Loyalty & Awards 2024

Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director, Global Flight

• Why loyalty and distribution need each other (not only in hospitality)
• Rethinking your digital strategy through the loyalty lenses
• Which technology elements are required for a successful multi-channel distribution strategy?
• The roles of digital and loyalty to create that ultimate customer stickiness: how they complement each other by enlarging your audience

Mehdi Hemici, Chief Loyalty & Ecommerce Officer, Accor

• Understanding the Social Media landscape in China
• What technologies are needed to create loyalty among Gen Z clients?
• Insights into Xiamen Airlines' Social Media strategy
• The result: Getting customers engaged beyond the loyalty currency

Yannan Wu, E-Commerce Supervisor, Xiamen Airlines

Wishlist by three loyalty decision makers, which future technology solutions they would like to see to come to fruition to make their life simpler.

Thi Thu Hien Tran, Deputy Director Lotusmiles, Vietnam Airlines
Àlex Baró​​​​, Commercial Performance and Ancillaries Manager, Volotea
Wee Kee Ng, Vice President, Deputy Head of Shangri-La Circle, Shangri-La Group

• 8-minute pitch for each of three shortlisted suppliers

Moderator:
Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director, Global Flight

Judges:
Cristina Yoshida, Director - Loyalty Program & Ancillary Revenue, Azul Airlines
Aron Backström, Vice President Product, Insights & Loyalty, SAS
Dorothée Mariotte, Marketing Director, Eurostar

Offered by

• How the gaming industry has been deploying MarTech and GenAI for one decade
• Rethinking the role of technology from a customer experience perspective
• Best case studies from different industries
• What is possible in the complex operational environment of the travel industry: Doing instead of talking

Mauro Figueiredo, Thought Leader on Digital Transformation and AI

• The intention of yuu Rewards Club to be more than just a coalition program
• The practical deployment of machine learning and artificial intelligence
• Results: increased engagement, loyalty and growth
• Translating into practical take-aways for other industries

Chen Peng, CEO, minden.ai

• Overview of Uptrip: From 2023 until today
• Turning gamification into loyalty
• Challenges faced
• In retro perspective: Was there a business case? Would we do it again?

Klaus Walther, Head of Award Program Development, Lufthansa/Miles & More

• Revisiting the raison d'être of loyalty programs
• What drives today the design and development of programs?
• Are we moving from travel to bank loyalty?
• Is the customer perspective still sufficiently taken into account?

Moderator:
Manish Dureja, Managing Director, MarKey

Panellists:
James Curry, VP Product & Member Engagement, Skywards, Emirates
Pekka Antila, Head of Loyalty, Finnair
Jacqui Foster, Director, AP Co-brand Portfolio Optimization, Visa
Troy Liu, CEO & Founder, PointsYeah

Participate in one of two parallel workshops of key vendors, talking about their latest solutions to common industry issues.

No pre-registration is required.

Workshop 1: TBA

TBA, Loyalty Partner Solutions

Workshop 2: The Art & Science of Tier Strategy and Your Tier Construct

• Adapt your tier strategy to meet evolving travel trends and consumer expectations.
• Leverage digital transformation and competitive differentiation to stand out.
• Harness behavioral psychology to deepen member engagement and drive loyalty.
• Explore untapped consumer segments and optimize tier structures using concepts like Endowing Progress and Zero-Party-Data.

Lauren Stinson, Sr. Product Manager, Kobie Marketing

• The status quo in airport loyalty: a missing holistic view on the travel eco-system
• The concept of a cooperation model: unlocking an untapped revenue potential
• The expected upsides, at the loyalty level and beyond
• How to bring the topic to life?

Yi Gao, Associate Professor, School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, Purdue University

• The specific context of the Apollo/Flying Blue deal
• Impact on program governance, strategy and operation
• Is this an opportunity for all loyalty programs?

Ben Lipsey, SVP Customer Loyalty | President, Flying Blue, Air France KLM Group

Interviewed by: James Berry, Head of Loyalty Commerce, Valuedynamx

This is your opportunity to meet existing and potential partners/suppliers from all over the world to strengthen and start business relationships in a highly efficient manner.

Meetings can be pre-arranged through connecting with other delegates over the event website or the event app in the run-up to the event.

Celebrating the very best in industry innovation and leadership, as well as our 20th anniversary as part of the event industry! Bring out your best outfits!

Master of Ceremony:
David Andreadakis, Chief Growth Officer, Bluewater Media

Judges:
Nick Rohrlach, CEO, Velocity/Virgin Australia
David Rojo, Global Director, Loyalty, Radisson Hotel Group
Theo Holloway, Senior Director Loyalty, Customer Engagement, Best Western Hotels
Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director, Global Flight

Martha Cohen, VP, Client Services, Travel & Hospitality, Kobie Marketing

• Finding the clear strategic positioning next to a strong competitor (and new competitors)
• Creating true loyalty value for the company
• Charting a course for Loyalty to support a leisure oriented airline

Steve McClelland, Vice President - Loyalty, WestJet Airlines

• 30 years later: A data-based approach to up the loyalty game
• Redefining loyalty: from frequency to customer value
• The role of tactical engagement strategies
• Adapting the strategy to different cultural particularities

Sara Matarrubia, Global Loyalty Director, Meliá Hotels International

• From lagger to industry leader: a technical transformation in record time
• Understanding the loyalty vision and how Amadeus supports it
• Shifting focus to partnerships and customer engagement

Manuj Jain, Head of Loyalty Program, Air India

Interviewed by: Yildiz Artun Erarslan, Head of Pre-sales and Business Development, Amadeus Loyalty

Participate in one of two parallel workshops of key vendors, talking about their latest solutions to common industry issues.

No pre-registration is required.

Workshop 1: Loyalty program partnerships - Recalibrating the ecosystem
New players, new models, new technologies and new ways to navigate them

Mandy Gallie, Vice President Loyalty, Mastercard

Workshop 2:TBA

TBA, Loyalty Juggernaut

• The particular loyalty challenges of a premium leisure carrier
• Harnessing the power of influencers: The reasoning behind our strategy
• Identifying the right influencers and platforms in different markets
• How to measure the ROI

Tero Taskila, CEO, beOnd

• Insights into case studies of 2024 Awards winners
• Benefits for shareholders and members
• Process of generating award-winning initiatives

Moderator:
Ravindra Bhagwanani, Managing Director, Global Flight

Award Winners:
TBA on site

• Defining the strategy for a non-air program
• How to make the own currency relevant
• Conversion partnerships with airline programs: pros and cons
• The communication and engagement challenge: how to stay on top of mind of customers?

Moderator:
Julie Barbier-Leblan, CEO, Merit Incentives

Andrew Cleary, VP, Global CRM & Customer Strategy, Mandarin Oriental
David Canty, SVP, Head of Loyalty & Partnerships, Bilt Rewards
David Kim, Director, Loyalty Platform Product, Expedia Group
Melissa Vandersay, Head of Loyalty Partnerships, Qatar Airways

• Overview about e-commerce loyalty strategies: the dominance of subscription models
• Customer engagement through gamification: e-commerce case studies
• Mobile first approach: How to make it work
• Customer segmentation: It's not all about GenZ
• Developing win-win partnerships with e-commerce players

Olena Sivets, Lead Product Manager, Allegro Smart, Allegro

• Deepening relationships with loyalty programs through mutual long-term commitments
• Moving away from a pure currency focus
• Enhancing customer experience through technology innovations
• Creating mutual benefits through preferred partnerships

Tina Doran, SVP Retail & Commerce, Asia Pacific, Mastercard

• Outlining GHA's approach to partnerships
• Quality over quantity: Focus on few, but relevant partnerships
• Reality check: How much do partnerships help to engage GHA members more?
• Outlook: How will partnerships evolve for GHA?

Jelena Kezika, Senior Strategy Director, Global Hotel Alliance

•  Giving sense to "lifestyle" partners in a global multi-million program
• Justifying the business case for smaller partners
• Leveraging partnerships to increase revenues for the airline
• Which new partnership models are on the horizon?

Paul Smitton, Director Customer - Lifestyle, Cathay Pacific Airways