Brownie points: granted by the universe as a reward for good deeds, cannot be exchanged for tangible goods. Loyalty points: awarded by brands to encourage repeat buying, can be exchanged for tangible goods. Reward schemes today are about much more than purchase loyalty, they’re about encouraging active customer engagement that reaffirms a brand’s message and boosts its credentials.
New services like kiip (an in-app reward platform) are refreshing the traditional loyalty system by partnering with brands to reward app users for achieving their goals. For instance, after successfully completing ten miles in RunKeeper, a user could earn points to buy sportswear. They call it “moments targeting”.
Brands have long been offering rewards in exchange for social sharing, Marc Jacobs’ Tweet Shop and Birds Eye’s Picture House restaurant are recent examples, where the customer is required to visit the store and actively engage with the brand before they can share and claim their reward.
Whether it’s social sharing, running or even recycling, brands are looking to reward a deeper level of physical interaction with their customers. This combination of on and offline engagement reaffirms and strengthens the message to new and existing customers.
Read on for examples…
Check-ins are important for a brand. It’s more than a Like, it bridges the gap between on and offline, it’s the ultimate affirmation. Giverr lets people donate to their favourite charities by checking into places all over the world using existing social networks.
After a customer checks in, a donation is automatically sent to both the brand’s favoured charity and that of the customer. More check-ins means more shares for a brand and more donations for charity. Each user has a Giverr profile with a leader board to show how much their friends have raised.
Many leading brands will already give sizable donations to good causes, this platform allows them to do so in a much more public way, while also connecting with their customers and encouraging brand advocacy.
Agency: Breed and Craft
The brief was to keep Europe warm with one Uniqlo product. The HeatTech technology embedded in Uniqlo’s clothing converts energy into heat, so Uniqlo developed with a campaign that did the same. Using pressure pads they created an installation that captured the energy of real people and rewarded them with free HeatTech garments, encouraging active involvement that reinforced the value of the product.
Agency: BD Network, London
McDonald’s strengthens its environmental credentials in Sweden by exchanging empty cans for burgers. In Sweden an empty drinks can is worth one Kroner when you recycle it. So to help customers and help the environment, McDonald’s accepted cans as currency. All they had to do was take a bag, fill it with empty cans and exchange it for burgers.
Agency: DDB Stockholm
Marc Jacobs recently opened a pop-up ‘Tweet Shop’ in Covent Garden, where customers could exchange tweets for free treats to promote its latest Daisy fragrance. Different levels of engagement came with different rewards. Users were asked to tweet @MarcJacobsIntl, along with the hashtag #MJdaisychain in order to receive a perfume sample, while those who included a video or image were given a key ring or in store manicure.
Agency: Native LDN
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