People love Orange Wednesdays, marketers and consumers alike.
It’s one of the most successful sponsorship and reward programmes ever seen - with tens of millions of cinema tickets redeemed, it’s still going from strength to strength.
As we head into the 10th year of Orange (And now EE) Wednesdays success, it’s worth reflecting on what can be learnt regarding how best to create an enduring platform for effective mobile relationship management.
1. Giving back works… but you need to make it count
When Orange originally approached us, it was to use the mobile channel to give something back to its customers, by leveraging its unique partnership with the UK Film Industry.
It became clear that to truly differentiate the brand, we would need to go beyond more typical sponsorship activity, such as the use of a celebrity ambassador, and focus on the customer by giving them something meaningful. Which is why the idea of putting a free movie ticket in the pocket of every customer each week, was so attractive.
The potential value to an Orange customer was over £6 (average ticket value in the UK back then) each week if they chose to use the service. That’s over £24 per month! If you include the additional 2-4-1 Pizza Express offer available with an Orange Wednesdays voucher, the perceived and potential value rises to over £50 per month. More than most people pay for their phone bill!
We have found, over the years, that for a successful mobile vouchering loyalty proposition, you not only need to give back, you need to offer rewards with high perceived value. As a rule of thumb, that means more than £5, otherwise people don’t actually get their phone out and engage.
2. Make it easy, fast and reliable
The next key consideration, once you’ve created an attractive enough offer, is to make it as easy as possible for participants to request and redeem the offer.
A major reason for the longevity of the programme has been how well the mobile channel has worked as a means for people to request their two-for-one tickets. As one would expect, a lot of film viewing decisions get taken fairly late in the day.
We see most of the traffic of customer requests in the 48 hours leading up to Wednesday, with the most intense activity on the day itself. The mobile phone has become a crucial component of the experience.
The lesson here is to allow for impulse.
We had to design a robust system of integrations and wireless devices to enable hundreds of thousands of people to make last minute requests, even in the foyer and in the queue. I can’t stress enough how important timing is in ensuring a positive customer experience, which was top of the agenda for both Orange and the wider film industry.
Imagine the cringeworthy scenario of someone repeatedly texting whilst queuing, and receiving no response due to system delays. They wait anxiously at the till, desperate for the 2-4-1 voucher while the line behind them gets longer and longer. Finally, upset with service, they end up paying full price for both tickets and calling customer service… And then, just as the lights dim, their phone loudly beeps as the codes eventually come through.
Disgruntled film viewers, an upset customer and a date without popcorn is the result of just a five minute delay. During our initial in-cinema research, we experienced similar stories and more. One message rang clear: keeping the customer experience simple and reliable is the number one priority to drive repeat usage – a key customer retention metric for Orange.
The programme has evolved as new channels have evolved. It’s become possible for customers to request a ticket though the Orange Wednesdays app, online or through interactive voice response. But the principles of easy, fast and reliable remain.
In fact, 90% of redemptions still happen via SMS, which underlines that consumers want to use methods that work, irrespective of what the latest digital marketing trend might be.
3. Choose your partners wisely
Many of the loyalty programmes we run have an important partner component, as partnerships can be powerful differentiators. However, we recommend being very selective with partners in order to avoid the slippery slope of brand dilution.
Film is an emotional, passionate subject, and going to the movies is a very particular experience – Orange has stayed true to that experience, and in doing so, they have strengthened the Orange Wednesdays brand.
Over the years, many brands have tried to become part of the Wednesdays experience, but Orange has remained highly selective, partnering only with brands that enhance the customer film viewing experience. Pizza Express is one example of a partner that did join the programme and greatly extended the film experience (and perceived value) with a 2-4-1 pizza deal… who doesn’t love a pizza before or after a great film?
Success is not only about finding the right partner, it’s also about timing the launch of the partner, once the programme is well positioned in the consumers mind. Any partnership should remain true to the concept, and genuinely complement the customer experience.
4. Don’t intrude, empower
Just as the experience should be kept as pure as possible, so should the communications. Consumers see their mobile as part of their personal space, so any push messaging should be used very, very carefully.
Most of the advertising for Orange Wednesdays is above the line, and anything more direct than that is dependent on the customer’s explicit permission. Each direct marketing communication to an Orange Wednesdays user is designed to be part of the film viewing experience.
Participants only receive reminders, follow ups, and invites to the movies. This gives the customer a sense of a relationship – the way a friend would remind you about a date at the movies. The idea is to build trust by never stepping outside of the realm of the service we are providing and giving control to the customer to stop the communication at any time.
This philosophy is crucial in building programmes that last, and generate repeat usage.
5. Big ideas are worth fighting for
When Orange embarked on this journey with the film industry, no such programme had ever been run.
There were significant technology hurdles – no wireless redemption devices existed and the cinema industry was highly fragmented with till systems of all shapes and sizes. There were marketing hurdles too – no one had ever sponsored a ‘day of the week’ in this way. And there were customer education challenges. Ambitiously trying to change customer habits is always a daunting challenge.
It has taken incredible vision, sustained investment and commitment from Orange and the British film Industry to bring the programme to its current position over the years - achieved by driving home a simple message and keeping all of the technology behind the scenes, to ensure a great customer experience.
Industry defining success stories like Orange Wednesday will continue to emerge, but it requires real conviction and a set of stakeholders willing to commit long term, often against the tide of short-term success driven initiatives.
Ultimately, the programme has transformed Wednesday from one of the slowest days of the film viewing week, to one of the most popular. That’s the kind of positive behavioural change marketers should get excited about.
I don’t know about you, but I know what I’m doing tonight. See you at the movies!
By Adhish Kulkarni, CMO, Lumata.
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