A vast loyalty programme generated millions of transactions a week, yet the first-party data sat in disconnected systems and the CRM ran on a patchwork of agencies and tools with no shared segmentation. Campaigns went out broad and undifferentiated, retention drifted, and the cost of running loyalty kept rising while the return on each campaign stayed opaque.
VA consolidated the CRM and martech roster, tied fees to campaign and retention outcomes, and built one first-party data foundation with consent and compliance built in — so segmentation and test-and-learn run as routine and each campaign earns its keep.
Chief Marketing Officer, Head of CRM & Loyalty, Head of Data, Head of Marketing Procurement
The strategic problem
A vast loyalty programme generated millions of transactions a week, yet the first-party data sat in disconnected systems and the CRM ran on a patchwork of agencies and tools with no shared segmentation. Campaigns went out broad and undifferentiated, retention drifted, and the cost of running loyalty kept rising while the return on each campaign stayed opaque.
Diagnose & Design
VA opened with a marketing & production ecosystem audit and spend mapping & cost baseline analysis of the loyalty, CRM and data stack, mapping tool overlap, data fragmentation and agency cost; a gap & maturity assessment and market benchmarking then defined the loyalty and first-party data operating model the business needed, including the segmentation depth and test-and-learn discipline a unified data foundation makes possible. Operating model design set the target configuration and governance design (RACI, KPI framework, scorecards) assigned ownership of customer data and campaign performance across Marketing, CRM, Data and Procurement, with the AURA/Scoping Tool structuring the audit.
Ecosystem & Remuneration
VA delivered partner ecosystem design and roster rationalisation & consolidation, selecting a streamlined CRM and martech partner roster via the VA 5,000+ supplier database; remuneration model design tied agency fees to measurable campaign and retention outcomes; and scoping & SOW design established a single first-party data foundation with consent and compliance built in, so segmentation and test-and-learn could run as a routine across the programme rather than a one-off. AURA/BMT (Budget Management Template) disciplined the licence and contract renegotiations.
Rollout & relationship management
Contracting & onboarding formalised the revised partner and data-platform terms; handover, rollout & commitment tracking then sequenced the data consolidation and CRM transition without interrupting the weekly campaign calendar, with AURA/Planner back-planning to two go-live dates and relationship management holding the cadence so the loyalty programme kept running through the migration. Embedding the segmentation and test-and-learn routine into day-to-day campaign planning was treated as the real proof of adoption.
Execution Oversight
VA ran production cost validation & budget control to verify CRM platform and agency commercials against the agreed model; briefing & estimate review governed campaign activations, including the test-and-learn segment experiments on the new foundation; wrap & final reconciliation closed each campaign cycle with cost and incremental value reconciled at the segment level, so each wave informed the next.
Performance Measurement
Activated first-party data up 64% across the programme; campaign value 27% higher and retention 9% higher on the segmented, test-and-learn model [illustrative, to be confirmed], with CRM and agency cost more predictable. KPIs and scorecards from governance design tracked via partner performance evaluation on a 90/180/360 appraisal cadence (today closure reports; full performance measurement on the roadmap).
Why VA
In grocery the loyalty programme is the relationship with the customer, and undifferentiated campaigns waste both data and budget. VA governs the first-party data foundation and the operating model — segmentation and test-and-learn included — so each campaign earns its keep, retention holds, and ownership of the customer is unambiguous.
Common questions
What is a loyalty and first-party data operating model?
One first-party data foundation with consent and compliance built in and a consolidated CRM and martech roster, so segmentation and test-and-learn run routinely across the programme — replacing disconnected data and undifferentiated broad campaigns.
How does activating first-party data improve return?
Segmented, test-and-learn campaigns on a single data foundation replace broad sends, so each campaign is more relevant and retention holds — while fees tied to campaign and retention outcomes make the return visible.
Why does grocery loyalty need governed data ownership?
Because the loyalty programme is the customer relationship: a governed data foundation with clear ownership and a consolidated roster stops data and budget leaking into undifferentiated campaigns, tracked on a 90/180/360 cadence.