Incentive - April 2009 - (Page 42)

Cameras: Smart and Active PAGE 44 Incentive’s Merchandise IQ PAGE 46 They’re waterproof, Web-friendly and take professional shots Despite some cuts, merchandise remains resilient Fewer attendees, but an upbeat message at this year’s Marketing Conference By Alex Palmer IMRA Blasts Off D espite a dip in attendance, this year’s Annual Incentive Manufacturers & Representative Alliance (IMRA) Marketing Conference offered some energizing messages for the merchandise suppliers and manufacturers’ representatives in attendance. Held at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, Fla., the event began with a bang as attendees of Sunday evening’s outdoor welcome reception witnessed the space shuttle Discovery launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in nearby Cape Canaveral. This uplifting image set the tone for the conference’s program over the next two days, which focused on new opportunities and traditional strengths for incentive merchandise even in the face of serious challenges. In addition to sales meetings and educational sessions, a keynote by Dave Peer, Hinda Incentives’ vice president of client services, outlined strategies for incentive merchandise. The second day’s keynote came from Promotional Products Association International’s (PPAI) director of expositions and meetings, Darel Cook, who discussed the success of brand., the incentive merchandise pavilion at this year’s PPAI Expo, and the growing interest in brand-name rewards within the promotional products sector. “[Incentive merchandise] makes a natural add-on to selling promotional products and we’re so glad that PPAI has decided that’s an initiative that they want for their members,” says Joe Gabler, president of IMRA and of Minneapolis-based Gabler Sales. “With the numbers of the distributors out there, there only needs to be a small number selling incentive merchandise to greatly enhance our business.” While this presented new options for merchandise representatives, the economy’s impact was felt in a notable decrease in attendance at the conference. “We had several of our rep groups not in attendance, and the general concensus was that attendance was down,” says Adrienne Forrest, assistant vice president of special markets for Bulova Corp. Forrest says that while she found the conference worthwhile, it might succeed more as part of a larger national tradeshow, rather than a standalone conference. On the final night, Incentive awarded five outstanding independent sales representative companies with its Sales Excellence Awards. Winners included Lapine Associates, Inc., Sharp Incentives, Gretsch Incentives, Great Lakes Incentive Group and Award Marketing Services, LLC. For full list of winners and awards, visit www.incentivemag.com/salesexcellence. Retail Gift Card Association Opens Its Doors By Leo Jakobson The Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA) used the Prepaid Card Expo at the beginning of March to formally open its doors to new members. Formed in January by a small group of closed-loop gift card issuers, the RGCA aims to promulgate customer-friendly best practices among its members, and lobby the government on regulatory issues. The founding members are: Applebee's, Best Buy, Home Depot, Kohl’s, Limited Brands, Marriott International, Nike, Subway and Wal-Mart. “We’ve taken care of all the housekeeping, such as getting insurance and establishing tax-exempt [not-forprofit] status” says Carman Wenkoff, co-president of the RGCA and president of Value Pay Services, LLC, the program manager for Subway’s gift card programs. Over the next 60 days we are looking to bring 40 to 70 new brands into the RGCA.” Membership is limited to retailers, dining establishments, experiential retailers, travel, hospitality and other providers who offer closed-loop gift card programs, as opposed to open-loop gift cards such as those provided by MasterCard and American Express. The best practices are key, says Wenkoff, adding that the organization will insist that members adhere to them. Over the next two months, the RGCA will also work on issues like creating a budget and coordinating with groups like the Incentive Gift Card Council. 42 | Incentive | April 2009 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com/salesexcellence http://www.incentivemag.com/salesexcellence http://www.incentivemag.com/salesexcellence http://www.incentivemag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Incentive - April 2009

Incentive - April 2009
Contents
Editor’s Note: Speak Out!
Headlines
Cover Story: Penn Mutual Stands By Its Incentives
Defending Incentives
Primer: Merchandise 101
Employee Contracts Work
Gift Card Roundtable
Incentive Strategies
Endo Pharmaceuticals
Travel News: Where To Go
Caribbean: Idyllic Deals
Cruises: Value Ahoy!
Potentials: Here and Now
Cameras: Smart and Active
Merchandise IQ Survey
Incentive Merchandise Buyer’s Guide

Incentive - April 2009