The win takes the two-year-old Nectar scheme's number of sponsors to 17. Beefeater is the third Whitbread brand to sign up after Brewers Fayre and Brewsters became earn-and-redeem partners in July (Marketing, 7 July 2004).
Tesco has 11 partners and trails Nectar's 13m membership base by about 2m.
Brian Sinclair, client services director for Loyalty Management UK, which operates Nectar, said it was in talks about signing up other Whitbread brands, but would not reveal which retailers are being considered.
Whitbread also owns coffee shop Costa, Pizza Hut, TGI Friday's and Premier Travel Inn - all of which would fit Nectar's criteria of not overlapping sectors with existing partners.
Whitbread-owned hotel chain Marriott is part of Tesco's Clubcard scheme; it has no plans to switch to Nectar.
Sinclair added that he would be looking to add another two sponsors this year as part of a plan to sign up to 25 partners to the scheme. Mortgage providers, DIY chains, chemists and booksellers are 'priority' areas.
The tie-up with Beefeater will be promoted across the 156-strong chain through in-store posters and menus, as well as branding on quarterly Nectar mailings.
Nectar's involvement with founding partner Sainsbury's is currently under review. In October Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King told Marketing that more than half the chain's £240m annual marketing budget was spent on the scheme. 'Customers clearly value Nectar, but we have to justify the investment,' he said. 'We want greater results at less cost.'
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
