Marriott and Hyatt offer account anniversary-based perks, but there are opportunities to go further. For example, both IHG and Marriott offer tie-ins with boutique properties; experimenting with giving cardholders who’ve stayed at these properties exclusive offers to visit again could enhance product awareness, grow card usage, or encourage upgrades.

Bidstack’s partnership with Marriott Bonvoy placed ads everywhere from the virtual courts of the Tennis Clash mobile game to the sides of cars on Microsoft’s Forza Horizon 5. Both Microsoft and Sony are reportedly working on building their own in-game ad tools within Xbox and PlayStation titles, respectively. As interest in the metaverse builds, so has interest in in-game advertising.

Meanwhile, Marriott Bonvoy credit card members have extra time to redeem their annual free night award. Empathy and Understanding. Flexibility won’t just make consumers more likely to plan and book a trip, it can also help to evoke feelings of empathy and understanding. Empathy was already a growing trend in advertising before the pandemic, but its use in brand messaging has accelerated.

American Express introduced limited-time welcome bonuses for Marriott Bonvoy cardholders. Subject to spending requirements, new Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant cardmembers can earn 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, plus up to $200 in statement credits. New Marriott Bonvoy Business cardmembers can earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points and up to $150 in statement credits.

Last month, the issuer unveiled new card perks, offering 125,000 in Marriott Bonvoy points for new eligible customers, subject to a spending minimum, to incentivize T&E card spending. Consumers are already developing an appetite for vacationing: 78% of global consumers say they want to travel in 2021 to relieve stresses from 2020, per Amex’s Global Travel Trends Report.

Beth has been part of the Merkle team for nearly a decade and has worked with clients such as Royal Caribbean, Disney, Cirque du Soleil, Marriott, Loews and Universal Orlando. She previously worked at MarketShare, Andersen Consulting/Accenture, Cyveillance and Sanofi-Aventis. Shirli Zelcer is COO, analytics at Merkle. Shirli leads the company’s customer analytics service line.

At Merkle she has worked with a variety of different clients including Disney, Dell, Marriott, and Nike, and has led projects for both consumer and B2B segments. Projects managed by Shirli include enterprise segmentations, customer journey development, lifetime value, omnichannel integration, and more. Scott Nuernberger is senior vice president, analytics at Merkle.

The ICO report was published just ahead of the finalization of investigations into British Airways and Marriott International. In July 2019, fines of £183.4 million ($234.1 million) and £99.2 million ($126.6 million), respectively, were levied on the firms for GDPR-related data breaches. Much of this enforcement activity from the ICO has occurred outside the ad industry, of course.