Big Splash Reward Card The Informatics Team
Introduction British Swimming & the ASA worked with the BBC to get the UK into the pool in a celebration of swimming called the Big Splash. The campaign culminated in a mass participation swim in 2012 in all pools which signed up to the Big Splash campaign. The ASA were looking at how they can improve the products they provide to pools, in particular they were looking into the effectiveness and appropriateness of the Big Splash Reward Card. This report was commissioned to evaluate and learn lessons from the recent roll out of the Big Splash Reward Card initiative.
Aims & Objectives To explore and gain feedback on the initiative from two different perspectives; consumers and customers (pool providers) To identify whether the Reward Card was a popular with consumers and whether or not the customers engaged with the initiative To review whether or not continue with the Reward Card again or whether it needs amending
Consumer Perspectives
Method The Big Splash Reward Card launched in October 2011. In November 2011 completed Reward Card s were being sent back to the ASA. The data from the cards were inputted into a spreadsheet, so the ASA could analysis certain trends; i.e. average age and how long it took to complete the cards. An email was then sent to the customers who had completed their cards with a link to an online survey so the ASA could find out their swimming behaviour and what they thought of the scheme. The data used was valid as of February 2012, since this data more information has been collated and analysed.
Exec Summary The Big Splash Reward Card doesn t reach the wider market, only those who currently use their leisure centres A Reward Card is an effective communication channel The average customer fell into the 55-64 age bracket The main motivation to sign up to the Reward Card was to gain 2 free swims 51% already swam 2-3 times per week, however this increased to 61% after this initiative It took on average 58days for the consumers to compete their cards, which equates to swimming once a week, therefore consumers may have forgotten to get their cards stamped after each swim 93% said they felt fitter 1/3 were encouraged to buy a membership after using the Reward Card The majority of people pay between 1-4 for a swim Participants would like to be involved in future schemes; swim for 1 and 2 for 1 offers. 99.4% said they would recommended the Big Splash Reward Card to their friends and families
Awareness This highlights that the Big Splash campaigns are not reaching a wider market and is only reaching people who currently using their leisure centres. The majority of people heard about the Big Splash Rewards Card via their swimming pool; 97.1% The second graph emphasises that the Big Splash marketing is not reaching the wider market, however it demonstrates that a Reward Card is an effective communication channel in terms of communicating a message which has not reached consumers in any other way (BBC, press coverage, etc.)
The Big Splash campaign needs to brand out of the swimming pools, as people are not aware of the campaign outside of their swimming pool. The BBC TV promotional film which is shown during various sporting programme had a higher response rate above the ASA/ British Swimming and Big Splash website.
Motivations The majority of people were motivated to sign up purely for the fact they got 2 free swims. This could be due to the current economic climate with people struggling financial to continue certain activities, were grateful for the free swims. Therefore a recommendation would be to continue with the financial incentive if completed in one month.
Post Scheme Behaviour 93% felt fitter, with 41.5% saying it encouraged them to swim more regularly. More than 1/3 were encourage to buy a membership after using the Big Splash Reward Card It s recommended that the ASA and leisure centre memberships continue using supportive messages of how to increase savings and increase opportunities.
Recommendations - Word of Mouth It is recommendation to promote family and bring a friend incentives to increase redemption rates for Reward Cards. 99.4% said they recommend the Big Splash Reward Card to friends and family; word of mouth, however only 37% of their friends and families are now using the Reward Card.
Frequency 61% now swim 2-3 times per week, since taking part in the scheme, although 51% already swam that often. The focus should now be on ways to get the 51% already swimming 2-3 times a week to increase the length of their swim beyond 30mins, this could be achieved by using Swimfit cards or incentives Time available and appropriate slots in the swimming pool Nice to get 2 sessions free
Price Majority of people paid between 1-4 for a swim, with 32% paying between 3-4. Therefore the future focus should be on Swimming Offers opportunities for Big Splash Reward Card users, using schemes such as 1 or BOGOF. 66% would be interested in a swim for 1. This is most likely influenced by the current financial climate. 50% would be interested in 2 for 1 in the future.
Market Segments Market Segment Participates Average time to complete the card 19-24 53 58 days 25-34 271 61 days 35-44 455 58 days 45-54 637 58 days 55-64 720 57 days 65+ 998 57 days The Informatics Team recommend that future incentives should encourage Reward Cards to be completed in either one month or less than 6 weeks.
Number of participants per age group 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0-20 -40 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Age This graph highlights that more participants were aged between 55-64. The Informatics team will use this information to develop market segments which will include personality and ability categories (personas)- to help with future marketing This could be reflect by the top end of this age group reaching retirement age, which means they could have more discretionary time to do leisure activities and start thinking about their health. Alan, Vince, Sue and Marie are our swimming market segments which fit into this market segment. They are currently happy with the amount of physical activity they participate it, this was reflected in the Reward Card data that the card helped to continue swimming, not necessarily to participate more.
120 Days Time taken to complete reward card per age 100 80 60 40 20 Age 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Explore the use of online loyalty cards added onto the pools database. Refer to CS 15 (loyalty cards). On average it took 58 days for the customers to compete their card (10 swims), roughly 2 months, which equates to swimming once a week. However this is not reflective in the survey which stated people swam 2-3 times a week. This could be possibly because they forgot to get their card stamped or left their card at home.
Customer Perspectives
Method The Big Splash Reward Card launched in October 2011. From the ASA s database (CRM) it was identified 3 types of operators to interview; Excelled with the reward card initiative Who chose not to offer the cards Who agreed to offer the reward cards, but shortly after developed their own loyalty card. A few questions were sent out to the duty managers of the identified pools regarding the Reward Card or their own loyalty cards and were asked how the ASA could help them continue their own reward card scheme and how working with the ASA in the future could benefit their business.
Exec Summary excelled with the Reward Card Initiative Ease of contact with AO s was rather helpful. A simple loyalty scheme. Increased their participation levels. Would have liked more promotion material, i.e. points of sales/ display stands at receptions Have an electronic version of the cards, so Big Splash pools can print them off for future Big Splash brand campaigns. If reproducing, have a larger space for email addresses as the current space was too small. They enjoyed received the raw data back as they used it for future marketing campaigns at their centre. Extras to consider Leisure centres relied on in-house promotion and didn't explore external promotional methods. Pool s felt the reward they get in return for promoting the cards wasn t worthwhile, i.e. don t see the impact with membership transfers. Most leisure centres seem to have good contact with their AO s and were kept up-to-date with their progress however some leisure centres have been poor returning their cards. It s not inclusive in all swimming pools, therefore the ASA need to explore/ overcome these barriers so they can be included.
Exec Summary - chose not to offer the Reward Card as already had their own loyalty card Felt they provided a better value card to their consumers (4 swims, get 1 free) and the Big Splash Reward Card (10 swim, 2 free) would be less of an incentive to their consumers. Their consumers had to complete their 4 paid swims and their 5 th free swim within a month, therefore it was an incentive for them to swim more regularly otherwise they would lose their free swim. Their card didn t collect any information about their consumers apart from their name, so they couldn t re-contact / track their future participation. As they gave all their casual swimmers a card, this could have been a perfect opportunity to capture lots more data about these swimmers. They measured the success of the card by tracking how many they sent out against how many were redeemed and by the increase in their pool income. Promotion was in-house with point of sales being displayed at reception, adverts on their in-house TV screens and on their external website. The card was eye-catching and doesn t blend into the normal blue noise created by advertising campaigns at leisure centres. Exec Summary who agreed to offer the reward cards, but shortly decided against it They felt it would recycle their current users and wouldn t be able to determine whether there would be an increase in the number of times consumers visited or would they just get the free swims regardless of attending more regularly.
Case Study 1: Excelled with the Reward Card initiative The leisure centre heard about the Big Splash campaign via their Aquatic Officer and felt they were easily approachable which helped with the success of the initiative. They would be willing to continue with the initiative, as they thought the format was excellent and it was a simple loyalty scheme for their consumers to engage with. The initiative benefited the centre s participation rates, as their adult swimming increased by 43% in quarter 3 compared to the previous year. They had a high return rate on the loyalty cards which demonstrated their consumers engaged well with the cards, however it was felt the card didn't encourage non swimmers. The ASA could provide some display stands at receptions which would make an eye catching focal point at the entrance. The ASA could also provide the card s electronically so the leisure centres could just print them off for future promotions under the Big Splash brand. There needs to be more space for consumers to write their email addresses in as they had to try and fit it into a small gap, consequential they were a few which were unreadable therefore it has not been possible to contact these consumers about future promotions. The leisure centre found it very helpful that the raw data was sent back to them, enabling them to use it for future target marketing at their centre.
Case Study 2: Chose not to offer the Reward Card as already had their own loyalty card This leisure centre didn t sign up to the Big Splash Reward Card because they felt they already offered a better value card to their consumers; buy 4 swims and get 1 free, whereas the Big Splash Reward Card offered buy 10 get 2 free. They felt there was no logic in withdrawing their card to replace it with a card which offered less of an incentive to their consumers. They are aware that their consumers would only engage in a generic swim loyalty card if the offer was as good as or better than the one they already offer. The consumer had 1 month from the date of the first swim to complete all 4 paid swims and redeem their 5 th free swim. It was expressed that this seemed to work well as it encouraged swimmers to make a minimum of 4 swims in a 1-month period (i.e. once a week) as if they failed to do this they failed to get their free swim.
Case Study 2: Chose not to offer the Reward Card as already had their own loyalty card The promotion for their loyalty card was primarily in-house, by having point of sales at reception and by giving a card to consumers who pay for a casual swim that doesn't already have a swim loyalty card, therefore in doing so it ensures almost every casual swimmer has one and uses it. They also promoted it on their website and TV screens around the Sports Village. Completed loyalty cards were handed in at reception and redeemed so they could measure how many had been issued/ redeemed. Their main judgement to see if their loyalty card was successful was by looking at their overall pool income. Their pool income has increased since they introduced their swim loyalty card and therefore have surmised it as a success.
Case Study 2: Chose not to offer the Reward Card as already had their own loyalty card If the ASA were to filter a generic loyalty card into this leisure centre in the future they felt it there would need to be a tailored offer specific to their site. This could be achieved by producing different versions of the Big Splash Reward Card i.e. buy 4 get 1 free, buy 8 get 2 free or buy 10 get 2 free and let sites choose which ones they wanted to implement. Another thing which could make a difference to them would be if the ASA teamed up with a 3 rd party that offered some form of reward to people completing their loyalty card (i.e. Speedo) as they couldn't negotiate this as a single site but as Speedo are an official partner of the ASA this could be explored.
Case Study 3: Who agreed to offer the reward cards, but shortly decided against it This centre was council run and also run other centres across the area. They originally said they would decide whether or not to accept the Big Splash Reward Card after the first batch of cards were sent out. They later decided they wouldn t sign up to the scheme as they felt it would recycle current users and they couldn t determine if they would increase the number of times they had visited or if they would just be getting free swims, as they would have attended regardless of the card.
North East Feedback (January 2012) It was noted that there seemed to be an inconsistent approach from leisure centres, they either have their own promotion card, were unable to track the cards or where happy with the scheme and implemented it into their pools. It was apparent leisure centres relied on consumers to find out about the Reward Card via their facilities, as they didn't explore other promotion methods such as local papers, websites or workplaces. LA Fitness LA Fitness would have liked to use the Big Splash Reward Cards, however there wasn't a way in which this could have linked to the LA Fitness website. It became apparent there was too much red tape which would mean the information that the ASA collected from the cards would not be allowed to be shared with LA Fitness. Therefore they decided it wouldn t be worthwhile signing up as they wouldn t get anything from the scheme as their pool users are members anyway (i.e. don t get free swim, as not casual users). As a result the ASA need to explore how it can benefit them in another way as they would have liked to join in with the initiative.
Regional Director Feedback (June 2012) The link between the Big Splash Reward Card and the event Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief was not clear, this was due to numerous reasons; Members of the public and leisure centre staff were unaware of what the Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief was. There were too many changes regarding The Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief as a result the sponsors and marketing users found it difficult to keep track of what was going on. Leisure providers liked the idea of the event, however they expected more support, therefore the ASA needs to work on providing a better relationship between and Aquatic Officers and pool managers. The ASA needed to simplify what they expected to be delivered by the leisure providers, so less noise is created. In the future there needs to be clarity around what the product is, for it to be delivered appropriately. Leisure providers are willing to do a Big Splash campaign again however in the future there needs to be more focus, with a specific targeted audience, but it is unlikely the ASA customers (leisure providers) will want to do another Big Splash challenge. Previous hurdles also need to be overcome, for example allowing schools to participate in the challenge as this could have a positive impact on school swimming (case study 46). Overall the Swimathon got more out of the event rather than the Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief.
SUGGESTIONS Look at case study 15- Loyalty Cards. It looks into what the ASA can do with loyalty cards and how to engage customers to sign up. Explore loyalty cards more, what makes them unique and attractive to customers. Offer it to members, by offering them other incentives rather than free swims. Partner up with 3 rd party s to offer an incentive, such as Speedo providing free towels. Make it online/ electronic copies, so centres can download it when they want to use the initiative. Change the email box to @ so there is more space to write address and they become more readable, so more data is captured. Provide marketing materials for the leisure centres, so they can spread the message into the wider community (external promotion). Make it more eye-catching, so it doesn't blend into the blue noise created at leisure centres Tracking participation beyond the card, by helping leisure centres analysis their till systems, so they understand the return they get for promoting the cards. This would also allow them to understand how they can use the data collected for future marketing campaigns. If all leisure centres were to sign up to the Big Splash Reward Card there would need to be different tailored options, so pools can decide which one to implement/ fits best with their demographics.
Moving Forward In previous years the ASA have been good at rewarding members but have often missed out rewarding casual swimmers. Therefore this scheme/ Big Splash Reward Card encouraged people to swim more often with a reward if attendance was frequent. If the ASA were to continue with the Reward Card there needs to be more external promotion, as the scheme only reached those consumers who already attend the leisure centre, therefore there needs to be more emphasise on marketing outside the leisure centres to engage with those non-swimmer. The ASA could provide marketing materials for the leisure centres, so they can market to their individual wider community, however for this to be achieved nationally we could provide the BBC with some promotional tools, as they can target the wider population, whereas the ASA market to a niche market (swimmers). On the other hand, promotions usually create a busier pool with people who are not normally interested in swimming, they just go to get the discount, i.e. a free swim, which means the regular consumers miss out as they have to pay full price throughout the year and have to put up with a crowded swimming pool. Therefore explore looking at memberships deals and introducing a loyalty card for those with membership to receive another incentive, for example discounted/ free stash (i.e. a towel/ water bottle) by a 3 rd party such as Speedo. Due to the recent economic climate consumers are often looking for discounts to either save money to try something new which they couldn t previously afford. Therefore the Reward Card provided the consumers with free swims which meant they could swim more regularly. as they are saving money and having more of an opportunity to swim. However people often dislike participating alone therefore future discounts could involve family and bring a friend incentives, as people are motivated by the social aspect of swimming (case study 52- Swimming Offers). If this Reward Card was to be rolled out again in the future, offer a better incentive which will benefit the ASA s participation figures (Sport England Active People Survey), for example encourage the consumer to complete the card by a certain time; 4 swims and get 5 th free to be completed within a month, this could reflect people swimming more frequently; once a week.
Moving Forward If the Reward Card was to be rolled out across more leisure centres, to encourage them to sign up and participate in the scheme there would need to be different tailored options, so pools can decide which one to implement/ fits best with their demographics. This could be downloaded electronically so they can also choose when and if they would to use the initiative. Another incentive for pools to sign up would be the ability to provide individual data about their consumers, for example tracking participation beyond the card by helping leisure centres analysis their till systems, so they understand the return they get for promoting the cards. This would also allow the centres to analysis the data collected for their future marketing campaigns. If the Big Splash Mile for Sport Relief was to run again in 2014 (there is no Sport Relief in 2013) there needs to be clarity of what needs to be delivered by encouraging a better relationships with the leisure providers and the Aquatic Offers, allowing the product to be delivered correctly without any confusion. The Big Splash Reward Card could still be utilised to support this event by encouraging regular participation during the lead up to the event.