Some people are always pushing the envelope.

Don Peppers is one of those people.

Listening to his closing keynote presentation at the Mega Event 2010, I enjoyed a refreshing set of new ideas and one of the most compelling calls to action for brands wishing to build customer loyalty and improve customer satisfaction.

Peppers talked about building customer loyalty in the context of digital media, a world that is untamed today and which stands to unleash further surprises on both consumers and businesses over the next few years.

Simplified, winning brands in the future will build “Trustability“, a loyalty version of Whuffie that more often than not will mandate trading a short term loss for a longer term gain. Those corporate executives who remain entranced by quarter-to-quarter delivery of numbers to meet the expectations of “the street”, may find Trustability to be an elusive commodity.

Peppers emphasized that brands do not have the option to treat customer service like an item they put on sale at the end of every quarter.  Customer experience has to be delivered with sincerity and through associates which have either the power to make decisions on the spot or have access to systems and supervisors who are nimble enough to respond in real time to defuse customer angst.

From a loyalty perspective, Trustability means that breakage is a big no-no. Peppers reminded us that people don’t want their hard-earned miles nixed through fine print in the programs rules. In my lingo, the Loyalty Asterisk™ needs to be removed from every step of the loyalty value chain, especially at time of redemption.

Peppers reminded the group that Loyalty and profitability were flip sides of the same issue and that tweaking program rules to trigger short term gains would negatively impact customer loyalty over the longer term. The United Mileage Plus campaign that promises to be “the program that wants you to use your miles” is a great example of how to create Trustability through a loyalty program.

Peppers’ final exhortation reminded anyone listening that it is treacherous to attempt to compensate or fake your way to social media notoriety. In time, those who manipulate social networks thinking they can build a “persona” that enhances their business will be found out and reviled. Not just for today, but for a long time in the future.

Trust me, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers are right on this one.

Some people are always pushing the envelope.

Don Peppers is one of those people.

Listening to his closing keynote presentation at the Mega Event 2010, I enjoyed a refreshing set of new ideas and one of the most compelling calls to action for brands wishing to build customer loyalty and improve customer satisfaction.

Peppers talked about building customer loyalty in the context of digital media, a world that is untamed today and which stands to unleash further surprises on both consumers and businesses over the next few years.

Simplified, winning brands in the future will build “Trustability“, a loyalty version of Whuffie that more often than not will mandate trading a short term loss for a longer term gain. Those corporate executives who remain entranced by quarter-to-quarter delivery of numbers to meet the expectations of “the street”, may find Trustability to be an elusive commodity.

Peppers emphasized that brands do not have the option to treat customer service like an item they put on sale at the end of every quarter.  Customer experience has to be delivered with sincerity and through associates which have either the power to make decisions on the spot or have access to systems and supervisors who are nimble enough to respond in real time to defuse customer angst.

From a loyalty perspective, Trustability means that breakage is a big no-no. Peppers reminded us that people don’t want their hard-earned miles nixed through fine print in the programs rules. In my lingo, the Loyalty Asterisk™ needs to be removed from every step of the loyalty value chain, especially at time of redemption.

Peppers reminded the group that Loyalty and profitability were flip sides of the same issue and that tweaking program rules to trigger short term gains would negatively impact customer loyalty over the longer term. The United Mileage Plus campaign that promises to be “the program that wants you to use your miles” is a great example of how to create Trustability through a loyalty program.

Peppers’ final exhortation reminded anyone listening that it is treacherous to attempt to compensate or fake your way to social media notoriety. In time, those who manipulate social networks thinking they can build a “persona” that enhances their business will be found out and reviled. Not just for today, but for a long time in the future.

Trust me, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers are right on this one.

Listening to execs sharing insights into key airline marketing and business issues at The Mega Event 2010, I put together an airline loyalty marketing  IQ test just for you.

The questions were raised and answered through a compilation of remarks from the following companies including, but not limited to: Aeroplan, American Express, Emirates Airways, Kobie Marketing, Millenium Aviation, Peppers & Rogers, Qantas, Sapient Nitro.

Here’s a Mega Quiz for you:

1. Name a line of business in the airline industry that is barely 2 years old and now accounts for $14Billion annually.
2. Name one aspect of air travel that is getting more attention from the Department of Transportation than helmet on helmet hits are getting from the NFL?
3. Name the second air carrier in the world to spin off its frequent flyer program (FFP) after Air Canada spun off Aeroplan?
4. Name the two most significant sources of profit for Qantas, the largest airline in Australia and the second oldest in the world?
5. According to Google Chief Economist Hal Varian, what will be the sexiest  corporate job over the next 10 years?
6. We have Twitterati, Datarati, and soon will have Loyalarati. Who are these people?
7. What percentage of Twitter conversations will be handled through automated means by corporate tweeters in the next 2 years?
8. What are 3 synonyms for loyalty program “liability”?
9. How important will Privacy issues be to business in the next 10 years?
10. What is considered to be the growth industry of the next decade?

Answers:

1. Ancillary Revenue a/k/a a conscious un-bundling of the air travel experience that generates profits but has potential to undermine customer satisfaction
2. Ancillary Revenue (The DOT is considering implementing new standards for fee disclosures as part of a broad rule-making proceeding)
3. TAM, the Brazilian carrier
4. Profit from its FFP and operation of its low-cost carrier JetStar
5. Statistician
6. Datarati are those companies who make a commitment to using their hard fought customer data to drive business results, while the emerging Loyalarati will be those enterprises which deliver their respective brand promise with a unwavering commitment to customer engagement and enterprise loyalty which honors customers, vendors, shareholders, and partners to create unshakable competitive advantage.
7. 20% minimum
8. a) Deferred discounts (they only get cashed in when points/miles are redeemed); b) Current Asset (If the company has reserved cash to account for some or all of the value of unredeemed points/miles, there should be a stockpile of cash that can be used to drive innovation and business results); c) A “darn good thing” because liability is an outcome of customer purchase behavior and an indicator of the health of customer engagement across the business.
9. What’s privacy? That dies just a little more each day as Millennials share more information and leading social networks leak personal data
10. Loyalty Marketing!

I’m not much of a TV guy, but noticed that we just streaked through the awards season with Miss Universe, the Emmy Awards, and the Video Music Awards all shown within a few week period.

Now we get into the REAL award season … The Mega Awards are open for nomination now and the winners will be announced during the Airline Information Mega Event 2010, to be held October 12-13 in Montreal.

What’s a Mega Award?

A Mega Award recognizes marketing campaign excellence by Airlines, Vendors, and Professionals in the areas of Loyalty Marketing, Social Media, and Ancillary Revenue & Merchandising.

Winners of a Mega Award are decided by a Judging Academy comprised of airline and travel industry media and I’m proud to be part of the judging panel this year.

The awards event will be hosted by Tony Fernandes, CEO & Founder Air Asia and Freddie Laker, Director Digital Strategy SapientNitro.  Campaigns launched and/or executed in the calendar year 2009 will be considered for nomination and will be placed in one of 6 categories.

• Best in Airline Loyalty
• Most Innovative Loyalty Technology
• Best in Airline Social Media
• Best Ancillary Revenue Product
• Loyalty Manager of the Year
• Merchandising Manager of the year

Nominated campaigns will be evaluated on four criteria:

1. Branding (For entries pertaining to loyalty, social media, and ancillary products & services)
2. Strategy
3. Innovation
4. Results (Financial and customer appeal)

The Mega Awards is a highlight among many planned for the Mega Event 2010 which combines three acclaimed events – The “FFP” Loyalty Conference, “ARAC” Ancillary Revenue Conference, and the “Co-Brand” Partnerships Conference – each with its own independent agenda, but with content available to all delegates.

To top it off, there will be keynote talks by Don Peppers, Author & Co-Founder Peppers & Rogers Group, Patrick Murphy, Fmr Chairman Ryanair and Rupert Duchesne, Chairman & CEO Groupe Aeroplan.

As if you needed an excuse to visit Montreal in the fall, the Mega Event might even top the beauty of the fall color change!

In the beginning, there was Air Miles. Actually, according to history, it was three men in a room that started Air Miles.

According to Air Miles corporate history, Keith Mills wasn’t one of those three guys, but somehow later it was Sir Keith Mills that sowed the seeds of the Air Miles brand and business model across continental Europe. Eventually, Sir Keith helped to found Nectar, the successful coalition loyalty program based in the UK.

There is a passage in Exodus when God tells Abraham that “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.”  I am tempted to make a tongue-in-cheek analogy between Abraham and Sir Keith, though the family tree is becoming quite muddled at this point in time and the coming battle between Air Miles and Groupe Aeroplan will ensure that no-one’s inheritances comes easily.

Aeroplan, the spin-off of Air Canada’s frequent flyer program, has not been satisfied to improve its core business, but has set about acquiring loyalty schemes around the world, the most notable of which, until yesterday, being Nectar. Air Miles, to its credit, has apparently been eyeing expansion opportunities and recently announced that it has made a 29% investment in Dotz, the evolving coalition program in Brazil.

Yesterday, Aeroplan announced its planned acquisition of Carlson Marketing. It is not completely clear what the US$188 Million price tag purchased, but presumably Aeroplan has just strengthened it capabilities in offering a complete processing and operational solution for the large companies it is seeking as potential clients. It has also significantly added to its strategic planning abilities assuming that Peppers & Rogers is included in the deal.

The announcement will get the attention of the Air Miles folks in Toronto and its subsidiaries LoyaltyOne & Colloquy will increasingly feel competition in a sandbox that was nearly their own to play in until now. Half the residents of St. Louis will stay awake at night as well as Maritz, MasterCard and others seeking the crown of “leading loyalty solutions providers”  find themselves up against stiff competition and deep pockets.

What is means for the rest of the industry will be sorted out over the coming months. One message that is clear is that there is money to be made in Loyalty Marketing, especially if you are the owner of a currency that becomes valued by consumers and is traded widely.

There is also that the likelihood that consolidation will breed greater need for independent viewpoint, analysis and recommendation. Corporate executives making decisions with long term financial implications would be well served to evaluate the source of their advice.

Aeroplan and Air Miles trace their roots back to the same family tree in many ways. Let’s see what kind of family feud will brew now that Aeroplan has upped the ante of the game.

In the beginning, there was Air Miles. Actually, according to history, it was three men in a room that started Air Miles.

According to Air Miles corporate history, Keith Mills wasn’t one of those three guys, but somehow later it was Sir Keith Mills that sowed the seeds of the Air Miles brand and business model across continental Europe. Eventually, Sir Keith helped to found Nectar, the successful coalition loyalty program based in the UK.

There is a passage in Exodus when God tells Abraham that “I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.”  I am tempted to make a tongue-in-cheek analogy between Abraham and Sir Keith, though the family tree is becoming quite muddled at this point in time and the coming battle between Air Miles and Groupe Aeroplan will ensure that no-one’s inheritances comes easily.

Aeroplan, the spin-off of Air Canada’s frequent flyer program, has not been satisfied to improve its core business, but has set about acquiring loyalty schemes around the world, the most notable of which, until yesterday, being Nectar. Air Miles, to its credit, has apparently been eyeing expansion opportunities and recently announced that it has made a 29% investment in Dotz, the evolving coalition program in Brazil.

Yesterday, Aeroplan announced its planned acquisition of Carlson Marketing. It is not completely clear what the US$188 Million price tag purchased, but presumably Aeroplan has just strengthened it capabilities in offering a complete processing and operational solution for the large companies it is seeking as potential clients. It has also significantly added to its strategic planning abilities assuming that Peppers & Rogers is included in the deal.

The announcement will get the attention of the Air Miles folks in Toronto and its subsidiaries LoyaltyOne & Colloquy will increasingly feel competition in a sandbox that was nearly their own to play in until now. Half the residents of St. Louis will stay awake at night as well as Maritz, MasterCard and others seeking the crown of “leading loyalty solutions providers”  find themselves up against stiff competition and deep pockets.

What is means for the rest of the industry will be sorted out over the coming months. One message that is clear is that there is money to be made in Loyalty Marketing, especially if you are the owner of a currency that becomes valued by consumers and is traded widely.

There is also that the likelihood that consolidation will breed greater need for independent viewpoint, analysis and recommendation. Corporate executives making decisions with long term financial implications would be well served to evaluate the source of their advice.

Aeroplan and Air Miles trace their roots back to the same family tree in many ways. Let’s see what kind of family feud will brew now that Aeroplan has upped the ante of the game.