What is the announcement
- Merkle (a dentsu company and global customer‑experience transformation consultancy) has entered into a strategic partnership with Airship to create a mobile‑first loyalty accelerator solution built on Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s loyalty capabilities. (Business Wire)
- The announcement was published via Business Wire on 28 October 2025. (Business Wire)
- The joint solution will enable brand marketers and product managers who use Salesforce Loyalty Management to deploy mobile‑centred loyalty programmes faster, spanning app, web, mobile wallet, push/RCS, in‑store and other touch‑points. (Business Wire)
- Key platform roles:
- Salesforce Loyalty Management provides the core capability to manage loyalty earning & redemption across touchpoints. (Business Wire)
- Airship brings mobile experience expertise: push, in‑app, mobile wallet passes, real‑time messaging, mobile behavioural data flowing into Salesforce journeys. (Airship)
- Merkle provides the strategy, data/identity stack, orchestration experience, and “mobile‑first loyalty programme design & activation” services. (Business Wire)
Case Study Insights
Case Study A: Accelerating Mobile‑First Loyalty Programmes
Facts & Implementation:
- With the integration, brands using Salesforce can trigger mobile wallet passes (via Airship) directly from loyalty flows, send mobile push/in‑app messages based on behavioural signals, and update Salesforce segments in real time with mobile interaction data. (Business Wire)
- Merkle emphasises that this enables faster time‑to‑market: “brands can design and execute mobile‑centered loyalty programmes … optimized for app, web, wallet, push, RCS and in‑store experience from the start.” (Business Wire)
Impacts:
- Instead of loyalty programmes being designed around traditional channels (email, physical cards), this sets mobile at the heart — which matches consumer behaviour (mobile‑first, wallet‑enabled, always connected).
- The mobile‑behavioural data (from Airship) feeds back into Salesforce, enabling smarter segmentation and real‑time feedback loops. This raises the sophistication of loyalty programmes.
- For brands, the benefit is both faster rollout and richer mobile experience: mobile wallet passes, push notifications for tier upgrades or rewards, in‑app experiences.
Lesson:
- If your brand is looking to evolve loyalty beyond “points and physical cards”, this kind of partnership shows how mobile + data + orchestration can drive step‑change rather than incremental improvement.
- Key enabler: aligning strategy (via Merkle) + platform (Salesforce) + mobile tech (Airship) rather than buying a standalone mobile loyalty bolt‑on.
Case Study B: Bridging Omnichannel Loyalty with Mobile Data
Facts:
- The partnership emphasises bi‑directional data flows: mobile behaviour captured by Airship can trigger Salesforce journeys; likewise loyalty status in Salesforce can trigger mobile notifications. (See Airship + Salesforce integration documentation) (Airship)
- The architecture supports channels: app, web, mobile wallet, push, RCS, in‑store. This breadth means loyalty programmes can cover both digital and physical retail/touch‑points. (Business Wire)
Impacts:
- By unifying mobile behavioural data and loyalty status, the user experience becomes more seamless: e.g., earn points via app purchase → receive mobile wallet pass update → get push notification of reward redeemable in store.
- The real‑time nature and mobile focus means brands can respond quickly (e.g., tier‑upgrade triggers instant mobile wallet pass, notification of benefits). This increases program engagement and satisfaction.
- Omnichannel capability also means loyalty is no longer siloed: mobile, web, and physical are connected.
Lesson:
- Modern loyalty programmes must stop treating mobile as an afterthought — mobile behaviour and pass‑based experiences are now core.
- The real value of loyalty comes not just from “points earned” but from seamless experience, responsive triggers, and integration across devices and channels.
Strategic & Industry Commentary
- The announcement highlights a broader shift: loyalty programmes are evolving from static “earn/redeem” card‑based systems into mobile‑first, data‑driven, real‑time engagement engines.
- It underscores how marketing technology stacks are becoming more integrated: you need orchestration (Merkle), CRM/loyalty backbone (Salesforce), and mobile tech/messaging (Airship). A siloed approach is less viable.
- For marketers: This partnership allows a faster path to implement advanced mobile loyalty without building everything in‑house, by leveraging best‑in‑class tech + consultancy.
- For service providers: Merkle’s role shows that strategy + data + implementation are still critical; you cannot just “install software” — you must define journeys, data strategy, integration.
- For brands: If you are not considering mobile wallet/Passbook, push/notification triggers, mobile behavioural data for loyalty, you are at risk of falling behind consumer expectations.
- A caveat: While tools and frameworks accelerate deployment, success still rests on brand value, reward structure, compelling user experience, and measurement of loyalty ROI. Technology alone won’t guarantee success.
Key Takeaways
- Mobile‑first loyalty is now imperative: Mobile wallet passes, push/in‑app notifications and mobile behaviour matter.
- Data integration is key: Mobile interaction data must feed into loyalty CRM so you can act in real time.
- Partnerships accelerate capability: Rather than building everything yourself, leveraging specialist vendors and consultancy enables faster rollout with less risk.
- Omnichannel matters: Loyalty programs must cover app, web, mobile wallet and instore — not just digital or physical in isolation.
- Strategy + UX still matter: While tech is enabling, the reward mechanics, brand relevance, user experience, and measurement (engagement, retention, lifetime value) remain central.
- Here’s a detailed case‑study + commentary breakdown of the partnership between Merkle, Airship and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is creating a “mobile‑loyalty accelerator” solution — including what it is, how it works, and strategic implications for marketers.
What’s the Partnership & What It Does
- Merkle (a dentsu company, specializing in customer experience transformation) announced a strategic alliance with Airship and Salesforce Marketing Cloud to create a solution for brands to deploy mobile‑first loyalty programmes more quickly. (Business Wire)
- The announcement explains the solution as:
- Using Salesforce Loyalty Management (within Marketing Cloud) as the core platform for loyalty programme rules (earn‑/redeem, tiering, omnichannel). (Business Wire)
- Leveraging Airship’s mobile experience platform (mobile wallet, push/in‑app, mobile behaviour capture) to enable mobile‑first interactions. (Airship)
- Merkle providing the strategy, data & orchestration layer to design and activate mobile‑first loyalty journeys for clients — “optimized for app, web, wallet, push, RCS and in‑store experience from the start.” (sttinfo.fi)
- The press release emphasises the benefits: a faster time‑to‑market for mobile‑centred loyalty programmes, more connected customer experiences, and closer alignment of mobile signals into loyalty and value creation. (Business Wire)
Case Study A: Accelerating Mobile‑First Loyalty Programmes
Facts & Implementation:
- The solution enables brands using Salesforce’s loyalty suite to plug in Airship’s mobile capabilities (mobile wallet passes, push/in‑app notifications, mobile behavioural data) into the loyalty flow. (sttinfo.fi)
- Merkle’s role: design the journeys, integrate data, orchestrate across mobile/web/in‑store channels. The idea is loyalty experiences that are mobile by default—not mobile “afterthoughts”. (Business Wire)
- Example: A loyalty programme could trigger a push notification when a mobile wallet pass shows a tier upgrade, then feed that event into Salesforce loyalty module to redeem a reward on‑site or online.
Impacts:
- Brands gain speed: they can launch loyalty programmes with mobile‑native design rather than retrofit mobile features later.
- They capture richer mobile behavioural signals (app usage, mobile wallet interactions, push behaviour) feeding into loyalty/CRM.
- The experience becomes seamless across channels: app‑based interaction → wallet pass → physical redemption → loyalty points tracked.
Lesson:
- If your brand is considering upgrading or launching a loyalty programme, building mobile first — rather than “add mobile later” — is a competitive differentiator.
- The integration of strategy (Merkle) + platform (Salesforce) + mobile technology (Airship) is critical: tech alone won’t deliver without journey design and data orchestration.
Case Study B: Bridging Omni‑Channel Loyalty with Mobile & Data
Facts & Implementation:
- The partnership emphasises bidirectional integration: mobile signals (from Airship) feed into Salesforce journeys/segments; loyalty statuses (from Salesforce) drive mobile wallet/push experiences. (sttinfo.fi)
- Channels covered: app, web, mobile wallet, push/RCS, in‑store. The programme is no longer siloed to one channel. (Business Wire)
Impacts:
- The customer journey becomes more connected: e.g., a user opens the mobile app → earns points → receives wallet pass update → goes to store → redeems points → loyalty status updates → triggers further mobile message.
- Brands can achieve deeper engagement and higher lifetime value by real‑time interaction, not just static points accumulation.
- Mobile‑first loyalty helps meet modern expectations: Smartphone is often the platform where loyalty is experienced; wallet passes provide immediate value.
Lesson:
- Loyalty programmes should treat mobile as core channel—not just another channel. You need mobile behavioural data, wallet integration, real‑time message triggers.
- Data orchestration is key: Without connecting signals across mobile/web/in‑store, experience degrades and your loyalty programme becomes fragmented.
Strategic Commentary & Industry Implications
- The announcement reflects a broader trend: loyalty programmes are evolving from static “card & points” models to dynamic, mobile‑native, real‑time engagement engines.
- For marketers: the partnership offers a blueprint for how to adopt mobile‑first loyalty without building everything from scratch — by leveraging best‑in‑class vendors and expertise.
- From a technology stack perspective: It’s a reminder that modern loyalty requires the convergence of CRM/loyalty platforms (Salesforce), mobile engagement platforms (Airship), and strategic/data consulting (Merkle). A siloed approach will struggle.
- For brands: If you’re not already thinking about mobile wallet, push/in‑app triggers, behaviour & location signals and cross‑channel data flows, you risk falling behind.
- One caution: While the technology and partnerships enable the capability, the success still depends on reward design, user value proposition, marketing adoption, and measurement of ROI (engagement, retention, incremental revenue).
Key Takeaways
- Mobile‑first loyalty is no longer optional — mobile wallet, push/in‑app, behavioural data are central to modern loyalty.
- Strategic platform integration matters — your loyalty tech stack must be built for data flow, cross‑channel, speed.
- Partnerships can accelerate deployment — leveraging specialist vendors/consultancies helps avoid reinventing everything.
- Customer journey orchestration is critical — mobile → wallet → app → in‑store → web must be seamless.
- Metrics and value proposition still matter — good technology won’t fix a bad loyalty programme design or weak value to customer.