In this weekās episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Zsuzsa Kecsmar, Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder of Antavo, one of the most powerful loyalty management platforms. Together, we unpacked how loyalty programs can act as the glue between content, data and personalization, and how theyāre helping brands build emotional connections with their customers.
Here are some key takeaways from our conversation:
1ļøā£ The Role of Loyalty Programs in the Content Layer: Itās clear that loyalty programs generate valuable transactional and preference data to the data layer, but they also contribute to the content layer by providing unique, loyalty-specific content ā from tier communications to personalized reward messages. Zsuzsa shares how both the data and the content become the foundation for personalized experiences across channels.
2ļøā£ Personalized Rewards = More Loyalty: Antavoās research shows that loyalty members who redeem personalized rewards spend 4x more annually than those who donāt. And customization matters: 8 out of 10 consumers prefer brands that allow them to tailor their rewards to their preferences.
3ļøā£ Gamification as a Data Goldmine: Gamified surveys and quizzes are a powerful way to collect zero-party data while keeping customers engaged. Zsuzsa highlights how these tools help brands quickly overcome the ācold start problemā in loyalty programs, making it easier to personalize communication early in the customer journey.
4ļøā£ Transactional vs. Emotional Loyalty: While transactional loyalty (points and discounts) attracts customers, itās emotional loyalty that keeps them coming back. Zsuzsa shares examples from brands like Adidas, which rewards fitness efforts, and Rip Curl, which connects rewards directly to surfing activities ā building loyalty tied to lifestyle and identity.
š” The Generative AI Connection: We also discussed how Generative AI is transforming loyalty programs by:
- Localizing content faster and more efficiently.
- Streamlining customer service to solve complex loyalty queries in seconds.
- Creating unique, scalable loyalty program content that feels personal and timely.
š§ Donāt miss this insightful episode where loyalty meets personalization! š„ You can also watch this on YouTube
š„ Bonus: Download the just-released 2025 Antavo Global Loyalty Report for the latest loyalty trends and strategies.
As always the episode is based on Rasmus Houlind's book āHello $FirstName - Profiting from Personalizationā and in turn the Content Crisis Manifesto.
The Content Crisis Manifesto can be downloaded here.
The full book is available in print and kindle and can be bought here (or your local amazon in case it doesn't work...)
An written abstract of the book can be downloaded here.
The full audiobook can be downloaded here (courtesy of Agillic).
All models and illustrations from the book can be downloaded here.
Book me for a presentation, meeting or talk here!
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; āHe paid me to do it.ā David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a āliveā investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was Davidās claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, ābrokeā her.ā The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run āTrying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.ā Thatās Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the howā¦ and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentinaās leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one womanās triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as āThe Corner on Blood.ā The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didnāt do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one manās last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someoneās gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the directorās cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. āThe Hulkā was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But thatās all heād say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. āThe guilty have gone free,ā he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.