Bill Brohaugh

Nothing could make me more loyal to the food that we rarely call ambrosia, even though it is that. We use a more mundane name: bacon. Or, more accurately, we speak of it as bacon-mmmmmm, because the word is always followed by that little verbal swoon of appreciation at the end.

Do you want to improve filet mignon? Wrap it in bacon. Improve a job offer? Wrap it in bacon (I'm not kidding). Improve bacon? Yes, wrap it in bacon. Improve a loyalty offering? Wrap it in . . . oh, wait. This is about the opposite. Improve a bacon's attraction? Wrap it in loyalty.

That's what Smithfield is doing with its "Upgrade to a Better Bacon and Win!" promotion. It's not a traditional loyalty program per se, nor is it unique in the retail world, but I mention it here for some elements that I like (I mean, besides the bacon). "Upgrade to a Better Bacon and Win!" is a sweepstakes. For a chance to win, open your purchased bacon package to get a unique code that you enter online. And...

These days, I’m all about "experience."

I’ve signed up for a "Mario Andretti Racing Experience," in which I take some Indy-car driving lessons (not too different from local freeway driving, I think sometimes), and then I get to pilot an Indy car around a speedway (driving instructor/chaperone included, thank heavens) for eight minutes. They say we might be able to hit 180 mph (slightly less than local freeway driving, I think sometimes). I’m excited enough about the adventure that I’ve spent far more time than the anticipated eight minutes talking up what I’ll be experiencing to family, friends, colleagues, jealous enemies and strangers on the street.

Consider that I signed up for the experience in October 2011. I’ll do the driving in June 2012. And in the meantime, the Mario Andretti Racing Experience gets a ton of promotion from word-of-mouth . . . word of my excited mouth (not to mention an unsolicited mention in a marketing blog).

In sports terms: The...

In our story “The Device Race,” we examine various loyalty program identifiers, from traditional mag-stripe cards to mobile apps to devices employing near-field communications technology. Now comes an interesting twist on the subject.

Members of the loyalty program operated by Bert’s (a very French-sounding name for a quick service restaurant chain in France) have been able to use a traditional program card as well as a more technological method–smartphone QR codes–when making purchases. Bert’s is now accepting a third “device” for program members.

Commuters in Paris have been able to access public transportation with a smartcard–the Passe Navigo–since 2001. And now they can access their Club Bert‘s loyalty program through Navigo, as well. What’s more, they can create and activate a new Club Bert...

OK, I can’t resist a pun. I don’t know how many of you remember the ads for Bounty paper towels, “the quicker picker-upper.” Big spills in the kitchen, oh my! Bounty to the rescue to mop up the mess in a pre-internet minute.

Which brings us to Netflix applying some virtual paper towels to mop up its Qwikster mess–the customer backlash that resulted when Netflix announced that it was going to split its by-mail and streaming movie delivery services into two separate companies. Netflix “classic” (by mail) was to be renamed Qwikster, and the streaming service would assume the Netflix name. This was on the heels of a previously announced price increase, and members were seething–and many were dropping the service.

Price wasn’t the only issue. The two services wouldn’t be talking to each other–maaning separate billings, and customer...