Case Study

Human-Centered Research and Service Design for a Data-Driven Loyalty Ecosystem

Overview

VIVI Energia is an Italian energy provider offering innovative and sustainable solutions. Together with Kettydo, the company evolved its previous loyalty program into a data-driven, omnichannel ecosystem designed to strengthen customer relationships. The former program had low awareness, limited engagement, and weak communication. The project's goal was to redefine its value proposition and experience, transforming it into a strategic platform that connects emotional engagement, behavioral data, and customer loyalty.

Vivi Energia — Loyalty ecosystem visual
Challenges
01

The existing loyalty program had low visibility and participation, with limited perception of value among users.

02

Communication channels were fragmented, resulting in low consistency and impact.

03

The program's mechanics were mainly transactional, lacking emotional and experiential components.

04

Absence of a clear identity and positioning, preventing customers from understanding its benefits or relevance.

05

The need to align internal stakeholders around a new loyalty strategy focused on personalization, data intelligence, and brand experience.

Desk Research

We conducted a comprehensive desk research phase, focused on understanding the energy market and its customer loyalty landscape:

Competitive Analysis
Benchmarking energy providers in Italy and Europe, identifying best practices and loyalty models in the utility sector.
Market Trends
Review of emerging trends in customer engagement, sustainability incentives, digitalization, and data-driven personalization.
Loyalty Landscape
Study of reward mechanics and customer relationship strategies used in subscription-based and service industries, identifying gaps and opportunities for innovation in the Italian energy context.
Approach & Methodology

The project was developed through a Service Design and Co-Design process, integrating qualitative research, user testing, and stakeholder collaboration:

1
Brainstorming & Co-Creation Workshops
Co-creation sessions with key stakeholders to align on objectives, define KPIs, and shape a shared vision for the new loyalty ecosystem.
2
One-to-One Qualitative Interviews
In-depth interviews with selected user segments, defined through quantitative CRM analysis. Developed personas, empathy maps, and user journeys.
3
Insight Synthesis
Findings clustered into behavioral archetypes and engagement drivers, informing personalization logic and content strategy.
4
Loyalty Program Strategy Design
Full loyalty system design — mechanics, gamification, and customer journey flows with dynamic missions and contextual rewards.
5
Execution Recommendations
Actionable recommendations for UI/UX design, information architecture, and content strategy.
Vivi Energia — Workshop and co-design sessions
Key Insights
Customer Service & Satisfaction
Users primarily assessed support in terms of speed, efficiency, issue resolution, and sincerity — focusing on practical dimensions rather than emotional expectations.
Communication & Clarity
Data was seen as an obstacle but could be transformed to enhance transparency and the ability to access information seamlessly via app or website.
Energy Awareness
Customers wanted to take charge of consumption, with a need for tools to monitor and optimize energy management, such as usage breakdowns or educational resources.
Brand Perception & Values
Competitors prioritize messaging around transparency, sustainability, and personalized support — customers needed to feel valued and loyal to the provider.
Program Perception & Communication
The previous loyalty program lacked a clear concept and purpose, creating an opportunity to redefine the value proposition from the ground up.
User personas — Vivi Energia loyalty program
Behavioral Personas
Persona segmentation matrix — engagement vs value drivers
Understanding and Action Personas Matrix
Vivi VIP — responsive UI across devices
Digital Product Results
Vivi VIP — app screens and quiz interactions
Engagement Actions
Results
New identity and meaning
The concept "ViVi" was communicated as "Vivi Sorpresa Premanti", turning the program into a narrative framework focused on power, actions, and participation across all touchpoints.
Engaging loyalty experience
Designed a set of gamified missions that encourage active participation and reward meaningful behaviors.
Data-driven personalization
Implemented dynamic and adaptive CRM touchpoints aligned with the service rhythm, data clustering models, and behavioral insights.
Churn prevention and retention
Leveraged data-level customer journeys and monitoring instruments to track engagement and enable contextual intervention strategies.
Reward ecosystem
Created a core reward catalogue with gifts, missions, and gift lab mechanics. Built a practical network to support benefits and navigation within the ecosystem.
Strategic impact
ViVi became a scalable loyalty ecosystem model combining onboarding, data intelligence, and service design — transforming the relationship between Vivi Energia and its customers.
Key Numbers
+200K
missions completed in 15 months
+13,700
new loyalty customers per year
55%
profiling consent rate | NPS 42
+20M
points earned
+18%
average conversion rate
-13%
churn risk on critical clusters
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