What Happened:
The Cleveland Cavaliers launched Cavs Rewards in 2025, a points-based loyalty platform separate from their decade-old Cavs United season ticket membership program, powered by loyalty technology provider Uptop.
With 36 million followers across eight social platforms, the Cavs are exploring how to expand their loyalty ecosystem globally, particularly in markets like Brazil, the UK, and the Philippines where they see significant fan saturation.
With a data warehouse, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and app integrations, the Cavs are shifting toward hyper-personalized journeys, progressive profiling, and “surprise and delight” moments that merge digital and physical experiences.
These insights were discussed during a conversation on Loyalty360’s Brand Stories podcast.
Our Take:
Senior Director of Consumer Marketing Jeremy Halleck notes that expansion lies in "the 99% of people that are never going to step foot within the arena." This creates multiple relationship pathways with fans rather than the single conversion funnel being game attendance.
The Cavs are using progressive profiling at membership initiation. By asking new Cavs United members whether they're using the membership for corporate entertaining or family experiences, the organization can tailor communications and event invitations (for example, corporate clients get networking opportunities while families receive invitations to zoo events and youth camps). This early segmentation creates more relevant touchpoints throughout the customer journey.
The organization's focus on emotional storytelling also deserves attention. When research revealed that members' most common descriptor wasn't "basketball" or "winning" but "family," the Cavs shifted their content strategy to emphasize generational connections and shared experiences.
Looking ahead, the Cavs are investing in data infrastructure, including a data warehouse and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, to enable hyper-personalization across channels. Halleck mentioned using location data to anticipate food and beverage preferences when members arrive at the arena. One challenge the organization openly acknowledges is platform integration. As Halleck put it: “I don’t want to pretend I have it all figured out.”
Still, the direction is clear. The Cavs are positioning loyalty not as a standalone program but as a long-term engagement engine that links membership, rewards, content, and in-arena experiences into a unified lifecycle strategy.
Listen to the full conversation here.