Elevating customer engagement: The success of the Palmia Points loyalty programme

This post is sponsored by Limestones.

In today’s fiercely competitive consumer market, loyalty programmes have become essential for retaining customers and boosting brand engagement. One exemplary case was the Palmia Points loyalty programme by Palmia, an Indonesian margarine brand.

This programme was expertly designed by Limestones, a Jakarta-based marketing agency. The campaign’s success, culminating in a gold award at the Loyalty & Engagement Awards 2024 for Best Use of Rewards and Incentives, underscored the significance of a well-crafted loyalty programme that leveraged audience insights to drive customer engagement and social media interaction.

The importance of audience insights in a loyalty programme

The success of the Palmia Points loyalty programme was rooted in a profound understanding of its customer base. Limestones conducted comprehensive research to gather essential insights into the preferences, behaviours, and motivations of Palmia’s customers. Key findings included:

• Demographics: Young professionals and families prioritising convenience and quality.
• Behaviour patterns: Highly active on social media, sharing cooking experiences.
• Motivations: Driven by tangible rewards, social recognition, and community interaction.

By integrating these insights, Limestones crafted a loyalty programme that resonated with Palmia’s customers, ensuring high relevance and appeal.

Strategic rewards and incentives in the marketing campaign

The rewards and incentives strategy of Palmia Points was meticulously designed to align with the identified customer preferences and motivations. Key elements included:

1. Interest-based rewards: Points earned for submitting recipes and making purchases could be redeemed for kitchen gadgets, appealing to home-cooking enthusiasts.
2. Emotional engagement: Offered experiences to share with loved ones such as family cooking events and charitable donations which fostered stronger emotional connections.
3. Behavioural incentives: Included time-limited bonuses and challenges to encourage repeat purchases and social media engagement.

Boosting social media engagement through the loyalty programme

A standout feature of the Palmia Points programme was its seamless integration with social media platforms, significantly enhancing customer engagement and interaction.

Incentivising social sharing

Customers were encouraged to share their Palmia cooking experiences on social media using the hashtag #PalmiaPoints. The higher the web sessions on their recipe page, the higher additional points received while at the same time increasing brand visibility.

Encouraging user-generated content

Palmia Points invited customers to participate in cooking contests and share unique recipes. Winners received rewards such as high-end kitchen appliances and featured on Palmia’s social media, generating authentic content and fostering community.

Exclusive social media perks

Followers of Palmia’s social media channels received exclusive perks, including special discounts and invitations to live cooking events, incentivising regular engagement.

Creating a community

Limestones established private social media groups for Palmia Points members to share tips, ask questions, and interact with Palmia’s team and other members, creating a sense of belonging.

Leveraging influencers and ambassadors

Palmia collaborated with popular food influencers and chefs who shared their Palmia experiences, encouraging their followers to join the programme and expand Palmia’s reach.

Real-time engagement

Palmia utilised social media for real-time engagement, including live Q&A sessions with chefs, instant customer support, and prompt interactions with customer posts and comments, strengthening customer loyalty.

The marketing triumvirate

Palmia Points effectively utilised the marketing trifecta – paid, owned, and earned media – to amplify its reach and impact.

Paid media

Palmia invested in search engine marketing, targeted social media ads, and sponsored content to promote Palmia Points. These efforts increased website traffic and enhanced on-page SEO with user-generated recipes, ensuring maximum visibility and engagement.

Owned media

Palmia leveraged its owned media channels, including its website and social media accounts to communicate directly with customers. Featuring the best organic content – recipes recooked by key opinion leaders – it generated high engagement and motivated others to submit their recipes.

Earned media

The success of the Palmia Points programme generated substantial earned media. Customers who shared their experiences on social media contributed to organic word-of-mouth promotion. Palmia selected user recipes from its website to be recooked by celebrities on national television, amplifying the programme’s reach and appeal.

Results and impact of the award-winning campaign

The Palmia Points campaign achieved significant success, as evidenced by its gold award at the Loyalty & Engagement Awards 2024.

The campaign resulted in:

• Increased repeat purchases and customer lifetime value.
• Higher levels of social media engagement, with more user-generated content and brand mentions.
• A robust online community of engaged and loyal customers.
• Enhanced brand perception and customer satisfaction.

Conclusion

The Palmia Points loyalty programme, crafted by Limestones, demonstrated the power of leveraging audience insights to create an effective rewards and incentives strategy. By understanding and catering to its customers’ specific preferences and behaviours, Palmia fostered deeper engagement and interaction, particularly on social media platforms. 

This approach boosted customer loyalty and elevated Palmia’s brand presence and community engagement, showcasing the transformative potential of a well-executed loyalty programme. This case study highlighted the importance of a strategic marketing campaign in achieving outstanding results, and emphasised the role of a digital agency in crafting award-winning campaigns that drive real customer engagement.

As a renowned digital agency, Limestones has been trusted by brands in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore for their marketing and loyalty campaigns. Recently, Limestones was chosen by InJourney Indonesia, the country’s largest airport and tourism network, to build the foundation for its airport loyalty programme policy, further cementing Limestones’ reputation for excellence in crafting impactful loyalty programmes.