From the left: Johan Moolman (eBucks), Nadia Coelho (eBucks), Francois Uys (Sanlam Reality), Amanda Graham (Clicks), Amanda Cromhout (Truth), Mateboho Malope (Vodacom),Trish Kowo (My School My Village My Planet), Pieter Twine (My School My Village My Planet), Yumna Frizlar (Kauai), Lorna Pretorius (Kauai)

2019 WINNERS 

1) Best programme of the year - Retail

This award was awarded to the brand which demonstrated that it has operated the best loyalty programme in its sector - Retail.

The winner: Clicks

The Clicks ClubCard programme has over 8 million active members and proudly swipes over 78% of its turnover through its loyalty programme. 

The judges commended Clicks for this consistently higher offering, either through cashback or through special offers in-store, concluding that there is always good value for their members. The offering is continuously being enriched through loyalty partnerships across different brands and Clicks ClubCard was the first retail loyalty programme to offer a fuel partner benefit.

Finally, the judges were impressed by the amount of ‘behind the scenes’ analytics which Clicks does on its transactional data, acquired through the Clicks ClubCard programme.  This enables Clicks to promote targeted offers to South Africa’s diverse customer base.

Highly commended: Pick n Pay


Pick n Pay Smart Shopper has an active membership base of 7.5 million customers. The Smart Shopper programme has grown year on year in terms of breadth of offering, especially through its impressive partnership network offering value to its members and through its partnership with BP.

The judges were particularly impressed by how Pick n Pay impressively uses its customer data to run sophisticated algorithms to enable its customers to receive relevant and personalised offers via the Smart Shopper programme. 
 

Smart Shopper is also available in multi-channel, especially through the Pick n Pay App, which allows for an easier and more real-time customer experience for its members.

2) Best programme of the year - Financial Services

This award was awarded to the brand which demonstrated that it has operated the best loyalty programme in its sector - Financial Services.
 

The winner: eBucks

eBucks is the clear winner of the best Financial Services loyalty programme, although they refer to themselves as a rewards programme.  In summation, eBucks successfully changes the banking behaviour of FNB/RMB’s clients and assists these customers to better manage their money.
 

The judges found that their customer offering is most attractive, plus their programme rules were customer-friendly: i.e. no expiry of points, free to join and no monthly membership fee.  In addition, ‘behind the scenes’, eBucks offers segment-specific programme offerings which means eBucks is relevant for all FNB/RMB’s clients, regardless of income.  Over and above the usual eBucks points earning and broad redemption offering, eBucks offers base-line ‘always-on’ rewards from Wimpy, Kauai and SLOW lounge access, to name a few.

The high redemption rate, at 90%, shows how its members enjoy the eBucks programme. This statistic towers over industry averages and is a clear indicator of an engaged customer base.

The judges were impressed by the statistics provided by eBucks regarding how their engaged eBucks members bank differently to non-engaged members, with indicators such as credit behaviour, adequate insurance holding and better savings behaviours.

3) Best programme of the year - Restaurants/QSR

This award was awarded to the brand which demonstrated that it has operated the best loyalty programme in its sector - Restaurants/QSR
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The winner: Kauai

Kauai was the only brand to win its category unanimously, with every judge voting it number one. The new loyalty programme from Kauai has shown how programmes evolve over time.  From their original smoothie sticker stamp cards to a new App, serving its customers beyond just loyalty.

The new Kauai App combines loyalty / rewards with better customer service functionality, like order ahead and payment within the App. The new loyalty offering is competitive and of value to its customers at a 2% cash-back at a base level, and more generous rewards as you tier up from green to gold to black.
 
All customers receive birthday rewards. The in-App functionality for messaging is allowing Kauai to deliver ‘covert’ in-App promotions as an additional incentive. The judges positively assessed the results which Kauai has achieved since launch and the incremental purchasing / usage behaviours of the App users versus non-App / non-loyalty members. 

The overall frictionless customer experience has been recognised as a key success factor for Kauai as they offer a solid loyalty offering, combined with innovative in-App solutions, such as in-App pay, order ahead and a simple download process.

4) Best programme of the year - Other

This award was awarded to the brand which demonstrated that it has operated the best loyalty programme in its sector - Other

The winner: MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet

MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet continues to gain strength year on year; it initially raised R1m per month in 2005, to currently achieving over R7m per month for its beneficiaries. To date, more than R650m has been paid out to these beneficiaries and there are over 8,000 beneficiaries (schools, charities & environmental causes).
 

The programme celebrates 22 years of making a sustainable difference in South Africa via its ‘loyalty’ offering and is seen as a forerunner in ‘Community Loyalty’ in South Africa. The judges commended this programme for its incremental performance results which are delivered because of the MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet loyalty proposition, which outstripped other programme results in terms of ROI performance, retention statistics and NPS measurements.

It proves that companies can embrace its customers’ spirit to care deeply about something and join its customers to deliver towards this, whether that be their children’s education, wild animals or saving the planet.

Highly commended: Legacy Lifestyle

The Legacy Hotels & Resorts rewards programme is a 
well-established rewards programme which has over 230,000
 members and successfully serves the Legacy Group’s hotels. 
 

It is operated by Legacy Lifestyle and offers cash-back rewards and best available rates, when staying at a Legacy hotel.  As a tier-based programme, the higher the tier, the better the cashback rewards. In addition, it is an open-loop programme offering rewards at over 250 selected partners. It provides the company with real-time data about guest purchases, which the judges assessed positively.

The guest experience whilst interacting with the rewards programme is simple and seamless, in the hotels and also at partners, where the loyalty identifier is the member’s cellphone number at the credit card POS terminal.

5) Best use of data analytics/CRM applications

This award was awarded to the brand which demonstrated positive results, clearly derived from sophisticated use of customer data and the application in CRM or other.

The winner: Sanlam Reality

The Sanlam Reality programme empowers its members to make responsible financial choices.  The programme uses client insights in designing and optimising offers on Sanlam Group products to prospective and active members, resulting in improved client acquisition, growth in share of wallet, and lower attrition. 

Through targeted CRM campaigns, Sanlam Reality was able to offer segments of its membership base special offers on savings, personal loans, life insurance and health cover.  In addition to leveraging demographics and portfolio data, Sanlam Reality segments its client base on programme variables like tier status and level of engagement and they have seen extraordinary results from its approach. 

The judges were particularly impressed by the campaign’s longer-term effectiveness driving customer-centricity within the Sanlam Group. 

For this category, results are commercially sensitive so we are unable to offer a breakdown for the readers of the Loyalty Awards results.  However, suffice to say that the performances recorded against the campaigns offered in this integrated approach yielded double-digit uplifts across numerous indicators.

Highly commended: TFG
 

The TFG group has over 20+ retail brands covering fashion
and lifestyle sectors.  Within their business they have a long,
established credit and loyalty database which span the different
market segments of South Africa. 
 

The TFG loyalty proposition aims to achieve greater customer loyalty, better value for its brands and more powerful data collection to use for insights.
 

After 7 months of rigorous testing of advanced personalisation, TFG achieved significant incremental performance results across indicators such as incremental sales uplift, cross selling to new retail brands and ROI. 

The TFG seasonal campaigns achieved short-term positive campaign results, as well as, positive results towards longer-term customer-centricity.

6) Most innovative use of technology for loyalty

This award was awarded to the brand which demonstrated the most innovative use of technology through its loyalty programme and initiatives. 

The winner: eBucks

eBucks is the only brand to win two categories at this year’s Loyalty Awards. Their technology experience encourages members to get better value from the eBucks programme, with features such as ‘earn more eBucks’ or ‘maximise your rewards’. 

The eBucks dashboard brings to life the members eBucks statement, with the friendly eBucks minion guiding the member to earn more or learn more about their tier status.

Industry ‘firsts’ delivered through eBucks highlight that members can book flight rewards in the FNB/RMB App with flexible payment from eBucks or an FNB card or both.  It’s a multi-airline travel offering to members and members’ families, with search history recognition for a more seamless overall experience.  Other ‘firsts’ include the eBucks shop via the App, with over 1 million visits to the eBucks Rewards tab every month.

Our judges particularly like how the online channels offer members rewards analysis tools via the eBucks dashboard or via functionality; these tools encourage members to maximise their rewards across eBucks and within its partnership network. 

Highly commended: wiGroup & Kauai

The new loyalty programme from Kauai has shown how programmes evolve over time.  The technology is provided by wiGroup’s new Brand Loyalty Solution.

The technology solution enables real-time rewards, offering real value to the Kauai customer base in the form of digital cash.  This cash solution, combined with instant gratification rewards enables customers to combine short-term rewards with longer term accrual of a bigger reward.

Behind the scenes, the wiGroup technology solution allows Kauai to differentiate between frequent and infrequent customers, creating a tiered offering.  Other ‘covert’ segments are created and used against tiers, location, purchase behaviours & partner engagement. 

Overall the new Kauai App allows its customers to combine order ahead, in-App payment and loyalty all in one solution from wiGroup.

7) Best loyalty marketing campaign

This award was awarded to the brand which demonstrated the best short-term loyalty initiative in a marketing campaign.

The winner: Vodacom

Vodacom Summer Campaign started off as a seasonal campaign in 2017, but has been so successful that it continues to run to date.  Customers receive 1 free shake a day to win awesome prizes.

With over 24 million uniquely engaged customers subscribing to the campaign, the quantum of prizes given away is in the millions in volume and value. 

Prizes include voice/data/SMS/social media bundles, plus rewards in electronics & gaming, entertainment, food vouchers, shopping discounts and travel. 

In early 2019, Vodacom successfully monetised the campaign by charging customers R1 per shake.  More significantly, this process allowed Vodacom to offer more relevant prizes and vouchers to their most engaged customers. 

Highly commended: TFG 
 

Similar to the successful recognition of TFG in the ‘Best use of analytics’ category, TFG are equally commended for this work in the ‘Best loyalty marketing campaign’.

The TFG group has over 20+ retail brands covering fashion and lifestyle sectors.  Within their business they have a long, established credit and loyalty database which span the different market segments of South Africa.  The TFG loyalty proposition aims to achieve greater customer loyalty, better value for its brands and more powerful data collection to use for insights. After 7 months of rigorous testing of advanced personalisation, TFG achieved significant incremental performance results across indicators such as incremental sales uplift, cross selling to new retail brands and ROI. 

The TFG seasonal campaigns achieved short-term positive campaign results, as well as positive results towards longer-term customer-centricity.

8) Loyalty personality of the year:

The winner: Johan MoolmanCEO, eBucks

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Johan Moolman is CEO of eBucks Rewards, the leading rewards
programme from FNB and RMB.  His vision is to ensure that
eBucks remains at the forefront of the South African and global
loyalty world. However, more importantly, he is focused on eBucks breaking new ground and offering the most collaborative and rewarding ecosystem for its members, its rewards partners and the bank.

For the loyalty industry at large, Johan speaks openly and frequently about key issues to industry stakeholders and the press. Our judges unanimouslyvoted for Johan Moolman as an individual who openly exudes passion and has made a significant contribution to the loyalty industry. 

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