Oporto’s Loyalty Fail: Lazy member profiling in the age of big data
23 February 2017
Philip Shelper

Oporto Happy Birthday

As a loyalty management consultant I join every loyalty program I can to study the design, the lifecycle marketing approach, and the value provided. It is always a learning experience.

I’ve been a member of Oporto’s Flame Rewards program for about 18 months. I’ve identified Oporto have everything in place to run an effective engagement program, but generally felt they just aren’t trying hard enough. Some of the benefits I’ve accessed include meal size upgrades, free churros and of course, reward points redeemed for a free meal, but the offers are sporadic and rare. Objectively it seems there is much more they could do with the program to drive deeper member engagement.

Turning a year older this month, I received an email from Oporto with quite a generous offer:

Oporto Offer

There’s just one small problem. I’m vegetarian. So not only is the gift not attractive, it’s actually offensive. Worst of all, this could have been avoided. How?

Oporto is failing at the most basic of loyalty program ambitions; member profiling. By taking even a cursory glance at my transaction history since becoming a member, they would have quickly seen I only ever purchased Veggie Burger Meal Deals (chilli sauce on the burger, chips and Vanilla Coke on the side ).

So why offer me a gift of chicken? I don’t eat chickens. I like chickens.

Oporto have invested in developing, launching and running a program which is designed to capture my demographic and transactional data over a long-enough period of time to be able to tailor rewards which speak to me as an individual. They have a responsibility to use this data in a way which enhances my member experience when I choose to engage with their brand. To not do so is sloppy and lazy, and in this instance has achieved the exact opposite of what they set out to do.

Unhappy Birthday to me.

Philip Shelper is a loyalty management consultant based in Sydney, Australia who obsesses about everything to do with loyalty and rewards. His company Loyalty & Reward Co are a leading loyalty management consulting firm.

Let’s connect! https://au.linkedin.com/in/philipshelper

<a href="https://loyaltyrewardco.com/author/philip/" target="_self">Philip Shelper</a>

Philip Shelper

Phil is the CEO & Founder of Loyalty & Reward Co, the leading loyalty consulting firm. Loyalty & Reward Co design, implement and operate the world’s best loyalty programs for the world’s best brands. Phil had previously worked in loyalty roles at Qantas Frequent Flyer and Vodafone. Phil is a member of several hundred loyalty programs, and a researcher of loyalty psychology and loyalty history, all of which he uses to understand the essential dynamics of what makes a successful loyalty program. Phil is the author of ‘Loyalty Programs: The Complete Guide’, the most comprehensive book on loyalty programs on the planet.

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