CUSTOMER LOYALTY

and the new technologies

12th
MARKETING RESEARCH
STUDENT CONTEST

Request for proposal document no 2015-001

Contest sponsored by the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association

and the Quebec Research industry

Marketing Research Student Contest 2015

1. Background
1.1 The loyalty programs market
In Canada, more than 9 adults out of 10 are members of some kind of loyalty program and, on
average, they participate in 3 different programs that allow them to collect points or miles.1
More than a fad, loyalty programs such as Air Miles, Aeroplan, Optimum and others are here to
stay. If, for the consumer, they represent a way of getting a little more out of every dollar spent,
they are, for the merchants, not only a way to lure clients but mostly a rare possibility of getting
to know them better. 2
Loyalty programs have become fully-fledged industries, says Jean-Franois Ouellet, professor
at HEC Montral and database marketing specialist. 3
Since their inception, loyalty programs have been perceived as a form of currency whereby the
consumer agrees to disclose information about his profile and purchasing habits in exchange for
privileges and rewards. For businesses, these programs are part of a marketing strategy which
allows them to target customers more efficiently and gain new ones. Even if the principle is the
same, loyalty programs have evolved considerably since the first program was introduced in 1958
by Canadian Tire! The models are becoming increasingly sophisticated and the rewards are more
diversified, opening the way for an integrated form of partnership called coalition.
A coalition is a program with centralized management in which various companies use the same
loyalty currency. For example, Aeroplan allows its members to earn miles from more than a hundred
partners. This coalition loyalty program belongs to Aimia, a world leader in loyalty management.

1.2 A new coalition program for young people

People aged 16 to 25 represent 13% of the Canadian population and, among those, 58% are fulltime students. Comfortable with all sorts of technologies, young people in this age group seek
to express their individuality through these new platforms and enjoy being able to communicate
rapidly. Aimia sees this phenomenon as an opportunity to develop an innovative program tailored
to the needs of this age group.
To ensure the potential of the project, Aimia conducted a preliminary study among the target group.
The results confirm young peoples interest in a loyalty program targeted at them at 92% and lead
Aimia to believe that such a program has a promising future. The company must now validate what
young people look for in terms of partners, rewards, interactions and visual identity for this program.
Name and logo concepts have already been developed by the graphic design team. It is in this
context that Aimia would like to provide a first research mandate to evaluate the characteristics
that the new coalition loyalty program for youth should have.

1
2
3

Copeland, Shawn, 2013. Big Changes Expected Among Top Rewards Programs in 2014 Loyalty Redefined by Canadian
Retailers Abacus Data Insider. August 23, 2013.
Desrosiers, ric. 2002. Les programmes de fidlisation de la clientle - la grande rcompense . Le Devoir. September 21 and
22, 2002.
Duplessis, Marie-Pier, 2011. Gestion de la fidlisation: du nouveau pour les banques. La Presse. September 23, 2011.
Marketing Research Student Contest 2015

1.3 Research Objectives

The mandate is to develop a methodology to collect and analyze data that will provide Aimia with
the information needed to develop its loyalty program targeted at young Canadians aged 16 to 25.
The main research objectives are as follows:
a. Identify the partners young people look for in a loyalty program (sectors, shops, type of
purchases, etc.);
b. Determine the type of rewards and privileges young people look for in a loyalty program
(sectors, shops, forms of rewards, award deadlines, etc.);
c. Determine the type of interaction sought (exchange currency, ways of collecting points, ways
of exchanging points, platforms and technological tools, etc.);
d. Identify the best name and ideal logo for the loyalty program among the options developed by
the graphic design team;
e. Identify the preferred means of communication to reach young people once the program is
launched.

2. Your mandate
Your mandate is to prepare a research proposal that meets all the objectives mentioned above.
Among other things, you will need to explain in detail the objectives you wish to achieve, describe
the methodology to be used and justify your choice, specify the desired outcome, provide detailed
costs and determine the timeline for the mandate.
Aimia is willing to invest an amount of $100,000 to carry out the study. It needs the information
to finalize its business plan within 8 weeks.
If you are planning on using specific tools or particular research techniques, you will need to
present them in the methodology without necessarily describing them in detail. You must simply
specify the steps you will be taking, the reason for taking them and how you plan on doing this
in order to bring about the desired outcome.

Marketing Research Student Contest 2015

3. Essential elements of the proposal

3.1 Specific instructions
The proposal shall be prepared by one person only. Proposals signed by more than one person
will be rejected. Furthermore, you must not have the help of teachers or marketing professionals in
preparing your proposal.
If you wish to submit a proposal, you must first fill out the appropriate form before March 27,
2015, 4:00 p.m., in order to register for the contest. To obtain this form, please contact
Ms. Catherine Castonguay at TNS Canada Ltd by using the following email:
catherine.castonguay@tnsglobal.com.
All students having transmitted a completed registration form by the contest registration deadline
will receive confirmation by email.
The proposal should contain no more than 10 pages, using a 12-point font size.
If you use documents from third parties in your preparation, the complete bibliography of your
sources must be sent with the proposal.

3.2 Evaluation criteria

Proposals will be evaluated by a selection committee made up of six marketing research
professionals from various consulting firms and companies.
Proposals will be evaluated on the following six criteria. The weighting given each criterion is also
indicated.

Criteria
Understanding of the problem
Analysis of the context
Definition of the marketing research objectives
Proposed approach
- Proposed methodology
- Appropriateness
- Precision
- Originality
- Deliverables
Pragmatism of the approach
- Schedule
- Budgetary feasibility of conducting the study
Quality of the written presentation

Weighting
5 points
5 points
8 points
37 points

10 points
10 points
Total 75 points

Marketing Research Student Contest 2015

Once the proposals have been evaluated, three finalists will be selected1 and invited to present
their proposals to the evaluation committee and members gathered for the occasion during a
special event on May 14, 2015.
The three finalists presentations will be 15 minutes long, followed by a five-minute question period
by the members of the jury.
The presentation will be worth 25 points and the proposal 75 points, for a total of 100. The highest
score will determine the final ranking of the three finalists.
Each finalist is assured of being awarded one of the following prizes:

First prize: 
$3,000 2 cheque
Second prize: $2,000 cheque
Third prize:

$1,000 cheque

In addition, each finalist will be granted an interview after which one of them will be given a 12-week
paid internship in marketing research at Aimia (approximate value: $11,500).
Students will be sent their personal score sheet by e-mail, as well as the average score of all
participants, so they may identify the strengths and weaknesses of their proposal.

3.3 Questions
Questions concerning the request for proposal may be e-mailed to Catherine Castonguay at :
catherine.castonguay@tnsglobal.com
She will forward your questions to the appropriate person and send you the response.
To ensure transparency and equity among competitors, relevant questions and answers will be
communicated to all participants.

3.4 Where to send your proposal?

An electronic version of this proposal in PDF format must be sent to the following e-mail address
no later than April 24, 2015, at 4:00 p.m.:
catherine.castonguay@tnsglobal.com
The proposals received after 4:00 p.m. on April 24, 2015 will not be accepted. It is up to each
participant to ensure that the proposal is received on time.

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Should less than three proposals obtain the minimal pass mark (45/75), MRIA and its partners are not required to convene three
finalists nor award the three prizes.
The cash prizes (totalling $6,000) are made possible thanks to the generous contribution of Ad Hoc Recherche, Aimia, BIP,
Callosum, cube Recherche, Desjardins, element54, Extract Recherche Marketing, IGA, Ipsos, La Presse, Lger Marketing, MBA
Recherche, Research Now, Senergis, SOM, Sphinx, TNS, Tl-Sondages Plus and Voxco.
Marketing Research Student Contest 2015