Audience celebrating awards ceremony

TLC Worldwide and Three Secure Major Recognition At International Loyalty Awards 

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May 21, 2026

The 2026 International Loyalty Awards took place at the end of April in Atlanta, USA, and the TLC Worldwide team was delighted to take home the gold in the International Loyalty Program of the Year Europe category.

The awards celebrated some of the most impactful and forward-thinking loyalty programs from around the world, bringing together leading brands, consultancies, judges, and industry experts to celebrate excellence across the sector.

We were proud to receive acclaim for our work with Three, as well as multiple shortlist nominations across several global categories.
A group of people posing together on stage at the International Loyalty Awards event

Recognition for work with Three 

TLC Worldwide’s partnership with Three was recognised by the judging panel for its innovative approach to customer engagement, emotional loyalty, and habitual customer behaviour.

The first-of-its-kind loyalty innovation – Three+ – gave Three customers access to a barista-made coffee for £1 once a week across thousands of independent and high-street cafés across the UK.

Now in its fifth year, Three+ has continuously grown its offer portfolio with new ways to reward customer loyalty. Rewards such as £1 coffee, £3 cinema tickets, dining discounts with national and local eateries, and exclusive festival and venue event presale tickets have delighted customers since 2021.

The initiative was created to move beyond transactional loyalty mechanics and instead deliver consistent, feel-good value through an everyday ritual.

With the program having already delivered significant commercial impact, the awards also recognised how the initiative successfully combines emotional engagement, behavioural loyalty, local relevance, and scalable customer value within a highly competitive telecoms market.

As highlighted by the judges: 

“VodafoneThree’s Three+ represents a distinctive and highly relevant evolution of telecoms loyalty, redefining value through simple, habitual, and locally meaningful engagement. 

“By leveraging a strong network of independent businesses, the program delivers everyday benefits that seamlessly integrate into customers’ daily lives, creating a loyalty experience that feels both authentic and immediately useful.”  
You can read our full ‘Three+ £1 Local Coffee Network’ case study, here. 
Graphic on ThreeVodafone daily coffee

Multiple shortlist recognitions 

But that’s not all. TLC Worldwide was also shortlisted across several major categories, including:
  • Best B2B Loyalty Program Worldwide, with our work with Vaillant and YouTube both receiving recognition
  • Best Long-Term Loyalty Program Worldwide, for our loyalty ecosystem, MediaWorld CLUB
  • Best Strategic Partnership in Global Loyalty, with Three
  • Best Supplier/Vendor Innovation – Global

These accolades reflect our continued focus on building loyalty strategies that combine emotional engagement, behavioural insight, and everyday value to create long-term customer relationships.
Graphic on multiple TLC shortlist recognitions
The Three+ program itself has evolved into one of the UK telecoms sector’s most engaging loyalty platforms, with rewards ranging from £1 coffee and dining offers to live entertainment, sports experiences, and gamified rewards.

Commenting on TLC Worldwide’s success, Marion Kelly, co-founder of the International Loyalty Awards said: “What stood out about the Three+ program was its ability to rethink loyalty in a way that feels genuinely relevant to customers’ everyday lives.

“That, combined with a strong technology infrastructure and an expanding merchant network, means the program has already demonstrated impressive momentum and engagement. It’s an excellent example of how loyalty in the telecoms sector is evolving towards more behaviour-led, experience-driven models that customers actively value and return to regularly. Congratulations to Three and TLC Worldwide – a well deserved win.”

Mike Brinn, global loyalty director at TLC Worldwide, added: “We’re incredibly proud to see the Three+ £1 Coffee Network recognised at the International Loyalty Awards.

“A huge thank you to the team at Three for trusting TLC Worldwide to help bring this program to life. From day one, the focus was on creating something genuinely valuable and relevant for customers, so it’s fantastic to see that collaboration recognised on a global stage.”

These commendations reflect TLC’s continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of what loyalty can look like in an industry that is evolving at extraordinary speed.

As customer expectations continue to shift and brands seek more meaningful ways to engage audiences, this feels like a significant achievement for the team and our partners.

It reinforces TLC’s focus on continuously evolving our approach and embracing innovation, to create relevant, emotionally engaging, and commercially impactful loyalty experiences in an increasingly competitive landscape.
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