News from the Wire

Sparkfly teams with Hooters on omni-channel loyalty program

Wednesday, April 23, 2014 — 11:49:32 (EDT)

Atlanta, April 23, 2014 -- Sparkfly and Hooters of America, LLC, today announced a collaboration that will unlock new ways for the leading dining destination to implement and track digital promotions as part of its customer loyalty program.

With more than 400 locations, Hooters activated Sparkfly to enhance and streamline the capabilities of its new HootClub loyalty program. Sparkfly’s platform integrates with more than 20 leading point-of-sale solutions, and Hooters restaurants today currently use multiple systems including Radiant/Aloha, POSitouch, MICROS and a custom point of sale system developed internally, ITWercs. Through the relationship with Sparkfly, Hooters will gain the ability to redeem digital promotions at any location, regardless of which point-of-sale technology is used.

The collaboration also enables consumers to redeem deals and access the Hooters loyalty program through numerous forms of media, including mobile, digital, email and print. Redemptions are tracked in real-time, and Sparkfly’s technology generates detailed transaction data including basket size, average spend, frequency of redemptions, purchase history and more. Hooters will use this data to tailor individual offers and rewards to guest preferences, and assess the effectiveness and ROI generated from each media channel.

“As an iconic brand with more than 30 years of history, Hooters has developed a strong following of loyal guests who appreciate the value that we deliver on a regular basis,” said Chris Duncan, CIO of Hooters of America. “When Hooters runs loyalty programs and offers, the consumer experience needs to be consistent across all forms of media and all physical locations. With Sparkfly’s technology integrated into the core of our transactional infrastructure, it offers a turnkey solution that will enable us to seamlessly deliver that experience for our guests.”

“There is no better indicator of the success of a campaign or loyalty program than what was purchased at the point-of-sale,” said Catherine Tabor, Founder and CEO of Sparkfly. “It is essential that restaurants like Hooters gain visibility into items like purchase history or average spend per visit, and understand which media channels are driving transactions, to see what is actually moving the needle.”

Hooters is currently testing its loyalty program in the Atlanta metro market with plans to expand to more than 200 locations across the United States in the coming 90 days, eventually reaching all 345 domestic Hooters restaurants.

The HootClub mobile app is free to download on Google Play, the iPhone® App StoreSM or by visiting www.hooters.com/qr on a mobile phone browser. For full details about the Hooters HootClub, visit www.hooters.com/hootclub/FAQ.aspx .

About Hooters of America, LLC Hooters of America, LLC, is the franchisor and operator of 415 Hooters restaurants in 42 states and 24 1/2 foreign countries. The first Hooters opened in 1983 in Clearwater, Florida. Everyone is liberated from the ordinary at Hooters while enjoying great food, fun and uniquely-Hooters service from the iconic Hooters Girls. For more information about Hooters visit www.Hooters.com or follow us at www.Twitter.com/Hooters, www.Facebook.com/Hooters or www.Instagram.com/Hooters .

About Sparkfly Sparkfly’s patented technology enables the creation and tracking of personalized offers via the web or mobile devices that can be redeemed in real-time at the point-of-sale. Detailed SKU level reporting is available for the evaluation of marketing campaigns. Existing point-of-sale systems are used without the need for additional in-store hardware or software. Sparkfly’s technology has successfully been integrated with NCR, Micros, Retalix, etc. Visit www.sparkfly.com for more information.

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Source: Company press release.