Implementation of the IT Solution for the Loyalty Management Program
“MALINA” in Russia
Loyalty Partners Vostok Ltd is the company that
owns and operates the MALINA™ Program on be-
half of its retail partners. It was founded in 2005
for the purpose of designing, launching, oper-
ating and developing the MALINA™ program in
Moscow and across all Russian cities.
Loyalty Partners Vostok have developed the MA-
LINA™ program in a strategic partnership with
CM4P (Customer Management 4 Profit), a London-
based independent consultancy firm specialized
in designing, building and managing large cus-
tomer management programs.
The need
Until recently, customer loyalty in Russia was mainly
seen as something to be won through one-time rebates
rather than sustained loyalty campaigns and programs.
Rebates were so popular that it seemed impossible to
use other tools in the quest for loyalty. This trend has,
however, been broken thanks to Loyalty Partners Vostock
together with Comarch and the bold and modern ideas
of CM4P, the company behind the “MALINA” (Raspber-
ry) loyalty program.
The main differences between the new program and
previously existing ones in the Russian market can be
characterized by the following:
Case Study
• a single card functions in all of the partners’ 350
points of sales throughout Moscow and the Moscow
region,
• all family members accumulate points on one account
(2 MALINA™ cards are distributed during registration
and 2 more can be additionally requested),
• points may be exchanged for various qualifying prod-
ucts and services which can be found in the MALINA™
Reward Catalogue.
The program began on April 3rd, 2006. Initially the pro-
gram united 5 partners who are leaders in their markets,
such as: the Rosinter restaurant chain, the telecommuni-
cations operator Vympelcom, the pharmaceutical chain
36.6, Ramstor supermarkets and the BP-TNK chain of
gas stations. By the end of 2006, Raiffeisenbank joined
the program as the sixth partner adding a co-branded
credit card.
This joint credit card is simultaneously a VISA card as
well as a MALINA™ loyalty program card, combining the
benefits of a leading international bank in Russia and
the MALINA™ consumer program into one card.
The first stage of the project involved choosing 6 key
partners, whom participants have the most frequent
contact with, while still taking into account future
growth.
Daily transactional data from each partner contrib-
utes to the Comarch Loyalty System (reinforcing and
empowering) to create an increasingly comprehen-
sive database.
Program rules
The participants of the program can quickly and easi-
ly gather loyalty points and exchange them for attrac-
tive rewards.
Case Study
Due to similarly defined target groups and supplemen-
tary offers, current partners contribute to the creation
of a base of transactional data which characterizes cus-
tomer preferences and behavior.
Thanks to this element of the program, segmentation and
targeted promotions have proven highly effective.
Joining the program to obtain a loyalty card is simple.
A program participant can register at a partner’s loca-
tions or directly through a specially created website.
Points can be exchanged for attractive rewards de-
fined in the LPV catalogue and on the MALINA webiste
www.malina.ru.
Rapid Implementation
LPV carried out a bid process resulting in the selection
of Comarch Loyalty Management as the IT solution be-
hind the MALINA program. The criteria of the bid were
very stringent and bidders were assessed both on the
number of previous successful implementations as well
as the functionality and technological capabilities of
their systems. The price and the rapid implementation
period of Comarch Loyalty Management ultimately led
to Comarch being chosen.
The project was executed very quickly – within six
months – by a dedicated 12-member Comarch team.
Several very different transaction systems were inte-
grated during implementation. This stage of the proj-
ect proved particularly challenging. At the same time as
these systems were being integrated, the Business Ad-
ministration Module, Comarch ContactCenter, B2C Web-
Portal and Comarch Logistic Module applications were
being installed. Launching all these disparate parts of
the solution simultaneously enabled the program to
successfully handle the enormous consumer interest
that it generated.
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Al. Jana Pawła II 39 a
31-864 Krakow www.comarch.com  www.comarch.pl  www.comarch.de  www.comarch.ru
Poland
phone:  +48 12 64 61 000 ComArch Spółka Akcyjna with its registered seat in Kraków at Aleja Jana Pawła II 39 A, entered in the National Court Register kept by the
fax:  +48 12 64 61 100 District Court for Kraków-Śródmieście in Kraków, the 11th Commercial Division of the National Court Register under no. KRS 000057567.
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Statistics
There are currently 1,1 mln active accounts registered
in the system for which 2,1 mln loyalty cards have been
issued.
Since its inception, the system has processed 87,5 mln
loyalty transactions, testifying to the enormous popu-
larity of the program. In fact, the program organizer has
defined over 230 active promotions and 10 campaigns.
Processing a single transaction takes 0.3 seconds.
The Solution
The well-defined segmentation of participants plays
a key role in any loyalty strategy. LPV has created cus-
tomer purchase and behavior patterns that can later
be used to prepare customized promotions and offers.
Data from the ContactCenter module, which registers
direct contact with program participants, also plays an
important part in customer analysis.
The Comarch Logistic module, which manages logistics
for rewards, loyalty cards and marketing collateral, de-
serves special attention. It supports the effective man-
agement of a loyalty program serving several million
customers ordering awards and loyalty cards as well
as multiple partners, who are provided with logistics
support. Despite the emphasis on electronic commu-
nication channels in Comarch ContactCenter, custom-
er orders for rewards and loyalty cards are executed by
external partners.
Automatic messages that are sent to participants over
all available communication channels were designed
to be ready from the very first day of program opera-
tion. This mechanism makes it possible to engage par-
ticipants and create a feeling among them that they are
being individually cared for.
Comarch maintained two key assumptions behind the
MALINA program as its chief goal during the project: ac-
tive communication with customers and control over
all processes in one place in the system.