Rogers Communications, Canada’s leading communications and entertainment
company, partnered with the University of Waterloo to host a one-day UX design
competition with over 100 competitors.
I was invited to join a team of four UX
designers and marketers.
Despite offering exclusive access and VIP experiences, the Rogers Beyond the Seat (BTS) loyalty program is used by only 2% of Rogers customers. Research suggests this low engagement stems from limited social and mobile visibility, alongside widespread loyalty program saturation in the Canadian market.
of brands today have participated in a loyalty program (Queen’s).
is the average number of loyalty programs held by Canadians (Queen’s).
Based on market research, 63% of consumers report that loyalty programs influence their purchasing decisions, Rogers continues to view this as a valuable opportunity to meet customer needs, strengthen brand loyalty, and strengthen its bottom line.
We identified an opportunity in mobile engagement.
We applied the design thinking framework
(Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test), starting with
rapid research methods
to uncover real user needs and generate feasible
solutions.
Guided by Rogers design prompts, our vision was to create a mobile app supported by strategic marketing, targeting premium telecommunications customers, and leveraging Rogers’ entertainment partnerships alongside emerging communication technologies such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), and augmented reality (AR).
As co-leads, the other co-lead and I interviewed two Rogers judges and asked:
“Can you describe the ideal target consumer?”
“What is the long-term mission for the BTS loyalty program?”
“Can you describe the ideal target consumer?”
“What is the long-term mission for the BTS loyalty program?”
Through a “divide and conquer” approach, I focused on reviewing real case studies, including Sephora, Amazon, Starbucks, and T-Mobile, to identify competitive strategies, while others analyzed online forums, industry trends, and Rogers annual reports.
Since 2021
growth in brand loyalty driven by emotional connections (SAP).
We identified a success pattern of emotional-driven brand loyalty.
I identified parents as a high-value segment for telecom and
entertainment offerings. We created a strategy
around family, community, and new experiences, turning research
insights into strategies that foster
emotion-driven customer loyalty.
Next, we developed a user persona to guide a user flow
and design requirements in our design first iteration.
• Instant benefits to encourage onboarding
• Personalization to maintain emotional connection (family perks, plans)
• Exclusivity via a tiered system to drive continued engagement
• Simplicity inspired by the most effective models in the market
• Gamification to build community *
• Outreach initiatives to improve visibility in local markets *
* Additional features added after iteration
Scattered program information, limited local outreach, and confusion around access, rewards, and eligibility.
AI-driven, personalized event recommendations, a secure way to share with friends and family, and a single, reliable all-in-one platform for program information.
Emotional loyalty has grown 26% since 2021 and is projected to reach 34% in 2025. Gamification and tiered reward systems are becoming key drivers in loyalty program success.
A personalized, gamified mobile app that centralizes reward access, tier upgrades, and community-driven loyalty features for Rogers customers, promoted through pop-up VR sports experiences in local shopping malls.
Introducing the Rogers BTS Mobile App—reimagining
rewards as experiences.
Rogers customers enjoy family perks and entertainment
experiences, while premium members are upgraded to a VIP
tier with advanced features like community sports bet reward challenges.
Figure 2-4: Users skip the sign up process and login with their email and Rogers password. Upon log in, users immediately access rewards from both plans.
Figure 5-6: The Events tab allows users to filter, search, and view AI-recommended, sponsored, and top events in Canada. The Profile & Settings page allows for experience personalization and upgrades for VIP perks.
Figure 7-8: Play Beyond allows users pick goal scorers, track games live with 5G, and climb a monthly leaderboard for prizes.
As part of an expansion strategy, interactive booths in local malls and event spaces will demo AR features powered by Rogers’ 5G. This hands-on, real-time experience aims to increase adoption, highlight 5G’s capabilities, and expand program visibility and reach.
Designed UI for profile, events, and home screens. Conceptualized group/family perks, sponsored event integration, and Spotify "freemium"-inspired event filtering and sorting.
We reimagined brand loyalty through emotional connection, personalization, and community engagement. We shifted Beyond the Seat from transactional rewards system to a lasting, Canadian loyalty experience that stands out.
Our Beyond the Seat solution earned first place by Rogers' judges.
• Using the Design Thinking framework to structure our process to move quickly within a tight timeline
• Collaborating in Figma for rapid iterations and team feedback
• Identifying key differentiators for our app based on data-driven insights (e.g. emotional and community-driven loyalty)
• Drawing from successful case studies—e.g. sports betting mechanics like FanDuel,
tiered rewards, group perks like Netflix's shared account model, and AI-driven recommendations
like Spotify
• Designing with scalability in mind—our solution shows strong potential for future
growth and monetization
• User Persona: Due to time constraints it was based on ideal consumer, but next time we would aim to use more real data
• Ideation Platform: Started ideating on whiteboard, but FigJam led to quicker, better collaboration
• Task Delegation: Many team members were assigned to work on one UI—assigning by strengths earlier can save time
• Conduct user tests on the prototype to validate usability and iterate to improve user satisfaction
• Pilot Play Beyond during live games and AR booths at local venues
ANDREEA
