Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
Leaders in Customer Loyalty, Powered by Loyalty360
Daring to Be Different: How True Religion Builds Authentic Customer Loyalty
When a brand like True Religion—famous for its bold urban casualwear and iconic denim—reimagines its customer loyalty program, it’s more than a refresh. It’s a statement. Under the leadership of Kristen D’Arcy, the brand’s first-ever Chief Marketing Officer, True Religion’s loyalty program has undergone a transformation that has already delivered impressive results.
In this podcast, we’ll explore how True Religion rebranded its loyalty program to increase customer engagement, build deeper connections, and reinforce its brand identity. From leveraging non-transactional earning opportunities to delivering experiences money can’t buy, Kristen reveals how True Religion stays true to its ethos of daring to be different.
Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/vM9LvJUBLqg
Read the full article on Loyalty360 here: https://loyalty360.org/content-gallery/in-depth-exclusives/daring-to-be-different-how-true-religion-builds-authentic-customer-loyalty
When a brand redesigns its customer loyalty program, it invests significant time interviewing customers, listening to their feedback and developing a program that more closely aligns with their needs. The challenge then becomes marketing. The program changes in a way that customers can easily understand, requiring clarity and communication. However, when a brand has a roster of recognizable athletes, musicians and entertainers already tied to it, spreading the word about the new program becomes easier, especially if the brand is an iconic clothing label with deep ties to these figures through their Team True platform. This brand is True Religion and is led by Kristen Darcy, their Chief Marketing Officer. Kristen, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us today. How are you Doing well? Thanks for having me, Mark. First off, for those who may not know about True Religion, like I was not as familiar as I probably should have been, would love for you to take a few minutes to tell us a little bit about the brand and your role within the organization.
Speaker 2:Sure, we're an urban, casual lifestyle brand that's been around now for just over 22 years. We started in denim and now we've expanded into almost all categories of clothing, so we have activewear, outerwear and then other lines such as kids accessories. We even have a semi-new pet line. My role here I've been here just about two years and I am the company's first ever CMO. So Michael Buckley, our CEO, brought me in really to kind of ramp up all of the great work that the team had been doing and really focus on new customer acquisition retention which, of course, I know we'll get into with regard to the loyalty program and then ultimately continue to drive brand love. So it's been a really exciting journey these last almost two years doing all three of those things.
Speaker 1:And I was reading as prep for this interview your motto is that dare to be different. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. It really starts with incredible differentiated product. Our product is meant to stand out and it gives people the confidence to do just that. When you put on a pair of our jeans and you walk into a room, the jeans are recognizable for a number of different reasons Number one, the thick stitching. Number two, the unmistakable horseshoe on the back pocket. And then number three, the Buddha, which is also featured on the back pocket. So when you start with such bold and differentiated packaging and product, frankly, then it's pretty easy to riff on that from a marketing perspective and go with bold celebrities, create B2B partnerships that create product that is designed to break through. So I like to think that it starts with this bold product and it really cuts across to every area of our business, marketing included.
Speaker 1:Excellent. And now True Religion recently rebranded the brand's customer loyalty program. What prompted the transition from True Fan to True Rewards. You know what specific goals were you looking to achieve by the rebranding what specific goals were you looking to achieve by the rebranding?
Speaker 2:Sure, so the TrueFam had been around, let's see, since last Q1. And we had seen, you know, there were a couple hundred thousand people in the program, but people weren't necessarily moving up through the different tiers. Number one, which is an objective, obviously to grow LTV. Number two we just saw sort of lackluster signups and so we thought about what if we turn the program on its head? What if we rebranded it in the same bold design and style that you know our products for that you you know with our campaigns. I'm looking at a big picture of Megan Thee Stallion hanging here on our wall as part of the when Holiday Wishes Come True campaign. And then also, what if we updated the tiers, made it easier for you to earn baked in non-transactional earn, so you would get points, for example, if you referred a friend to True Rewards. You'd get points if you created a ratings or review or you did a video review of the product, for example.
Speaker 2:So how do we try to get you much, much more engaged in the program? And then the last piece really for us strategically was in the program. And then the last piece really for us strategically was how do we offer you things beyond discounts? And when you think about where we are as a brand, we really sit, pretty authentically, I think, at the intersection between music, sports and culture. So how do we give the very, very best customers access to exclusive experiences that they couldn't get either on their own or from anyone else? So all of that was sort of the strategy and the impetus behind relaunching the program just before Black Friday this year.
Speaker 1:Excellent, a big push right now with many brands looking at experiential, looking at very unique, differentiated rewards. We see that in a number of the brand calls we have with our members and how to make it unique, how to make it more engaging, but also, as you mentioned, to differentiate the offering in a unique way that resonates with the brand. So congrats on being able to do something. That's great to hear.
Speaker 2:Thank you, and we're already seeing really great results. So within the first couple of weeks we saw signups increase by 20% and that's versus the same time period last year. We've seen gains almost in the form of double digits actually, with attachment rates for the loyalty program number, with purchases both in-store and online, compared to the reboot of the program. So we feel like we're already off to the races and we're really excited to see what it can do for both us and our consumers next year.
Speaker 1:When you look at the overall state of retail from a macro perspective, how do you see customer loyalty programs or customer experience offerings like the ones you've successfully rolled out, as an option to impact and address, maybe, the challenges or opportunities you're seeing within the retail industry?
Speaker 2:I think it helps drive, for obvious reasons it helps drive loyalty. I mean, you know, I think the best way when you're looking at this from a macro industry perspective is to be a consumer yourself and really pay attention to why am I buying these brands, why am I buying them from these particular stores. And what I've seen lately is an uptick among the programs that I'm a member of is much more personalization, much more connectivity between what I've bought, let's say my last purchase, and then the suggestion of things that would go along really well with that purchase. You know it's a no brainer if you think about complete the look in specialty apparel, but I see beauty doing this even better now. So you bought a new hairdryer, for example.
Speaker 2:What about this conditioner that helps improve the sleekness, let's say, of your hair, or the smoothness? So I find that they're getting a lot smarter with regard to analyzing the basket, analyzing past purchase history, and then for me anyway, it's like an aha, light bulb on moment as a consumer, why wouldn't I go buy that shampoo or conditioner that's $30 that I really don't need. But that connection back to the last purchase, I think, was just so solid. So I see it among again focus group of one, my own consumer behavior. I see myself shopping incrementally as a result of the sophistication behind personalization. As a result of the sophistication behind personalization. So then I take that and I say what does it do for the retail industry if, done well and not in a creepy way, but in an additive way? I think it drives LTV, and isn't that what we all want?
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. When you look at the retail industry in general, what are some of the challenges or opportunities that you see that may keep you look at the retail industry in general? What are some of the challenges or opportunities that you see that may keep you up at night? What are you looking to?
Speaker 2:I think you know number one is new customer acquisition. I think excuse me, I think it's really competitive out there right now. I think everybody is sort of vying for some of the same consumers newness and disruption with our marketing featuring this incredible product that breaks through and really draws somebody new in, either who used to know the brand you know 22 years ago when we started, or you know is rediscovering us now. And the breakthrough also has to be married with authenticity. You know, we hear quite a bit from our partners and our influencer network that our marketing feels really authentic, and so it's that fine line again between disruption how do we stand out in a really really competitive and crowded marketplace but then do it in an authentic way so that, as we're bringing all these new consumers in, the loyalists not only are staying with us, but they're frequenting us much, much more often. So that would probably be the number one thing that always keeps me up at night.
Speaker 1:Excellent. And when you look at the revamp loyalty program as you move from true fan to true rewards you mentioned, you're already seeing some great success in the program, which is, you know, great to hear as well. But you look at kind of the alignment which you mentioned as well, being able to align the marketing strategy to the customers, and some things you're seeing in a holiday season. What are you seeing there? Well, what are two or three things that you're seeing already in the new program that you're proud of?
Speaker 2:Number one an increase in AOV, which is great. Number two an increase we talked about this a little bit earlier but an increase in the attachment rate, which is also incredible, because the more that we can identify who the purchaser is and what they're buying going back to the beauty example with the cross-sell and up-sell the more that we can identify who the purchaser is and what they're buying going back to the beauty example with the cross-sell and up-sell the more that we're able to authentically do that, frankly go forward. And then the third is this is the first time that we've had a real omni-view of the customer. So when we relaunched the program, we tied it to our physical brick and mortar stores, erp. We have over 50 stores nationwide and so now, whether you're buying in store or you're buying online, we can see you and connect those purchases through the loyalty program. So again, the attachment rate increase is really exciting, right out of the gate.
Speaker 1:The attachment rate increase is really exciting, right out of the gate Excellent. Are there one or two things you would like to see or add to the program? Maybe benefits you see with other programs that you spoke to, that you're a part of, that you would like to add to your program functionality, I think, our marketing in general.
Speaker 2:there's an opportunity to add greater personalization tactics, depending on where you're at with our journey, you know through your journey with us. So number one would be personalization. I think number two and this is part of the program, but you'll see it come to life even more next year are those surprises and delights, and then the opportunity to experience or to create experiences with music partners, for example, sports partners. So that part of the program has not been rolled out yet. You are accumulating points for those things, but I'm excited because I'm not in a lot of programs that do that or do that well. So it'll be a new opportunity for us, for sure, but something that we're looking forward to in 2025.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the best thing about that is you have such a high emotive appeal to being able to get with your favorite musician or your favorite athlete. That's going to drive kind of the value of the program right. There's the actual perceived value and, as you mentioned, many brands are looking to drive the higher perceived value for the program. So having the surprise and delight offerings, having the kind of the member only special benefits, is a significant attribute that you're adding. That I'm sure you're going to see some pretty good return on going forward. That I'm sure you're going to see some pretty good return on going forward.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's interesting because when we partner with musicians or athletes, the people that we select sometimes come to us. Other times we're reaching out, but they have an incredible love and passion for this brand. I'm not going to share who this is, but there how do I keep it vague? There is a female who is in music, who you know, we kind of constantly stay in touch with, and we are considering working with this person next year, and we were told that this person is spending no joke upwards of $50,000 a year on True Religion product.
Speaker 2:That is not us gifting that product, that is this person buying it. You know full price in our stores and online, and so there's this genuine love. You know that these celebs in music and sports have for the brand. Music and sports have for the brand. So then when we connect a real loyal consumer let's say, who's part of the True Rewards program with the celebrity that also loves the brand, I think you're just going to have magic kind of meeting magic, and that's what we're really excited about is to be able to connect our community with some of these faces that they absolutely love.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and, as you mentioned, authenticity is something that many brands struggle with, whether from a marketing perspective and we saw it a couple of years back with corporate social responsibility, where a large shoe company would throw a bin up front in the store and say, oh, we're recycling, or we are looking out for those who may not be as well off in the community. Well, they did it because everyone else is doing it and they had successful programs, and you have programs like PetSmart, where they've had, you know, almost 8 million dogs and cats. They've helped foster or help get adopted right, and they rarely talk about the offering. So, being genuine, having those individuals who have that unique passion for the brand, is, you know, a huge brand attribute you guys have, and being able to leverage it, it will be obviously to your significant benefit, for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we are really excited and I think you know the ability to connect our consumers with one another through this and build community IRL. I mean, they are so passionate across all of our social networks that I think a little bit of this in-person community building will be really nice as well. So we're stoked and can't wait.
Speaker 1:Excellent. I know you have a four-tier structure with your True Rewards program. You have the entry-level, insider, the trendsetter, the icon and exclusive fourth tier. You know, when you look at, what are the criteria that you need to kind of progress through these tiers and how do you manage the different tiers and the value proposition.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's based on spend and then it's based on that non-transactional earn. So you're rewarded with points that help you move through the tiers. So you're rewarded with points that help you move through the tiers, like I said, if you refer a friend to the program, if you write a review about a product, if you engage with us or follow us in social, and again you can get to that both through spend and through different engagement tactics. The fourth kind of unpublished tier are for people that hit the 1,000-point-plus mark. And it's interesting because as this program has evolved, literally even in the last couple of weeks, we're actually seeing a decent amount of consumers spending and earning at that highest unpublished tier. So we are not going to unveil that to them.
Speaker 2:We want to get a little bit more learning at least of this new program kind of underneath us and then start to flesh out the value prop that will be, like we said, much more focused around experiential. When you hit that top program or that top tier, the other thing that you'll see is sort of holiday thank yous that come out for that top tier. When I was at Ralph Lauren that's something that we did, for we called it our tippy top consumers. Florin, you know that's something that we did, for we called it our tippy top consumers, and we saw not only a lot of brand love but loyalty that was generated as a result of gifts. You know, gifting the very, very top consumers, so you'll see that play out too here.
Speaker 1:Excellent, and your unpublished tier is actually unpublished right now, correct?
Speaker 2:Correct yeah.
Speaker 1:Because that's a big discussion within brand as well, right, so you have the published tiers and you have the unpublished tiers. And how do you manage that, that communication, understanding the data and make sure because if they know it's unpublished and it's unpublished and they're in it, it's almost kind of a ethereal feel to it. Right, it kind of drives some incrementality, because everyone wants that. That you know, euphoria being exclusive. So you're definitely going to have some unique learnings as you go through managing this higher tier, which is great to see.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and, and the way that we sort of think about it is the black card for Amex is published sort of think about it is the black card for Amex is published, right, but you need to be invited. There's also a different look and feel and, of course, benefits as a result. So what some of these fourth tier people who are invited will also see is just a different and special look and feel in the communications that come across, let's say, versus somebody in the icon tiers or other tiers. So the experience that you have with the brand will feel elevated at the unpublished tier. So it's really exciting.
Speaker 1:It's awesome you talked about program redesign. That was one of the areas of interest we saw in the 2024 State of Customer Loyalty Report. Brands want to redo their program. They want to make it more relevant, they want to redesign it, but there are challenges they face with regard to enhancing their programs but also communicating those benefits out to the customers. How did you manage this process and how did you do it so effectively?
Speaker 2:From a communication standpoint, we wanted to make sure that the to to the from was really clear and was focused on all of the new benefits for them, namely, you can earn points faster now, right through the non-transactional earn, and you will get the opportunity to be involved in experiential in a way that you haven't before. So those were the two main criteria. We went through a lot of creative rounds internally. We just kept pulling back the copy because you could explain this thing all day long. But really, what's the elevator pitch? How do you make it as clear as possible? And then we know, based on creative testing, that our customers really love bold designs. They love neon. That is not in product, by the way, that is just in digital creative.
Speaker 2:And so when we started exploring different treatments for True Rewards, the team had come up with this. So it's bold, it's metallic, there's a little bit of neon in there. You know, the watermark is ever present on any kind of loyalty communication that we have, and so it was a combination of the tone and the value prop, and then something that we thought would stick out again, break through the clutter. So when you walk, that we thought would stick out again, break through the clutter. So when you walk into one of our retail stores, for example, there's multiple areas of signage that has this big, you know, bold rewards logo, a QR code that allows you to sign up right away. Their signage right at the cash wrap. And again, before we launched this, I walked one of our stores with the different kind of proposed signage map and it just it draws your eye to it so quickly because it does break through. So those are all the things that we considered when we upgraded the look and feel of this program. Okay, and what?
Speaker 1:have your customers told you about the new program? Feel of this program Okay, and what have your customers told you about the new program so far?
Speaker 2:They love it. So we have a true rewards email address. We're constantly monitoring that, every single day. We've heard number one and this was great because it's intentional. They feel like they're earning more, they're more engaged great. We have people that you know maybe had signed up for the program earlier in the year, just kind of wasn't paying attention to it and said hey, I came back because I saw Megan Thee Stallion in your holiday campaign. But then when I was walking through the store, I remembered that I was part of your loyalty program. It looks so new and different. I then took out my phone, I figured out what my number was and I made the purchase in the store and I was so excited that I could tie it back to the program. So literally everything that we set out to do. We're hearing that playback in terms of engagement and convenience for the consumer, so we're happy to see that they are as thrilled as we are.
Speaker 1:Excellent. You know customer feedback, voice of the customer, voice of the employee very important. You know how did the role, what did the role of customer feedback play in the redesign of the program and how do you plan to potentially use voice of the customer, voice of the employee, to redesign the program and how do you plan to potentially use voice of the customer versus employee to adapt the program going forward?
Speaker 2:Yeah, we did a consumer research study and really wanted to understand what makes our consumers shop. What are they looking for in a loyalty program. So we got a lot of rich data from that. We also lean into our influencer network called Team True. We launched that in August of this year and they serve not only as incredible brand ambassadors we're sending them product, they're walking the red carpet or they're walking the tunnel and they're wearing us head to toe, which is incredible but we also lean into them to get feedback because they're consumers of the brand as well. So they've been a great, active and kind of always on sounding board.
Speaker 2:Almost as quantitative. You know you have qual and quant, so the quant would have been through the consumer research study and then the qual is like hey, what do you think about our loyalty program today? And what we heard before was I didn't really know from our team true folks, I didn't really know you had a loyalty program, what's the benefit? Why should I sign up? And so when we think about the evolution of the program, go forward. We definitely want to build the team true network with the right people and hopefully scale it to be hundreds in the future. But again then, these are people that act as a customer panel of sorts to help make sure that the marketing feels authentic. The loyalty program is delivering on the value prop that we've set out for the consumer. So that's how we plan on kind of checking in as we go forward.
Speaker 1:Excellent. And then the team, true, the content creators, them not knowing that you had a loyalty program and being able to use them as advocates obviously would be significantly advantageous to the program as well, correct?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and we are starting to explore and I don't have more details yet because we're working on it now, but starting to explore philanthropic connections tied back to Team True and the loyalty program. So more on that in Q1 of next year.
Speaker 1:Excellent, and do they get any extra benefits for being part of the program or being engaged in the collaboration with you, the Team True content creators?
Speaker 2:You know they. So, as part of Team True, you are getting products from us You're on a six-month term with us product from us, you're on a six month term with us. And you know, some people are just so excited, I think, to be part of the brand, because there's this genuine love and kind of appreciation for the brand and its 22 year history that, to be honest, I had an ex NFL player who is a Super Bowl Super Bowl winner say to me the other day I don't even want to get paid to be on Team True, or if I do, I'll donate the money to charity. I just want to be a part of this. So when you hear that and Felicia, who's on the call, you know, knows this that it's happened a lot actually in the year and a half two years that I've been here, so I think they just want to be a part of it. And then again, knowing that they're a little bit of a sounding board for some of these programs, they're excited to be involved.
Speaker 1:Excellent. And when you look at performance of the program, what are some of the key performance indicators that you're looking at to make sure the program's on track, meeting the milestones internally?
Speaker 2:I mean revenue incrementality, meaning you spent as a result of being in the loyalty program and perhaps you wouldn't have recency frequency. You know AOV relative to the site average, the ability to shop, and us looking at this, do we drive more omni behavior as a result of you being enrolled in the loyalty program versus you just shop us online? The reason that's important is you know our site is beautiful but so are our stores, and to be able to walk in and have a great conversation around jean fit or be recommended new looks, for example, with one of our fabulous store associates, we'd love to start, or continue, I should say, to grow that omni-channel shopping behavior.
Speaker 1:Excellent, and you touched on this a little bit earlier.
Speaker 2:Are there some new features or partnerships that you're looking to bring on for the True Rewards program? Fleshing out the experiential piece, fleshing out the unpublished tier? That is really, at least on the loyalty side, everything on our radar for next year. Of course, kind of separate from loyalty. There are a number of collabs in the works that the brand has for next year, a new great celebrity face coming for spring, and so we always figure out how to create loyalty hooks into those new campaigns with these big celebrity faces and the collabs. So, for example, if you're a loyalty member, you might be able to shop a certain collab, you know, a full 24 hours early before the drop is made available to everybody else, et cetera, and that's just sort of business as usual.
Speaker 1:Well, that's great. Looking forward to hearing more about that as those come to market. And last question we have somewhat self-serving what can Loyalty360 do to support your customer loyalty and customer experience efforts?
Speaker 2:You know, I think, as this program continues to get fleshed out, we'd love to hear what you guys think of it. So, from an audit perspective, maybe there are things that you're seeing that that we haven't relative to best in class. So let's stay in touch on on that front in the future, for sure.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and now we have the fun and quick fire question round, so we like to keep these to a short phrase or a word response. The first question we have is what word or short phrase do you use to inspire others?
Speaker 2:So my whole family went to Notre Dame and we're huge football fans. So what you can't see in my office? That there is a big sign right when you walk through the door and the sign looks like a wood plaque and it says play like a champion today. And I remember the day that I hung it. One of the gentlemen on my team loves football, loves Notre Dame, and he walked right in and hit it in the way that all of the players do, all the football players do as they're entering or leaving the locker room and going to the field. So play like a champion today.
Speaker 1:There you go. What is your least favorite word that others use?
Speaker 2:Maybe algorithm.
Speaker 1:Oh good, what excites you at work?
Speaker 2:Everything. I love this brand.
Speaker 1:Okay, great. What do you find tiresome at home or at work? Probably doing my expenses. What book is there? A book that you read or have read that you'd like to recommend to colleagues From Good to Great, good, good, good and what profession other than one you're currently in would you maybe like to attempt?
Speaker 2:I always wanted to be a lawyer. My father is a retired attorney and he told me. He told me to find a different profession, so I would have loved to have been a lawyer.
Speaker 1:OK, well, what do you enjoy doing that you often don't get time to do?
Speaker 2:That's a great question Playing volleyball.
Speaker 1:OK, who inspired you to become the person you are today?
Speaker 2:My parents.
Speaker 1:Excellent, and how do you want to be remembered by your friends and family?
Speaker 2:And how do you want to be remembered by your friends and family? Ooh, someone who is kind, passionate and a great friend, daughter and sister.
Speaker 1:Okay, great. Well, kristen, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us today. It's been a pleasure speaking with you. The passion you have for the customer, the passion we have for the brand, shines through. Not often does come through in such a clear way. So it was great to hear that, because oftentimes we get people that just aren't as excited. But you are definitely, uh, one of the most uh kind of inspired people I've spoken with in a while. Just again, your passion, just you exude it and it's great to hear and obviously that'll do great things to the brand going forward that means a lot coming from you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Mark.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Thank you, everyone else, for taking the time to listen today. Make sure you check back every Thursday for an additional episode of our Leaders and Customers in Loyalty series. Until then, have a wonderful day.