Caesars, American Express and Kimpton Hotels Among Winners of the 3rd Annual COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards

Indigo Books, Qantas and Samsung India Among International Recipients in the Only Awards Determined by Members of the Loyalty Industry, Live Streamed Sept. 12

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA, Sept. 12, 2012 /CNW/ - Some of the most recognized names in the global loyalty industry, including Caesars Entertainment, Canada's SCENE, and SUBWAY New Zealand, are winners of the 3^rd Annual COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards - an event presented by LoyaltyOne and Visa, and the only loyalty awards decided by members of the loyalty industry.

COLLOQUY, LoyaltyOne's global research group, launched the awards in 2010 to salute the most innovative loyalty initiatives in the industry. Members of the loyalty industry - through COLLOQUY's more than 45,000 subscribers - determined the winning initiatives across 10 industry categories, representing organizations from six countries including the United States.

An 11th category recognizes the Master of Enterprise Loyalty - the company that has embraced a corporate-wide, holistic approach to using data to transform the consumer experience and improve both financial and customer performance.

The winners were recognized at an awards ceremony, which was live streamed on Sept. 12, during the 10th Annual COLLOQUY Loyalty Summit in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. A printed summary of all the 2012 award winners is available for download at http://www.colloquy.com/2012-Award-Winners. To view the event, visit http://www.colloquy.com/loyaltyawards.

The 2012 COLLOQUY Loyalty Award winners are:

Master of Enterprise Loyalty:
Caesars Entertainment, for its Total Rewards - Total Rewards relies on a sophisticated combination of data analysis, employee engagement and rewards systems to consistently engage and win loyalty among gamers and non-gamers. Through Total Rewards, Caesars realized a 20 percent increase in new members, adding to an existing member base of 40 million, and its purchase volumes in retail and dining locations doubled.

Loyalty Innovation in Financial Services Award (North America):
American Express, for its American Express Digital Loyalty Innovation - American Express won for a suite of digital innovations, including its first mobile redemption service, a loyalty experience for the iPad, barcode scanning and price comparisons. From November 2011 to March 2012, mobile/tablet redeemers increased by 117 percent and point redemption, as a share of overall redemption, rose 300 percent.

Loyalty Innovation in Financial Services Award (International):
BDO, Philippines, for its Ten Things You Must Experience campaign - The BDO earned a nod for its Bucket List, a catalog compiling 10 exceptional and exclusive deals, the latest gadgets, prime properties and travel destinations for its luxury clients. The campaign delivered a 93 percent increase in redeemed reward value, and a 93 percent increase in the number of members who redeemed.

Innovation in Loyalty Marketing Award (North America):
SCENE, Canada, for its SCENEtourage loyalty engagement initiative - SCENEtourage, a group of four characters who each showcase a benefit of the SCENE program and encouraged participation, generated unprecedented member response - six times greater than any previous referral program. Membership acquisition rose 32 percent post-launch, and 35 percent after, its fastest growth in three years.

Innovation in Loyalty Marketing Award (International):
Hero MotoCorp Ltd., India, for its HeroGoodLife Utsav campaign - Hero MotoCorp created Hero GoodLife Utsav to carry its already strong customer relationships beyond the product, and did so with celebratory kick-off events. During the one-month campaign, sales advanced 28 percent over the previous year. Program membership renewal rose by 30 percent.

Loyalty Innovation in Retail Award (North America):
Indigo Books & Music, Canada, for the launch of its plumrewards loyalty program - Indigo's plumrewards was built on three initiatives: send meaningful messages at times that resonate, inspire members through customized recommendations, and deliver new member experiences. It delivered on all fronts, with email open rates as high as 90 percent and contest response rates up 50 percent.

Loyalty Innovation in Retail Award (International):
SUBWAY, New Zealand, for its SUBCARD Loyalty - Extending Customer Choice and Engagement initiative - SUBCARD is the first full loyalty program with its own mobile app, with a rewards balance look-up, the ability to save favorite orders, automatic promotion updates and a store locator. Order value at the Mobile Store rose by more than 100 percent in the six months after launch and order volume increased 90 percent in the same period.

Loyalty Innovation in Travel/Hospitality Award (North America):
Kimpton Hotel Group, for its InTouch Annual Surprise & Delight initiative - Delivered through the Kimpton InTouch program, the annual Surprise & Delight initiative was developed to treat Kimpton's most engaged members with hand-selected gifts, from iPads to Mexican tequila tasting tours. As a result, average membership spending increased 7.2 percent in 2011, with 10 percent monthly program growth.

Loyalty Innovation in Travel/Hospitality Award (International): 
Qantas Group, Australia, for its Platinum One launch - Platinum One, a status-recognition level within the Qantas Platinum program, uses advanced systems to recognize and provide exclusive benefits to its most frequent flyers. At launch, membership beat forecasts by 35 percent. Growth levels beat expectations by an average of 22 percent and retention levels were 30 percent higher.

Loyalty Innovation in Other Industries Award  (North America):
SCENE, Canada, for its Mobile SCENE Card - To engage its socially active members, SCENE built its own section on the high-traffic Cineplex Entertainment App, adding the ability for members to retrieve their SCENE barcode and to enroll with instant access. Within six months, 17 percent of monthly acquisitions were mobile, and new membership rose 30 percent year-over-year.

Loyalty Innovation in Other Industries Award (International):
Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd., India, for its Samsung Shikhar - Channel Partner Loyalty Program - Samsung developed Samsung Shikhar as a partner loyalty program to engage redistribution "stockists"- a smaller but promising channel. It launched with festive events, and the year ended with 50 percent growth in enrollment. The average number of units sold to redistributors grew by as much as 50 percent.

How the Winners are Selected:
The COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards were determined via a three-step process. First, members of the loyalty industry completed and submitted individual entry forms for nominees. Next, a jury of 15 thought leaders in the loyalty industry, media and academia selected the finalists from those submissions that qualified. (Jury members were recused from voting on entries that presented a conflict of interest.) In the final step, loyalty industry professionals (COLLOQUY's more than 45,000 subscribers), voted online to determine the winners.

"The COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards recognize organizations that are pioneering strategies and initiatives to elevate the total customer experience," said Kelly Hlavinka, COLLOQUY Managing Partner. "Today's winners represent the future of loyalty - an evolution from a product- or channel-focused entity to one that puts the customer at the center of its purpose."

For more information, visit the COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards web site at http://www.colloquy.com/loyaltyawards.

About COLLOQUY:
COLLOQUY comprises a collection of publishing, education and research resources devoted to the global loyalty-marketing industry. Owned by LoyaltyOne, COLLOQUY has served the loyalty-marketing industry since 1990 with over 45,000 global subscribers to its magazine and www.colloquy.com the most comprehensive loyalty web site in the world. COLLOQUY's research division develops research studies and white papers including industry-specific reports, sizing studies and insights into the drivers of consumer behavior. COLLOQUY also provides educational services through workshops, webinars and speeches at events throughout the world and is a loyalty-marketing partner of both the Direct Marketing Association and the Canadian Marketing Association and a content provider to the American Marketing Association. COLLOQUY also operates the COLLOQUY Network, a global consortium of practitioners certified in COLLOQUY's proprietary methodology.  COLLOQUY magazine subscriptions are available at no cost to qualified persons at www.colloquy.com or by calling 513.248.9184.

About LoyaltyOne:
LoyaltyOne is a global leader in the design and implementation of coalition loyalty programs, customer analytics and loyalty management solutions for Fortune 1000 clients around the world. LoyaltyOne's unparalleled track record in the loyalty marketplace stems from its unique combination of pragmatic, hands-on experience and continuous thought leadership. LoyaltyOne has over 20 years history leveraging data-driven insights to develop and operate some of the world's most effective loyalty programs and customer-centric solutions. These include the AIR MILES Reward Program, North America's premier coalition loyalty program and a working partnership with Latin America's leading coalition program, dotz.  LoyaltyOne is also the equity partner of Direxions, a loyalty pioneer headquartered in India and the owner of COLLOQUY, a group dedicated to research, publishing and education for the global loyalty industry. LoyaltyOne is an Alliance Data company.  For more information, visit www.loyalty.com.

About Visa:
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks--VisaNet--that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

SOURCE: LoyaltyOne

Amy Greenshields
Environics Communications
416-969-2830