Who doesn’t love a good rewards program? In this ultra-capitalistic society we find ourselves in, what better way for a brand to garner favour and loyalty than by giving consumers something back? Sure, what they give up is only a fraction of what they’re earning but it’s enough to tickle that reptilian part of our brains that enjoys free stuff.
The YelloBucks start here
MTN, that service provider that was more than a little disappointing during lockdown, is trying to win favour with consumers. What is MTN actually doing with this loyalty program? They’re overhauling the entire MyMTN Rewards program and adding YelloBucks, which is incredibly annoying to spell, that will allow customers to “unlock” discounts and rewards by being an MTN user.
How is this going to work? By signing up to the MyMTN Rewards Program (through the MTN app) you’ll be given 200 YelloBucks. Then you’re basically rewarded YelloBucks every time you purchase anything through the MTN app. Once you’ve acquired enough points you can cash them in and earn yourself some nice benefits such as, “savings on more than 300 catalogued products and offerings from as many as 31 partners, with a combination of attainable, relevant and aspirational redemption choices giving members the option to spend now or save up for that special reward later on,” according to MTN.
Which is about as vague as you could possibly get. The program overhaul is just starting out so we assume we’ll hear more about the specific rewards at a later date.
Speaking on the new program. Chief Consumer Officer at MTN, Mapula Bodibe said, “We know South Africans have had to face many challenges this year and we are consistently looking to find ways to increase the value we give to our customers. In doing so, we want to help ease the burden on the cash-strapped, particularly as we head into summer and the year-end holidays.”
“As tough economic conditions continue to impact the prices of goods and services everywhere, more South African consumers are looking to rewards to stay ahead. We want to ensure our loyal customers can enjoy additional opportunities to save and benefit from our wide catalogue of offers,” continued Bodibe.
Features for the new MyMTN Rewards program are being rolled out as a staggered approach with the coming months bringing games, gifting, milestone rewards, the ability to redeem YelloBucks for social media bundles and an expanded catalogue of redemption offers. Users can also expect a tiering system that grants unique benefits, family consolidation plans and partner discount vouchers.
It seems like a fairly robust improvement on MTN’s rewards program but it also appears to be fairly thin at this point in time. If this is the sort of thing you’ll get value out of, you might as well sign up now but waiting until some of the more expansive features are added may also be the way to go.