Retha Carter Ackermans

A-Plus: understanding the customer and leveraging your relationship with them

Agenda

• Who are our Club Members• Club Benefits• Club Magazine, Supplements and Calendar• Leveraging Events• Managing the Process• A recipe for success

Background/setting the scene

• The A-Plus Card and Club was launched 1994 in Ackermans.

• 314 000 active A-Plus Cardholders

• Launched A-Plus Card in multi-brands of The Baby Company, Home

Comforts, Hang Ten, Jay Jays, Cube and Shoe City in 2006

• 115 000 Club members

• Club available in Ackermans and Shoe City

• Current model: Opt in paid for club for A-Plus Card holders only

• Club members pay R14.50 p/m for a host of benefits

Club Demographic breakdown

Gender Club members Club %Female 80009 69%Male 35546 31%Unknown 0 0%Language Club members Club %Unknown 15168 13%Afrikaans 29124 25%English 71263 62%Age Brackets Club members Club %less than 18 0 0%18-24 3092 3%25-34 30243 26%35-44 42413 37%45-54 26144 23%55-64 10200 9%65 or older 3463 3%

Why are Club Members more valuable?

• They keep their accounts for longer

– Main account retention = 62%

– Club members = 84%

• 40% of account holders are also club members

• They spend more

• They keep their accounts more up to date

Findings of Club research April 08

• A-Plus Club Magazine, Account Protection Plan and Competitions

and lucky draws were regarded as the most valuable benefits.

• 28% of A-Plus Members also belong to other retail clubs

(eg. Foschini, Jet and Edgars)

• 61% of respondents rate the A-Plus Club better than other retail

clubs.

Club Benefits

• A-Plus Club Magazine every second month and 2 Supplements a

year

• Funeral Cover of up to R10 000 (R6000 for the main member R4000

for the Spouse)

• Free access to our Dial-a-teacher tutoring service

• Free bursaries to the value of R25 000 every 2nd month

• Discounts of up to 20% on GPs consultations fees

• Free Roadside Assistance

• Access to the A-Plus Helpline

• Invitations to exclusive members’ only club events

Club Magazine: History

First Club Magazine launched in 1996

Club Magazine: Today

Club Magazine: Refreshed Sept 2010

A-Plus Supplements

A-Plus Supplements

• Increased communication with our club members

• Engagement strategy: correct product - correct content - correct

target market

• Merchandising: showcase depth of product range/s

• An effort to continually drive feet-through-the door

• Advertising revenue opportunity including sponsorships

• Increased paper quality on supplements to lift image and appeal of

Ackermans

• Widening the net: utilisation of other focused/targeted mediums

like CT/Dbn/Gauteng Child Magazines

A-Plus Calendar

• R275 000 sponsorship deal with Old Mutual in 2008

• R325 sponsorship with Hollard Direct in 2009

• Reward club members with gifts that add value to their lives

• Interactive concepts eg Recipe Calendar; Art etc

• Branding opportunity for Ackermans and third party

advertisers that has longevity

A-Plus Calendar

Club Magazine: Ad Revenue

360% growth over a 5 year period!!!!

Club Magazine: The Reader

She is confident, secure, and open to new solutions that will enhance her family’s lifestyle. She has a busy life and is able to juggle her many roles and responsibilities.

AMPS Competitor information

A-Plus Jet Edgars Foschini

Club Magazine: New Positioning

The 2010 Customer, no frills affluentThey are not battling; but

• they are budgeting, making money stretch further;

• coping - buying what they need, buying fewer, but better;

• resistant to debt; don’t want credit

• labels less important; those who buy into labels

– less seasonality, more longevity

• try new brands

• emotional - more emotional sell, more investment

When times get tough, the tough get efficient!

Source: Anthony Swart, Director, The Brand Union

New Positioning

Emotional comfort

• real everything – people, buying experience;

• stories – give them something to talk about;

• expectations – reality;

• integrity – don’t make me buy what I don’t want;

• value – to the point of even valuing how you invest in CSI

activity

Anxiety around recession is subsiding.

Source: Anthony Swart, Director, The Brand Union

New Positioning: Editorial Strategy

To be the reader’s go-to guide. Provide:

• support.• solutions. • advice. • competitions. Communicate:

• benefits.• brands available• VALUE

New Positioning: New directions

• Benefits.

• Reader generated content.

• Sense of community.

• Editorialise merchandise pages.

• Celeb cover story.

• Longer articles.

• Kids page.

New Positioning: New directions

Leveraging events: Club Workshops

• Club Workshops launched in 2007

• Hosted a total of 13 workshops (just under 1500 people)

• Focus on the key pillars of the Ackermans brand

ie. Fashion and Parenting

• Hosted in CT, Jhb, George, PE etc

• Open to club members and family and friends for small fee

• Expert speakers, lunch, goodiebags, celebrity guests etc

• In 2010, events will alsobe held in Durban. Each event has

shown increased patronage in each area

Leveraging events

• At the parenting event in 2010, introduced signing up for

club membership at the actual reader event, with 100

people signing up immediately after the event.

• Events increase customer loyalty - evidence is the

demand to attend, eg Cape Town sold out in first week

• The workshops are the most intimate touch point with the

reader. The reader gets to meet the Club Manager,

Marketing & Editorial teams.

• Winning formulae: Reward, Delight, Surprise, Spoil,

Acknowledge club members

Craft and Food workshops 2009

Fashion workshops 2009

Parenting workshop 2010

How do we manage the Magazine

• Internally we have the merchandise experts

• Externally we have the Customer Magazine experts

• Always bear in mind what needs to work for product but also be

relevant to the reader

Recipe for success

• Good Planning

• Open and Honest Communication (good AND bad)

• Understand our customers

• Be prepared to take risks

• Always needs to support core strategy of Ackermans

Retha Carter Ackermans

Business

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