I’m A Better Customer Than You!
BY ALEX PIERRATOS – DATA SCIENTIST
Everybody likes a little bit of competition. In fact, I’m getting more serious about golf partially because my younger brother picked it up. In the spirit of sibling rivalry—and as the older brother—I refuse to let him be better than me. Although I have a long way to go to get to his handicap, it’s a source of motivation to keep playing.
Loyalty programs can get people hooked for the same reason. As an infrequent flyer on an airline, you can’t help but feel a little bit envious of passengers sitting in Business Class, sipping on their complimentary alcohol, eating a warm meal in their more luxurious area, and enjoying an excessive amount of leg room. And once you get a taste, you never want to go back to economy.
Sometimes it’s not enough that we’re treated well by a company. Often, customers want to be treated better than everyone else, and they’re willing to pay just to receive a higher tier status to gain preferential treatment. Flyers with loyalty status know how awesome it is to skip lines at check-in desks and security, or have their bags arrive first from the carousel. Ultimately, because of your loyalty, airlines are willing to put you in front of their other customers. It’s your prize for winning the “Who Can Fly the Most Miles” competition. Congrats!
But sometimes competition can be incorporated into loyalty programs without giving preferential treatment to higher revenue customers. One of my favorite reward programs is SCENE, a joint rewards program in my native Canada by Cineplex Odeon (movie theater operator) and Scotiabank. The loyalty program has some typical benefits such as 10% off concessions and the ability to earn points to redeem free movies. Like many other retailers, they also offer co-branded debit and credit cards for extra cash rewards.
Sounds like a typical loyalty program, right? Where’s the competition?
One of the coolest parts of the SCENE program is what happens at the beginning of a movie. Before your movie is about to start, all SCENE members in the audience play a round of trivia. SCENE members can sign into the movie theater’s WiFi and open TimePlay, Cineplex’s trivia app. This round of trivia is competitive—everyone on the network competes against each other to get the highest score. Winners and top performers get free tickets, concessions, or deals with other brands, depending on the number of people in the theater. And, just for being a participant, you earn points to redeem for a free movie.
What makes this app successful? Non-SCENE members have a reason to sign up. They don’t want to be left out of a game of trivia the next time they come back to the theatre. If the rewards program alone didn’t attract them, being immersed in a pre-movie game of trivia may. SCENE members also become more engaged with the program. By downloading the app, they become more aware of offers Cineplex and Scotiabank release, and earn more points towards their goal of redeeming a movie. Win-win for both Cineplex and their customers.
Above all, my favorite part about the SCENE program is that it allows me to restore order in the brotherly pecking order. You see, my little brother may be temporarily better than me at golf, but I will always be better than him at trivia.
I’m A Better Customer Than You!
BY ALEX PIERRATOS – DATA SCIENTIST
Everybody likes a little bit of competition. In fact, I’m getting more serious about golf partially because my younger brother picked it up. In the spirit of sibling rivalry—and as the older brother—I refuse to let him be better than me. Although I have a long way to go to get to his handicap, it’s a source of motivation to keep playing.
Loyalty programs can get people hooked for the same reason. As an infrequent flyer on an airline, you can’t help but feel a little bit envious of passengers sitting in Business Class, sipping on their complimentary alcohol, eating a warm meal in their more luxurious area, and enjoying an excessive amount of leg room. And once you get a taste, you never want to go back to economy.
Sometimes it’s not enough that we’re treated well by a company. Often, customers want to be treated better than everyone else, and they’re willing to pay just to receive a higher tier status to gain preferential treatment. Flyers with loyalty status know how awesome it is to skip lines at check-in desks and security, or have their bags arrive first from the carousel. Ultimately, because of your loyalty, airlines are willing to put you in front of their other customers. It’s your prize for winning the “Who Can Fly the Most Miles” competition. Congrats!
But sometimes competition can be incorporated into loyalty programs without giving preferential treatment to higher revenue customers. One of my favorite reward programs is SCENE, a joint rewards program in my native Canada by Cineplex Odeon (movie theater operator) and Scotiabank. The loyalty program has some typical benefits such as 10% off concessions and the ability to earn points to redeem free movies. Like many other retailers, they also offer co-branded debit and credit cards for extra cash rewards.
Sounds like a typical loyalty program, right? Where’s the competition?
One of the coolest parts of the SCENE program is what happens at the beginning of a movie. Before your movie is about to start, all SCENE members in the audience play a round of trivia. SCENE members can sign into the movie theater’s WiFi and open TimePlay, Cineplex’s trivia app. This round of trivia is competitive—everyone on the network competes against each other to get the highest score. Winners and top performers get free tickets, concessions, or deals with other brands, depending on the number of people in the theater. And, just for being a participant, you earn points to redeem for a free movie.
What makes this app successful? Non-SCENE members have a reason to sign up. They don’t want to be left out of a game of trivia the next time they come back to the theatre. If the rewards program alone didn’t attract them, being immersed in a pre-movie game of trivia may. SCENE members also become more engaged with the program. By downloading the app, they become more aware of offers Cineplex and Scotiabank release, and earn more points towards their goal of redeeming a movie. Win-win for both Cineplex and their customers.
Above all, my favorite part about the SCENE program is that it allows me to restore order in the brotherly pecking order. You see, my little brother may be temporarily better than me at golf, but I will always be better than him at trivia.
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