We have re-branded as Aimia - Inspiring Loyalty

On Thursday the 6th October 2011 Carlson Marketing changed it's named globally to Aimia.

Carlson Marketing has been operating in New Zealand for over 30 years and we're trusted by some of the country's largest companies and brands to manage their customer, staff or channel loyalty programmes.  There are 1.5 million Kiwis in the the loyalty programmes we manage in New Zealand.

In 2009 we were acquired globally by Canadian based Groupe Aeroplan (GA) - a global loyalty programme powerhouse.  GA had already acquired the equivalents of New Zealand's Fly Buys coalition programme in Nectar (UK), Air Miles (Middle East) and Aeroplan (Canada).  They also owned one of the UK's leading loyalty and retail analytics companies in Loyalty Management Group.

We've spent the last 2 years integrating with our sister companies in the GA fold.  GA have expanded further around the globe with Nectar launching in Chile and Italy and investments in Club Premier (Aeroxexico's Frequent Flyer Programme) and Cardlytics (the USA's leading card transaction based marketing company).  They have also won the leading Australian supermarket Coles as a customer for loyalty analytics services.

Today we are Aimia.  Our new name cements the integration of our businesses into a global loyalty marketing leader.  Aimia is modern and distinctive and resonates in many languages.

• There is dialogue and movement within the name itself. The creation of Aimia was inspired by palindromes – words that read the same backwards and forwards, as they give the sense of two way conversation, a clear reflection of our approach to delivering value to our customers and consumers.
• It alludes to pinpoint precision – where two aims cross over. Whether it’s the sweet spot where the needs of clients and the wants of consumers overlap or the insight garnered from two different vantage points.
• It is inspired from the word ‘aim’: highlighting focus and precision, describing our expertise in targeting the right consumers with the right messages.  It is also from the French words ‘aimer’ or ‘ami’ emphasizing the importance of partnership and relationships and denoting a friendly tone and approach.
• The symmetry of Aimia mirrors the balance and partnership that sits at its core. A crosshair of aims, a meeting of minds. We see relationships differently.

We have over 3,700 Aimia colleagues in 20 countries around the world of which approximately:

• 1,885 are in Canada
• 850 are in the US
• 650 are in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region as well as in South America
• 475 are in the Asia-Pacific region

In New Zealand we are the same team with the some commitment to our client's success.  We will be transitioning over to Aimia during the remainder of this year.

Retailer offers delivered inside online banking - our new partnership.

Last week our parent Groupe Aeroplan announced that it had signed a long-term global strategic alliance with Cardlytics, a US based leader in merchant-funded transaction-driven marketing for electronic banking. Groupe Aeroplan has also acquired a  minority  equity  position  in  Cardlytics  for  total  cash  consideration  of  US$23  million.


Cardlytics’ solution is ground-breaking in the world of marketing. Cardlytics leverages individual financial card information, captured and secured behind the financial institutions’ own firewalls, to provide consumers with personalized merchant offers. These highly targeted offers are delivered directly to the consumer via trusted electronic banking channels including mobile, email and on-line banking. The company’s proven technology solution is uniquely designed for banking offering maximum security for the protection of customers’ personal information.  In  addition  to  providing  participating  retailers  with  a  targeted  and  measurable  channel, Cardlytics provides valuable analytics services to help understand where consumers are making their buying decisions.


Cardlytics Video - describes Cardlytics ground breaking solution.



“This  transaction  allows  us  to  further  complement  our  full-suite  loyalty  services  offering  within the important  financial  services  sector,”  said Rupert  Duchesne, President  and  Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Aeroplan. “Our alliance with Cardlytics will also give us invaluable access to top  retailers  around  the  world  and  is  in  line  with  our  strategy  of  making  small  strategic investments in the data, mobile and digital spaces.”


“Cardlytics  brings a solid track record and international reputation among leading retailers and
financial  institutions,  in  addition  to  a  highly  trusted  and  reputable  technology  solution,”  added Duchesne.  “We  look  forward  to  working  closely  with  Cardlytics  in  the  nascent  but  fast  moving space of transaction-driven marketing.”


Through  their  long-term  global  strategic  alliance,  Groupe  Aeroplan  and  Cardlytics  will  further grow Cardlytics’ offering outside the United States.


“Transaction-driven  marketing  is  a  uniquely  powerful  solution  for  retailers  and  financial
institutions,” said Scott Grimes, Chief Executive Officer of Cardlytics. “Today, we can reach 70% of  U.S.  households  in  conjunction  with  our  financial  institution  partners.  Our  deep  strategic alliance with Groupe Aeroplan positions us to rapidly establish the same leadership position in
other major markets.” 

Air New Zealand's Airpoints innovations (again)

Air New Zealand has recently delivered a comprehensive renewal of the Airpoints Dollars Frequent Flyer scheme. While it follows similar actions by Qantas Frequent Flyer in Australia it is a very Kiwi and innovative solution.

First mover - Qantas in Australia

Air New Zealand's new innovations follow moves in Australia by Qantas over the last 3 years. Qantas first signaled a partial listing of it's 5 million member Frequent Flyer Programme in 2008 which could have fetched it AU$1.5billion (for many airlines there's more money made in the frequent flyer scheme than in flying planes). The listing strategy was based in large part on Carlson Marketing's parent Groupe Aeroplan's success in Canada according to Simon Hickey - boss of Qantas Frequent Flyer in 2008. Qantas changed tack, held onto ownership of the Frequent Flyer programme, (which produces more profit than subsidiary Jetstar) and took it on an aggressive expansion drive.

Most frequent flyer programmes struggle with too many points being issued (typically by partners such as credit card companies and at a a compound annual growth rate of 10%) and not enough seats being available to redeem them (new planes add only 5% more seats to the global fleet per annum).

Qantas first addressed the redemption options from difficult-to-find-free-flights to include an online store stocked with merchandise and gift cards (full disclosure - we deliver this service for Qantas) and an any-seat, any-Qantas-flight redemption options. It then required all banks who were offering Qantas Frequent Flyer points on their credit cards along with other rewards to offer cards with Qantas Frequent Flyer points only (know as Direct Earn credit cards) - or not at all. Then last year it struck a deal with Woolworths Australia in which Woolies offered Qantas points to its shoppers and along the way added 700,000 new Qantas Frequent Flyer members.

The result? Depending on who you talk to either Qantas or FlyBuys is now the biggest and best loyalty programme in Australia. Either way - FlyBuys has a new attacker. And for Qantas it's a big earner : in the year to June 30, it generated underlying EBIT of A$328 million and now has a base of 7 million members.

Air New Zealand's strategy here

Air New Zealand didn't face the issues of limited seats being available for redemption in its Airpoints programme. In fact it could be argued that anything that got passengers onto it's planes was positive with the Centre For Aviation describing them as a "small airline getting smaller". The world first Airpoints Dollars innovation introduced a few years ago means any seat on any Air New Zealand flight could be bought with Airpoints (rather than the roughly 3%-5% of seats reserved per plane in other classic frequent flyer schemes).

Air New Zealand's advance in 6 steps

1. Flying on Air New Zealand flights had always gave customers Airpoints Dollars which could be redeemed for..
2. ...more Air New Zealand flights.
3. BNZ had long issued the GlobalPlus credit card on which customers earned even more Airpoints Dollars. ANZ (our client), Kiwibank and American Express have all issued new Airpoints Dollars credit cards over the last year.
4. Then recently - Air New Zealand enabled Fly Buys customers too to convert their Fly Buys points to Air New Zealand flights.
5. The really interesting piece has been the issuing of a new Airpoints membership card last month which is co-branded with Fly Buys by Air New Zealand. With this Airpoints card customers can now earn even more Airpoints Dollars (earned instead of Fly Buys points) at any of the Fly Buys merchants. This is a significant innovation and not one we've seen elsewhere. It's a collaborative local solution which is in contrast to the development of Qantas's programme in Australia.
6. The unexpected piece has been last week's release of an online Airpoints gift store. Airpoints Dollars can be used to buy goods and gifts from a $50 digital camera up to a $1,670 high end camera. Some goods are delivered in the same fashion as Fly Buys such as the new iPod Nano which must be picked up in store from Noel Leeming.

There are strong arguments in Australia to support the primacy of either Qantas Frequent Flyer or FlyBuys. In New Zealand - it looks like Air New Zealand's trumped them all.

Groupe Aeroplan Concludes Acquisition of Carlson Marketing

Montreal, QC – December 7, 2009 - Groupe Aeroplan Inc. (TSX: AER) today announced the

completion of the acquisition of Carlson Marketing, a privately-owned marketing services

provider headquartered in the United States.

“We are pleased to officially welcome Carlson Marketing to Groupe Aeroplan. As stated, the

combination of our companies positions Groupe Aeroplan as the global leader in loyalty

management,” said Rupert Duchesne, President and CEO. “This acquisition provides

immediate geographic diversification and accelerates Groupe Aeroplan’s international

expansion strategy into the G20 countries. Moreover, Carlson Marketing’s solid US presence

secures an important footprint in one of the largest consumer markets in the world.”

Groupe Aeroplan’s existing businesses and Carlson Marketing will continue to operate

separately and independently. Jeff Balagna, President and CEO of Carlson Marketing, and his

executive team, will continue the management of Carlson Marketing. Jeff has also been

named Executive Vice President, Groupe Aeroplan.

Carlson Marketing is widely recognized for its leading-edge global knowledge of loyalty

marketing services, and engagement and events management. It has strong client

relationships, which include some of the world’s most respected brands in important sectors

including financial services, automotive, high tech, consumer packaged goods and

pharmaceutical. Carlson Marketing has a presence in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and

the Middle East.