Podcasts
Let's Talk Loyalty - Podcasts
Let’s Talk Loyalty is the world’s first podcast for loyalty marketing professionals! All year long (three episodes per week), they bring the global loyalty community together to continually learn from each other.
Listen to loyalty experts wherever you are to stay up to date on industry insights.
Visit lets-talk-loyalty.captivate.fm
Podcast episodes
Prepare your headphones and get some inspiration from these interesting topics covered by previous Loyalty & Awards speakers...
#573: Global Hotel Loyalty Insights with GHA Discovery
Today’s guest is Jelena Kezika - Senior Director of Strategy for the Global Hotel Alliance - and a speaker at the upcoming Loyalty and Awards Conference in Bangkok.
GHA represents over 40 hotels brands with more than 800 hotels in 100 countries serving 27 million members. The Alliance brings together a collection of independent hospitality brands, sharing a technology platform to create a multi-brand loyalty programme called GHA DISCOVERY.
Please enjoy Paula's conversation with Jelena Kezika who shares the overall GHA Discovery strategy and insights on this loyalty programme’s unique benefits.
This episode is also available in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.
#549: Westjet's Loyalty Transformation & Evolution
Today’s episode features a fascinating conversation with Westjet, Canada’s second biggest airline, as they embark on a significant transformation journey.
Westjet took to the skies in 1996 with just over 200 employees and three aircraft operating service to five destinations. Today, they operate to more than 100 destinations worldwide, with a team of over 14,000 people and nearly 200 aircraft.
Leading the loyalty evolution is Steve McClelland, Vice President of Loyalty Commercial & Business Development, and we are delighted to have him join us to share his early thoughts on how he plans to grow WestJet Rewards.
This episode is also available in video format on www.Loyalty.TV.
#432: Skyjoy from Vietnam - A Fascinating Coalition featuring Vietjet and HD Bank from Sovico Group Vietnam
Today’s podcast features an amazing country and an amazing airline-led loyalty program that is not even one year old!
Skyjoy is the program name for a coalition program created in late 2022 by Sovico Group based in Vietnam, leveraging some of their key businesses including Vietjet, their low cost airline, and HD Bank.
Paula Thomas is joined for this conversation by Sereen Teoh, former CEO of Galaxy, to share both the successes and some of the challenges in creating such a huge coalition program across hundreds of partners, and in such a short space of time.
Sereen is also a speaker at the Loyalty and Awards conference taking place in Brazil this October, so listen to get an exciting insight on what they have already achieved and what you can expect from her presentation at the event !
#417: Viva Aerobus Launches Compelling Loyalty Concept in Mexico
Today’s episode features the exciting story of the "Doters" loyalty program launched by Viva Aerobus in late 2022.
Pablo Sordo joins us to share the story of how they developed the loyalty proposition for Viva Aerobus, which is a low cost airline based in Mexico. This simple coalition program features partnerships with the local bus company and a banking partner, allowing members to earn miles while flying, taking the bus around the country, and, of course, using their co-brand credit card.
Listen to learn from Pablo Sordo , Chief Strategy Officer for Viva Aerobus, with thanks to the Loyalty and Awards conference team for the introduction! Pablo will be sharing further insights at the Loyalty & Awards Conference this October in Rio de Janeiro.
#393: Loyalty and Awards - Travel Loyalty Conference and Connecting in Brazil
Today’s conversation features our friends from the Loyalty and Awards conference, which is the largest annual conference dedicated to loyalty managers in the travel sector.
Ahead of this year’s event in Rio de Janeiro, Ravindra Bhagwanani, shares his views on the state of the loyalty industry in 2023 and some of the key challenges he sees for loyalty practitioners in the travel sector.
These trends of course are also helping to shape the content and agenda for the Loyalty & Awards conference being planned for our meeting in Brazil this October, so listen to hear the topics that I’m looking forward to hearing presented on stage this year.
Ravindra also highlights some key improvements in this year's Golden Loyalty Awards, to inspire those of you who operate programs to enter your programs.
Listen to enjoy some insights and inspiration on travel loyalty and the upcoming Loyalty and Awards conference with Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director of Global Flight.
#386: Partnerships and Personalising for Airline Loyalty Profitability
Cartrawler is one of Ireland's great technology success stories, and as a B2B technology brand that partners with many of the world’s leading airline loyalty programs to deliver their car rental proposition, we were delighted with the opportunity to chat with their Head of Loyalty - Heather Nolan.
Listen to this episode to learn Heather's fascinating perspective on the principles of partnerships and driving loyalty in the travel industry, particularly for younger demographics who might not yet travel frequently enough to qualify for top tier status and bonuses, yet who are incredibly important for the future growth and profitability of any airline.
#359: Live Limitless with Accor's ALL Program - Industry Leading Loyalty Insights from Mehdi Hemici
Today's episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty" is a fascinating conversation about the power of their loyalty to drive commercial value for one of the world’s leading hospitality groups – Accor.
Headquartered in France, the Accor Group operates over 5,400 hotels in 110 countries across 40 brands, each with their own distinct personality, price point and brand promise.
As Accor brands, they each enjoy access to the Accor Live Limitless loyalty program, which combines compelling recognition and rewards for guests with their all-in-one booking platform.
Known as ALL for short, Accor Live Limitless focuses on making life simple, yet special.
In this episode, I was joined by Mehdi Hemici, Accor’s Chief Loyalty & Ecommerce Officer, to hear the incredible journey that the business has taken to truly deliver this industry-leading program.
As well as explaining their approach and his insights for the ALL program, Mehdi also shares their latest proposition – ALL PLUS which has just been launched in March 2023 – a subscription-based proposition which combines the power of rational value with extra peace of mind for guests.
Listen to enjoy this episode with Mehdi Hemici from Accor.
#270: Crypto-Based Rewards - Insights and inspiration for Travel and Hospitality
This episode showcases an innovative crypto-based rewards option that's focused on loyalty programmes in the travel and hospitality sector.
Flycoin is a new, trade-able, digital currency which can be used to reward members with an asset they control – offering a truly web 3.0 approach to driving customer loyalty.
Joining "Let's Talk Loyalty" to discuss this is Lenny Moon, CEO of Flycoin - so whether you’re a crypto fan, a crypto sceptic – or just trying to understand the potential for crypto-currencies in our industry, you will enjoy today’s conversation.
#254: Renfe Guest - Loyalty Innovation in the Railway Industry
This episode discusses the increasing need for customer loyalty in the railway industry for the first time!
Renfe is the leading train company in Spain, carrying over 500 million passengers a year and at 80 years old, they are facing new challenges as a business, with increasing competition not only from cars and flights as in the past but also now from two new rail operators.
Let's Talk Loyalty is with Javier Marin Martinon, Chief Commercial, Loyalty, and Customer Officer, who shares some great ideas that Renfe has already launched for members of its loyalty program – designed to be simple and exciting to understand even when they are sometimes quite difficult behind the scenes to deliver!
A great case study and an example of how to learn about loyalty from other industries to create compelling strategies for your own business needs.
#233: Etihad Guest - Powerful Propositions Building Emotional Loyalty
Etihad Guest is a world-leader in airline loyalty, renowned for delivering innovative ideas that delight members in unexpected ways!
In today's episode, Let's Talk Loyalty is joined once again by Kim Hardaker, Managing Director of the Etihad Guest Programme, who shares the latest ideas and insights from one of the travel industry's leading reward programs.
Their recent campaigns include a proposition to support the airlines sustainability goals, and a "world-first" idea that celebrated the reopening of Australia's borders post-pandemic.
Listen to enjoy another episode jam-packed full of thoughtfulness and innovation.
#209: Loyalty & Awards Conference News for Travel Loyalty Professionals
In this episode of "Let's Talk Loyalty", Paula is joined by Ravindra Bhagwanani, Chairman of Loyalty & Awards, all about the exciting plans for this year’s event taking place in October in Madrid.
Ravindra shares his extensive loyalty industry experience and his love of airline loyalty marketing, and how the conference came to life almost 18 years ago.
Listen to hear what you can expect from this year's event - THE premier place to be for travel loyalty experts, offering superb opportunities to learn from exceptional industry leaders and connect with your loyalty industry colleagues.
#194: Air Canada’s Award-Winning Aeroplan Program
Air Canada has reimagined the airline points promise, offering flexible and unique rewards unlike any other airline.
In this episode, Paula talks with Derek Whitworth, Managing Director of Marketing & Loyalty Optimization at Air Canada about the relaunch of the Aeroplan rewards programme.
Aeroplan won the Golden Loyalty Award for Excellence in Management in 2021 and is beloved by Canadians and today they discuss the impressive launch of the new Aeroplan with new partners, unique upgrade awards and a host of new options for members. This is a can’t-miss episode for airline enthusiasts and loyalty professionals alike.
