Mr. Rosenberger

Sales & Marketing

Are Rewards Clubs for Kids a Good Idea?

By Matthew Rosenberger, Consultant & Publisher, ABC Travel Guides for Kids

The title of this article asks a simple question: are rewards clubs for kids a good idea? The answer is a resounding YES, but how elaborate does a 'rewards club' have to be and at what age do such programs really become effective?

Last year I wrote an article for the Hotel Business Review titled, “Building Brand Loyalty When Your Customer is Under 10” and in the piece we highlighted a number of studies that indicated that kids from the age of two start to have beliefs about certain brands and even start recognize familiar brand names, packaging, logos, and characters and associate them with products, especially if the brands use bright colors, pictures, and cartoon characters.

When I was a kid we loved to “flip”, trade and collect baseball cards. Topps was the main brand and producer of the cards, but was later joined in the industry by Fleer and Donerus who wanted to capitalize on the collectability of baseball cards among kids. I can still remember the styles of the cards, the logo of the brands, and of course the barely chewable stick of bubble gum that came with every pack. Today kids love to display, share and trade rubber band like bracelets that once removed from the wrist form all kinds of fun (and silly shapes) they are know by many names such as silly bandz, crazy bands, zany brands... you get the picture.

In fact, much like pet rocks, mood rings, beanie babies and Webkins, if you or your team has not heard of this product you are not prepared for families visiting your property. Because if you were, you would have some on hand to distribute to your young visitors and it would cost you literally a couple of pennies per band to bring a smile, and create a connection with today’s family.

For those of you who are not between the ages of 3 and 19 you may not be aware of just how big the silly bandz craze is. It has taken over most playgrounds in elementary schools and will surely carry over this summer season to the swim club and summer camp setting. But the craze has also extended all the way to high school and college campuses. This rubber band like product comes in all shapes and sizes that only appear when they are taken off of one’s wrist. If you want to be part of the “club” you need to understand the beauty and simplicity of this product and its impact on children. And more importantly, you want to have these silly bandz on site to distribute to your youngest guests upon arrival. This low cost initiative will go a long way in establishing rapport with your guest’s kids and impress your guests. It will also show that you are in fact part of the “club”. There are many examples in the hospitality industry of marketing programs designed for kids, the Camp Hyatt, Loews Loves Kids, and Omni Sensational Kids programs come to mind. Yet most of the marketing of these programs speaks to the parents not the kids. Creating a “rewards program” for kids is essential to attracting your share of the lucrative family travel business.

The key to establishing a rewards club for kids is to understand that when marketing to kids it is important to focus on what they want as a way of supplementing the marketing you have already done to attract their parents.

A well designed program for kids will include some of the same marketing tools used to engage their parents, and include a personalized rewards card and account number, colorful promotional material such a customized travel or activity guide, follow-up letters, emails and mailings, invitations to special events and activities and a chance to redeem points for items of interest. The main challenge of course, is that it is the parents who are footing the bill for all the rewards club perks being offered to their children. So rather than there being a bargained for exchange between the kids and the brand there is a need to recognize that the relationship between the parents and the brand is a key element with one of the perks being that the kids are the third party beneficiary. The beauty of effectively implementing a program for kids is that the costs of such a program, again to be borne by the parents, can be relatively modest but the dividends can be enormous. ROI on such programs can be monitored through surveys to both parents and their kids and through an examination of data before and after implementation of the programs.

The consuming public has learned that it's pretty much always a good idea to sign up for any rewards program whether it’s at the pump, the market, an airline, credit card, or the hospitality industry. It’s a no-brainer – it’s a way to save money and get special attention - especially because most of the programs fail to capitalize on the information they have collected property which results in minimal intrusion into one’s personal life.

Generally speaking the consumer’s expectations regarding their rewards are also rather low. Any perks received are at no cost, so the fact the airline industry has tightened up some of their benefits is of limited consequence.

The hotel industry, more than any other industry, has done a terrific job of promoting and marketing their rewards programs. Any making a reservation, or researching a brand or property can see a pricing schedule and format that highlights many perks and advantages to becoming a member of any offered rewards club. One of the areas in the coming years where hotels can do better here is by tying in a kids reward club directly as one of the perks offered to adult rewards club members.

A system that issues reward club cards and amenities as outlined above, directly to the children of enrolled or new rewards club members will go a long way toward creating loyal repeat family visitors. Too many opportunities are lost at the initial enrollment here. Collecting information from your enrolling members about their kids likes and dislikes is not done enough. A couple of simple questions designed to illicit information could be an extremely effective method in attracting families whose lives revolve around their children’s hectic schedules. Once the information is logged into the system actions can be taken by the hotel staff to provide certain amenities that are of personal interest to your young guests. Getting started is very easy and begins with the parents. Upon check in existing rewards guests and newly enrolling guests, with children, should be asked a simple question, “Are your kids enrolled in our new Rewards Club for Kids?”

Too many brands are under the misbelief that their “Kids eat free and stay in the room for free” are of any value to kids. In fact, these “perks” are pretty much transparent to parents as well. While this sort of promotion may have been effective years ago, today it is blasé. Free movies, and free snacks and beverages for “rewards club members” could be a low cost starting point at establishing true perks for your youngest visitors that will go a long way at the initial imposition of a rewards club. Kids love to carry stuff and they particularly like stuff that mirrors what their parents have, like “credit cards”. The relevance here is that a “credit card” type rewards club card for kids would be an inexpensive way to start reaching kids. As an added bonus you might offer parents the opportunity for parents to purchase rewards cards that have actual benefits for their kids either in the gift shop, game room, in-room room service or movies or print or on-line products catalogue.

In today’s climate creating a “rewards program” for kids is essential to attracting your share of the lucrative family travel business. So think outside of the box a little bit and create a rewards program for kids, it will be pay tremendous dividends and create a new class of repeat customers.

Matthew G. Rosenberger is a family travel consultant and publisher who works with hotels that want to be recognized as the most family friendly in their region. He is publisher of ABC City Guides for Kids, an all-in-one alphabet book, activity guide and souvenir. The books are customized by hotels and resorts to feature their images, logo and address on the book's front and back covers. Mr. Rosenberger also promotes his selection of family friendly hotels at his website and family travel related assignments through his "We Love Kids" and "TOP FIVE" pick selections. Mr. Rosenberger can be contacted at 215-242-4011 or mgr@kidstravelguides.com Extended Bio...

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