ELA Member Meeting

Sharing day to day activities, pain points, successes and challenges with 80 of your peers is the only way to really benchmark your programs. At this event, you’ll come away with new ideas and ways of working. We present a highly stimulating and relevant agenda with insights into your world of Loyalty and CRM. To conclude, an aperitif (or two) !

If you are currently employed by a brand or retailer and manage a loyalty or CRM program, book your ticket now! Participation is free for members of the European Loyalty Association who fall under this category. Partnerships and commercial / business development professionals who also work for a brand / retailer will be required to purchase a ticket, even if they are an ELA member.

We can’t wait to see you in Berlin!

Agenda

8:30 – Registration

9:15 – Welcome note

9:30 – Table introductions

9:45 – Fix, Scrap or Evolve? Speaker:- Anuja Chauhan, Director Loyalty & Value Creation, zooplus

Anuja has redesigned, rebuilt or outright rejected more loyalty schemes than most people have had hot dinners. From banking and aviation to retail and conglomerates, she’s seen it all — and she’s not here to coddle anyone. In this keynote, she explores why off-the-shelf solutions and templated strategies often fall short — and what brands should consider before ripping up or relaunching their programmes. Instead, she’ll walk you through the real work: understanding customer behaviour, patching up legacy systems with purpose, and knowing when to scale back instead of splashing out. Expect tough truths, practical insights, and takeaways you’ll actually use when you’re back at your desk. No fluff. Just what works.

10:15 – Loyalty X Session. 18 Minutes of Inspiration.

Loyalty Isn’t Rational: The Social Science Brands Ignore. Speaker – Eray Avcioglu, CRM & Loyalty Lead, Cosnova

Brands love to believe that loyalty is built through rational decisions, great deals, and perfect customer journeys—but social science tells a different story. The truth? Customers don’t always think logically; they feel. This session dives into the emotional and psychological forces behind loyalty, revealing how brands can use social media not just to attract customers but to shape behaviour, create belonging, and drive real retention. Our speaker, from a leading German cosmetic brand, will share exclusive research and case studies on how brands can tap into human emotion, blend social data with CRM, and finally stop treating loyalty like a transactional formula. Is there a blueprint for making social media a loyalty powerhouse? Or is everything we thought about engagement just wrong? Let’s find out.

10: 40 – Coffee break

11: 15 – Keynote presentation. Speaker to be announced soon.

11: 45 – The CRM Blueprint: Turning Users into Lifelong Customers. Speaker – Ammar Qureshi, Director of CRM, Babbel

Getting customers in the door is one thing — keeping them is another. Ammar, Director of CRM at Babbel, will reveal the blueprint behind Babbel’s CRM strategy, showing how they turn subscribers into active, long-term users. From key tactics to leveraging AI, he’ll break down what works, what doesn’t, and how to apply these lessons to any business. Expect insider insights, real-world examples, and a different perspective on what actually moves the needle.

12:15 – Debate & Challenge

12:45 – Lunch and networking

14:00 – Keynote presentation. Speaker to be announced soon.

14:30 – Keynote presentation. Speaker to be announced soon.

15:00 – ELAbrations™ nominations

15:20 – Coffee and networking

16:00 – Keynote presentation. Speaker to be announced soon.

16:30 – Loyalty X Session. 18 Minutes of Inspiration.

Loyalty Programs: Cutting Through the Noise with UX Research. Speaker: David Bar-El, PhD, Senior UX Researcher

In an industry buzzing with terms like Web3, AI, and the Metaverse, how do we distinguish hype from what truly drives loyalty? In this keynote, David Bar-El, PhD, Senior UX Researcher, dismantles common assumptions and reveals what research uncovers about customer loyalty—both online and offline. Through real-world insights and UX exercise walkthrough, you’ll learn to question industry trends critically, anchor your loyalty strategies in authentic customer behavior, and step into the field to observe how users actually engage with your program across touchpoints.

16:50 – Let’s Geek Out. – One hour round table ‘nerding’ on one topic:

• Retention vs. Loyalty: When and Why to Shift Focus
• Aligning Local CRM Teams with Global Loyalty Strategy
• Challenging the Hidden Assumptions of Loyalty
• The Silver Bullet that is CLV
• Seamless Omnichannel Experiences

17:30 – Closing remarks

17:45 – Networking drinks

19:30 – Event close

Speakers

Sponsors and Supporters