Rick Annichiarico

Collaboration Is the New Loyalty

For years, brands have tried to manufacture loyalty. They’ve built point systems, sent endless “win-back” emails, offered 10% discounts to subscribers who were already halfway out the door.

But loyalty isn’t something you can manufacture.
It’s something you earn.

And in today’s economy, the only way to earn it — sustainably, authentically, and profitably — is through collaboration.

The Loyalty Problem

Loyalty programs used to mean something.
Now they’re everywhere — which means they’ve lost their edge.

Most subscription brands today are competing for the same wallets with the same tactics:

“Refer a friend.”
“Unlock a discount.”
“Renew and save.”

The result? Margins shrink, churn persists, and loyalty feels transactional — not emotional.

And yet, consumers still crave connection. They want to feel that the brands they support understand their lives, anticipate their needs, and give them real value in return.

That’s where collaboration comes in.

The Loyalty Flywheel

When your brand teams up with others your subscribers already love, loyalty stops being a one-way street.

Here’s how the new loyalty flywheel works:
1️⃣ You give subscribers more value — perks, savings, and access to brands that complement your own.
2️⃣ They stay longer — because their subscription now unlocks real-world benefits that extend beyond your product.
3️⃣ Your partners grow too — their offers are discovered by subscribers who already trust you.

And the best part? Every time your subscribers redeem a partner perk, your brand gets the credit.

It feels personal — “my subscription just got me this deal.”
It feels generous — “they didn’t have to do this.”
And it feels smart — “I’m getting more value for the same price.”

That’s not a loyalty hack. That’s shared value creation.

Why It Works

Collaborative loyalty is powerful because it aligns everyone’s incentives:

✅ Subscribers win – they get tangible value tied to the subscriptions they already own.
✅ Brands win – they reduce churn and increase lifetime value without spending more on ads.
✅ Partners win – they gain new, high-intent subscribers at low CAC through trusted relationships.

The math is simple: when a subscriber buys through a perk, their retention jumps 30%+, and the referring brand earns higher loyalty scores.

SubSuite’s data shows that when perks are personalized and refreshed regularly, subscribers interact with their perks page 3x more often than with a traditional loyalty email or rewards app.

That’s what happens when loyalty stops being a gimmick — and becomes a shared ecosystem.

From Competition to Connection

The old loyalty model was isolationist: keep your users away from competitors.
The new model is collaborative: partner with complementary brands that share your values, your audience, and your goals.

News brands pair with wellness apps.
Meal kits partner with fitness and e-learning.
Streaming services collaborate with mindfulness or reading platforms.

Everyone grows — because everyone stays in the ecosystem longer.