Marketing in Real Life

Interesting post over at Colloquoy commenting on an Ad Age article touting Harrah's loyalty program as the gold standard. While the science behind it and the organizational commitment behind it are hard to question, there are many now competing on its level. Neiman Marcus, Starbucks, Borders and more have made huge strides in the loyalty program space by delivering real value to members and ensuring that the program is a positive brand experience, not just an initiative that lives in its own silo. What do you think? Read the article here .

Shameless promotion today of this Friday's webinar on loyalty programs... You're invited to the next session of CMB's free webinar series on May 22 at Noon ET. Hilton's Vice President of Customer LoyaltyBusiness Optimization and Guest Intelligence, Joe Rhodes, will join Judy Melanson to discuss "The power of loyalty programs" and what companies are doing with their programs in light of the current economic situation. The state of loyalty programs: Cut-backs and increased investments in today's business landscape Does loyalty still matter? Program changes: Best practices and issues to consider We hope you can make it! Time and Date: May 22, 2009, Noon ET Registration: Register via webex here.

We've been doing a lot of work helping companies like Neiman Marcus and Hilton HHonors get the most out of their loyalty programs and spent a good part of last week debating the merits of meritocracies (you give more, you get more) vs. democracies (everyone gets the same benefits) and the correct use of hard (physical rewards/cost savings) and soft (special treatment) benefits. So I was intrigued by my waiter at TGI Friday's this weekend when she introduced me to their new "Stripes" program by explaining both the hard - a free appetizer for every $30 spent - and soft -an introductory of a one-time "cut the line" pass. Needless to say, I am now a member and looking forward to jumping the line to get my free appetizer. I just hope I have the chance to earn more VIP benefits with my wings and fingers! Especially in this economy, its really important to build programs that actually drive incremental dollars. I have to assume Friday's spent the time and money...