the first club™ Expands Digital Rewards Offering to Brands Through New Partnership Offices with Russia-based LMC Group, Mexico-based Digital Loyalty Rewards, and a Brazil-basedpartnership between Souza Aranha Marketing and Fernando L G Guimarães
Los Angeles, CA - 26, January 2012- the first club™ (TFC), a global leader in digital rewards and loyalty solutions has announced a new partnership with three new local offices as part of the Company’s global growth strategy. The first is Moscow-based licensing and promotions agency, LMC Group and this partnership will bring the first club’s digital rewards solution including its B2C site TheFirstClub.com, to brands and loyalty programs in Russia while expanding the company’s presence further across Europe.
Based in Moscow, LMC Group founded in 2004 by veterans of the loyalty marketing space and retail business industries. Fully aware of the continuing shift toward digital rewards and the mobile platform, the company offers licensing, promotional and loyalty solutions, and is the perfect partner for the first club’s digital rewards platform and licensing programs.
LMC Group will also represent the other services of the first club™ including licensing services, digital sales promotion campaigns, theatrical partnerships, and viral marketing campaigns.
Vladislav Us, founder of LMC Group adds: “The current economic climate demands inventive, cost effective promotions and rewards tools for businesses to draw, retain and reward customers. We want to deliver these solutions including the first club™ to Russia with the same effectiveness and creativity that the company has already brought to the European and U.S. markets. ”
The Russian agency will be an especially powerful asset known as a thought leader in the loyalty sector, will aid in the expansion of the first club™ in Europe while benefiting international travelers from the first club’s other competitive sub-markets in the UK, Mexico, Continental Europe and Turkey
Mexico City-based, Digital Loyalty Rewards S de RL de C.V. was founded by veterans of the marketing and Mexican retail business industries. Taking advantage of the continuing shift toward digital rewards and the mobile platform, the company offers licensing, promotional and loyalty solutions, and is a perfect match to the first club’s related core services.
Digital Loyalty Rewards will also represent the other services of the first club™ including licensing services, digital sales promotion campaigns, theatrical partnerships, viral marketing campaigns and many more.
Daniel Suarez, founder of Digital Loyalty Rewards adds: “the first club™ provides us with the ability to bring a new digital resource to our channel. This solution allows exciting, relevant promotions for Mexico’s top Companies which will offer a unique point of differentiation with premium content delivered instantly to customers”.
And our third partner office is Sao-Paulo based partnership between Souza Aranha Marketing, a consultancy firm, and Fernando L G Guimarães, a relationship marketing expert and author (Os Pilares do Relacionamento translated,“the Pillars of Relationship”), with a solid reputation throughout Brazil. Mr. Guimarães helped create and manage the Smiles Program, from Varig, currently Gol, a leading Brazilian airline, and experience managing loyalty programs with several manufacturing and FMCG companies, and serves as a board member of Abemd, Associação Brasileira de Marketing Direto (Brazilian Direct Marketing Association). Souza Aranha (www.souza-aranha.com.br) is a consultancy firm specialized in CRM representing in Brazil companies such as Salesforce.com, Miller Heiman and Direxions. Mr. Eduardo Souza Aranha, head of the consultancy firm, was also part of the team that structured the Smiles Program and is a board member of Abemd, as well. The result of this combined partnership will no doubt strengthen TFC’s relationships in Latin America.
Denis Hure, Co-founder and CEO of the first club™ believes these partnerships will bring tremendous value to all companies’ clients. “Their experience, knowledge and strong relationships with brand partners within their respective markets will be a tremendous benefit in expanding our loyalty and rewards solution across the world, and comes at a critical time when loyalty programs are looking to differentiate themselves. ”
One of the biggest shifts taking place in the loyalty world today is the digitization of rewards and loyalty programs, as evidenced by a report released by the company earlier this year called,Loyalty: Looking Forward. Both the first club™ and Digital Loyalty Rewards believe that 2012 will see downloadable digital content increasingly being used by companies to promote brand loyalty and to incentivize customers to instantly redeem their rewards from any device, and any time.
the first club™ has developed a unique portal where consumers can access the very latest in digital content including over 60 million choices in apps, mp3s, PC games, mobile content, eBooks and Audio Books, and shortly movies, in return for redeeming rewards instantly. The portal has been specifically designed to enhance loyalty reward programs, corporate incentives and sales promotions giving unique access to the entertainment world on a global scale.