June 10, 2014, The Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London
PRESS RELEASE Date: October 31, 2013
Calling all retailers and end users with innovative loyalty ideas
The Loyalty Awards EMEA launches its Call for Entries 2014
There has never been an easy answer to the question ‘what is loyalty?’ and in these times of massive technological change the organisers and the judges of The Loyalty Awards fully expect to be surprised, amazed and delighted with the 2014 collection of entries.
Now in its third year, The Loyalty Awards for Europe, The Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is firmly positioned as the key event in Loyalty for the region, and it is only right that it is here that the best programmes for attracting and keeping customers are showcased and applauded.
CEO of The Loyalty Awards Annich McIntosh commented:
We fully expect quite a number of the entries for the 2014 awards to use mobile and internet functionality, and gamification will be a key component. We are also keen to see how organisations are utilising Big Data for loyalty initiatives. As we will be getting entries from the whole of Europe including central and eastern Europe and Russia, the Middle East and Africa there are bound to be some surprises though. This is what makes it so interesting.
Category changes
Nothing stands still and The Loyalty Awards are no exception. To reflect the big rise in short term loyalty programmes in the retail space, a new category has been added this year. Short term loyalty programmes – some of which run for as long as 24 weeks or are run in succession – are being used by some of the biggest retailers in countries throughout the EMEA region. Their success is measured by an increase in basket size, increased store visits by collecting customers and bigger profits for retailers, some of which have significantly grown their market share on the back of them.
The second change is the splitting of travel and entertainment into two separate categories. The reason for this is the growing importance of online entertainment and gamification (the playing of games to win tokens and rewards) and its role in enhancing customer loyalty. This justified creating a category in its own right – and leaves more room for travel businesses too.
New judges
With over 150 entries last year, the task was Herculean for the judging panel. To spread the load, and also to ensure a good mix of those with retail experience as well as judges from all parts of the region, a number of new names will be appearing on the panel. Among them are Mary Portas the UK ‘queen of the shops’ and Clive Humby of Humby&Dunn (and formerly of DunnHumby) who has been credited with helping Tesco to understand the shopping behaviour of its customers with its Clubcard loyalty scheme, which has been so important to the retailer’s success. Other names will be announced over the next few weeks.
Changing behaviour
The Loyalty Awards recognise excellence, innovation and best practice in the challenging business of achieving customer loyalty and retention. They are a tremendous opportunity to showcase successes and to be acknowledged and applauded for them in front of peers, customers and suppliers.
Annich McIntosh commented: “As the Loyalty industry adapts to the ever changing needs of the consumer, we look forward to learning about the outstanding achievements and innovations that are continually raising the bar. 2014 is definitely going to be a very exciting year for The Loyalty Awards
Enter The Loyalty Awards 2014 to be recognised for outstanding achievement and excellence in a very tough, fast moving and competitive business. But don’t delay. The closing date for entries is Thursday, February 12, 2014.
Download the Call for Entries from www.theloyaltyawards.com, from www.loyaltymagaazine.com, or contact us at info@theloyaltyawards.com. If you prefer, we will send you a printed copy.
For any questions, please ring The Loyalty Awards team on +44 (0)1572 820088.
