AIR MILES ten million collectors can download updated technology

Twenty years ago, AIR MILES flew into Canada and launched the country’s most successful coalition loy­alty program – today about two-thirds of Canadian households carry AIR MILES cards. Families are earning Miles on everything from tooth brushes picked up at Safeway to gas fill-ups at Shell stations. The Miles are then transformed into a big league range of rewards, from Florida bound flights to the lat­est flat screen TV’s or for the new cash program.

AIR MILES has become an inte­gral part of the Canadian con­sumer landscape by listening closely to its Collectors who have made it clear that mobile apps and commerce are an important part of their lifestyle. That’s why in December of 2010, the com­pany introduced the AIR MILES app for Blackberry, iPhone and Android. In less than two years, the app has been downloaded over 700,000 times.

“We see tremendous opportu­nity through the mobile channel to bring value to the over 10 mil­lion active AIR MILES Collectors in Canada – when they are on-the-go and during key shopping moments, “ says Emmie Fuku­chi, Associate Vice President, Digital and New Media, AIR MILES Reward Program. “Mobile use has been rising in popularity over the last few years, with over 40 percent of Canadians own­ing a smartphone. We find we can bring the AIR MILES Reward Program to life through mobile in a way that is fun and truly rep­resents the AIR MILES brand, “ adds Fukuchi.

The app provides Collectors with on-the-go access to their AIR MILES account information – everything from their account balances to improved browsing of the complete Dream Rewards catalogue and in-store bonuses at Sponsor locations across Canada. Collectors can even initiate the built-in GPS function of the app to locate nearby Sponsor locations and find bonus offers.

Earlier this year, the company introduced AIR MILES Cash, a new program that enables Col­lectors to instantly redeem their reward miles in the store. For instance, a balance of 95 reward miles in a Collectors Cash bal­ance can be redeemed for $10 off at the check-out of participating Sponsors. And since the launch of the updated AIR MILES app in August, Collectors have been able to use the app to opt-in to AIR MILES Cash and change their AIR MILES Cash balance prefer­ence at any time.

Also in August, the company introduced the Check-In Chal­lenge on the app – where Col­lectors can engage in friendly competition against fellow AIR MILE members. The Challenge ranks the number of check-ins of each Collector and at the end of each month, the top 50 Collectors with the highest number of check-ins receive a Check-In Bonus of 2 X the reward miles they have already earned in the month. To date, there have been more than 3 million check-ins, with the top 50 challengers regularly check­ing-in with over 1,000 Sponsor locations every month.

“We continue to evolve our presence in mobile and develop the AIR MILES Mobile App, exploring suggestions made by our own Collectors, as well as additional features and capabili­ties that we believe will deliver value in the marketplace,”

We see tremendous opportunity through the mobile channel to bring value to the over 10 million active AIR MILES Collectors in Canada – when they are on-the-go and during key shopping moments.

Emmie Fukuchi, Associate Vice President, Digital and New Media, AIR MILES Reward Program