At the Pavilion Club in Knightsbridge, overlooking the stunning Hyde Park, we recently hosted our second TilloConnect event, a Brilliant Brand Brunch. This gathering focused on the themes of Peak, Promotions, and Potential, aiming to provide our brand partners with insights into maximising their gift card programs in both the B2B and B2C spaces.
Hosted by Tillo Advisor Gail Cohen, alongside Tillo's David Wall and Jigsaw’s Katie Cannon, this event was tailored to meet the needs of our brands, exploring how to unlock the full potential of gift cards
Unlocking success with insights from lastminute.com
Following a warm introduction from Gail and David, we welcomed Federica Földes, International Sales Optimiser for lastminute.com, to share their customer success story.
Fede highlighted how lastminute.com had utilised the Tillo platform to expand its gift card program across 18+ markets and how its success was largely driven by the close collaboration with its Tillo Account Manager, which allowed it to tap into the B2B space, particularly Employee Benefits.
Federica emphasised the importance of timing and market segmentation, noting that key calendar dates, such as school holidays, can vary significantly across different markets, making the role of a well-planned content calendar crucial.
Perfecting Peak - what are the opportunities and challenges for brands?
After a delicious brunch, we delved into strategies for maximising opportunities during the Peak period, starting with a word cloud exercise to identify key opportunities. While financial gain and volume of sales were obvious contributions, customer acquisition and Black Friday were clear winners (and not a single person mentioned the word Christmas)
We then moved on to our second word-cloud of the day, giving our brands the chance to share what they thought to be some of the challenges associated with Peak. This time, responses were far more varied, with answers ranging from data ownership to budget constraints and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
Deep dive discussion and feedback
With our guests warmed up and already discussing their answers, it was time to move on to our collaborative breakout session, giving each table the chance to discuss in more depth the opportunities, challenges, and changing customer behaviours facing them individually and collectively.
We were blown away by the response to this exercise and have attempted to summarise the key takeaways below.
Black Friday and Christmas
- We need to look beyond Black Friday
For many brands, Peak starts with Black Friday and extends to Christmas, but other spikes like Valentine’s Day and summer sales should also be considered for promotional planning.
- Are people no longer falling for Black Friday?
Some brands feel that Black Friday is becoming less credible as sales periods increasingly extend beyond the day itself. When discounts are everywhere for months at a time, could brands break more ground by focusing on activity outside of conventional promotional periods?
- Christmas shopping is becoming more last-minute
The trend of last-minute Christmas shopping is growing due to online and next-day delivery options. Brands need to adapt to this trend to capture last-minute sales effectively.
- Seasonality plays a crucial role in promotional planning
Brands must be tactical, ensuring offers align with the right time of year. Political and economic uncertainties, such as elections, also impact planning, so it’s imperative to look ahead and remain reactive to societal changes.
B2B vs B2C
- B2B growth amid economic challenges
There’s significant growth potential in B2B, though B2C may face hurdles due to the cost of living crisis. Brands need to balance their focus between these segments to optimize growth.
- Planning for peak starts early
Planning for peak begins early, often as early as Q1! While B2C planning is typically more advanced, B2B planning can be more reactive and flexible, so both brands and buyers need to take this into consideration when planning their activity.
- There’s work to be done on education
Brands and the platforms they work with have work to do to help educate partners on what makes their brand special to consumers. By helping partners to sell their products, brands can drive growth in new markets.
Strategy
- Brands and buyers need to align on their promotional strategies
Peak timings differ for brands and buyers. Platforms like Tillo can help align these differing strategies, ensuring cohesive promotional efforts across markets.
- Customer acquisition is still a priority
During peak periods, targeting new customers remains crucial, and brands are focusing on finding new ways to increase market share without alienating loyal customers.
- Standing out can be subtle
With every brand offering discounts and vying for hot promotional slots, factors like product security can be the point of difference to help them stand out. Consumers value secure products, especially in a market saturated with options.
- Comms is one thing, but implementation is another
Implementing consistent promotions across multiple outlets is challenging, especially for brands that franchise.
- Loyalty is making a comeback
Loyalty programs are back on the rise, this time driven by sectors like grocery and hospitality. Brands need to learn how to leverage loyalty programs effectively, focusing on both burn and cash-out opportunities to satisfy a diverse customer base.
- Increasing visibility is vital
Working with platforms like Tillo can help brands expand their reach beyond their traditional markets. In a tough economic climate, this visibility is crucial for growth and can help them tap into new opportunities outside of well-known sectors like R&R.
- Legislation and cross-border complexity are on the rise
Selling across borders is becoming more complex, with varying expiration caps on e-money, and brands must navigate these legislative challenges to succeed in multiple markets.
The discount dilemma
- There’s more to promotions than discounts
Promotions aren’t solely about discounts, and brands can also explore positioning, messaging, and value-added services instead of merely slashing prices.
- Discounts aren’t feasible for every brand, so it’s time to get creative
Discounting simply isn’t an option for all brands, but that can work in their favour, forcing them to be more creative in finding ways to boost sales by using other tools at their disposal, such as emphasizing brand value and other services.
Customer behaviour
- Understanding your customer is more important than ever
Brands need to segment their audience effectively, catering to deal-seekers and retaining loyal customers. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that different demographics are seeking different buying experiences, and brands need to adapt to avoid missing out.
- Self-use gift cards are impacting basket spend
While traditionally, the use of a gift card at checkout increases basket spend, self-use cards purchased at checkout remove upsell opportunities. What can brands look to do here?
- Brands can’t ignore digital much longer
Even brands not currently in the digital gift card space are exploring digital strategies. With the increasing importance of mobile, the days of forgotten physical gift cards are numbered.
- Placement can be a problem
The placement of gift cards, both physically in-store and digitally, is essential. Consumer research indicates that gift cards belong at the till, but some brands are struggling to balance brand image with best practices, resulting in lower sales from back-of-store rails.
After much discussion, we posed the golden question: What can Tillo do to help you? This opened the floor for invaluable feedback ranging from more competitor insight to data and education, all of which we’ve shared with our product and operations teams.
Emerging opportunities: Be bold, be brave, be innovative
In our last session of the day, Tillo’s David Wall took to the floor to talk about emerging opportunities, specifically paid promotional marketing.
In our final poll, 50% of attendees expressed interest in starting paid promotional marketing. Those who were already accessing these channels said that Solus emails, banners and discounts proved to be the most effective activity.
In today’s market, it’s clear that discounts are no longer the only lever to drive volume, and we’re thrilled to be developing new promotional opportunities to help our brands leverage new paid marketing avenues effectively.
To discover more about these exciting opportunities, be sure to register for our TilloConnect Summit or reach out to your account manager.
What’s next for TilloConnect? Join us at our Summit!
Scheduled for the 12th of September at London’s prestigious May Fair Hotel, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our first TilloConnect Summit, a half-day conference-style event bringing together over 100 brands and buyers with the sole aim of supercharging new growth opportunities.
The day will kick off with an introduction from Tillo, featuring a fireside chat on the future of digital rewards and the exciting new opportunities on the horizon for both brands and buyers. Attendees will gain exclusive insights through data-driven presentations and compelling customer success stories that demonstrate how to unlock the full power of Tillo's platform.
In addition to thought-provoking panel sessions, we’re also lining up facilitated networking sessions designed to help you get more from your existing brand-buyer partnerships and forge new, prosperous relationships.
To ensure your spot at the industry's latest must-attend event, contact your Tillo account manager today. With TilloConnect, you can be part of the future of digital rewards.
