Issue #4: Safe vs. Standout in Loyalty Branding

I owe Marriott an apology. Back in 2019 when the Bonvoy name was announced, I texted friends and former colleagues: “WTF are they thinking?? ‘Bonvoy’??”

Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Over time I realized Bonvoy is one of the best loyalty program names out there. Travelers don’t say “Are you a Marriott member?” or “What’s your Marriott status?”. They say “What’s your Bonvoy status?” or even “Do you Bonvoy?”. It’s practically a verb. Original. Easy to pronounce. Memorable. It just…works.

In fact, the travel industry as a whole has nailed loyalty branding:

As loyalty programs expanded beyond travel, naming got…safe. Predictable. 🥱

Case in point: Check out Newsweek’s “America’s Best Loyalty Programs.” Scan the list and it’s an endless parade of “Rewards” add-on to brand names. Restaurants are the worst offenders: from Chipotle to Cava, Domino’s to Dunkin (🤐), and Starbucks to Sweetgreen…the awesome creativity that goes into drink names, burgers and more apparently never extends to loyalty.

Some Retail and lifestyle programs do a bit better:

But re-names don’t always land. Ulta’s original Ultamate Rewards was naming magic and one of my favorites. They then rebranded as Ulta Beauty Rewards which is…ok. North Face’s clever VIPeak became XPLR Pass. Yes, it’s easy to pronounce but it’s giving me vanity license plate vibe.

Maybe Safe is…Smart?

In fairness, safe has advantages. A “ Rewards” name keeps the spotlight on the parent brand, requires little education, and matches what casual customers likely already say.

But safe doesn’t have to be boring. Paid loyalty programs, in fact, tend to avoid “Rewards” so they don’t get lumped in with free programs.

Where Creativity Backfires: Tier Names

Here’s where brands often trip themselves up. Go too cute with tier names and you confuse consumers.

In tiering, original is good but obvious is better.

Does Any of This Really Matter?

Yes and no. The value of the program benefits will always outweigh the name. But the program itself is a sub-brand of your parent brand. It deserves a logo, style guide, and clear nomenclature. Loyalty branding is a strategic lever worth doing well.

And if you don’t want to take it from me (no offense taken), check out the Q&A with experts who’ve done loyalty program branding right.

How much do you think this matters and can your branding be both safe and original? And what are your all-time favorite program names?

The Lacek Group is a Minneapolis-based customer engagement and loyalty marketing agency that builds strong, enduring relationships between brands and their customers. They combine data-driven engagement and brand loyalty strategies, segmentation and personalization, customer experience design, and human-centered thinking to create deep, lasting, and trusted relationships. The Lacek Group is an Ogilvy One agency. Learn more about The Lacek Group: www.lacek.com.

#1 SMP: When working with brands on their loyalty program naming, what’s the typical process, and what are the significant considerations?

John: Naming a loyalty program is part of the total program branding process, so it starts with a lot of discovery, including background research on the target audience, competitive analysis, interviews with relevant stakeholders and more. We go through several rounds of name generation internally, then make an initial presentation that includes a moderate level of marketplace vetting. One or more rounds will ensue, with each round getting more and more rigorous examination. A final round of two or three names (or sometimes even just one) will include our best effort at vetting, short of a binding legal opinion. Then we launch into a more formal branding approach that eventually includes launch strategies and planning.

Michelle: When naming a loyalty program, we also take into consideration the umbrella brand. We want the program brand to align with the umbrella brand, as its one of the most demonstrative ways to bring the umbrella brand to life. Additionally, we think strategically about how we want the program to be perceived. We build programs that create emotional engagement with the brand, that elevate the member experience and ultimately create brand devotion. This means we think far beyond the transactional value when developing program names.

#2 SMP: I’m seeing more companies just add “Reward” to their brand names for their programs. As an industry, are we playing it too safe or are brands right to be cautious in today’s environment where everyone is a critic?

John: There’s a loaded question! I think as an industry, we tend to play it safe and default to familiar names like “Rewards,” “Perks,” “Extras” and the like. Companies that wish to create unique brands with their loyalty programs usually are the ones that benefit from more unique names. One of our clients, Marriott Bonvoy, is a good example of this. They’ve invested a lot of money to create a differentiating brand for their program because it counts over 30+ individual hotel and resort brands under its umbrella. National Car Rental, another client, created the Emerald Club many years ago and has built it into a brand so powerful that many members think they’re renting from Emerald Club, not National! I’ve seen brands try to get creative with their names, and especially their tier names, but suffer from a lack of media expenditure and awareness behind those names. So they don’t get the traction they really wanted from their creative efforts.

Michelle: Brands often make naming decisions based on audience input (research). While research is valuable, most consumers will gravitate toward familiarity (program names that leverage “Rewards” or “Perks” almost immediately give the customer assurance that they’ll get something of value for their participation in the program.) While this makes sense and is a safe acquisition strategy, program names that are more creative and highlight the recognition or experiential components of the program are more likely to create a positive feeling among its audience and begin building Brand Devotion.

#3 SMP: How should a program’s name and visual identity balance being distinctive while still fitting under the parent brand? Understanding that a program that is made up of multiple brands will likely have a different approach than programs for one brand.

John: I think the key consideration is to complement, not compete, with the parent brand. The program brand’s color palette, fonts, design elements, etc. should feel like a natural extension of the parent brand. In cases like Bonvoy or Expedia’s One Key program, where the loyalty program brand has to accommodate a number of different family brands, there’s more room for distinction. We created the FLX loyalty program brand for Foot Locker that was quite distinct from the six brands underneath that umbrella. On the other hand, there were just a few degrees of separation for our branding of Home Depot’s Pro Xtra program from the Home Depot parent brand.

Michelle: There’s room for the loyalty program brand to feel more personal since a loyalty program reflects a relationship that has been created between the customer and the brand. Over time, the brand should know a lot about the customer – through data collection and through the customer proactively sharing relevant, personal information. While the details of the customers’ information are not part of the brand, it gives the program brand some leeway in terms of its approachability.

#4 SMP: Let’s talk consumer research for Loyalty program creative. When is it useful, and when is it not? What are some essential considerations?

Michelle: Consumer research is always helpful, but it’s important to know how to interpret the results. Consumers almost always gravitate to safe and understandable names; however, this may not help the brand achieve their objectives and/or shape how they want consumers to perceive the brand. We rely on creatively focused consumer research to identify blind spots or branding/naming conventions that would cause an issue for whatever reason (confusion, cultural sensitivity, etc.). We also test other components including tier names, hierarchy of program benefits in the messaging, and communications approaches, for more comprehensive learning.

John: Michelle’s the expert in this area. I agree with whatever she says!

#5 SMP: When a brand operates in multiple markets, what are the challenges in picking names and tier structures that resonate universally?

John: Global names are much harder, for obvious reasons. You don’t want there to be any misinterpretation of what the program is about. You don’t want a translation issue making your program name offensive or misunderstood. You don’t want to create a big problem in one country by trying to solve a little problem in another country. This is where “Rewards,” or some other generic-sounding name is often the practical choice!

#6 SMP: When does getting too differentiated start to backfire? Not only in program name, but also in tiers, earning currency nomenclature, and more?

John: This is where it’s possible to let creativity run amok! When it comes to tier names, especially, the standard nomenclature of Gold, Silver, etc. is standard for a reason. I think we’ve all belonged to programs where the interaction with the program isn’t frequent enough that we can remember the pecking order of the tiers, let alone the distinction between the tier names. Tier names not only have to be recognizable, but understandable in their place on the hierarchy.

Michelle: Another item I wanted to mention: differentiation (especially completely new naming and/or creating new words) requires significant investment and ongoing commitment to build brand equity over time.

SMP Bonus Question: Name a program (that The Lacek Group did not work on) where you admire the naming and overall branding of the program.

John: I think the Nordy Club at Nordstrom is a good example of a program that’s friendly, approachable, easy to understand and offers strong benefits like Double Points Days, free alterations (top status), early access to sales and more. The clean look and conversational tone of the branding feels very genuine to the parent brand. And the name came out of their customer heritage. I wish I’d been a part of creating that––it’s very well executed.

Michelle: Sephora Beauty Insider is a great name, and I wish we did work on it! Its name helps members feel good about themselves, it’s uplifting and creates a feeling of community and exclusivity. It has so many elements of emotional loyalty.