NEW YORK, May 26, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG), which pioneered the partnerships space more than 30 years ago, announces the successful launch of its first Industry Roundtable tailored to that market.
Designed for merchant partners managing co-brand and private label credit card programs, the Brand Partner Roundtable provides a venue for senior management to discuss emerging industry trends, compare business practices, and benchmark key metrics. Membership includes a diverse set of the nation's best-known brands in the retail, automotive, and wholesale industries.
"The Brand Partner Roundtable takes the practice into new territory," said Tom LaMagna, Managing Director of Industry Roundtables. "The group allows us to extend a proven model for information sharing to an industry that's core to who we are as a firm."
Enriched by ACG's depth of partnerships expertise, the latest offering builds on more than 30 membership-based groups across a wide range of financial services disciplines. The group was formed through a joint effort between two of the firm's own practices: Industry Roundtables, a platform serving more than 100 leading financial institutions in the US, UK, and Canada, and Partnerships, which has developed hundreds of payments and lending alliances since 1984.
"We've spent decades helping our clients build, manage, and improve co-brand and private label card programs," said Eric Marks, Managing Director and Partnerships practice leader. "We're excited about the opportunity to share ACG's experience, while facilitating an exchange of creative ideas and perspectives on the challenges facing the nation's leading merchant partners."
At the Roundtable's April 2015 session, the first of three meetings scheduled for this year, participants discussed strategies to navigate the evolving market, including:
- Engagement at all stages of the customer lifecycle to build and maintain lasting relationships
- Innovation in mobile integration and other emerging channels
- Implementation of EMV and other fraud prevention technologies
- Constant enhancement of the value proposition
- Development of multi-tender loyalty programs and channel-agnostic offers
The session was bookended by a pair of presentations by ACG leadership: the firm's Partnerships division provided insight into key market trends across the co-brand and private label landscape; its Payment Insights division, which specializes in credit, debit, prepaid, and mobile payments market intelligence, presented independent consumer research on Apple Pay adoption and usage.
A quarterly benchmark study, under development with input from members, adds quantitative depth to the Roundtable. Initial metrics highlight cardholder activation and usage, new account growth and acquisitions by channel, rewards redemption rates, and card sales vs. brand sales.
Building on the success of the Brand Partner Roundtable, ACG is preparing to expand its Roundtable offerings in the retail space.
"Given the changes occurring in the industry, payment acceptance is a particular area of exploration within the realm of retail," said Jeff Tennenbaum, ACG's Director for Global Business Development. "We're continually looking to expand the reach of the practice based on signals in the market."
About Auriemma Consulting Group
ACG is a boutique management consulting firm with specialized focus on the Payments and Lending space. We deliver actionable solutions and insights that add value to our clients' business activities across a broad set of industry topics and disciplines. Founded in 1984, ACG has grown from a one-man shop to a nearly 50-person firm with offices in New York and London. For more information about ACG's Industry Roundtables, please contact Tom LaMagna at 212-323-7000 or tom.lamagna@acg.net.