China Southern Airlines is working with Carlson Marketing China to renovate the airline's existing frequent flyer program, The Sky Pearl Club.

Carlson Marketing China was appointed for its innovative approach in customer loyalty programs and cross channel expertise.

The Sky Pearl Club is China's largest and fastest growing FFP program with more than 3.1 million members and growing at a pace of more than 800 new members daily. China Southern Airlines has partnership agreements with major International airlines including Northwest Airlines and China Airlines, in which Sky Pearl Club members can earn and redeem mileage for free flights.

Carlson Marketing's task will be to elevate China Southern's Sky Pearl Club into the best frequent flyer program in China. The Carlson Marketing team will combine local knowledge with an in-depth understanding of global best practices gained from the company's extensive experience of developing and managing frequent flyer programmes for major airlines around the world. The result will be a brand new frequent flyer program which will help to drive the airline's business to the next level.

Our decision to appoint Carlson Marketing was due to their ability to raise the bar on the best practices used for creating customer engagement across multiple channels in frequent flyer programmes, said Han Wen Sheng, General Manager, Marketing and Sales, China Southern Airlines.

As part of its approach to the China Southern Airlines program, the Carlson Marketing team, based in the company's new office in Shanghai, is seeking to achieve a paradigm shift from a product centric approach to a customer driven one.

The consultancy assignment will last for six months, during which Carlson Marketing will be scanning the entire frequent flyer program, working across everything from program design to systems, data and operations. Carlson will also provide consultative support during the implementation phase of the projects.