Standard Eros Reward Card without registration
The London Evening Standard is launching a pay-as-you-go version of its Eros Reward Card, in an attempt to widen its appeal.
The card was first introduced in September with the paper claiming it to be a more convenient method of payment than using cash. It operates in a similar manner to Transport for London’s Oyster Cards with readers tapping their cards on yellow Eros pads, which are located at selected vendor stands.
It also allows the Associated-owned paper to glean crucial information on its readership as customers are asked to disclose personal details to top up their cards online.
The paper has now decided to complement the existing cards with versions that do not require any form of registration. But one media buyer says: “The paper is doing this because people don’t want to give away their personal details.”
The new cards will be available, at various payment levels, from up to 200 Evening Standard vendors across the capital in the coming months.
The Eros card is popular with media buyers and observers, who believe the loyalty reward packages, like discount offers at bookstore Foyles and coffee shop chain Apostrophe, will help lure and retain new readers.
The latest Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABCs) figures show the paper is managing to stabilise its circulation. It fell just 0.19% in November to 291,991 from 292,544 the previous month. October had seen a rise on September’s figures.
