What’s the best way to build loyalty with a card?
05th March
Costa Coffee has enjoyed a great run lately, with sales up by 9.5% in the last 3 months. It is also set to launch the first points-based loyalty scheme in the coffee industry. However, as you can see from the image above, while the card mechanic might be innovative, the graphic design is relatively functional. Which begs the question – why are so many loyalty cards a little workaday? As essentially an advertisement in your wallet, they surely should aim to express the brand’s soul and visual equities in the imaginative ways more typically seen in online or packaging manifestations.
Costa certainly isn’t the only brand that plays things safe rather than using the card as a creative canvas…
Loyalty is arguably about more than redemption mechanics – it’s also about creating emotional engagement with the brand. For example, Puccino’s offering seems more ownable and speaks for the brand in a much more distinctive manner:
2 Comments
Shanty Mathew
March 16, 2010 12:10 pm
As a consumer, I find it a bit too condescending for a brand to describe me as ‘loyal’.
A ‘loyal customer’ is a concept created by marketers and advertisers. It is a term meant for internal audiences. The fact that it is seen externally so often, points to the lack of attention on below-the-line work on the part of copywriters, and other people who should know better.
If one truly wants a customer to feel appreciated – and to visit again – make it sound appreciative, like a ‘Thank you’ program. How hard is that?
Shanty Mathew
inkstainedmind.blogspot.com
Hank
June 30, 2011 11:02 am
This makes everything so cmopeeltly painless.
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