Miller Park officially re-named to American Family Field
The Milwaukee Brewers now play at American Family Field. It’s been known as Miller Park since it opened in 2001. The name change comes after a 20-year $40-million contract between the stadium and Miller Brewing Company.
It was announced in January 2020 that the naming rights would switch to American Family Insurance at the beginning of the following year.
Contactless and Self-Service are Here to Stay
Liliana Petrova at CustomerThink.com says a customer experience trend highlights contactless and self-service experiences across industries. In a recent issue of Fortune, Ajay Banga, the CEO of Mastercard for over ten years, said “The good thing for our business is that digital has been on afterburners. Everybody has embraced contactless commerce.”
“Why is this so important? Because, as Ajay Banga is stepping down from Mastercard, he is leaving a tenure of 12.7% growth of annualized revenues. And ROI that reached 40% annual clip! How did he achieve these extraordinary financial results? By leveraging technology like contactless payments and partnerships to gain share against cash, which held a staggering 85% of retail transactions ten years ago.”
Sonesta to Acquire RLH
Sonesta International Hotels Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire RLH Corporation.
RLH is the 10th-largest U.S.-based hotel franchise company with more than 900 hotels. After the closing of the transaction, Sonesta will become one of the largest hotel companies in the U.S. with approximately 1,200 hotels in diversified brands across multiple market segments. Sonesta also announced that upon closing of this transaction, 35-year hotel industry veteran Keith Pierce will be joining the company as EVP, president of franchise and development.
Papa John’s Announces Bonuses For 14K Workers
Papa John’s is planning to provide bonuses to 14,000 frontline workers for their hard work during the pandemic. The pizza giant is allocating around $2.5 million to the special year-end bonuses.
The company says their employees’ dedication and great customer service were key to the company’s success during a very difficult time. In addition, Papa John’s has also hired 30,000 new team members this year, many who had lost their previous jobs due to the pandemic.
The pizza chain has contributed more than $3.6 million to COVID-19 relief efforts. It has also donated more than 500,000 pizzas to essential health care workers, first responders and communities in need.
Time for Some Social Responsibility in 2021
Dealerscope.com says the term “corporate social responsibility” or CSR is one we are seeing tossed around a lot of late. And it is becoming a pretty prevalent one in the retail world. More and more retailers are realizing that giving back doesn’t just make the world a better place, it can also be good for business.
Here’s a few statistics that illustrate this notion pretty clearly:
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According to a recent report, 52% of U.S. consumers factor values into their purchase choices, seeking brands that proactively promote beliefs and values aligned with their own.
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A recent Nielsen survey found that 66% of consumers were willing to pay more for goods from brands that demonstrated social commitment.
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Yet another study by public relations and marketing firm Cone Communications found that 87% of Americans will purchase a product because its company advocated for an issue they cared about.
CSR matters to consumers more today than it ever has, and that is particularly true when it comes to younger demographics, with millennials leading the way here. So, suffice it to say, it is extremely important to consider what types of CSR activities are effective in targeting younger consumers.