What does a heritage brand and America’s Rewards App agree is missing from most loyalty strategies today? Relevance. 

In a recent ADWEEK webinar, Ocean Spray Head of Omnichannel Kelley VanderSloot and Fetch VP Industry Lead Danielle Salowski talked about how loyalty programs aren’t broken, they’re just invisible. They discussed how pairing a rewards platform with cultural moments tied to a brand pushes long term performance instead of one-time transactions.

It’s a mindset shift that’s increasingly essential in a noisy, choice-saturated retail environment. If brands want to build loyalty that lasts, they need to build it in culture, not just CRM.

The shift to emotional equity

VanderSloot emphasized that traditional mechanics like reward tiers or scheduled perks aren’t enough to drive long-term engagement. Instead, they’re focused on building something deeper. “We’re trying to create emotional equity. That doesn’t happen in an inbox. It happens when we show up where people already are.”

The brands winning today are the ones who connect in real time, with value that feels personal, relevant, and earned. That’s where Fetch comes in.

When Ocean Spray layered in cultural relevance as the official Juice of Leagues Cup and Fetch offers to activate loyalty moments in real time, the results followed:

• 87 days post-campaign, 24% of all redeemers had already made repeat Zero Sugar Ocean Spray purchases
• 42% increase in sales
• +14 pts across the category share

Shoppers who engaged once were more likely to come back again.

That’s the model Fetch delivers: retail-agnostic, receipt-based rewards that meet consumers in their daily routines – from grocery aisles to back-to-school runs. And that value shows up fast.

These weren’t seasonal stunts or one-off promotions. They were real behavior shifts, built through consistent, culturally relevant engagement.

Loyalty that feels earned – because it is

Fetch helps brands shift from transactional rewards to real-time relevance. With 12.5M+ monthly active users and 12M+ receipts captured per day, the platform allows brands to target by shopper behavior, not just demographics, align to seasonal and cultural moments (like winter holidays or the World Cup), and reward repeat behavior across any retailer.

And all of this happens without relying on owned loyalty infrastructure. As Salowski shared, “Fetch is designed to make loyalty accessible, whether you’re a DTC brand, a CPG, or a retailer. We meet consumers where they already are, and turn purchases into performance.”

The brands that win are the ones who show up first, prove their worth fast, and make the reward feel personal from the start. Consumers aren’t willing to wait for value. They’re scanning for it – constantly. And if they don’t see it, they move on.