With about a year under its belt with a new loyalty program, Miller High Life is launching a fresh volley of promotions and has added a new reward category to its loyalty program: baseball-themed merchandise.
The brand is partnering with a number of baseball legends to spread the word including Wade Boggs, Tony Perez, Ryne Sandberg and Fergie Jenkins. The ball players will make appearances at bars and stores around the country to promote the High Life Extras loyalty program.
The program, launched in February 2008, lets drinking-age adults who buy specially marked packages of Miller High Life and High Life Light, earn points that can be redeemed for branded gear. Each bottle or can is worth 10 points. Codes from the cans are entered.
“Baseball and Miller High Life have been intertwined for more than 100 years, so this is just one way we’re bringing together the heritage and authenticity of these two American icons,” High Life Senior Brand Manager Kevin Oglesby said in a release.
Point totals needed to earn the baseball merchandise range from 2,500 for a High Life baseball hat to 27,500 for the base-and-bat barstool.
Despite the fact that the company has implemented the standard price increases each year—about 3.5% last year and another 5% this year—the program has “exceeded expectations” with five of the six types of packages of beer involved in the program showing increased sales over the last year, said Kevin Oglesby, senior brand manager for Miller High Life.
About 150,000 members participate in the program, which is available in 42 states, and a new marketing effort is underway to draw in even more.
The biggest piece of the communications strategy is on-pack details about the program paired with images of the rewards members can earn. Online media buys and some print helped launch the program last year. This year, the on-pack blitz continues and in July, local TV spots will break to “expose a wider amount of consumers to get way more participation,” Oglesby said.
The messaging ties the loyalty program, called Extras, to the overall marketing theme of Miller High Life offering great value at a reasonable price.
The program’s loyalists so far are men, average age 40. About 25% of members are women.
“What we found, is that true to form, we are getting customers who love the brand,” Oglesby said. “The first people to join something like this are really, really loyal and now they recognize that they are going to be rewarded for purchasing.”
A variety of Miller High Life branded merchandise is available as rewards with the most popular item the delivery shirt. New baseball-themed items include stools, jackets, coolers and a baseball shirt.
A viral component lets members send e-cards to friends to encourage them to join Extras. Each successful referring member earns 60 points.
“This is one of the best tools we have,” Oglesby said. “About 5% to 7% of the total membership has sent e-cards.”
In a related development, Miller High Life will open a branded bar in Cleveland’s Progressive Field on the opening day of baseball, April 10.
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