Boots is set to unleash its biggest marketing campaign to date for the Advantage Card as part of a wider strategy to recruit more members for the loyalty club by build greater insight on its customer base.
The new strategy will see the retailer invest £3m in the campaign in April and May alone and will centre on the expansion of the Price Advantage scheme, which allows loyalty card members to access products at exclusive lower prices, similar to Tesco’s Clubcard Prices.
Initially launched in January with 150 products in-store, it has now been rolled out to the retailer’s website and extended to include over 300 additional products, across categories such as beauty, health and baby.
Boots.com now accounts for 15% of overall sales, up from 9% pre-pandemic, with digital sales in the second quarter of its fiscal year jumping by 60% compared to 2020.
The integrated marketing push for the scheme will include TV, radio, digital out-of-home, paid social, and print across national press titles and magazines as well as direct mail.
Boots UK chief marketing officer Pete Markey said the ultimate aim is to recruit more customers to the Advantage Card scheme, which already has 11.7 million active members.
The programme is one of the most generous points-based retail loyalty schemes in the UK, with members receiving 4 points (worth 1p each) for every £1 spent, regular personalised offers and free access to clubs. By comparison Tesco Clubcard offers 1 point (worth 1p) for every £1 spent and Nectar offers 1 point (worth 0.5p) for every £1 spent.
Markey said: “Price Advantage was born following customer feedback, with many telling us that they would like to receive immediate benefits through their Boots Advantage Card, as well as being able to save up points and treat themselves in the future.
“The response from the store launch has exceeded expectations and the business has seen positive feedback from both customers and store colleagues.”
Boots has been a long-term advocate of the data-driven approach and in 2020 the company retained WPP as its global marketing and communications partner, with a brief to implement the “mass-personalisation” marketing strategy.
Last September, Boots also launched a marketing agency to tap into loyalty club data and deliver personalised campaigns for brand owners. Dubbed Boots Media Group, the agency is a joint venture with media agency Threefold, and offers a full-service proposition that places the data on Advantage Card members at the heart of the business.
It operates through co-marketing campaigns, using personalisation and AI-based optimisation, which can be delivered in-store, across Boots’ digital platforms, and social media. The agency also offers what it claims is “robust campaign measurement and clear ROI reporting”.
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