Recently, Aeroplan looked at the direction of the marketing space—with the shifting headwinds of data and customization—and decided it was time to tweak the course of its famed loyalty program.
One of the early results of its rethink has been the “Goal Setter” plan. Essentially, it asks members to create a goal on a dedicated microsite, which Aeroplan then uses as a template for customized promotions to help folks reach those goals.
“We’ve rolled out a new brand positioning and a new brand platform, grounded in the insight that every member has a plan,” said Chris Willoughby, general manager, brand & member marketing at Aeroplan.
So if a member is planning a trip to Berlin next year, and they provide a sense of when they would like to travel and with whom, Aeroplan can help them get there, which presents quite a perspective change for the iconic loyalty program.
Instead of showcasing a predetermined destination, the plan puts members in the driver’s seat—or co-pilot’s chair, if you will and sends them promotional initiatives referencing their objectives.
“Historically, we’d been focused on exotic destinations. But, what’s really important to our members, from what we’ve learned, is their connections with other people and the experiences they share at those destinations, and that’s really what our new positioning is about,” Willoughby said.
When asked how many of Aeroplan’s roughly 5 million members have signed up since March, Willoughby wouldn’t offer a specific number, but noted the response has been very positive.
“I think the program has been received exceptionally well. We don’t actually share the stats from our members goals. But safe to say, it’s quite a substantial population within our Aeroplan membership base.”
To help get traction, Aeroplan recently launched its third promotional blitz—this time, creating a contest and offering 250,000 bonus miles for members who share their goal.
“Our members are in the program to get awarded, so they are quite willing to participate in initiatives like this,” he said.
Indeed, Willoughby’s comments reflect Aeroplan’s enviable position in terms of data and permission—consumers come to the brand and invite a conversation, leading to email open rates that hit 60% for many promotions.
In other words, customers want to be part of the plan from the jump, allowing Aeroplan to go deeper with members straight away.
But, maintaining trust in the relationship takes thought, care and attention.
“The biggest piece of the success I’d say, is the personalization and the relevance. Email is often an abused channel, but if you’ve got the right content and the right information, it still remains a good way to talk to people,” he said.
“As an example, one thing we do via email—if we know you’ve just booked an Aeroplan flight reward, we can communicate all kinds of practical information about the flight you’re going to take. So certainly, that’s an email you’re going to open.”
For a 31-year-old loyalty program—which Air Canada started as a frequent flyer program, but is now under the Aimia banner—maintaining an edge in an increasingly crowded market is key.
And that meant the company adopted a more focused approach in terms of data collection around two years ago.
“I’m not sure there was a eureka moment, but obviously data and personalization in the marketing space—and I’d say particularly as a loyalty program—are fundamental points of entry in today’s marketing world.”
Today, that’s reflected in a marketing strategy that blends email, an iOS app (with more than 825,000 downloads) and even SMS.
“I would also say it’s not a one-off effort. It’s a steady and constant effort moving forward to better understand members and what they’re doing.
Likewise, Willoughby said it is also gleaning data alongside Aeroplan’s 150 partner brands, which he called a “huge opportunity.”
“It’s all about understanding customers and making sure you’re not adopting a strategy of just blasting and abusing. It’s all about relevance and making things useful to your customers. That slowly but surely builds relevance and permission over time. I don’t think there’s a huge secret, except for never resting on your laurels.”
