Papa Johns Loyalty Restructure

As Lead UX Designer for Papa Johns Loyalty, I’m spearheading a major redesign of the program aimed at driving engagement and loyalty. This ongoing project involves transforming the user experience by integrating gamification, personalizing rewards, and enhancing digital touchpoints across the app. From conducting workshops like Crazy 8s to developing competitive analysis and refining user flows, the project is designed to meet diverse user needs—from busy parents to dedicated gamers. We’re aligning the design to ensure long-term value and greater user satisfaction, with features like the “This or That” challenge and dynamic rewards to foster an interactive experience. The project is evolving with a focus on future outcomes that will create meaningful connections between users and the brand.

Workshop Recap: Enhancing Papa Johns Loyalty Program

We conducted a series of workshops to reimagine the Papa Johns Loyalty Program. Our goal was to develop a more personalized, gamified experience for users that not only increases engagement but also drives customer loyalty.

Workshop Highlights:

1. How Might We (HMW) Sessions:
   1. We focused on identifying key problem areas and opportunities in the loyalty experience.
   2. Questions like “How might we personalize rewards for frequent customers?” and “How might we make the program more engaging for gamers?” drove ideation and innovation.
   3. This resulted in several potential solutions, including the “This or That” game to tailor topping recommendations and interactive badges to drive frequency.
2. Crazy 8s Exercise:
   1. Participants were challenged to sketch 8 ideas in 8 minutes, fostering creativity and quick thinking.
   2. This exercise generated diverse concepts for gamification and user engagement, many of which were refined for further exploration in the design phase.
3. User Flow Mapping:
   1. Created comprehensive user flows to visualize the customer journey across various loyalty program touchpoints.
   2. Mapped from initial sign-up to reward redemption, ensuring all engagement opportunities were captured and prioritized.
4. Competitive Analysis:
   1. We evaluated the loyalty strategies of other QSR brands and industries to identify best practices.
   2. This informed our approach to badge mechanics, personalized rewards, and flexible redemption options.

• Next Steps:
  • Prototype the concepts generated during the workshops, focusing on improving the user experience through personalization, gamification, and streamlined functionality.
  • Identify personas for each outcome to ensure tailored solutions. For example, Maria (a busy mom), Steve (a casual gamer), and John (a veggie lover) represent key customer types whose unique needs will shape the experience.
  • Conduct user testing to gather insights and iterate on the design solutions.

Key Personas: Unlock Value, Personalization, & Gamification

Jane: The Busy Mom
Maria is a 40-year-old professional and mother of two who orders from Papa Johns regularly, especially for family dinners on weekends. She values convenience but often feels disconnected from the loyalty program due to the slow accumulation of points, which takes months to redeem. The challenge is ensuring Maria feels appreciated and rewarded more frequently for her continued loyalty. The opportunity lies in introducing faster point accumulation, personalized offers, and easier redemption options to make Maria feel valued and increase her engagement with the program.

Mike: The Veggie Lover
John is a 35-year-old health-conscious professional who prefers vegetarian toppings but often feels that Papa Johns’ recommendations and offers don’t reflect his preferences. The challenge is to cater to John’s dietary needs in a way that feels personalized. The opportunity is to create a more tailored experience using tools like the “This or That” game, allowing John to share his preferences while earning loyalty points, ensuring that he feels understood and valued as a customer.

Steve: The Casual Gamer
Steve is a 30-year-old tech-savvy gamer who enjoys quick, convenient meals before online gaming sessions. He frequently switches between restaurants based on mood, with no particular brand loyalty. The challenge is capturing Steve’s attention in a crowded marketplace of similar offerings. The opportunity is to engage him through gamified loyalty features like badges and challenges that appeal to his competitive nature, making his meal-ordering experience more interactive and enjoyable, leading to repeat business.

Next Steps

Moving forward, our focus will be on refining the loyalty program to create deeper, more personalized connections with our diverse customer base. The next steps include:

• Persona Development: We will identify and fully develop key personas for each customer segment—such as Maria, Steve, and John—to ensure that the program caters to their unique preferences and behaviors.
• Enhanced Personalization: Leveraging customer data, we will implement advanced personalization strategies across all touchpoints, ensuring each persona receives targeted offers, recommendations, and experiences that resonate with their needs.
• Gamification Expansion: We will continue to build upon gamified elements like challenges and badges, offering customers new ways to engage with the brand beyond purchases. The goal is to create loyalty mechanics that tap into our customers’ interests and behaviors, driving higher engagement and repeat business.
• Seamless Communication: We will develop and implement a multi-channel communication strategy, ensuring users are informed and excited about new program updates, such as point multipliers, unlockable rewards, and special offers.
• Measure & Optimize: As we roll out these enhancements, we will consistently measure customer feedback and engagement data to optimize program features, ensuring a continually evolving loyalty experience that adapts to customer needs and business goals.

By focusing on these strategic next steps, we aim to create a dynamic and future-proof loyalty program that deepens brand loyalty, increases customer satisfaction, and drives sustained business growth.