Movie theaters have their loyalty/rewards programs and so little surprise that tech giant Microsoft offers a rewards program whose prizes include permanent digital copies of movies.
The Microsoft Rewards initiative recently blasted an ezine to consumers offering (pictured above) 2024’s “BeetleJuice BeetleJuice,” the 1939 version of “Wizard of Oz” and 2021’s “Dune,” as well as the recent “Barbie” blockbuster. All are accessed via the Fanflix website.
Consumers get rewards for using Microsoft products/services such as the Bing search engine, browser Edge, Xbox video games, the Microsoft Store, and participating in games, surveys and other online activities. Registration is required in advance.
Microsoft Rewards began in 2010 as Bing Rewards and was rebranded in 2016 to Microsoft Rewards. The initiative is administered directly by Microsoft, which is the $282 billion-revenue computer software, gaming, cloud computing and tech service provider.
In July, Microsoft closed its separate movie and TV show online store that provided rentals and downloads-to-own via its Xbox video game and Windows software (Rewards is open to anyone). However, in September, the company seems to have seeded Microsoft Rewards prizes with digital movies, thus keeping a finger in the filmed entertainment sector.
A recent email offered about two dozen titles individually in its “End of the Year Hits” initiative. The film titles include “A Christmas Story 2,” “Elf,” “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” and 1996’s “Twister.”
Microsoft Rewards is in many ways similar to movie theater loyalty programs, as both provide gifts and prizes to customers for purchases or activity. For example, the Cinemark movie theater chain surpassed 1 million people in its loyalty program in 2022. Hollywood film distributors have their own fan clubs built around some brands. Disney’s D23 fan event (the “23” refers to the company’s founding in 1923) and Warner Bros. FanDome, which celebrates DC Comics, are other examples.
One big difference is that Microsoft Rewards is completely online, while cinema loyalty programs are geared to in-person patrons. And the Hollywood-based fan programs emphasize in-person gatherings too.
Some Microsoft Rewards users bash the initiative in online comments as not-worth-the-effort, claiming paltry benefits. Consumers posting on TrustPilot.com complain of ever-increasing point levels required for prizes (putting rewards out-of-reach), poor customer support and tech glitches. A terms and conditions explanation says that “Microsoft reserves the right to modify or cancel this offer at any time.”
Some other posts were positive. Meanwhile, another user tells Marketingmovies.net that his rewards piled up in small batches, resulting in earning $1,000 over a decade. “The best rewards were the Amazon gift cards, which took a while to accumulate,” the user says. (Amazon recently disappeared from the program.)
Proponents say it’s a trickle of rewards earned with no extra effort by simply using specified Microsoft products in the normal course of their lives. Some users plug their work activity into rewards to pump up their rewards’ points. In any case, all rewards programs have at least two drivers: To give consumers incentives to keep coming back and not to go to competitors; and also to boost spending and engagement.
For search engine Bing, Microsoft Rewards says that its “Level 1 members can earn points for up to 10 searches each day and Level 2 members can earn points for up to 30 searches per day.” Level 1 is for starters who can be later offered Level 2 status earning more points if they are heavy users of Microsoft products.
Besides movies, other Microsoft Rewards available are vouchers/gift cards for AMC movie theaters, Best Buy stores, casual game Candy Crush, Delta airlines, Dunkin Donuts, Hulu video streaming, Macy’s stores, Minecraft vid game, Microsoft Store, Overwatch Coins, Roblox virtual world, Starbucks stores, Target stores and Walmart. Charities also are represented. So, movies are just one slice of overall rewards.
It’s interesting that films are part of the mix because movies are widely available on video streaming services and TV. Microsoft Rewards seems to emphasize collectables, as evidenced by inclusion of the 1939 “Wizard of Oz.” Though an oldie, “Oz” is on almost everyone’s “favorites” list. The initiative is an example of the enduring attraction of movies since they are premium prizes.
Microsoft Rewards also mounts sweepstakes offering a short list of prizes such as Microsoft-owned Xbox video game hardware, other Microsoft products, concert tickets, $25,000 in college tuition and some other prizes. The concert tickets and college tuition money indicates a target audience for Microsoft Rewards is a young-adult demographic. Consumers use points to enter the sweepstakes.
As with any online subscription venture, Microsoft Rewards enables collecting information on users that can be used for marketing purposes.
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