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The article, a special advertising section of this issue, examines customer loyalty programs and their use in marketing. The impact of customer loyalty programs on the financial services industry is discussed. Suggestions for customer loyalty program management are presented. It is stressed that such programs must be integrated into an overall approach to customer services.

Focuses on the loyalty club program TripRewards launched by Cendant in October 2004. Details of the development of TripRewards; Background on the obstacles faced by the program; Retailers which are partners in TripRewards' network.

The author offers opinions on the use of customer loyalty reward programs in marketing. It is argued that such programs are an inefficient means of marketing, as they do not offer sufficient reward to create loyalty in the vast majority of consumers who are only occasional users of a product or service. The use of Internet marketing and marketing research to improve means of communication with occasional customers is urged.

The article reports on the plan of Batten Barton Durstine & Osborn (BBDO) to expand its relationship with the world's largest advertiser Procter & Gamble (P&G). BBDO will use its Gillette case history as a springboard to make presentations to P&G. P&G awarded BBDO's Proximity division in Europe a relationship marketing assignment across 13 countries. BBDO CEO Andrew Robertson convened a three-day summit of top-office CEOs and network regional leaders to study the packaged-goods marketer.

Advertising agency J. Walter Thompson Co. (JWT) is consolidating its digital, direct and database resources to form connect jwt, a 250-person relationship-marketing operation with estimated revenue of $63 million from clients like the U.S. Marines and Northwestern Mutual. The move is designed to create efficiencies for the agency and its clients by bringing together the three practices in seven North American offices under one profit-and-loss center, overseen by connect jwt CEO Kevin Wassong. JWT is the latest example of an agency network aligning its digital, direct and database capabilities in recognition that these disciplines are inextricably linked.