• by Karl Greenberg , June 10, 2015

Gasoline producer and retailer BP is hoping to spark some interest in its loyalty program by, for the first time in several years, upgrading its Driver Rewards program.

The central idea is to unify its different programs, simplify them and up the rewards in three loyalty card offers — a non-payment points card and two credit cards.

The top end is the Visa card, whereinholders get 25 cents off per gallon for every $100 spent anywhere (except the competition) for the first 90 days after they sign up. After 90 days, cardholders earn 25 cents off per gallon for every $100 spent on purchases at BP, 15 cents off per gallon for every $100 spent on eligible travel, dining and grocery, and five cents off per gallon for every $100 spent anywhere else Visa credit cards are accepted.

The dedicated BP credit card offers the same thing at BP, then 10 cents off per gallon for every $100 spent on anything (at BP) after that. With the loyalty card, consumers can just enter their phone number at the pump to earn and redeem rewards: the same 90-day offer, then 10 cents off per gallon for every $100 spent on BP.

Doug Dryan, head of BP's loyalty card business, tells Marketing Daily that BP has had a private-label gas card since the sixties and first launched its non-payment loyalty program in 2013. Non-payment rewards, he says, are popular because they are convenient and easy, but the rewards are better with credit cards as a payment vehicle, and now is the time to do it.

“When the economy took a turn over the last seven or eight years, we saw consumer credit went away. And with non-credit you aren't giving away that personal information, so it's a simpler way for people to get in. We've taken this opportunity now to say let's bring that non-payment program and credit card program in line with one another so consumers are earning the same rewards.” 

The unspoken key to loyalty cards is that using them shouldn’t be arcane. Dryan says the company has spent the last few years on that.

“You have to make it simple for consumers," he says. "Every time you come to BP, you simply swipe it at the gas dispenser, and rewards are presented right there at the pump. Redemption is even easier."  

He says BP is the only major gasoline and service retailer that can offer a card-swipe instant rewards program because it has invested in back-end technology to handle differences in prices across regions.

“We have 6,800 sites," he says. "So to make it work we had to create a central source, and that took a huge investment. We started in in 2008 and worked on it through 2012.” 

Marketing communications around the program kicked off June 3 with a promotional deal offering 25 cents off all BP products, plus a multichannel campaign. The company's stations are dressed up to convey message to consumers; digital includes banners, and digital out-of-home, such as on elevator-based Captivate channel screens, and online news feeds optimized for mobile on channels like CNN and ESPN.  

Dryan says loyalty brings ‘em in, but by itself it shouldn’t be relied upon to keep them with the brand.

“We start with the physical location and the customer experience, such as always having a receipt at a dispenser, and making sure the sites are clean and well lit," he says. "The next step is fuels and quality gasoline (the company is touting BP with Invigorate) and then loyalty rewards programs. That closes that loop.”