#336: United States Soccer Federation Share the "Insiders’ Program" for Soccer Fans

The “Insiders Program” is an innovative loyalty program designed to solve the unique challenges of the nationwide body responsible for the promotion and success of the game of soccer in the USA.

Olivia Hoelting is the Loyalty coordinator for the United States Soccer Federation, and she joined us to share the story of their program, which includes both a free tier and a subscription option for soccer fans.

Using the tagline “Fuel your Fandom”, the USSF Insider’s Program offers a unique combination of benefits, designed to increase engagement among soccer fans, and to help the Federation achieve its vision to “make soccer the preeminent sport in the United States”.

Show Notes

1) Olivia Hoelting, Loyalty coordinator for the United States Soccer Federation

2) United States Soccer Federation

3) U.S. Soccer Federation Insiders

Audio Transcript

Welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty, an Industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals. I’m your host, Paula Thomas, and if you work in loyalty marketing, join me every week to learn the latest ideas from loyalty specialists around the world.

This episode is sponsored by Epsilon. Today I’m delighted to announce a unique opportunity, for one lucky listener of Let’s Talk Loyalty to enjoy a complimentary workshop with the loyalty experts at Epsilon, one brand every month will have the chance for a unique, independent loyalty lab, a review of your loyalty program, where Epsilon will share their expert ideas, how to drive your program’s performance to a whole new level. This workshop is a powerful way for you to measure and then increase the return on your investment in your loyalty program. So to apply, head over to letstalkquality.com/epsilon and enter your details.

Hello and welcome to episode 336 of Let’s Talk Loyalty, featuring an innovative loyalty program designed to solve the unique challenges of the nationwide body responsible for the promotion and success of the game of soccer in the United States. Olivia Hoelting is the Loyalty Coordinator for the United States Soccer Federation, which has been the governing body for the sport in the country for over a hundred years.

She joins me today to share the story of their Insiders Club, which includes both a free tier and a subscription option for the soccer fans. Using the tagline “Fuel Your Fandom”. The Insiders Club offers a unique combination of benefits designed to increase engagement among soccer fans and to help the federation achieve its vision to make soccer the preeminent sport in the United States.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Olivia Hoelting from the United States Soccer Federation.

Paula: So Olivia Hoelting, welcome to Lets Talk Loyalty.

Olivia: Thank you for having me. Excited to be here.

Paula: Oh, I’m super excited to, to chat with you. Olivia. I think I set you off air that sports loyalty to me is one of the biggest and most exciting opportunities in the world of loyalty. There’s a few sectors that I think really have massive potential and certainly sports has that incredible potential.

So dying to get into talking all about what you’re doing at the US Soccer Federation. But before we get into talking about your actual loyalty strategy and your program, as you know, we always start this show asking our guests about their personal favorite loyalty programs. So to kick us off today, please do tell me what is your favorite loyalty program, Olivia.

Olivia: Yeah, absolutely. Um, yes, so this one definitely took a little bit of thought as to um, which one it was. But I think, uh, the one I use the most frequently is definitely the Ulta Ulta Rewards Program, um, here, um, in these states, and it’s, what I love about the loyalty program is it is that basic like points and rewards system, you earn your points for the purchases.

You make rewarding that like loyal customer and I love that. A you understand pretty easily how to earn your points, which I think is very important, especially in that like customer user base. Uh, but also it’s really easy just to like redeem the points and get those rewards that you’ve earned the points for.

Um, and I think that’s really important. And as far as like how a loyalty program runs, just the ease of using it. But I also think what’s great is that Ulta has now go in, come into our stores like Target, like Target grocery stores, and. , they’ve found a way to integrate with that loyalty program and make sure like you’re linking accounts.

So if you. and you live somewhere like me, where an ulta’s, not like a physical brick and mortar location isn’t easy to get to and there’s a target closer to me with the products that I use on a daily basis. I can still get those rewards and I can still get those points, um, and use them that locations as well.

So I think that integration is really great across the different partners that they have. And then just again, that like ease of use and then the way they market to me is very personalized. I always know how many points I have, I. Know what my, uh, new offers are for the month. So I think it’s a really interesting way of just they’ve been able to keep that loyal customer when instead of maybe getting the beauty products that I use every day from a different online retailer or somewhere closer to me, I can go to a Target or I can order online cuz I just want those points to make sure I’m building those rewards and get to the next, to get to the next, uh, category or.

Paula: Okay, amazing. And we did have Ulta on the show, Olivia, so you’ll definitely have to make sure to give that one a listen. And for sure, anybody who’s interested in partnership strategy, I think you’re totally right. Um, the way that they’ve integrated in with Target has proven to be hugely success. For them.

So, and actually my own background in loyalty marketing as well, Olivia goes back to partnerships. So I think there’s more and more people that can kind of, I suppose, identify where there’s maybe a complimentary customer base somewhere, but you can’t necessarily, of course, service every person in every country, um, in the world or even every corner of every country as big as, as the United States.

So, um, so yes, well done to Alta. And also I, I’m just super impressed because. I know this is your first, uh, role in the loyalty industry, Olivia. Um, and in fact, you’re, you’re not long out of your college education, so you seem to have grasped some of the fundamental principles of our industry super quickly.

So tell us how on earth did you get such a wonderful role as the US Soccer Federation loyalty coordinator? .

Olivia: Yeah, it’s definitely been, um, an interesting, interesting few years of getting out of college and my main background being in like customer engagement and community engagement role and spectrum, but also a little bit in like that e-commerce role, but primarily in the fashion and beauty industries.

Um, so it’s been really an interesting learning. That’s where my background is and learning what that industry wants, what that customer is kind of. about, and then transitioning and changing it up to the sports industry and being. into that loyalty aspect. So I think what’s really interesting is how I’ve been able to take what I learned from the fashion industry, but also understand like, this is what a US soccer fan is.

Because I came in as a US soccer fan. Um, yeah. I came in as like a growing up watching sports and so understanding. This is what, what kind of you wanna do in order to like grasp the customer. So whether it’s using your, your typical marketing strategy, so you know, your social, your email marketing and using different apps and things to connect to that customer.

Mm. Uh, but then how can I, how can I shape and kind of bring in some new ideas that I learned from like the beauty industry or. The, um, just different e-commerce sites and how can we really relate to our co, relate to our fans and relate to our demographics. Yeah. Um, so we build that long-term loyalty.

Cause I think what’s really interesting about. , um, being a fan of a sport is that you, at least in my personal background, you start as, you know, you grow up in the sport and you kind of grow with the program. Um, so it’s been fun to kind of see like, okay, this is how we target at the different stages of your fandom, and really Oh, since this is nice.

Yeah. Loyalty is new to me and I’m new to the loyal, the specific loyalty market. Really getting to grow with our program cuz our program is relatively new to the market as well.

Paula: For sure and I’ll be dying to get into all of that, Olivia. Um, and as I said at the beginning, you know, so many of us take that fan loyalty for granted because you have grown up with it.

It has been something that’s been probably as long as you can remember. There’s been family association and all purely positive as well. So, um, so sports loyalty is, um, incredibly exciting from. One thing I had to do, Olivia, actually preparing for today’s conversation is first of all, understand, you know, why is it soccer versus football in the United States versus, you know, Western Europe?

I guess I’m from Ireland. We would always call it football. So, um, just for anybody else who has these random. Kind of curiosities like I do. I think the history, certainly for the US Soccer Federation, you guys are more than a hundred years old, so there is an incredible legacy there. But just my brief Google search tells me that there were so many, uh, I suppose similar sports that were all one form of football or another.

So obviously there’s American football, we’ve got rugby football. So it just evolved, I guess, in terms of the terminology to make sure it became soccer for, for you guys. So is that a. , do you think explanation of the terminology. . Yeah,

Olivia: I think, uh, that’s a pretty, pretty good, um, terminology, uh, for that, for soccer as opposed to football.

I know. It is a constant, yeah, a constant debate of what, what are we gonna call it? But I’m sticking strong with US soccer .

Paula: Fantastic. So will you tell us, first of all, Olivia, the role of the federation, because I do have some, I suppose, social, um, you know, awareness, I would say in terms of football associations again, back in Ireland.

Um, but it. When I was preparing for today that I realized the huge role you guys have and directly connected, I guess, with FIFA and the recent World Cup. So tell us a bit about the role of the Federation, just for anyone who like me wasn’t familiar with it.

Olivia: Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, so as US Stocker, we are a national governing body here in the us.

Um, With ties to both FIFA and concacaf. So Co CONCACAF and FIFA are kind of like our governing bodies. So we go depending on the matches that we’re playing, if they’re run by either FIFA or concacaf. Um, but we, so we’re kind of under them making sure we’re, our rules are, um, guidelines and things like that all are within.

Guidelines of that they set in place for us, depending on the matches and just the things that we’re doing is there. But then also we do have a little bit, uh, as US soccer, we help kind of foster and grow that. , um, soccer, just experience and participation within the us So whether that’s helping with our M L S teams, our N W S L teams and how we can kind of reach different communities.

So we do tend to work with them, um, to make sure we’re continuously growing our fandom and our fan base. Um, but we also have things such as like our referees and our coaches. So helping get those people who want to be a part of those roles. Um, certified. As well so that they can continue their career within the soccer, soccer community.

So we kind of work as a national governing body, uh, for soccer here in the us but we also do follow the guidelines, um, that fall under, um, FIFA as well as Conka, KAF depending on the match in the tournaments that we are participating in.

Paula: For sure. And again, I had a look at some of the schedule and incredibly busy, um, is what I was concluding.

I can see you nodding away happily there. I guess what’s really inspiring, you know, I suppose as two women perhaps on the call, Olivia, um, the, the, the US Women’s National Soccer Team seems to have been extraordinarily successful, in fact, and of course the men’s team in many ways as well, but I think the women’s soccer game has.

Probably been maybe a little bit neglected or, or less, uh, perceived as less exciting. It’s one that I, I often debate again with friends and family. But tell us a bit about, I suppose the, the growth of, of the women’s profile. Uh, just in terms of the game, and again, of course we’ll get straight into the loyalty program, but just your own perspective on, on how well that’s doing for.

Olivia: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. The, the game definitely for our women’s national team has grown and shaped into a way I think that’s really interesting because I do think it’s important, um, especially women in sports, you know, growing that presence and really making sure, like there is a. , there is a platform for you.

There is a position for you if you are a woman that would like to go into the sports industry and that our women’s national team has shown some pretty great growth. And it’s really interesting to see how the fans have grown with that team as well. Cuz there are some very avid diehard fans for that team.

And it’s really interesting to see, especially while I’ve been here, that when I started and to where it’s gone now, um, just the success that they have had, but also understanding that. , that team does have a wave, a a way of really, uh, influencing our younger demographic as well, and that family and that sense of community.

Um, so I think that’s really cool to see like that fan base and how those fans cheer in stadium and really showing that like, soccer is soccer’s for anyone no matter your background. And I think that’s an incredibly important thing to, uh, to take.

Paula: Yeah, well said. No, absolutely. It’s, it’s a beautiful game, super exciting.

And, and the more access we can get to it, the better. So, so take us back, I suppose, Olivia, then to, um, the challenge that you were facing in terms of cultivating, I would say the loyalty of your fans. We’ve already kind of talked about the fact that there is an inherent loyalty, as we know. So plenty of people do grow up around the sport or, or any sport.

Mm-hmm. . So investing in a structured program, um, for the US Soccer Federation was clearly a very, um, big idea. Um, first and foremost, I’m sure it took a lot of thinking and a lot of investment. So tell us what was the, um, the idea behind creating something as structured as the insider program that you’ve created?

Olivia: Absolutely. Yeah. So it’s definitely taken, um, a little bit to kind of understand as well, because our fan base is massive and I think soccer within the United States is an ever-growing, is an ever-growing sport because it’s not, it’s not as big as some of the other sports here, but it’s definitely one that we definitely see traction in, gaining, traction within, uh, many different de demographics, uh, within, uh, the.

So I think the biggest, the biggest challenge there, just to go back to that, is understanding who our fans are, where they come from just because of the US is, um, relatively big. So we have different people coming in from different, different, uh, parts of the country. And I think one of the biggest things there is since we are US soccer, we don’t have a like home stadium per se.

So whenever we play a game here or home, um, in our home soil, We travel to different states, or we’ll travel to different stadiums, so making sure that we. are engaging our fans no matter where we go, and we’re keeping them engaged throughout when we’re in Match or when we’re in a market or when we’re away from market, uh, making sure that we’re having people tune in and we’re having them grow their experience.

So we’re growing, growing that fandom and keeping them engaged throughout the game, whether they’re watching at home or watching in stadium. And I think that’s the biggest driver of what the Insiders Program is as we want to foster. , we want to foster that like fan engagement and that loyalty, um, just throughout the, throughout your lifetime because I think soccer is one of those sports, like I mentioned, you start playing when you’re young and for the most part, you’ll probably watch with your family and that’s how you’re gonna get into it.

So how are we really targeting, how are we really targeting that fandom? How are we really targeting that loyalty at every aspect and stage of, of a fan’s life? So whether that, Whether that’s making sure we have a family program and we’re fostering to kids and or young adults and we have like games and gamification, or how are we, and then how do we move ’em through that funnel, through our insiders program, making sure that they can consistently stay with us and we can help grow their loyalty and grow their fandom, um, with, and just keep ’em within our, within our, um, Program.

Paula: Yeah, totally. And I do think that’s actually an interesting challenge and probably fairly unique actually, Olivia, this idea that you don’t have an actual home stadium. Mm-hmm. . Um, because, you know, again, I’ve been to some of the, the stadiums in Ireland, for example, and there is an extraordinary sense of connection to the sport.

Get to attend a match, first of all, in person. And again, I’ve been lucky enough to travel across, you know, to to Europe a few times, to matches as well. But playing at home in a home stadium definitely has, um, a special way to engender loyalty. So the fact that the, the, the US national teams, of course, as you said, are traveling, I guess, to get as much presence and visibility for people as possible.

In person. So, so lots of people get to the stadium, so I can absolutely imagine that, you know, keeping that engagement going. I think, you know, from looking at your website, there’s something like kind of 15 to 20, I guess, uh, big games on the, on the schedule during the year. So that might be 20 days when people, you know, if they’re lucky enough to be able to travel to the stadium, could be there in person.

But I guess the other piece from. Purely commercial perspective is you don’t really have the option to have like season ticket holders the way other sports might have or other teams might have.

Olivia: Yeah, we definitely, uh, since we are kind of like what we like to call ourselves as a traveling circus, we are going to.

Different mar, we’re going to different markets for a lot of our games just to make sure we target as many of our fan base, as much of our fan base as we would like. Nice. So that way we’re giving all of our fans just an opportunity to like attend the game if they have the chance to. That definitely does make it hard for us to do things like other sports do, such as season ticket holders.

Um, because you never know what we’re gonna our next match is gonna be. And I think that’s exciting, but it has its own challenges. Um, so we kind of use our insiders program to reward and we should tell them that they’re, uh, they’re our most avid and loyal fan base because they are sticking with us. They are showing their support, um, at games and just yelling in the stadium, which is fantastic to see.

But they’re also watching Yeah, from the comfort of their own home. And I think. , it’s really important to reward that loyalty, um, for both ends of that spectrum because that’s, you’re a fan no matter what. And I think that’s really important. So through our insiders program, we’re able to offer yeah, our in-market, our in-market fans, those um, experiences such as like on-field photos and field level access and things like that.

But also how are we rewarding our fans that are just viewing, um, at on from the comfort of their home. So is that like gamification through our. Is that, yeah, our points and reward system that were, uh, we implemented, so just the purchases and the activities that they’re doing every day to show that they’re loyal to US soccer.

Um, so that’s kind of how we’ve implemented our insiders program just to make sure we’re hitting every part of our fan base and making them feel like they are. incredibly important to us because at the end of the day, yeah, we really want our fans to show up and just be the most excited they possibly can.

Paula: For sure. Yeah, no, it’s a good strategy. I think first and foremost, the energy of, you know, thousands of human beings all screaming, you know, in competition, . Yeah. Can hardly be beaten. So, um, so absolutely agree with that. And will you talk us through just the, the five tiers? Olivia, I know you have um, a standard free tier obviously as the base entry level, but just talk us through the kind of price points for people who mightn’t be familiar with the paid tiers that you have for the insider.

Olivia: Yeah. So we do have, um, our different tiers for our insiders program. So the first one is that free tier. So it’s just that basic tier. You get kind of that basic access, uh, into what an insider could be. And that’s kind of like our first part of the funnel. Mm-hmm. , um, after that is our premium tier, and that’s based at about $45 a year.

So these are yearly pa uh, yearly prices. Yeah. Um, but they go off of kind of like a typical membership. So if I sign up today, on January 10th, you will be charged on January 10th of next year. So it’s kind of that yearly membership fee for all of our tiers. Mm-hmm. . Um, and that gets ’em a little bit more access, gets ’em kind of a little bit more, um, Makes them feel a little bit more welcome in and you know, those lounges at the games, is there different things they can unlock through our points and reward system?

Mm. Um, and that’s kind of that next level of tier. So how we could try to kind of move them through that funnel mm-hmm. . And then the next uh, would technically be our premium family tier, which is kind of how we target our. Family insiders because we do see that, as I mentioned, like it’s kind of a sport you grow with.

So how are we making sure that you’re bringing your family and you’re really enjoying it and showing them what, what the joys are of being a part of the soccer community and the soccer family. Mm-hmm. . Um, so how are we targeting that with kind of like, is it kids clubs, is it coloring pages? And just doing that at that $85 tier.

Okay. And then next would be our V I P membership, which is one a hundred eighty five, about $185 a year. And that event is even more exclusive access to our like, field level accesses or our lounges or just different content and events that we have for our insiders throughout, um, a calendar year. . And then our last tier, which actually is made up of about four other, um, price, uh, four other tiers, but those are our circle insiders.

So as US Soccer, we are technically a no. We are a nonprofit organization. So all, all of our money that we bring in and everything that we bring in all goes back to how are we growing and bettering the sport of US soccer or soccer within the United States. . Um, so our circle insiders are what we consider our top tier.

They’re our donors, so they’re helping us. Really, their membership is also a donation back to US Soccer. It’s how are we really, they really help us drive all of our look youth programs that we’re putting out there, our coaching and referees and just making sure that we continuously are able to grow and give back to our community as well.

So that’s kind of how we’ve broken it up, because we really wanna really, uh, yeah,

Paula: it’s, it’s. Yeah, and what I really like actually, Olivia, is you have made it super accessible from a pricing perspective, because I think there is a certain amount of concern, I guess, with all of us about subscribing to something else because we’re all subscribing to so many services, but.

Even your top tier. I was looking there, you know, your donors start at, to me what is a very kind of reasonable, like $500 a year. So, you know, for me, you know, particularly if I have a family and I want to support something, and I was also actually amused with the fact that, uh, very cleverly, um, it’s also a tax deductible spent.

So I thought that was super clever. You know, like for anyone like me who has their own small business and wants to be able to donate to support a sport like soccer in the United States and get all those super cool things like, you know, I love the v I P experiences, I have to say, as in when I get to any of these particular events, so, I think you guys have done a great job in, first of all, of course, making sure it’s app based.

Um, so I know that at every tier, whether it’s free or paid, there is an app. So people can obviously engage all year round. But I guess the other piece I really liked as well, Olivia was. Things like, um, content, um, is considered a premium benefit as well. And I think that’s absolutely right and things like apparel.

Um, so I think they’re, to me, some of the more emerging ideas in terms of loyalty strategy because some of the other things, like as you said, the meets and greets and the events and the, you know, maybe fast track into the stadium would probably. You know, well known and well understood as loyalty benefits, again for people maybe who have season tickets.

But tell us a bit about the kind of content you guys do and how you use that as a differentiator to reward loyalty. Um,

Olivia: yeah, so the role of content, uh, I think is a, is also a very interesting kind of aspect that we’ve tied into our insiders program. It’s kind of a way for, again, us to reward that away from.

Give us, give our fan an offering. isn’t something that they can typically get at a match. So we do have content that our wonderful content team does publish on a, you know, a day-to-day basis e through either through our app or on social media. But there are these, like inside pieces that inside scoops or just little, um, videos about like that talk about the players or are kind of like the players on the field or at training that are really interesting to our fans and that, you know, they wanna see this content.

Kind of gives a idea into who our players are, what they’re like off of the pitch, um, what they’re like off the field, and kind of how they interact with each other. And I think we found a way to really give our insiders a way to like see that and really, uh, Yeah, grasp, but like what our, what our players are doing.

So I think it’s really interesting that we’re able to kind of create these content pieces that yeah, we offer to our paid tiers. Um, but we also offer like to our standard tiers through points. Um, so it’s kind of a, yeah, it’s a fun offering that we’re able to reward them with as well as, as well as like, just like the apparel, um, in like in match experiences that you typically Yeah.

You typically see with, um, with programs.

Paula: Yeah. No, I absolutely love it, Olivia. And you know, the more people I talk to who are running, you know, I suppose traditional loyalty programs, even in sectors like retail or airlines, like, to me, the, the content piece is something that I. The communities are increasingly expecting, um, increasingly valuing, and I think it brings that kind of level of authenticity and community, I guess, in terms of, you know, making the players, human beings, I guess seeing them, you know, maybe on the pitch and off the pitch as you said, and get a sense of who they are.

As human beings, as inspiring human beings. Again, back to, I know you have a whole program around, you know, inspiring, uh, young women, for example, uh, to believe in themselves. So to me, content is a, is a true differentiator. I I tend to think it’s, it’s very time consuming and, Difficult for many brands to, to plan for and execute, um, just because it has to be done on an exclusive basis and as we know on a consistent basis.

So I just wanted to ask, in general, like in terms of the content team that you have there for the US Soccer Federation, what kind of like, is, is there one person doing it? Is there a team of people or how many people do you have into that particular, I suppose loyalty. Um, yeah, we have,

Olivia: for our content team especially, that can kind of put these like videos and little content pieces together.

Um, I believe there’s about five to 10 of them dependent on Wow. Dependent on the time of year. So it’s not a huge content team that we have. Um, but yeah, they do really well at utilizing. , the videos and the photography that we shoot, um, at our camps or at the different events that we have to yeah, kind of cut it together to really show off a, a unique and exclusive kind of piece for our, for our insiders and our fan community.

Paula: Wow. Yeah. Well, again, super exciting. I mean, to have that level of resource again shows a real, I suppose, loyalty to your fans. They, they, they just can’t access that content anywhere else. So again, it’s one thing to have pre-sale tickets, it’s one thing to have hospitality, but actually to feel like you’re part of the inner circle, you know?

Uh, and literally, I suppose your terminology reflects all of that as well. I think that’s a really nice recognition of the emotional side of loyalty. And we often talk about that on this show, like the difference between the transactional si, uh, side of what we’re doing with our programs. Versus that really core emotional piece.

And to me, content really delivers on that in perhaps a way that no other loyalty lever can.

Olivia: No, absolutely. I agree. I think we’ve, we definitely also take pride in making sure that we’re talking to our customers and are pro and providing either content pieces or those experiences or those insider benefits, for lack of better words.

Yeah. Um, that they really want to see and it’s always come back that yes, it’s great to have things. , um, merchandise rewards and experienced rewards, but it’s also something that they really wanna see is what are those little content pieces that not everyone gets to really see or engage with all the time.

So really having those exclusive, exclusive pieces that are put together just for them to kind of give them an inside scoop into what’s going on with our teams is, has been really important, and making sure that we continue to kind of grow and build that out as we look at. Either growing our insider benefits, um, as well.

Yeah. Amazing. So, uh, at this stage, I think you’re about a year old. Am I right? Olivia, you launched early 2022, was it? .

Um, so the, yeah, so the Insiders programs kind of shapes different, um, in different forms and rebranded over the last few years, but this version of the Insiders program mm-hmm. actually launched in 2019, and then last year, January and January March is when we kind of integrated into that, like loyalty points and reward systems.

So that, okay. That aspect of the program is about a little under a year.

Paula: Okay. Okay. And can you give us a sense of where you’re at in terms of your, I suppose, membership numbers? Because I know, you know, that’s very different of course in terms of like, the scale of the fans is absolutely astronomical. Um, up in the millions, I’m sure.

But in terms of like getting started and, and getting people to sign up for a program, and that’s something that, as we all know, takes, uh, takes time and investment. So, so how’s it going in terms of, uh, building your membership? ,

Olivia: it’s going well. And luckily we’ve had, uh, we’re able to kind of build off of those like key moments that we have throughout the year.

So making sure we’re really amping up our insider messaging and making sure we have all those marketing tactics in place when we have like, big events going on throughout the year and making sure we’re integrated into all those activations that we have. Mm-hmm. Hmm. . Um, but since the, I. Beginning of it, we’ve been able to kind of consistently grow our membership base.

I think we’re at about, uh, around 300 thou, 300,000 total amazing insiders. So I think that’s amazing that we’re able to kind of grow and it’s, yes, it’s a smaller, a smaller database, but we’re consistently growing that as we. Play games and as we kind of shape reshape and better our insider benefits, whether that’s through the app, through our points and reward system mm-hmm.

Or if that’s just a day-to-day, um, insider, insider benefit. So it’s really, it’s been interesting to see how those KPIs have reshaped as we continue to grow and add on to this, uh, new emerging platform.

Paula: Absolutely. And I was thinking, I know you guys have the World Cup coming to the us uh, along with Canada, of course, and Mexico in, I believe, 2026.

So I guess you’re super excited about that, huh?

Olivia: Oh, absolutely. We are, uh, ramping up all of the activations and fun things that we have planned out for our insiders and our fans, and we can’t wait to kind of share that with everyone once they’ve all been kind of solidified, but it’s, oh my goodness. It’s been fun to see.

Yeah, fun to see how we can build on what we’re already doing and then make, make some, have some new offerings, um, coming.

Paula: Yeah, well, I mean, I’m actually impressed to hear that you’re already thinking about it, Olivia, because obviously we’ve just finished the last World Cup, um, in Qatar. So I know that kept you extremely busy, uh, in terms of , the last round of activation.

So hopefully you’ll get a chance to have a bit of a break before it’s, it’s full scale into planning for the next one. But either way, you are definitely in a very exciting space. Um, and I guess from my side, the key thing is we really wanna stay in touch with you. And, you know, maybe next year again, get an update and, and have you back on the show and talk again about where the Insiders program is at.

So, um, I think that’s actually all of the questions I had for you today, Olivia. Um, is there anything else that, um, that you think we should mention or talk about before we wrap up?

Olivia: No, I don’t. I I think I, I, I don’t, um, it’s been, it’s been lovely, uh, talking about the insiders and getting, getting to share all the, all the little learnings and findings that we’ve, we’ve had throughout this, this process.

Paula: Absolutely. And I do wanna give a shout out to actually Carl zk from Open Loyalty. Carla, I hope I pronounce your name properly. But, uh, you did the introduction and I know you’ve built the, uh, points and rewards platform, uh, for the US Soccer Federation. So big thank you to TE Carl, and I think that’s everything then.

So with all of that said, I am delighted to have had the opportunity to chat with you. So Olivia Halting loyalty coordinator at the US Soccer Federation. Thank you so much from Let’s Talk Loyalty. Thank you.

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