Promo - April 2008 - (Page S9) reproductions of an original painting relating to the company’s business to its entire sales staff. Another had art created for the board of directors. For executives who are amateur musicians, upgrading to a professional-quality instrument “is a very big deal,” Toomey says. Hitting the Consumer Loyalty/Frequency Jackpot GIVING BACK Merchandise or other incentives that support a cause or charity are increasingly popular choices among employees and other business constituencies. For this reason, Maritz has added a number of cause-related incentive options to its catalog, such as jewelry items where part of the price is donated to a not-forprofit, or the option of using points to offset one’s “carbon footprint” by donating to an environmental cause. HEALTH AND WELLNESS GEAR In addition to options like spa days or vacations and fitness memberships, many companies are including a variety of upscale fitness equipment options within their incentive mix, according to performance improvement professionals. Branded merchandise has become an incentive of choice in a growing number of consumer loyalty and frequency programs, including hotels, credit card issuers, airlines and casinos. “We’ve seen major growth within loyalty programs in the past two to three years,” reports Jimmy Beyer, national sales manager for Sony Electronics Inc. “This is now a huge part of the incentive business.” “Loyalty is the next great battleground” for consumer hard goods manufacturers, airlines and other marketers, says Pete Mitchell, Samsonite’s director, Bto-B sales. As loyalty programs proliferate, many companies are finding that they need to motivate more active participation in their programs, he points out. After all, being in a program doesn’t translate to loyalty unless the points are actually being used. (According to a Colloquy Loyalty Census, total U.S. loyalty program membership hit 1.3 billion last year, and the average American household now belongs to 12 different loyalty programs.) SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT For instance, branded or luxury goods are being used to add novelty and up the trophy value and “sizzle factor” of programs at hotels and casinos that once relied heavily on awarding comped room nights. “Casinos are in a real dogfight” to keep high rollers, “so they’re starting to invest in product,” says Mitchell. “If someone’s points are piling up, they get an offer to come stay for the weekend and also receive a gift.” One casino gave away thousands of Samsonite premium items over a single weekend, he reports. Some airlines are now offering branded merchandise as an alternative to miles as a means of increasing frequent flier redemptions and customer loyalty. “There’s growing recognition that if a business person spends 100 days on an airplane, the last place he or she may want to be during time off is on an airplane. Some sort of merchandise, such as electronics, may be preferred,” says Beyer. ELECTRONICS STILL GOING STRONG Electronics, including home entertainment products of all varieties, continue to be the #1 category of items redeemed in employee rewards/recognition programs, according to Knollenberg. Plasma TV’s, MP3 players and (in the words of one incentive house executive) “all things iPod” are among the most popular items. < S9
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