Phil Rubin's blog

Amazon is preparing to launch a new Kindle tablet in November, just in time to give Apple a run for its “iPad” money this holiday season.

RetailWire wrote about Safeway Canada's Safeway Club Elite Customer program and we see that as a great illustration of one of the fundamental tenets of loyalty:  that not all customers are created equal.

Even though the first modern loyalty program, American AAdvantage launched 30 years ago, loyalty marketing is only in its infancy and even after three decades it’s not always practiced in a strategic manner. The paradigm is all too often the same as 30 years ago:points and rewards.

We are often asked about who has the the best loyalty program.  It's a good question but not necessarily the right one,  given our view that loyalty marketing is about much more than programs.  Programs are a beginning and a necessity for a lot of brands but they are, as we've long maintained, a means and not an end.

This week's announcement that the iPhone was coming to Verizon Wireless had become a not-so-well-kept secret in the weeks and months prior.  At the same time, there was one thing that probably surprised a lot of people, especially AT&T customers.

As we are now officially in holiday shopping season, it's always interesting to observe the good, the bad and the ugly of marketing.  This year is a bit different than last, as for one, we're in a better albeit not a great economy.  And let's not forget that we've moved on from the "year(s) of social media" to the "year of mobile".  (Of course for us, it's always the year of the customer.)

Atlanta, GA, November 15, 2010 --- Citi Retail Partner Cards announced today it has entered into an agreement with rDialogue, a leading customer loyalty and relationship marketing firm, to provide customized end-to-end loyalty solutions to its retail partners. Citi, a leading provider of private label consumer and commercial credit products and services, currently supports many of the largest, most successful rewards programs in the U.S.

With all the hoopla (always fun to use that word) surrounding Gap’s new/now old logo a few weeks ago – which we wrote about on RetailWire – here’s something that Gap did which shouldn’t hurt them at all: Gap Give and Get.

Watching the Texas Rangers win the ALCS and celebrate their pending trip to the World Series this week was a great reminder of the power of emotional loyalty.

After the game, the Rangers celebrated as a team not with the usual Champagne but with ginger ale. They did this out of respect, and out of loyalty, to their teammate Josh Hamilton. Hamilton is recovering from drug and alcohol addiction and cannot tolerate being around alcohol.

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