COLLOQUY Announces Finalists for its 2nd Annual Loyalty Awards Presented by LoyaltyOne and Visa, Honoring Worldwide Innovations in the Loyalty Industry

CINCINNATI (June 22, 2011) – COLLOQUY, a global provider of loyalty publications, education and research, has announced 24 finalists in its second annual COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards, a competition presented by LoyaltyOne and Visa that recognizes the most customer-focused loyalty initiatives internationally.

This year marks the first time the awards are open to international companies. Last year’s inaugural COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards were open to North American companies only.

About the COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards Presented by LoyaltyOne and Visa:

The COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards is determined by industry peers through COLLOQUY’s more than 40,000 subscribers including loyalty marketing executives representing more than a half dozen different industry sectors.

Awards this year will be bestowed in eight categories, including retail, financial services, travel/hospitality and “other” industries, such as utilities and B2B. A ninth award will honor the “Master of Enterprise Loyalty,” which will be determined by a jury of loyalty thought leaders.

Voting opens June 20 at COLLOQUY.com/LoyaltyAwards, and will continue through Tuesday, August 2. All members of the international loyalty industry are encouraged to participate, though voters must be COLLOQUY subscribers (subscriptions are free at www.colloquy.com). The winners will be presented at an awards ceremony Sept. 14, during the 9th Annual COLLOQUY Loyalty Summit in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

The finalists are:

“COLLOQUY, as a leader in customer loyalty, designed these awards so that the winners are selected by their own peers – the loyalty industry’s brightest thinkers,” said COLLOQUY Managing Partner Kelly Hlavinka. “COLLOQUY decided to open up the awards to international companies this year because we felt that there were some big innovations going on in the loyalty industry abroad that deserved to be recognized.”

“As a company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries, we take innovation and customer loyalty very seriously,” said Visa Senior Business Leader, Loyalty and Information Products Jim Vonderheide. “Partnering with COLLOQUY for its 2^nd Annual Loyalty Awards seemed like a great way to celebrate and honor the accomplishments of our peers.”

Sixty entries were submitted for the combined awards. The finalists for each category were selected by a jury of 19 loyalty thought leaders with such well-noted organizations as Citi, MasterCard, the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and Tesco. Jury members were recused from voting for programs that presented a potential conflict of interest.

To choose the winners, voters will make one choice per category. It is prohibited to vote for one’s own company or loyalty initiative or for an agency, supplier or vendor to vote for a client.

Winners will be honored before their peers at the Sept. 14 awards ceremony in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. They also will receive discounted registration to the 2012 COLLOQUY Loyalty Summit and be featured in COLLOQUY’s September 2011 issue.

For more information, visit the COLLOQUY Loyalty Awards web site at http://www.colloquy.com/loyaltyawards.

About COLLOQUY:

COLLOQUY® comprises a collection of publishing, education and research resources devoted to the global loyalty-marketing industry. Owned by LoyaltyOne, COLLOQUY has served the loyalty-marketing industry since 1990 with over 40,000 global subscribers to its magazine and www.colloquy.com the most comprehensive loyalty web site in the world. COLLOQUY’s research division develops research studies and white papers including industry-specific reports, sizing studies and insights into the drivers of consumer behavior. COLLOQUY also provides educational services through workshops, webinars and speeches at events throughout the world and is a loyalty-marketing partner of both the Direct Marketing Association and the Canadian Marketing Association and a content provider to the American Marketing Association. COLLOQUY also operates the COLLOQUY Network, a global consortium of practitioners certified in COLLOQUY’s proprietary methodology.  COLLOQUY magazine subscriptions are available at no cost to qualified persons at www.colloquy.com