The time I launched
a growth initiative
Airtel Rewards
shipped • 2020
loyalty program • retention • monetization
Introduction
Project Timeline
May - August 2020
Team
Product Managers, FE/BE Engineering, UX research, Creative Writing, Marketing
Company
Airtel is a leading global telecommunications company providing mobile, broadband, and digital services across 17 countries.
It is the second-largest telecom operator in India, with ~407 million subscribers, or 38.6% of the market share.
What I did?
Created a personalized rewards program to Airtel’s mobile app top-funnel growth. Increased reward redemption by 27%.
Sole designer on the Growth team - Launched engagement programs and drove various UX design experimentations.
Partnered closely with PMs, engineers, and external coupon partners.
Worked with engineers to manage coupon code inventory, making the program last longer.
Other Projects in Growth Team
Bringing engagement experiences in the form of a new vertical, Airtel Weekends with 10k DAU. Currently known as Airtel Games.
Launched a week-long referral-based campaign, resulting in a 47k increase in top-funnel audience.
Topical campaign during the Indian Premier League boosting engagement on the telecom app's feed, targeting cricket fans.
discovery & research
Current User Journey
✓
Perform Action
Updating Profile
Paying Mobile bill
Recharging Cable
Referring Friends
✸ Earn Reward
Or a personalized coupon
➞
➞
Claim Reward
by going on partner’s website
Business Problem
Personalized coupon codes for ALL customers resource-intensive and unsustainable.
UX experimentation
Experiment 1
Mask Rewards
➔ Provides a personalized coupon code to the customer only upon reward activation.
➔ Introduces an element of unpredictability and fosters a gifting behavior.
Iterations
As a team, we were looking for simple and already used interactions or learned behaviour by customers in popular transactions - eg, tap, wait, scratch etc.
Experiment 1
Released!
Results
➔ Masked rewards increased click-through rates as customers enjoyed
the unpredictability.
➔ Revealing fewer coupon codes resulted in better engagement.
But…
Does not completely solve the problem of low claim rate…
Reflections from Experiment 1
Research showed customers didn’t like the rewards they were receiving, so they didn’t claim them.
Released!
This led to strained relationships with Airtel’s coupon partners and limited coupon inventory.
Experiment 2
Concept 1
Capture Infinity
New Users ➔ Improve distribution by catering rewards to their preferences.
Existing Users ➔ Send reminders to fill in their preferance.
Capture Affinity
Interaction
Concept 2
Personalized Reward Selection
➔ Let users choose from 4-set reward options, giving them control and personalization.
➔ Their choices help improve rewards distribution on the backend.
HALO effect
➔ Grouping smaller brands with larger ones in the 4-option set created a "HALO effect," making small business coupons easier to discover and boosting their branding.
Personalized Reward Selection
Interaction
Concept 2 - Iterations
An iteration replicating a mini-game, to give a sense of control to users. However, higher size of the animation cause us to reject it.
A/B Testing - Concept 1 vs 2
➔ I conducted tests on both concepts by integrating them into existing user journeys. Teamed up with User research & Analytics team assisted in creating cohorts for AB testing to obtain a diverse range of feedback.
Personalized Reward Selection Wins!
➔ Providing a limited set of rewards improved customer response and customers actually claimed them.
➔ 4-set options allows small business coupons to be paired with larger businesses increasing their promotion and discoverability.
Capture Affinity
Personalized Reward Selection
MVP Release!
Claim rate up by 27% in just 2 weeks!
➔ User feedback helped us adjust rewards to match customer preferences, driving long-term goals.
➔ Strengthened relationships with our favorite businesses (small and large) by sharing valuable customer insights.
Personalized Reward Selection
Mask Rewards
Let's work together!
Currently looking for UX & Product Design roles
