Will Marriott’s Brand Loyalty Program Revamp Be Successful?

“If you want someone as a customer, you have to deliver something back in order to get them to connect and engage. Marriott may really need to think about the customer at a much broader level.”

Featured in Travel Weekly, Vivaldi CCO Tom Ajello comments on Marriott’s newly rebranded Bonvoy loyalty program. Bonvoy kicked off its campaign at the Academy Awards on February 24th, 2019, then followed with several high-profile promotional activities. Despite its marketing efforts, Bonvoy has received a rather mixed response to its name. While some find the name to be a smart branding approach that unifies Marriott’s loyalty programs, others remain skeptical about the value that Bonvoy can ultimately deliver. Tom believes that so far, Bonvoy’s online experience does not communicate its campaign tagline “rewards reimagined.” What will it take for Bonvoy to live up to its campaign hype?