Mark Sage
Mark Sage
Loyalty Director at Aimia (incorporating Carlson Marketing). Marketer, technologist, burnt out developer, planner, innovator, newbie cyclist
New Frontier:Unhosted Loyalty – Less big data, more my data
There's an intriguing new application available called Forever. From a functional perspective it's not ground breaking - it simply provides address book functionality. What...
Data the new oil? Then exploration is just the start
What do Google, Amadeus, AmEx and Tibco all have in common? Well, they are all market leaders in their verticals. Amadeus for example are...
The 5 steps to creative ideas (still relevant today)
I'm not a big fan of workshops or brainstorming. They are typically done to generate ideas or solve problems, and yet the research suggests that...
Rallying cry for innovation – and faith
I've spoken about VRM - Vendor Relationship Management before on this blog and it's one of the topics that I feel is currently mis-understood...
Tesco ClubcardTV part of a new trend?
When it comes to innovative ways of going to market, airlines have traditionally been the bellwether. From basically creating the modern day, database...
Feast or Famine: The next move for Netflix?
Something interesting happened recently in entertainment; there was a slight shift in the balance of power. Netflix, traditionally a channel for reaching the content of...
Blockbuster should have traded time before it ran out of it
There was an interesting film I saw recently called In Time that was based on the premise that the currency of the future wasn't...
Loyalty+Coupons = Positive Price Discrimination
I was at a conference last week where the speaker was from the gaming industry and touched upon the topic of price discrimination -...
Whats next for loyalty in 2013
What's my prediction for the big thing in loyalty in 2013? Two words... User Experience Increasingly the way we do things has changed. Smartphones have...
Loyalty Magic – A lesson from Santa
When we're young we tend to believe what we're told. If your mum or dad tell you about Santa and how he delivers...
Curiosity = Loyalty3
cu·ri·os·i·ty - noun 1. A strong desire to know or learn something. 2. A strange or unusual object or fact 3. An app that has…
Intent casting shifts balance of power (and Facebook dips a toe)
Back in 1980, Prof. Allan Schnaiberg wrote about a theory he'd developed called "The Treadmill of Production" which was in part used to explain...
Do loyalty points kill the relationship?
A recent blog article on Harvard Business Review discussing the concept of the "gift economy" provided a great example that stopped me dead in...
5 Reasons why Evian “Smart Object” creates a new CPG loyalty solution
Apple basically invented the phrase "There's an app for that" and promptly trademarked it. Whilst a catchy advertising line however, what it neatly demonstrates is...
To infinity and beyond – Engaging consumers through immersive discovery
Have you noticed a subtle change in how you browse some content online? For many sites, you no longer have pages of content that you...
Talk to the hand, the customer’s not listening
Working in loyalty and IT for almost 20 years you see a lot of change in customer communication requirements. The telex faded away,...
3 reasons why CBA Pi pivots retail
Commonwealth Bank of Australia have just launched a video showing their new merchant payments solution called Pi. This is truly interesting for a number of...
Loyalty design – Treat it “lean” keep them keen
I was on a training course the other week learning about Agile Scrum which is a "lean" software development methodology that looks to develop...
Do customers love your brand or your brands customers?
There is little difference between supermarkets in terms of the products they stock. The larger ones may carry more variety, but typically you...
Keeping your loyalty star rising
"If the stars should appear but one night every thousand years how man would marvel and stare" - Emerson This is an interesting observation from...