An aspirational prize is a good way to trigger an engaging loyalty campaign. Choice Hotels New Zealand just completed a successful loyalty campaign that offered a grand prize of a trip to Hawaii for two -- including seven nights in Waikiki, Honolulu, plus $2,500 spending money.
Choice Hotels Australasia (including New Zealand and Australian Choice Hotels) is part of Choice Hotels International, one of the world’s largest accommodation franchisors. Choice Privileges is the company’s global loyalty program, which allows its members to earn points toward free nights at more than 6,000 Choice Hotels around the world.
Aileen Cobern, General Manager, Sales & Marketing, Choice Hotels Australasia, told Loyalty 360 that Choice Privileges in New Zealand is still in its infancy and the primary objective is to increase membership over the next 18 months to two years.
“Past results have shown that when running a member acquisition campaign, an aspirational prize, such as a great holiday, is a fantastic way to encourage people to sign up to the program,” Cobern explained. “Research indicated that Hawaii is regarded as an aspirational destination for many New Zealanders.”
Cobern said the Hawaii trip grand prize was inspired by an aspirational idea the company had used.
“Choice Hotels Australasia ran a very successful ‘Win a Car’ promotion in New Zealand in the second half of last year, giving away a brand new car,” Cobern said. “At that time Choice Hotels had recently launched Facebook pages for each of the four brands in New Zealand, along with a corporate Choice Hotels New Zealand page, and all new Choice Privileges members were given a bonus entry to the draw if they ‘liked’ the corporate page. This has been replicated for the ‘Win a Hawaiian holiday’ promotion and there has been strong virality from the posts put up so far and the number of ‘shares’ by entrants.”
Without offering specific numbers, Cobern is thrilled with how the loyalty campaign sparked customer engagement.
Cobern said the campaign had two key objectives for Choice Hotels: To increase the number of New Zealand Choice Privileges members; and to grow awareness of the Choice Privileges loyalty program in the New Zealand market, and by association, awareness of the four hotel brands that Choice Hotels represents in New Zealand -- Econo Lodge, Comfort, Quality, and Clarion.