Incentive - February 2008 - (Page 22)

COVER STORY Rob Tuchman’s Top 10 Athlete/Speakers: Raise a Cheer Sports-themed incentives are as motivational to the general public as they are to incentive winners 1. NBA Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton: He never watches the clock and consistently spends more time with a group than he contracted for. He also does a great job at integrating a corporate message into his speech. 2. NY Giants running back and NBC broadcaster Tiki Barber: Corporate events come as easy to him as running the football did when he was with the New York Giants. W hen New England Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs returned the second-half kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown in the team’s opening game this season, Offering a big prize for making a (very hard) half-court basket is a popular promotion fans at Jillian’s Billiards Club in Worcester, Mass., erupted in cheers, and not just because the run set an NFL record, or even because it contributed to a win over arch-rivals the New York Jets. No, fans watching the game at Jillian’s, part of a national chain of 15 clubs, were congratulating one of their own, a patron who had been randomly chosen to win $5,000 if such a runback—rare, but not unheard of—occurred. “The promotion is a lot of fun,” says Mike Grosser, vice president of marketing for parent company JBC Entertainment. “It brings the guests in, gets them excited and generates a lot of word of mouth. It’s what sets us apart from our competition.” The promotion was the work of Dallas-based SCA Promotions, which designed the contest and provided the prize coverage— essentially insurance that pays a winner’s prize money. SCA runs thousands of these sports promotions each year, ranging from small-scale like the one at Jillian’s to a $1 million prize for an out-ofthe-ballpark hit during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. SCA offers turnkey promotions for every type of sports event imaginable (as well as many nonsports promotions), but focuses on developing customized solutions, says Lisa Lantz, vice president of SCA. The cost of a promotion boils down to three key factors: The prize amount; the likelihood of a win; and the number of times the prize is up for grabs. “Typically the cost of the promotion comes in between two percent and twenty percent of the actual prize value featured—but where it lands on that scale depends on those three parameters,” notes Todd Overton, SCA’s senior account manager. “If a bar wants to offer a $10,000 winning prize for every baseball game, that’s going to be expensive, because there are a lot of baseball games. But if they just offer the prize on Tuesday nights—a typical slow night—it makes Tuesdays special, draws bigger crowds and greatly reduces the fee.” Lantz adds that the company often recommends budgeting a few smaller prizes that will definitely be awarded to make sure people at an event-based promotion like Jillian’s see a winner. 3. NY Giants defensive end Michael Strahan: Really seems to enjoy working a room and making sure even the most shy person is having a good time. 4. Greg Biffle: Who? All your attendees will know this NASCAR great. As most NASCAR drivers know, the sponsor is king. 5. NBA Hall of Famer and Olympic gold medalist Charles Barkley: What you see on television is what you get with Sir Charles. He can make the most hardened CEO smile. Best Speakers: 6. Terry Bradshaw Any football fan will recognize the bald pate and broad grin of Terry Bradshaw. The former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and longtime NFL analyst remains a favorite speaker for his quick wit and generous nature. “He’ll do a speech in the morning, play golf in the afternoon, and join the awards dinner at night, and clearly have a lot of fun doing it all,” says Tom Hurley, VP of sales at JNR Inc., an Irvine, Calif.–based incentive house. 7. Recently retired Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy: The wise old grandfather with incredible stories to tell. 8. Baltimore Oriole and consecutive-game record holder Cal Ripken, Jr.: One thing is for sure—if you book him, he’ll be there. 9. U.S. Olympic “Miracle on Ice” hockey team captain Mike Eruzione: A master at the motivational speech. Thankfully that puck he shot in the 1980 Olympics was not a few inches wide of the goal, or we would have never known. 10. Archie Manning. There’s a reason why he made our cover! 22 | Incentive | February 2008 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com

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

Incentive Magazine - February 2008 Editor’s Note: Archie and the Boys In The News Cover Story: On The Ball Incentives Incentive Primer: How to Use Sporting Events Incentive Interview: Jim Avery on Doing the Right Thing Employee Empowerment Motivates and Pays Dividends Hospitals, Nurses Win With Flexible Scheduling Legal Ease: Safety Programs and Unions Case Study: The Weitz Company Retains Its Boomers Potentials: Here and Now Star Power in the Kitchen Awards: Gift Card Trends for the New Year Travel News The Manhattanization of Las Vegas Classics Renewed: Monaco and France Advertiser Index Off The Cuff: Tumi’s Mike Landry

Incentive - February 2008

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