Officials for the Washington Redskins wanted to reward their most loyal customers and show them how much they mean to the organization. Not unlike the following professional sports teams: San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Sabres, San Diego Padres, and Sporting Kansas City, the Redskins have launched a new loyalty program called Redskins Rewards.
Tony Wyllie, Senior Vice President of the Washington Redskins, explained to Loyalty360 the genesis of the franchise’s new loyalty program.
“Redskins Rewards was born out of the organization’s desire to recognize its loyal season ticket-holders with a program giving them an opportunity to get more value for their commitment to the team,” Wyllie said. “The program is included with season ticket-holder packages at no additional cost. Customers will gain ‘yards’ based on the number of years they have had season tickets, how many seats they have, and where their seats are located at FedExField. These yards can then be exchanged for once-in-a-lifetime experiences, autographed memorabilia, and unique season ticket-holder merchandise via auctions, sweepstakes, or instant redemption.”
Redskins Rewards is similar to the Faithful 49, the 49ers’ loyalty program, in that members both earn ‘yards’ as the equivalent of points.
The Redskins’ approach to customer loyalty is “methodical with attention to detail,” Wyllie explained.
“We want to build the program slowly to make sure it is developed correctly with the best customer experience possible,” he said. “Many of the experiences we are developing haven’t been done before within the organization so we want to make sure they have the best opportunity to be successful. This program is a start of a long-term customer engagement strategy that will impact all aspects of a Redskins fans relationship with the team and its partners.”
Wyllie said the primary goal of the program is to enhance the experience of season ticket-holders during the game and all year long. Additional goals of the program for season ticket-holders include: Use of all tickets for the season; enter the stadium sooner, provide more customer insight, recognize their total team investment including ancillary spend, e.g. concessions and retail; and consideration for Redskins Sponsors products and services.