MEDIA RELEASE - After years of faithful card swiping and complex point collecting – loyalty scheme fatigue is now on the cards for many New Zealand consumers.

But there’s a loyalty programme which seems to have captured the attention of the market – with kiwi consumers snapping up millions of rewards since the programme was launched 20 months ago.

Vodafone Fantastic Fridays is celebrating giving away a total of 10 million rewards to customers – a milestone for the loyalty programme that’s been reached far more swiftly than anticipated and continues to grow.

“We’ve been really blown away by how popular Fantastic Fridays has been with our customers,” said Matt Williams, Vodafone’s Consumer Director. “We knew we were offering something really unique and different when we introduced it, but it’s really exceeded all our expectations.”

Fantastic Fridays launched in 2014, Vodafone’s first branded loyalty scheme offering customers a unique mix of exclusive music, movies, Prepay and sports rewards - anything from 2 for 1 movie tickets, to exclusive movie premieres, sports events and behind the scenes access to international artists.

The programme now has such a strong following that at least 500,000 deals are redeemed by customers every month, and nearly all of them use the programme time and time again.

“It’s been incredibly well received from day one,” Williams said. “I think part of its success is its simplicity – there’s no complicated point scoring, or card to carry around, and there’s no time delay. The rewards are instant and simply by being a Vodafone customer, people qualify for these great deals and experiences.”

And Vodafone’s working hard to streamline the process even further.

In December, Fantastic Fridays launched in the My Vodafone app – the first telecommunications company to fully integrate a loyalty scheme into its mobile digital experience. The uptake has been huge - seeing up to 65 per cent of Fantastic Fridays reward redemption traffic now coming via the app.

“We’ve invested a lot to make sure the user experience is real time, while being intuitive, streamlined and interactive. It’s been so popular because people want their lives to be easier.”

To date, Fantastic Fridays has focused on three key areas - music, movies and sport. Any Vodafone mobile or fixed service customer can access 2 of 1 movie deals at 40 cinemas around the country, along with an ever changing range of pre-sale concert tickets – a winning suite of rewards and offers, not just for customers but also Vodafone’s brand partners.

“Our brand partners see us as a reputable promotional and distribution channel, and Fantastic Fridays has done a great job raising the profile of these events, so everyone’s happy,” Williams said.

So what’s next for Fantastic Fridays?

The programme’s already developing a new suite of rewards and experiences.

“We’re continually optimising and changing things as we go. People have really enjoyed being able to buy cheaper tickets, and now we’re looking at what else we can offer to add to their experience. The options are endless.”