioritizedenhancement.
Do you think that's becausepartnership strategies are just
becoming more selective, or doyou think that brands are
turning inward and focusing moreon internal experience
(12:07):
development in-house?
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It's a little bit of both.
Development, in-house it's alittle bit both.
But with partnerships we've hadthis trend over the last three
or four years where brands aremoving away from kind of mass or
affiliate-based partnerships.
Where the car rental companieshave the same airline offer
right, they're looking todifferentiate it.
But that becomes complex.
Right, it becomes complex in anumber of ways.
Do you have the technology thatenables you to do that?
(12:31):
Do you have alignment with thatbrand?
And that can be a significantchallenge even getting kind of
marketing buy-in from both toco-promote the program.
So they're significantly morechallenging than they were
before.
I mean, we had a conferencesession two years ago with Bank
of America, accor andCampgrounds of America and just
even the marketing partnershipsthat used to be one or two pages
(12:52):
now are six, seven, eight pages, significant legal sign-off,
knowing your customer financialdue diligence.
That's needed.
It's significantly greater.
And brands are still talkingabout partnerships.
But again, going back to thatreward integration, they're
looking for ways that they canleverage current technologies to
make partnerships work.
Right, because the morecustomized the offering is, it's
(13:16):
more challenging from an ROIinitially to kind of map out
what the return will be.
But also there is a challengewith regard to getting it into
not only the technology queuebut into the marketing queue as
well, and I think that thatprovides a little bit of
reticence from brands to do thatright, so they have to get it
(13:37):
doubly approved, and that canprovide challenge Awesome.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Well, I think that that's all the time we've got
for today, mark, but I wanted tomake sure that everyone comes
back.
Next week we're going tocontinue diving into the state
of customer loyalty report.
We're going to look at morestatistics from our brand
marketers, talk about thingslike team structures and
strategic priorities andeffectiveness and how you
measure those things within acustomer loyalty program.
(14:05):
So be sure you join us nextMonday for the second half of
this awesome episode of theCEO's Desk.
Thanks, mark.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Thanks everyone.
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