What makes your rewards program stand out? Whether you’ve considered this question before or not, there’s no denying that simply having a rewards program isn’t enough. With more ecommerce competition than ever before, chances are your competitors have also considered starting a loyalty program, so how do you stay relevant in this volatile climate?
A successful rewards program stands out from the competition by being memorable.
One of the best ways to make your rewards program memorable is through effective branding. Colors, logos, and product images are all great places to start, but what you choose to name your program and currency are what customers will remember.
Since we’ve already talked at length about how to name your rewards program, we’re going to focus on the importance of creatively naming your program’s currency. Calling your loyalty points “points” puts your program in danger of becoming generic, leaving your brand at risk of flying under your customers’ radar.
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From puns to brand-specific references, there are several merchants who have truly embraced and exemplified what it means to take your rewards currency to the next level. We’ve gathered 8 of our favorites to share with you, and hope you’ll be inspired to apply some of these concepts to your own program.
Without further ado, let’s see who made the cut.
1. Frostbeard Studio’s Pages
Currency Name: Pages
As soon as you land on Frostbeard Studio’s homepage, you know who their target customers are. References to books and the joy of reading are everywhere, including their rewards program.
Aptly named the Bibliophile Rewards Program, Frostbeard Studios rewards their customers with Pages for completing a variety of actions. This is a very clever way of connecting the satisfaction of earning a reward to flipping through the pages of an amazing book. As any bookworm knows, there’s no greater feeling than racing through the chapters and seeing how much closer you are to finishing another good book.
It’s also a great initial hook to pique the interest of reading enthusiasts who want to see what the Frostbeard community is all about. This strong correlation between the customers’ and brand’s values creates that emotional connection that makes this reward experience enjoyable and truly rewarding.
2. Tumbleweed Plants’ Seeds
Currency Name: Seeds
Tumbleweed Plants has assured that its brand community will keep on growing through their clever loyalty program branding. This Singaporean plant brand has accordingly named its loyalty program points, seeds. Customers are invited to ‘Grow with Tumbleweed’ earning seeds along the way to redeem for different rewards. Any plant lover is sure to appreciate this clever play on words.
This initial hook is extremely important and can have a profoundly positive impact on a shopper’s decision to join your rewards program and brand community. By making their reward points name so aptly tied to their brand’s purpose, customers will remember Tumbleweed Plants next time they’re ready to add another plant to their collection. It’s going this extra mile that will keep you top-of-mind for your customers.
3. Starbucks’ Stars
Currency Name: Stars
Who’d have thought something as simple as gold Stars would have such an impact on the customer experience? Since the debut of Starbucks Rewards, customers have been driven to collect the coffee mogul’s shiny, five-pointed symbol of customer loyalty and they show no signs of stopping.
So what makes it so successful? Firstly, it looks and feels valuable. Gold is often associated with wealth, luxury, and money, making it a strong visual reminder of the value customers are gaining by participating in the program. Secondly, stars are a universally understood way of recognizing success. Small children are often rewarded with stars for good behavior or learning their lessons at a very early age, reinforcing the concept of stars as a symbol for excellence and achievement.
These two factors combine to create a one-two punch rewards currency that makes customers feel special and creates the desire to earn more. Whether you’re a Starbucks fan or not, you can’t deny that they’re the one of the original masterminds behind effective reward points names.
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4. The Peach Truck’s Truck Bucks
Currency Name: Truck Bucks
If you want to make your reward points name memorable, make it rhyme. There’s a reason Dr. Suess is so popular. We absolutely love everything about The Peach Truck’s customer loyalty experience, from the way it ties into their whole brand to the way it gives customers a deeper dive into their story. As a brand that began by selling peaches out of the back of their ‘64 Jeep Gladiator truck, The Peach Truck perfectly named both its loyalty program and its currency.
We also love how they tie it all together on their homepage with an eye-catching picture of a truck and a call-to-action (CTA) to “Start Earning Truck Bucks”. This kind of loyalty program marketing is what sets the great programs apart from the rest. The terminology they’ve picked is chef’s kiss too–earning and bucks drive the association with money and value, incentivizing customers to check out the program within seconds of being on the homepage.
If you ask us, everything about this rewards program is just peachy!
5. Loop’s Circles
Currency Name: Circles
If you’re a regular around here, then you know we love a good pun–especially one with a double meaning. And that’s exactly what sustainable, Filipino brand Loop has accomplished with their reward points name. By calling their loyalty program the Loop Circle, they are making reference to the circular economy, as well as the idea of an inner circle that people want to be a part of.
Encouraging customers to earn circles, drives home the idea that they’re helping to contribute to a closed-loop economy through their line of zero-waste products. Not to mention, most coins are circular so customers subconsciously associate their points currency with real-life currency. They also bring their rewards experience full circle by choosing a term closely tied to their brand name. Loop and circle are synonyms so it’s not hard for customers to remember this cleverly named reward points title.
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6. Banz’ Bananaz
Currency Name: Bananaz
At first glance, it may be hard to see what children’s care wear has to do with bananas. But if we peel back the layers and look at Banz’ branding, it makes complete sense. Banz’ About page tells the story of the brand’s inspiration using a mother and baby monkey as mascots. Banzee and Bubzee have become two lovable symbols of the brand that create an emotional connection with customers.
With products that focus on heat, sun, and noise protection for children, Banz strategically adapted the “Hear no evil. See no evil. Speak no evil,” monkeys into mascots that fit with their brand. These adorable illustrations show Banzee protecting Bubzee with Banz products so that her little one hears no blare and sees no glare. After taking a look at their branding, it’s pretty obvious that Bananaz is the perfect reward points name for Banz–right down to replacing the ‘S’ with a ‘Z’.
To paraphrase the influential Gwen Stefani, this loyalty experience is bananaz, B A N A N A Z! And we love every part of it, from A (or B) to Z!
7. Yaboychamoy’s ChaMoney
Currency Name: ChaMoney
One of our absolute favorite reward points names comes from Mexican-owned candy brand, Ya Boy Chamoy. They put a bit of a twist on their brand name and called their points, ChaMoney. ChaMoney is easy to remember because of the inclusion of part of the brand’s own name and the association with cash. Having a term often associated with currency is a great way to communicate the value of your points to your customers.
@yaboy_chamoy Congrats to Andrew for being our #20000 order!🍭❤️ #fyp #yagirlchamoy #christmas #candy ♬ Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
Ya Boy Chamoy further demonstrates how much they value their brand community through their social media. On TikTok, they often run friendly competitions between the two founders: Ya Boy and Ya Girl. They also invite customers to take a closer look behind the scenes by showing them packing orders, making the products, and responding to customers’ comments in a playful way. It’s clear their customers are eating up what they’re dishing out, because they’ve recently packed their 20,000th order!
Ya Boy Chamoy is right on the money with their reward points name and it’s clearly paying off. Cha-Ching!
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8. Tushy’s Butt Bucks
Currency Name: Butt Bucks
It’s no secret that bidets are not the most glamorous of products out there, but that didn’t stop Tushy for a second. This quirky brand delivers a fun tongue-in-cheek shopping experience from start to finish. And it all starts with their loyalty program–the Clean Butt Club.
Customers are encouraged to earn Butt Bucks to earn “free shit”. But(t) the puns don’t stop there. With perfectly on-brand calls-to-action (CTAs), Tushy invites customers to join their program by just do(o)ing it. Tushy just goes to show that you can make anything exciting with some clever copywriting and a clear brand voice.
Tushy even extends their playful personality to their loyalty program and referral emails. From the subject line right down to the header message, it’s clear that Tushy delivers messages that will not be forgotten any time soon. By breaking the barriers down about a somewhat ‘taboo’ topic, this is a great example of why your reward points should be memorable. Their email could have simply said “You’ve earned some points”, in which case you probably wouldn't be reading about it right now. Customers are going to remember earning “booty” and this keeps Tushy exactly where they want to be, top-of-mind.
Tushy’s brand experience is a great example, from top to bottom.
The power of naming your reward points
Whether it’s through puns, clarity of vision, or brand culture, each of these brands have developed a name for their reward points that speaks to who they are as a business. From food and beverage to beauty retailers, these currencies have shaped reward programs to provide incredibly valuable communities for their customers.
Whether you’re just getting started with rewards or giving an existing program a facelift, make sure you take the time necessary to develop a name that appropriately represents the values of both your brand and the community you want your customers to be a part of. After all, your currency name could be your first (and last) impression – make it count!
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2017 and was updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness on January 20, 2023.
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