Public Health Agency of Canada, YMCA and AIR MILES Reward Program partnership drives physical activity among Canadians including youth

Social Change Initiative Lead by 2014 WXN Top 100 Recipient 

TORONTO, Dec. 9, 2014 /CNW/ - Fifty three per cent of active YMCA members visited their local recreational facility 1-6 more times per week, as compared with the same period the previous year, when offered an incentive of AIR MILES® reward miles.  A 5% lift in number of incremental visits per member was also achieved through a 12 month program between the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the YMCA Canada and the AIR MILES Reward Program.  The initial program, involving 15 participating YMCA locations across four YMCA Member Associations in Canada (from April 2013 to March 2014), also found that 14% of the active members who came at least one more time per week were children and youth members.  

The YMCA is one of Canada's most important sources for fitness and recreation programs with over 1.1 million members staying active through local resources nationwide.  The success of the initial program has resulted in another agreement between the YMCA, PHAC and AIR MILES to continue to promote healthy behaviours using AIR MILES reward miles as an incentive.  It comes hot on the heels of the announcement that Angela Simo Brown, Head of Social Change Strategy and Co-founder of AIR MILES for Social Change, has been named a 2014 WXN Top 100 recipient for her work in spearheading numerous innovative cross-sector partnerships which leverage the reach and popularity of the AIR MILES Reward Program to drive positive behaviours ranging from energy conservation to health and wellness. 

"We're successfully combining our powerful incentive with Canada's largest permission-based database and our deep data and analytical capabilities.  We're taking this knowledge and know-how to make lives better and organizations more productive," said Angela Simo Brown, Head Social Change Strategy.  "Being recognized and honoured as a Top 100 recipient is a reflection of the momentum and impact we're having."

"We are extremely pleased with the results of the program.  Offering an incentive, such as AIR MILES reward miles, has proven to be a successful way to encourage positive behaviour change.  Leading a healthy active lifestyle is key to reducing the risk of developing chronic diseases such as type two diabetes or some forms of cancer," commented Rodney Ghali, Director General, PHAC.

Canada is one of several countries that have recently, or are currently, revising their physical activity recommendations.  Most recent studies have found the majority of Canadian adults' waking hours—68% for men and 69% for women—are sedentary. ¹

"Without question, offering the incentive contributed to increases in active engagement.  The program exceeded expectations and had multiplie benefits which are attributed to engaged parents who brought children to YMCA locations to also participate in activities.   The extension of the partnership offers tremendous value to YMCA members beyond the obvious health benefits," says David Hughes, Senior VP Strategic Partnerships and Branding, YMCA Canada.

The concept of using reward miles as an incentive to drive positive cause-related behaviour was first introduced in 2010 by LoyaltyOne to offer governments, not-for-profit and public sector organizations an opportunity to leverage the strength and reach of the 10 million member strong AIR MILES Reward Program.  Since that time, successful initiatives in major Canadian cities have seen reward miles drive behaviours such as increasing transit use, promoting energy conservation and motivating healthy, active living.

About the YMCA in Canada

YMCA Canada is a federation made up of 45 YMCA and 5 YMCA-YWCA Member Associations. Each of the 50 Associations within the Federation serves local community needs and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. As a registered charity, YMCA Canada is dedicated to building healthy communities by nurturing the potential of children, teens and young adults, promoting healthy living, and fostering social responsibility in order to create lasting personal and social change. Collectively, YMCAs in Canada serve more than 2.24 million people in more than 1,000 Canadian locations each year. Our focus on inclusiveness and accessibility means we welcome people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities through all stages of life. Through YMCA financial assistance programs and the YMCA Strong Kids campaign, the YMCA is accessible to all.

For more information please visit ymca.ca

About LoyaltyOne
LoyaltyOne is a global leader in the design and implementation of coalition loyalty programs, customer analytics and loyalty services for Fortune 1000 clients around the world. LoyaltyOne's unparalleled track record delivering sustained business performance improvement for clients stems from its unique combination of hands-on practitioner 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; a majority stake in European-based BrandLoyalty, one of the largest and most successful campaign-driven loyalty marketers outside of the Americas; and a working partnership with Latin America's leading coalition program, dotz. LoyaltyOne is also 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 loyalty.com.

SOURCE: LoyaltyOne

Stacey Marson, LoyaltyOne, [email protected], 416.552.2834