In an interview with EVENTFAQS, Vijay Bobba, MD & CEO, PAYBACK, India, discusses their new avatar and the tie-up with the Future Group.

What does PAYBACK's new avatar involve? Why was this change introduced?

PAYBACK has created the ‘points' which depict the very nature of the program, which revolves around collection of points on daily shopping and redeeming the same for rewards. The PB brand is established across Germany and Poland and for India, a need was felt to bring in an extra emotional appeal into the brand.

Also, since the market is still new to the multi-partner loyalty program concept, it was essential to also convey an educational message which can inform customers about our partners, the ease of collecting points on daily shopping and the incentive to collect points, i.e. Rewards. Hence, the communication brings in all three elements and ‘points' are the carriers of that message for us.

How did the Future Group come to associate with PAYBACK?

PAYBACK, across different markets, works with the leaders in their category so that the best rewarding opportunities can be offered to the customers. Also, PAYBACK understands the importance of making the program easy and simple for the customers to collect points. Future Group brings in both the ease and simplicity through its different formats. The group formats have both daily shopping opportunities as well as festive shopping benefits. Also, the nationwide scale offered by Future Group makes it relevant for PAYBACK to offer a unified, multi-partner program across the country. The other partners associated with PAYBACK, e.g. ICICI, HPCL, Make My Trip, also have a pan-India footprint and connect with a large audience. Thus, it was apt to have a partner who would integrate well with the program.

Launch brands include fashion chain Pantaloon, Big Bazaar hypermarkets, Food Bazaar supermarkets, Central malls, consumer electronics chain eZone and home furnisher Home Town. With the new multi-partner platform, consumers will experience greatly enhanced possibilities to earn points quickly and to convert them into attractive rewards.

Payback offers members better deals on their purchases, easy in-store redemption opportunities at all partners, and an online shopping platform representing key Indian e-commerce shops. Basic discounts on purchases from Future Group companies earned through Payback range up to two per cent.

What kind of reach are you planning for this campaign? Is this a pan-India initiative?

The campaign is carried out nationally that includes Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Jaipur, Nagpur, Lucknow, Bhuneshwar, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Vadodara, Chennai and Nashik.

How is this being promoted on-ground?

The mall promotions will comprise of six days of on-ground activations spanning over two weekends. In-mall promotions will be carried out in Bangalore and Mumbai at a multi-format or standalone Future Group outlet.

A build-up towards the event would be done through e-mailers and SMS to an existing database and an exclusive radio tie-up. We have organized various exciting games where six to eight customers will compete at a time, every hour. One of the games includes all PAYBACK and non-PAYBACK customers to shop (for Rs. 5,000) and participate in this game (non-PAYBACK customers can sign- up at the counter and get their card to participate). Customers who get the closest to the shopping value within the given time limit will be given bonus point worth their shopping - E.g. Rs 5,000 shopping gets 5,000 bonus points issued by PAYBACK. Winners will speak live on Facebook and Radio every hour. PAYBACK is integrated at more than 2,000 partner outlets and at online partners, enabling customers to either get their PAYBACK card or earn and redeem their points.

What kind of success do you imagine for this campaign when compared to its global counterparts?

Within PAYBACK itself, India is the largest market in terms of geography and has huge potential for growth and scale. This is just the beginning and the real success of this partnership will be seen over the coming months. Customers benefiting from their day to day shopping will be the first success for us.