Incentive - April 2008 - (Page 75)

GIFT CARDS You’ve Got A Friend Gift card resellers have your solutions By Alex Palmer lanners often praise the flexibility and convenience of gift cards. But for those looking to expand their winners’ choices even further, the best option may be to go with a reseller. And they may even save time and money too. Third-party incentive houses and resellers that help develop, run and fulfill the rewards for gift card programs may offer a much stronger alternative to buying directly from retail stores, and can also provide solutions to the administrative and financial challenges that in-house programs can sometimes present. “Usually if [companies] are looking for Starbucks cards, for example, they’re looking for three or four other cards at the same time,” says Joan Travelstead, vice president of business development for the National Gift Card Corporation (NGC), a reseller based in Crystal Lake, Ill. “We’re kind of a one-stop shop, and it’s easier to pay one price, or pay one shipping fee than to pay four.” The NGC has partnerships with 150 separate retailers, several it works with P exclusively. According to Travelstead, by going through NGC, clients are able to order from any number of these vendors, at any quantity. Travelstead says that there are some clear cost-saving advantages resellers can offer clients that wouldn’t be enjoyed if they went directly to the retail suppliers. Because resellers are ordering large quantities of cards for many clients, they are able to pass on at least a portion of the bulk discounts they receive from their partners. Travelstead adds that working with a reseller like NGC generally saves clients 5 to 6 percent of the regular cost that they would pay at a retailer. “Even within a major corporation, even if you were spending $5 million, $10 million, $20 million on [an in-house gift card program], it’s not the same as when one guy works with twenty or a hundred clients and spends $50 to $100 million a year on it,” says Michael Ruege, executive vice president of Atlanta, Ga.–based USMotivation, a full-service incentive house that incorporates gift cards into its reward options. Keith Fenhaus, president of gift card incentive planner Hallmark Insights, based in Minneapolis, Minn., cites some administrative advantages in working with resellers that go beyond basic cost-saving, recalling a client who recently reached out to Hallmark for help putting together a gift card rewards and recognition program. Prior to looking to Hallmark, the company had selfadministered its million-dollar gift card program, buying an equal number of cards from four different, popular retailers with incentivemag.com | April 2008 | Incentive | 75 http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - April 2008

Incentive - April 2008
Contents
Editor’s Note: Publicity-Shy Pharmaceuticals
In The News
Cover Story: AstraZeneca on Incentives and Giving Back
Incentive Interview: Hotelier Stephanie Sonnabend
Case Study: U.S. Cellular Celebrates Coming of Age
De-Stressing the Workplace
Incentive Primer: Social Networking On the Job
Original Research: Incentive Merchandise IQ Report
Travel News
San Diego’s Gaslamp District Gets Hotter
Voluptuous Vienna
potentials Here and Now
Make A Splash With Water Sports Awards
Zoom In On Digital Cameras
Gift Cards: Resellers Add More Than Choice
Advertiser Index
Off The Cuff: Secrets of the Mayflower Spa
Special Supplement-Las Vegas Incentive Planners Guide

Incentive - April 2008