Left: Andy Huggins - Managing Director, Rocket Marketing Group. Right: Alan Saunders - Operations & Marketing Director, Rocket Marketing Group.

The Rocket Marketing Group has worked with sit-up channels since July 2006 when they signed their first agreement to provide discount and benefits membership programmes for sit-up channels’ customers. sit-up channels has successfully gained incremental revenue from the sale of these discount and benefits membership programmes to its consumers. Now three and a half years later sit-up channels are extending their agreement with The Rocket Marketing Group to be the sole provider of discount and benefits membership programmes for a further three years. (more…)

The Rocket Marketing Group has recruited Perfect Pizza to their loyalty membership programmes, offering a Buy One Get One Free deal.

This Buy One Get One Free at Perfect Pizza offer fits perfectly with Rocket’s Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card. Rocket will promote these complementing offers as the perfect night in, to members of its loyalty and membership programmes. Both the Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card and Buy One Get One Free with Perfect Pizza are available to use anytime, as often as members like, on the full ranges, so will help members to enjoy their ‘Appetite for Entertainment’, whatever their lifestyle.

Please contact us if you are interested in any of these offers.

Terms and conditions apply. See www.theentertainmentclub.co.uk for details.

The Rocket Marketing Group creates loyalty and membership programmes which offer discounts on major brands, to its members. The company has enjoyed huge growth over the last 3 years, and has gone from employing 12 members of staff to over 50, across all areas of the business including call centre, fulfillment, technical, marketing and creative.

Rocket has also increased the variety of loyalty and membership programmes it offers, working with new key clients and partners. The company now operates 7 clubs and a number of great rewards such as the exclusive Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card, giving more and more members fantastic discounts on their favourite brands. The range of clubs include The Home & Garden Club, The Entertainment Club, The 241 Hotel Club, The Big Savings Club, The JML VIP Club, plus more on the horizon.

Alan Saunders, Operations and Business Development Director comments: “We have always believed in the importance of quality and this is what Rocket’s products and service have been built on. Our discount clubs offer consumers great value for money, clients a fantastic marketing opportunity and partners incredible incremental revenue. It is great to see that all of our hard work, attention to detail and quality is paying off. I look forward to Rocket’s bright future, having now established itself as a leader in the field of Sales Promotion.”

Rocket looks forward to a great 2010 and growing the business even further.

This timeline charts Rocket’s milestones over the last 3 years:

July 2006 Sign Agreements with sit-up.tv

October 2006 Alan Saunders joins Board as Operations & Business  Development Director

January 2007 Rebrand as Rocket Marketing Group & set growth strategies

February 2007 Become members of the Direct Marketing Association

March 2007 Introduction of AVAYA IP Office Telephone System

April 2007 Introduction of SAP Business One CRM and Business Management

April 2007 Become members of the Institute of Sales Promotion

May 2007 Launched The Entertainment Club

July 2007 Launched The Midweek Dining Club with Tio Pepe

August 2007 Moved Head Office to Enterprise Point to expand & allow further growth

January 2008 Sign Agreements with HSBC for new Merchant Services Facilities

June 2008 Accredited by British Standards Institute as ISO:9001 Quality Assured

August 2008 Sign Agreements with JML, and develop our first white-label product, the JML VIP Savings Club

October 2008 Launched The Home & Garden Club with HBOS

November 2008 Established Rocket Rewards to own and manage our own stand alone promotions

January 2009 Sign Agreements with New Image TV to market the Big Savings Club

February 2009 Sign Agreements with Guthy-Renker to market the Big Savings Club

June 2009 Expand offices and create a Marketing Suite

July 2009 Welcome Ashley Faull to the board

August 2009 Sign Agreements with Blockbuster. Conception of and Exclusive rights for a new product the Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card

August 2009 Started selling The Home & Garden Club with sit-up.tv

August 2009 Sign Agreements with Flying Brands to market The Home & Garden Club

September 2009 Sign Agreements with iSUBSCRiBE, to develop and manage Rocket’s first online club

October 2009 Launched the 241 Hotel Club

November 2009 Sign Agreements with Harvest Media & Virgin Media

November 2009 Create and launch The Living VIP Club

November 2009 Reached over 50 staff

December 2009 Joined Brighton Chamber of Commerce

Contact Us for information on sales promotion and implementing a discount for your brand or reward for your customers. We operate a number of loyalty and membership programmes that offer members discounts, giving the brand access to a large membership base of loyal customers. This helps businesses to drive loyalty retention and revenue.

These harsh economic times have seen a massive change in the way we all purchase products/ services. The taboo on bargain hunting has long been lifted and it’s all about the consumer trying to outsmart the business so they can get more for less. But this culture in turn has led to a decline in brand loyal consumers as they search around for the best deal available to them. The unsettled nature of consumer spending has helped superstores such as Tesco and Morrisons who can trade under the banner of value all under one roof – a one-stop-shop for everything, but surely this type of shopping experience is devoid of any emotional tie or specialist knowledge? So what can every other business do to compete and catch the attentions of the fickle consumer? Here are a few of our ideas:

1. Start with the basics! In recent years we seem to have forgotten that providing a service that’s good enough for customers to recommend is one of the best ways to advertise a brand. If a customer recommends a brand to their friends and then those friends recommend the brand to their friends the customer base could grow significantly. By neglecting your customers’ word of mouth promotion, all other marketing is futile. Providing a great customer experience is the easiest way to get talked about online too. Tools like twitter are all word of mouth based like real life – just to a much bigger captive audience. Plus in these harsh economic times it has become even more important to tap into the online and free marketing options.

2. A loyalty card is a good consumer incentive but it’s a big expense and a lot of businesses now have them so how effective are they? In today’s world surely customers want a consumer incentive that’s a little more immediate? One immediate option is a sale, but many sectors are already saturated with these. So how about rewarding consumers by working with a third party business? These consumer incentives can be anything from 2 nights for 1 at a hotel or free pampering treatment to a free 2 for 1 Movie and Game Rental Card. They can be vouchers that are distributed physically, online or virally.

3. Market your business and staff as specialists in the field – it’s doubtful that the checkout lady at Tesco knows anything about the electrical goods she’s selling. Make your product/service knowledge and customer service something that stands out from competitors and people might just choose you. Niche businesses will always benefit from the power of word of mouth too – but also consider well targeted campaigns like placing discounts and offers in a media that’s relevant to your industry!

4. If all else fails – if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em. Offer your consumers more. Sell a loyalty and membership programme or discount club such as The Big Savings Club or The Entertainment Club to your customers, the non-competing brands will help give a good association and back up the products that you already offer. Consumers will see the loyalty and membership programme or discount club as a reward for using your brand and extension of the goods/services that you offer. One step further would be to make the club bespoke so all the discounts are presented under the umbrella of your brand, a good example of this is the JML VIP Club. Loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs area a free marketing solution as they are usually set up or run by a third party agency. In fact it can be a way for large businesses to earn substantial incremental revenue, whilst a third party such as The Rocket Marketing Group manage the programme and its members (your customers).

5. Loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs can be used to feature a discount and then distributed by other non-competing businesses. Your discount will be presented to a new sector of consumers in association with other brands encouraging new customers to become loyal to your brand. This is a quick and easy free marketing solution that is handled by loyalty and membership programme or discount club agency such as The Rocket Marketing Group. All your business has to do is offer an exclusive discount to discount club members.

Contact Us if you are interested in free marketing solutions such as developing a loyalty and membership programme, featuring your business in a loyalty and membership programme or purchasing rewards as a consumer incentive.

As Morrisons announce an underlying profit before tax up 22% to £359m (2008/9: £295m) and the Halifax reporting that house prises rose another 0.8% last month there are now definite signs that the recession is slowing and maybe even that the end of our current economic problems are on the horizon. What does this mean for businesses and the average consumer? Will consumers maintain their spending ransom on businesses, forcing them into drastic recession solutions or will we eventually see the end of the sale season?

It’s hard to know whether people have just changed their spending habits and this is how it is going to stay or if it’s just a fashion/fad/phase that will pass. Businesses and marketing departments definitely have a tough road ahead rebuilding the worth of recession battered brands. This has been an important era for marketing as the spending culture has changed so dramatically. In some cases this is not just due to the recession but the increasingly wide spread use of online shopping, the recession has just acted to highlight the shortfalls of ageing business models – and these are possibly the businesses that won’t emerge from the sale.

Throughout the last year marketers have relied upon discounts and sales as the complete recession solution but now as we move out of this era will the lower prices be forced to remain and move from a desperate recession solution to the norm. All businesses need to start regaining their brand value by ending the sale season and finding other ways to offer consumer incentives. There are other free marketing solutions available which both benefit the consumer and business involved.

These free marketing solutions involve consumer incentives that promote brand loyalty rather than a ‘shop where’s cheapest’ mentality. A good way for businesses to tap into this culture but maintain their brand value is through affinity marketing. This is a free marketing tool which can offer consumer incentives in a number of ways including through loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs. These clubs work well because they are not exclusively recession solutions. Companies such as The Rocket Marketing Group operate a number of loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs. Businesses feature in the loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs as a free marketing solution; all they have to do is offer members an exclusive discount. These discounts act as consumer incentives and they can effectively drive loyalty for the brands featured in the discount club.

If you are interested in free marketing through affinity marketing – featuring your business in one of The Rocket Marketing Group’s loyalty and membership programmes, purchasing a consumer incentive or selling the clubs and generating an incremental revenue please Contact Us.

With Brits spending more and more time holidaying at home on ‘staycations’, we wanted to explore the UK and Ireland to find our favourite city break destinations, seeing what there is to entice tourists there and which businesses are potentially profiting from this increased trade. There are so many different areas in the UK and Ireland, each individual in what they have to offer tourists. And as companies such as The Rocket Marketing Group launch discount clubs like the 241 Hotel Club, which gives members 2 nights for the price of 1 at over 300 hotels, the UK and Irish tourism trade really can now compete with the rest of the world for offering affordable yet interesting and unique holidays.

Bournemouth

Famous for its expansive sandy beaches and warm south coast climate this is a popular destination for old and young alike. There are plenty of attractions, many focussed around the seafront, making it a major competitor to the traditional beach holiday abroad. Providing the sun stays shining tourists can spend hours enjoying the beach for free. Every business from ice cream vans to clothes shops and restaurants benefit from visitors who can spend money that they’ve saved by getting 2 nights for the price of 1 at their hotel.

Brighton

Or London-by-the-sea as it is known is a bustling seaside resort with plenty to entertain tourists both on and off the beach. In sunny weather the pebble beach is very popular as are the galleries and eateries that sit along the seafront. There is the famous pier with rides and bars plus quirky independent shops that benefit from the busy holiday seasons. There is still plenty to do when the weather is not quite so good such as busy bars, nightclubs and comedy to name just a few. This will always be a popular resort but with cheaper hotel accommodation such as 2 for 1 at Holiday Inn, or Rottingdean, White Horse, people are freed up to really enjoy everything Brighton has to offer.

London

The capital of Britain has activities and sights to interest everyone so people travel from far and wide to see this exciting cosmopolitan city. Traditionally known of as an expensive destination this puts some people off visiting, but with cheaper accommodation like 2 for 1 at Earls Court Holiday Inn Express or further south at Kingston Lodge plus consumer incentives and discount clubs, attractions such as the world-class theatres, galleries, shopping, restaurants, the London Eye and Madame Tussauds become accessible for more people. This city is a great alternative for people who might normally take a break in Paris, Rome or Barcelona.

Cambridge

As one of England’s most treasured historic university cities, Cambridge is a fascinating place to visit. Again, great on a sunny day as you can meander the streets taking in the beautiful architecture, punt down the river or join the locals and go for a cycle. But there’s also plenty to do inside from world-renowned exhibitions, theatres bars and cafes that will benefit from an increase in tourism. This can be achieved by presenting consumers with an affordable romantic break accommodation like 2 for 1 at Cambridge Crowne Plaza.

Manchester

This is just one of the North West’s interesting and vibrant cities, with a reputation for great nightlife including music, theatre and restaurants. This city gives tourists a good time all year round they visit. There are lots of tourist attractions that reflect the strong character of the city such as the working people’s museum and Urbis – a new kind of museum. As in all of the cities featured, all of these attractions would benefit from increased visitor numbers.

York

A beautiful historic city with many unique features, the magnificent Cathedral, Roman city walls, numerous exhibitions and winding streets with independent shops means tourists are spoilt for choice. It can be a romantic getaway or fun-packed and educational holiday destination for all the family. The city caters well for tourists and there are discount clubs and consumer incentives that give savings which could help increase visitor numbers and as a result benefit the city hugely.

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is another city that is geared towards tourists – one of the most popular cities in the UK. The interesting history and many unique and original architectural features make it one of the country’s most beautiful places. There is so much to do all year round and one of the world-famous festivals is a must-see for anyone, as well as sampling some of the regional food and drink specialities. Cheaper hotels or deals such as 2 nights for the price of 1 at Edinburgh Royal Mile Holiday Inn Express may prompt people to plan the trip they’ve always thought of.

Cardiff

Wales’ capital and largest city is a good mix of the heritage of the old and the progressive new. Cardiff is a bustling and interesting city at the heart of this proud country. The tourist attractions range from the historic Cardiff Castle to the modern and monumental National Assembly for Wales and Cardiff Bay, as well as lots of beautiful shops – all of which would benefit from a rise in trade.

Belfast

Belfast makes for an interesting visit with its castle and Victorian heritage, including Botanic gardens plus entertainment at the Grand Opera House or family attractions like Aunt Sandra’s Candy Factory. It’s also a good base to explore the rest of Northern Ireland including stunning natural sights such as Giants Causeway. Tourists can use offers such as the 241 Hotel Club so they can enjoy the beauty that Northern Ireland has to offer.

Dublin

Dublin is the Irish capital and a city that promises everything – an exciting nightlife with trendy bars, traditional pubs and live music plus lots of family attractions and access to some beautiful scenery. This has always been a popular destination all year round but it can be expensive. Discount clubs, consumer incentives and savings on accommodation such as Dublin Blanchardstown Crowne Plaza, could really help more tourists enjoy this complete holiday destination.

These breaks are all unique and the attractions in various locations appeal to a wide selection of people. The diversity of such a small area is what makes the UK and Ireland interesting places for anyone to explore. The 241 Hotel Club offers 2 nights for the price of 1, making it a product with mass appeal and can be used effectively as a consumer incentive, staff benefit, sales promotion tool plus much, much more.

So why not support British tourism while taking advantage of this powerful new promotional incentive? The 241 Hotel Club is available to purchase so if you would like to find out more Contact Us.

Offers correct at time of publication and subject to terms and conditions.

There have been many surveys and reports this year indicating an increase in the number of British people taking their holidays in Britain. Travelsupermarket.com conducted research back in July, showing that 50 % of British holiday makers said that they were most likely to book a holiday in Britain in the next 12 months. The ‘staycation’ as it has been dubbed is a new fashion that is fantastic for the British economy. But as we begin the ascent out of recession, can the British hotel trade continue to compete with the allure of foreign holidays that offer the probability of good weather and escapism from our everyday life?

It’s unfortunate that it has taken a recession for British people to discover that Britain has the kind of diverse landscapes and cultures that can be just as enjoyable and interesting as flying abroad for a holiday. Maybe the good experiences of this year’s holidays will encourage British holiday makers to have a staycation more often. But this element cannot be relied on too heavily as summer memories will soon fade as the winter sets in.

Some of the most popular city breaks in Britain include London, Edinburgh and Brighton. These destinations have seen visitors descend on them this summer giving the tourists a taste for the theatre, historic sites, theme parks plus regional food and drink specialities. Most of these activities don’t rely on sunshine so could survive as an addition to the annual summer sun break or as an interesting alternative to spending hours sleeping on a beach.

The increase in the British tourism trade this year has been in direct response to the recession but we mustn’t forget that it is only in the last 20 or 30 years that foreign travel has become financially possible for the average British family. The rise in cheap package holidays to countries such as Spain and then the increase in budget airlines selling flights abroad for less than it costs in train fares across the country has contributed to British people travelling further a field than British holiday hot spots such as London, Brighton and Blackpool. But as eco/green issues become more widely understood, airport taxes continue to rise and the budget airlines start to fold, this era of cheap foreign holidays could soon be over.

So if British resorts and cities remain competitively priced surely this will contribute significantly to Britain being able to compete with the popular destinations abroad? Hotels have traditionally been the most expensive element of any British break so a consumer incentive that focuses on hotel discounts, whether stand alone or part of a discount club would be a useful sales promotion technique for encouraging the Brits to think twice about holidaying abroad.

A recent sales promotion idea has seen The Rocket Marketing Group launch the 241 Hotel Club. This discount club offers members 2 nights for the price of 1 at major hotel chains including Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Old English Inns and Brook Hotels, giving members the choice of over 300 hotels across the UK and Ireland. The 241 Hotel Club is a discount club that has been created by The Rocket Marketing Group and will initially be given as a reward to members of its loyalty and membership programmes. The 241 Hotel Club is also intended to be sold as a consumer incentive for other businesses as it is an impressive sales promotion tool that could encourage customers to buy certain products/services. This discount club would be suitable for almost any consumer incentive or employee benefit as it’s a product that most would be interested in whether they are young or old, rich or poor, prefer city breaks or countryside retreats.

There is so much to see, do and be proud of in the UK and Ireland and any initiative that illustrates this and makes it accessible for more people to enjoy, will help the recession hit UK and Ireland.

For more information on our loyalty and membership programmes/discount clubs or if you are interested in purchasing the 241 Hotel Club as a consumer incentive or employee benefit sales promotion tool please Contact Us.

Offers correct at time of publication and subject to terms and conditions.

The Rocket Marketing Group has developed a new hotel club, giving members 2 nights for the price of 1 at a range of hotels throughout the UK and Ireland. Working with major hotel groups, Rocket has created the 241 Hotel Club which includes over 300 hotels. Members can stay at the hotels as often as they like for the 12 month membership term. It’s a fantastic opportunity for 241 Hotel Club members to travel and see the fantastic and varied attractions the UK and Ireland have to offer. With consumers cutting back on their spending, this year has seen a rise in the amount of people taking holidays in the UK and Ireland rather than travelling further afield for their annual break.

Andy Huggins, Managing Director of The Rocket Marketing Group commented: “The climate is perfect to create a fantastic new hotel club. The 241 Hotel Club gives members the opportunity to take a break without having to worry about spending too much money, making short breaks more accessible. It’s also great exposure for the hotel groups involved. They get to market their product, encouraging customers to stay at their hotel. This is a strong marketing tool for the hotel groups.”

The 241 Hotel Club will initially be given as a reward to Annual Members of Rocket’s core membership programmes. Members will be provided with a directory from which they can choose their hotel. Hotel bookings are made directly with the hotel by contacting the hotel group directly, quoting the relevant promotional code.

For anyone interested in purchasing The 241 Hotel Club or for more details visit the website at www.241hotelclub.com or Contact Us.

It seems like all people want at the moment is the cheapest deal, and that lowering prices and putting huge sale posters up is the only way to entice consumers into a shop/business. But with sale savvy shoppers and the help of internet comparison sites how far can this go? Have prices finally reached rock-bottom and how has this aggressive discounting damaged the perceived value of these items/services? Have we allowed the financial panic to reduce brands’ value? The possible recession solutions have raised so many questions for marketing professionals and as we start to see light through the economic gloom the answers are starting to become clearer.

In hindsight it seems short-sighted of businesses to look at aggressive or competitive discounting as the complete recession solution, for example will Pizza Express ever be able to return their prices to the level they were 2 years ago? Many people only visit Pizza Express if they have a 2 for 1 voucher because there’s always an abundance of vouchers online and you can basically download them whenever you like. A lot has changed from 2 years ago when the brand was known to belong in the upper level of high street chain restaurants, to now when you might think of it as a discount Pizza restaurant. It has not only changed our perceptions of the price but also with it the type of people who eat there – in many people’s view it’s not the experience it once was. By heading such an onslaught of discounts, this recession solution has effectively but gradually and probably unintentionally rebranded their business and the brand value has suffered.

Another example of this recession solution is Waitrose, who introduced their Essentials range, giving customers the opportunity to buy quality produce at a low price. This was in response to reports that supermarket shoppers were switching to own-brand goods to save money. Waitrose has always been known as a more exclusive supermarket and this is surely the primary reason people are brand loyal and choose to shop there; so if people are prepared to pay a premium for your products why change that? Waitrose positioning themselves using the same marketing techniques as less aspirational brands was always going to pose the risk of missing the target market. It’s still early days but isn’t it potentially damaging to long term profits if the brand were to be devalued any further or reach the point where their identity was forced to change as Pizza Express’ has?

These are just two questionable aggressive discounting decisions but they are definitely not alone. Is it therefore possible to give customers what they want whilst marketing your business out of the situation? Reducing the price does tap into the mood of the nation but there are ways to do this which make the discounts appear exclusive rather than the norm. Surely this is less damaging to perceived brand value?

Discount hunters often belong to externally managed loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs that offer their members’ discounts on a variety of products and services. The discounts offered are seen by members of the discount club as a privilege and the brands’ value remains higher than the discount price.

A good example of this is Champneys Health Resorts which is a company offering premium pampering breaks. It’s important that they remain as an elite product because that’s what makes the product/services appealing, so to aggressively discount them would damage the perception of exclusivity. This doesn’t mean that the recession does not hit their business as it has other businesses but they have to approach discounts in a different way. Champneys have chosen to put a select few offers on their website but also offer a discount to members of The Rocket Marketing Group’s loyalty and membership programmes. The brand is still seen as luxury because the offers are presented in a way that makes customers feel like the discount is special.  The 15 % discount they offer The Rocket Marketing Group’s loyalty and membership programme club members is a great offer and has prompted a number of redemptions.

Businesses use loyalty and membership programmes to market their brands to consumers who are specifically looking for a special offer, enticing them to become brand loyal. The idea being, that the members of the loyalty and membership programme or discount club will become brand loyal to the businesses within the savings clubs by giving them what they want in a controlled way. These savings clubs are often offered to businesses as a free marketing option with the proviso that they offer club members a discount on their brand.

The Rocket Marketing Group operates a number of loyalty and membership programmes helping businesses create brand loyal consumers, driving both retention and revenue.

Contact Us for details of how a loyalty and membership programme (discount club) can work effectively for your specific businesses.

Offers correct at time of publication and subject to terms and conditions.

The Rocket Marketing Group launches The Home & Garden Club on the 19th August, as an answer to Britons feeling the pinch, not moving house and being more inclined to make home improvements and enjoy their garden.

The Club offers members a fantastic collection of discounts on a range of great products, all designed to make Home & Garden improvements affordable. Home & Garden Club members receive a Savings Directory and a fully functional Home & Garden Club website. Both provide members with access to over 30 exclusive offers. There are amazing discounts at major retailers on a range of products from furniture and plants to gifts and home entertainment.

Andy Huggins, Managing Director of The Rocket Marketing Group said: “This is the perfect time for a product such as The Home & Garden Club as people spend more time at home and save money, as a consequence of the recession. This new club is packed with great offers including our new Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card. The Home & Garden Club helps consumers to maintain or create a perfect haven at home, whatever their budget.”

For anyone interested in purchasing The Home & Garden Club or for more details visit the website at www.hgclub.co.uk or Contact Us.