The Strategic Shift: Unveiling JCPenney's Loyalty Program Advancements

JCPenney has just rolled out a new loyalty program today (April 17) that could bring in half a billion dollars to its customers. This move is part of the retailer's significant investments, following the $1 billion turnaround plan it announced last year.

The revamped JCPenney Rewards and Credit Program is one of the four key areas that the retailer is focusing on, along with accessible fashion, community support, and a dedication to making positive changes. This initiative ties into the brand positioning strategy "Make It Count" that JCPenney launched last year.

The rewards program at JCPenney has already attracted 20 million members who shop at the store around five times a year. The program aims to ensure that every dollar spent and every visit to the store is worthwhile, offering faster point accumulation and various opportunities to earn CashPass points. This new reward system is similar to the one made popular by competitor Kohl's.

By joining the free program, members are guaranteed $20 in CashPass rewards. For every $200 spent, members earn a $10 reward, with JCPenney credit cardholders earning points at a quicker rate. To celebrate the program's launch, the store is hosting a More, More, More Event on May 4. Shoppers are invited to take on a challenge inspired by brand ambassador Shaquille O'Neal, who famously made a three-point shot into a shopping cart during an NBA game. Participants have the chance to win additional rewards. Furthermore, a social media hashtag challenge related to the event offers consumers the opportunity to meet the popular cultural icon.

Katie Mullen, who was recently promoted to chief customer officer at JCPenney, shared details about the rewards program and marketing plans during a press briefing and interview with Our Website. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

JCPenney's Marketing Strategy Post-Billion Dollar Plan

In September, JCPenney focused on re-establishing its brand value proposition through its marketing efforts. The strategy included highlighting the four pillars of the brand: making fashion accessible, being rewarding, supporting communities, and embodying the "Golden Rule store" philosophy of treating others as we would like to be treated.

From September to December, our focus was on ensuring that customers were aware of our commitment to accessible fashion. We dedicated a significant amount of internal resources to creating content and investing in promotions to showcase our fashion, new trends, and inclusive innovations. Our goal was to emphasize the importance of inclusion and value for all customers.

Moving forward, you can expect to see a more balanced message from us that highlights both the rewards of shopping with us and our support for communities. We believed it was necessary to first reinforce our fashion message and set clear expectations for consumers before introducing more diverse messaging. Now, you will hear us talk about fashion, rewards, and community support in a more direct manner. This shift marks the beginning of our focus on rewarding our customers.

Marketing a Loyalty Program Effectively

Marketing a loyalty program involves a lot of moving parts, both physical and digital. It's not a simple task. We created over 250 different sets of assets specifically for this purpose. These assets were tailored to different audiences, with credit-specific messaging for some and general market messaging for others. It's important to consider all aspects of your program when promoting it.

Over the past three months, our focus has been on ensuring that we are effectively communicating the right message to the right customers through the appropriate channels. We are now expanding the reach of this message to ensure that even customers who may not have considered us in a while are aware of the added simplicity we have incorporated into our rewards structure. Our goal is to make it easier for customers to understand the value they are receiving, especially with our various promotional offers and deals.

In addition to targeting specific audiences, we are also launching a national marketing campaign to reintroduce and reinforce the new and improved JCPenney. You can expect to see us in national media, paid social platforms, organic content, and through influencer collaborations, as well as across all our owned channels. Our aim is to help customers better comprehend the revitalized JCPenney and the value we offer.

Loyalty Integration in Marketing Efforts

Moving forward, how will loyalty feed into your efforts, especially at a time when marketers are dealing with increased signal loss?

MULLEN: We've had a loyalty and credit program for so long that it actually predates a lot of the modern learnings around personal identifiable information and what you're trying to do there. As we are relaunching, you'll see things like the birthday reward, which is an opportunity for us to give a CashPass reward to every member on their birthday. It also is an attempt to go back and rectify some of the data challenges that we had from people who enrolled in our program 10, 15, 20 years ago that we haven't necessarily worked with to keep all of their account information up to date.

Sometimes we aim to engage with customers and improve the quality of data at the same time. For example, if we have an email address from the AOL days, we want to ensure we are still reaching out to you in the most effective way. While cleaning up our data wasn't the main goal, as a marketer, I appreciate having high-quality data to work with.

When we communicate with customers using the most up-to-date information, we see a significant improvement in the effectiveness of our messages. By tailoring our messages to what is most relevant to each customer, we can double the impact of our targeted communication. Ultimately, our focus is on providing you with a better experience by talking to you about things that matter to you, rather than things you have no interest in.

Achieving the Right Balance of Short- and Long-Term Efforts

I recently traveled with our chief merchant to discuss the merchandise story that her team works on. We focused on finding the right balance between brand messaging and product- or offer-focused messaging. This is a constant conversation for us at JCPenney.

Every week, my team and I gather to review performance data. We analyze marketing response, click-through rates, and other metrics for messages that focus on brand awareness, as well as those aimed at acquisition and performance. We constantly adjust and fine-tune to find the right balance.

As marketers, we all want to be in control of our strategies. However, making small tweaks every week may not always be the best approach. We take this task seriously as we strive to maintain engagement and relevance in our conversations, while also guiding customers through the sales funnel. It's about more than just being relevant or culturally aware in our marketing efforts.

Editor's P/S:

The revamped JCPenney Rewards and Credit Program is a significant step in the retailer's efforts to regain its footing in the competitive retail landscape. By offering increased rewards and simplified earning opportunities, JCPenney hopes to attract new customers and encourage repeat patronage. The program's launch, coupled with the More, More, More Event and social media hashtag challenge, demonstrates JCPenney's commitment to engaging with shoppers and building a loyal customer base.

The marketing strategy outlined by Katie Mullen highlights the challenges and complexities of balancing short-term and long-term marketing goals. JCPenney's approach of focusing on specific audiences through tailored messaging and national campaigns, while also integrating loyalty programs, shows a commitment to both immediate sales and building customer relationships that will drive long-term growth. The emphasis on improving data quality and leveraging customer insights further demonstrates that JCPenney is investing in understanding and meeting the needs of today's discerning shoppers.