Incentive - January 2008 - (Page 64)

Here & Now Mastering the Possibilities GiftCertificates.com adds prepaid MasterCard to its reward offerings By Anne Marie D. Lee A perspective that we’ve motivated people to recycle. They earned these points, and it was a huge boost to the local economy, because these points were converted into real products and services.” The Dirt on Garbage Check out these facts and figures from RecycleBank Our garbage is made up of the following materials: 41% 18% 9% 9% 8% 8% 7% PAPER YARD WASTE METALS OTHER GLASS FOOD WASTE PLASTIC What recycling a ton of paper saves 17 trees (35' tall) 7,000 gallons of water 2 barrels of oil 4100 kilowatts of energy 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space 60 pounds of air pollution 4.2 MWh of energy Source: www.RecycleBank.com fter making its debut for the 2007 holiday season, a prepaid corporate rewards MasterCard is now being offered by incentive solutions provider GiftCertificates.com. The new corporate rewards card is available in a range of customization levels and is generally accepted wherever MasterCard is, including overseas. The card can be loaded with over $2,500 in value and is not reloadable. Prepaid cards are in healthy demand, says Sean O’Toole, chief executive officer and president of sales for the company GiftCertificates.com, adding that the company is very excited about the broader array of offerings the new card product brings. Says O’Toole, “We see it as part of a portfolio of products that we’re looking to build, to serve our corporate marketplace. Our inherent belief is that corporate customers are looking for different products, based upon different needs and different programs that they have. Different products fit those needs more appropriately than others.” Some of those needs include: extending a company brand by customizing a message or imprinting a corporate logo on the card, offering recipients a wide range of spending options, and reducing the administrative burden of tracking gifts. Unlike store brand gift cards, prepaid cards such as from GiftCertificates.com, can be customized with a corporate logo or message. In addition to being an incentive, the co-branded card serves as a promotional tool that exposes corporate logos at points-of-sale at a wide number of vendors, while also reinforcing a reward message to the recipient each time the card is taken out of the recipient’s wallet. Although the prepaid corporate rewards MaserCard can currently be used at any MC-friendly location, GiftCertificates.com is looking to develop a theme-based card that will be acccepted at only certain merchants. Says O’Toole, “We’ll look to innovation along those lines of developing different themes, adding more value into the product and working with our merchant base of 250 or 300 merchants, whereby we can deliver offers out to the recipient to encourage them to go out to specific merchants.” As to whether or not prepaid network cards might phase out traditional closedloop store-brand cards, it doesn’t seem likely. Says O’Toole, “We firmly believe that network cards and gift cards will continue to coexist because they are different, appropriate, solutions for different occasions. We’re looking to further expand our product roster, so that we can truly be that one-stop place for corporations to source their reward solutions. That’s an explicit strategy on our part.” 64 | Incentive | January 2008 | incentivemag.com http://GiftCertificates.com http://GiftCertificates.com http://GiftCertificates.com http://GiftCertificates.com http://www.RecycleBank.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - January 2008

Incentive - January 2008 Contents Editor’s Note: Out of SITE In The News Cover Story: Include a Meeting, Improve Morale Case Study: DHL Delivers Recognition Incentive Primer: How To Use Promo Products How Bob Nardelli Rallied Chrysler’s Dealers Incentive Interview: Ken Blanchard Says Be Nice TV’s Extreme Makeover Motivates Giving Pre-Employment Motivation The Daycare Dilemma Happy Employees Shouldn’t Mix with Sick Employees Incentive Research: Consumer Promotions Report In Her Shoes: Winning Approval Of Flextime Travel News Field Report: Barcelona Field Report: Bermuda Golf: Follow The Pros potentials Here and Now Watches As Jewelry Awards: Online Gift Cards Tech Gadgets for 2008 Last Word: Stanley Bing Bashes Bully Bosses

Incentive - January 2008

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