SSE readies ‘O2 Priority-style’ reward scheme
SSE is to launch a O2 Priority-style rewards service to offer customers preferential promotions around its main sponsorships such as the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the RFU.
The service is launching the utilities firm’s ten-year sponsorship of the SSE Hydro entertainment arena, which is set to open in Glasgow later this month. Customers will have access to an exclusive 48 hour pre-sale ticket service for events taking place at the stadium before being offered an expanded platform in the coming months for SSE’s other tie-ups.
It is hoped the venture can match the success of O2’s loyalty platform, which it uses to promote events at its arenas and sponsorships across the UK using real-time insights from customers.
Wendy Barbour, SSE director of Commonwealth Games and sponsorship, says: “SSE Reward promises to provide real added value for our customers with a great range of exclusive benefits and rewards being added to over time and featuring benefits from a range of our sponsorships across the UK.”
The loyalty push is tied to an overhaul of SSE’s CRM strategy. The energy provider told Marketing Week it is putting in place a blueprint to tie all areas of its marketing strategy including upcoming sponsorships activations through customer data.
The strategy reflects wider shifts across the energy sector from the big six companies to be more customer-driven after years of employing price-based marketing strategies. Npower, the smallest of the country’s top energy firms, is restructuring its marketing team around data and digital disciplines to create more insight-driven brand building initiatives, while E.on is using customer research to develop a set of brand promises.
