AirAsia's BIG Loyalty introduces new face of the brand 'BIGGIE'

Low-cost airline Air Asia’s loyalty arm BIG Loyalty has launched a new “point expert” character named “BIGGIE” to educate BIG Members on the smarter ways to earn BIG Points fast, and new ways to use BIG Points for greater rewards and savings. In a statement to A+M, a spokesperson said the idea came about towards the end of 2019, when the company was planning for its 10th anniversary campaign.

The spokesperson added that the company’s vision for BIGGIE was to establish it as a customer-centric personality and in the future position it as the face of BIG Loyalty -  be it for marketing promotions, social media or even as a customer support chatbot in future.  Although small in size, BIGGIE presents itself as a playful and adventurous deal hunter, always on the look-out for a bargain. BIGGIE's “superpowers” lie within a high-frequency antenna on the top of its head, and is able to detect BIG Members who need help.

The company also added that the inspiration for BIGGIE came from Sereen Teoh, chief financial officer at BIG Loyalty. According to the press release, Teoh was “extremely savvy on ways to boost her points balance with every purchase”, using her “creative ways to stretch her money and maximise her BIG Points earning. This inspired the company to create BIGGIE, a cute and witty character that shares wisdom so that more people can benefit from the BIG Loyalty programme. BIGGIE is also meant to be a "simple character with simple expressions and shapes, bearing no complexities so that it could resonate with its audience in a cute, fun and playful way", the spokesperson explained. This was why BIGGIE’s appearance was inspired by fictional heroes in gaming, as it allowed the avatar to represent the company’s online persona to relate back to the audience.

To promote the new character, the company is giving away a total of 500,000 BIG Points in the #MyBIGGIEBuddy Instagram contest held until 31 July, with 10 best submissions weekly receiving 10,000 BIG Points each. Spencer Lee, chief executive officer of BIGLIFE said the aim behind BIGGIE character was to help BIG Members become savvy rewards shoppers by providing tips and advice with a friendlier and cheeky approach.

“With our large ecosystem of partners from the lifestyle, travel and financial services categories, BIG Members can earn BIG Points every day when they dine, shop, bank, travel and more; and use BIG Points on experiences that they love. BIGGIE will always be there to support them every step of the way,” Lee added.

BIG Loyalty has been actively promoting its BIG Loyalty programme in the past year. In mid-June, BIG Loyalty launched a new mobile game “Let’s Gold”, a location-based mobile game where players hunted monsters to collect Let’s Gold coins, which could subsequently be converted into BIG Points. It also launched another mobile app titled “Points Catcher” in January, inspired by the popular claw machine.

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