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• Why Your Incentive Program Will Outlast This Downturn
• 2008 Motivation Show Attendance Shows a Decline
• IMA "Circle of Excellence" Winners Illustrate Incentives at Work
• Should You Modify Your Incentive Program in a Down Economy?
• Industry Leadership Council Is Formed to Promote Industry Outreach
• How to Calculate the Bottom-Line Value of Your Labor Force
• PPAI Survey Reveals Effectiveness of Business Gifts
• PMA Marketing Law Conference Examines "The Age of Ubiquity"
• PPAI Expo Will Offer Lessons on "Stickiness"
• IRF's 2009 Incentive Industry Invitational to Be Held in Palm Springs
• Alliance Formed to Bridge Gap Between Marketing and Operations

Why Your Incentive Program Will Outlast This Downturn

Economic conditions can have a serious impact on the incentive industry and the latest economic downturn is no exception. But a recent white paper, "Why Incentive Programs Endure Recessions," from the Incentive Performance Center (IPC) reviewing past Incentive Federation studies argues that there's little evidence of a significant negative impact to the industry resulting from past downturns. There is some impact in the early phases of a recession as companies cut back and fewer participants qualify for rewards, but the business generally rebounds swiftly as companies turn to measurable, cost-effective programs to meet sales and marketing goals.

The IPC white paper looks at why incentive programs often thrive during times of economic stress, and in particular, why smart companies will continue to use incentive companies to drive business even while cutting budgets in other areas. Specifically, it makes the argument that there are five basic reasons to continue to use incentive programs during a downturn. These include:

• Low fixed costs, with variable costs driven by performance – and a high potential return.
• The ability to reach target audiences effectively.
• The relative ease of measurement of incentive program outcomes.
• Flexibility.
• The potential for both short- and long-term results.

The IPC warns that success is not guaranteed, and that companies should seek competent professional help to help ensure that their incentive plans will be successful. For a copy of the white paper, click here, or visit the IPC Web site at www.incentivecentral.org.

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2008 Motivation Show Attendance Shows a Decline

While advance registration for the 2008 Motivation Show in Chicago was up by more than 12%, actual verified attendance did not meet the show organizers' expectations. And many registrants reported that while attendees were of a higher quality than previous years, they were fewer in number. Attendance at the Show's Executive Leadership Conference educational component, on the other hand, was up by 16% over last year.

"There is no doubt that the current economic news and travel restrictions hurt our attendance numbers this year," says Pete Erickson, managing director of the Show. "As an industry, we need to make the case that during times of economic uncertainty, employee engagement is more important than ever in connecting customer satisfaction with improved financial results. And you can't effectively engage employees without rewards and recognition." Erickson adds, "We intend to make this our Show theme for 2009."

For additional information on the Motivation Show – both on the recent Show and to register for the 2009 Show – go to www.motivationshow.com.

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IMA "Circle of Excellence" Winners Illustrate Incentives at Work

The road to increased sales gets a lot smoother when one's efforts are driven by a creative customer or employee incentive program, and the winners of the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) 2008 "Circle of Excellence" Awards show just how smoothly it can be done. The 2008 winners, announced at this year's Motivation Show, include Subaru Canada Ltd.; Toyota Motor Corp. Australia; BigPond – TELSTRA of Sydney, Australia; LJ Hooker Financial Services of Alexandria, Australia; and Modis, of Jacksonville, FL.

The Circle of Excellence Awards are meant to identify and recognize outstanding examples of successful customer and employee incentive programs designed to help drive their businesses. "In today's challenging economy, companies have to distinguish themselves from the competition by developing creative ways to entice and excite customers and employees alike," says Karen Renk, executive director of IMA. "Together with their marketing incentive partners, these five winners achieved great results for their efforts."

Here's a brief summary of each of the winning programs:

• Subaru Canada partnered with Carlton Group Ltd. of Markham, Ontario, to create a rewards club program for buyers of the sporty Impreza WRX STI hatchback. New owners received a gift card valued at $2,500 toward service, extended warranty, accessories, apparel, and Subaru-branded merchandise.
  
  
• Toyota Australia worked with Synchro Marketing of Sydney to establish the Toyota Sales Society – a multi-tiered program recognizing individual dealer employee performance and integrating the business goals of dealers' new car, used car, and service departments.
  
  
• LJ Hooker Financial Services and incentive professional Solterbeck of South Melbourne, Australia launched an easy-to-use software program to link and manage a diverse network of real estate brokers, agents, and offices across multiple regions of Australia to drive home mortgage referrals and sales.
  
  
• BigPond, an Internet hardware provider, teamed with incentive advisor ACCUMULATE of Port Melbourne, Australia to create and implement its "BigPoints" incentive program to increase sales among retailers and call centers.
  
  
• IT provider Modis used the opportunity to gain "celebrity" status at The Breakers, a Palm Beach, FL resort, to drive a sales incentive plan it created with the help of USMotivation of Atlanta.

For more complete details on the programs of each of these Circle of Excellence Award winners, visit the Incentive Performance Center at www.incentivecentral.org. For information on the Incentive Marketing Association and its programs and activities, visit the IMA Web site at www.incentivemarketing.org.

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Should You Modify Your Incentive Program in a Down Economy?

The economic downturn is forcing everyone to take a close look at costs, and to reduce them if possible. A recent Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) study – "Effects of a Down Economy on the Incentive Industry" –  looks at ways incentive program administrators are adapting their travel and merchandise incentive programs in response to current economic conditions. This IRF survey of incentive travel providers, corporate incentive travel buyers and suppliers was conducted over a four-week period that concluded in August. The results of the survey were released at last month's Motivation Show in Chicago.

Results of the survey show that the down economy has had more of an impact on travel incentive programs than on merchandise non-cash programs. Some 81% of survey respondents say that the down economy is having a negative impact on their ability to plan travel incentives. On the merchandise side, 48% of respondents say that it's been harder to plan and implement merchandise non-cash programs.

Here are some ways in which plan administrators are trying to adapt to the economic pressure:

• There has been a shift from international to domestic travel destinations.
• Use of gift cards is increasing.
• The number of travel incentive days/nights and number of rooms are being reduced.
• Individual travel awards are being used more often.
• Use of on-site extras for incentive travel participants is being reduced.
• Experience-related options are being added to merchandise programs.

For a summary report on "Effects of a Down Economy on the Incentive Industry," click here. For additional information and research from the Incentive Research Foundation, visit the IRF Web site at www.theIRF.org.

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Industry Leadership Council Is Formed to Promote Industry Outreach

The creation of the Industry Leadership Council (ILC) to provide recommendations to the Incentive Federation related to its legislative and research activities was announced last month at a press conference during the Motivation Show. The ILC will be chaired by Rodger Stotz, vice president, managing consultant, Maritz Inc., and will consist of representatives from leading incentive companies, fulfillment companies, and both branded and non-branded manufacturers that are active in the incentive field. Its purpose will be to assist with the development of messaging and significant new outreach activities being planned by the Incentive Federation and the Incentive Performance Center (IPC).

The ILC will assist in the support of outreach and research specifically related to the role of rewards, recognition, and promotional products in business engagement, and in the establishment of joint ventures with other business organizations interested in the nation's new emphasis on engagement in business. More immediately, the ILC will be asked to provide advice and counsel related to a congressional meeting that the Incentive Federation expects to hold in Washington, DC after the inauguration of the next U.S. president in 2009. The goal of the meeting will be to increase awareness of the incentive field on Capitol Hill, within the Executive branch, and in the general media.

The Industry Leadership Council is part of the Incentive Federation. For more information on the Incentive Federation and its activities go to www.incentivefederation.org.

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How to Calculate the Bottom-Line Value of Your Labor Force

It's time to move the "cost of labor" from the expense column of corporate balance sheets to the revenue column – that's the basic message of a new Workforce Measurement Model created jointly by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement (Forum) and Northwestern University's Medill School Department of Integrated Marketing. As reported in the Forum white paper, "The Workforce Model Every Organization Should Use," the Workforce Measurement Model is a way to express the contribution of a company's people component to its bottom line. And it uses existing data that are compatible with other financial reporting tools, so no additional metrics are necessary to produce a "Return on Talent" figure.

"Traditionally, companies have viewed their people costs as an expense because there was no other way to quantify their value to the bottom line," says Michelle Smith, president of the Forum. "The Workforce Measurement Model is the result of a detailed analysis of a number of highly successful companies that had incorporated components of it in their current business practices. It is a way to blend existing measurable attributes into a form that can be expressed alongside financial data to produce a Return on Talent that can then be compared across companies within and industry and even across industries."

For a copy of the Forum white paper, click here. For more information about the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement, go to the Forum Web site at www.performanceforum.org.

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PPAI Survey Reveals Effectiveness of Business Gifts

Business gifting is still the most popular application of promotional products and is often considered one of the most effective uses of promotional merchandise for obtaining and retaining customers with a no-strings-attached pitch. Recently, a debate has arisen about the true definition of business gifting and how effective it really is. To weigh in on the debate, the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) sponsored a study by Louisiana State University and Glenrich Business Studies.

PPAI asked the researchers to investigate the business gift market and uncover answers to five very pertinent questions: What are business gifts? What are the costs of business gifts? Who gives business gifts? Why are business gifts given? And how effective are business gifts?

And the results? Some 96% of survey participants agreed on a definition of business gifts as "merchandise bestowed for the purpose of achieving customer and employee goodwill and relationship retention, given with the sponsor's identification appearing either on the item or accompanying it, and presented for the personal use of the recipient or a limited class of people." In addition, two-thirds of the survey participants said that price is a criterion in the way they picture business gifts, with the IRS threshold of $25 figuring greatly in the estimation of most.

The market for business gifts is usually influenced by organization size, and the reasons for gift-giving can range from wanting to thank customers or to build goodwill to generating referrals or influencing purchase decisions. But there is no doubt that the use of business gifts is effective. Overall the results of the survey demonstrate that buyers find business gifts to be very effective.

For more information or details on PPAI's gift-giving study, contact Anne Lardner at AnneL@ppai.org. For information on the Promotional Products Association International, visit the PPAI Web site at www.ppai.org.

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PMA Marketing Law Conference Examines "The Age of Ubiquity"

Don't miss the opportunity to hear from the leaders in advertising, promotion, and marketing law. The Promotion Marketing Association (PMA) will be holding its 30th Annual Promotion Marketing Law Conference on November 20-21, 2008, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown. It will feature top speakers from more than 35 major brands, federal and state regulators, and top marketing counsel.

The theme of the conference is "The Message Is The Medium: Consumer Marketing In the Age of Ubiquity."  While covering the latest developments on integrated marketing legal issues, including sweepstakes and all forms of incentive marketing, the conference will also include relevant content to drive sales and profits for your business.

For information on the conference or to register, click here. For more information on the Promotion Marketing Association, visit the PMA Web site at www.pmalink.org.

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PPAI Expo Will Offer Lessons on "Stickiness"

The PPAI Expo 2009, which will be presented by the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas on January 12-16, is the premier event of the promotional products industry, attracting distributors, suppliers, and other industry associates from the U.S and more than 20 other countries. It includes an expo, educational sessions, networking, and a variety of other events.

This year's keynote speaker is Chip Heath, co-author of the New York Times best-seller, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. Heath will examine why certain ideas and messages have staying power while others are instantly forgettable. He'll also provide insightful yet practical advice on developing solid ideas with his "six principles of winning ideas." According to Rick Merrill, PPAI director of professional development, "Heath offers really intuitive methods and successful ideology that is applicable to the promotional products industry and is sure to inspire and motivate attendees."

For information on attending or exhibiting at the PPAI Expo 2009, go to the PPAI Expo Web site at www.theppaiexpo.org/expo. For more information on PPAI, go to www.ppai.org.

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IRF's 2009 Incentive Industry Invitational to Be Held in Palm Springs

The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) announced that its 16th Annual Incentive Invitational will be held May 13-17, 2009 at Westin Hills Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, CA. The IRF Invitational – which brings together top incentive buyers and corporate decision makers, along with incentive professionals from leading travel organizations, is the foremost fund-raising event for incentive industry research.

"We fully expect the 16th Annual Invitational to again raise the bar for quality and important industry educational content," says Frank Katusak, president of the IRF. "As always, the funds raised at this premier industry event will enable us to underwrite pragmatic research on usage, trends, best practices, and case studies for travel, merchandise, and other non-cash incentives on a worldwide basis."

For additional information on the 2009 Invitational, go to www.theIRF.org/invitational2009.asp. For information on participating as a sponsor or as a hosted buyer attendee, contact The Opus Group at (305) 234-1077, or e-mail lisa.cherry-perks@theopusgrp.com. For more information about the Incentive Research Foundation and its activities and research, go to its Web site at www.theIRF.org.

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Alliance Formed to Bridge Gap Between Marketing and Operations

Three leading organizations in the fields of human capital, business strategy and marketing have undertaken a unique joint effort to support the emerging area of Enterprise Engagement – the process of improving financial results by linking external marketing and customer loyalty to employee engagement and performance. The three organizations are: the Human Capital Institute, Washington, D.C.; Peppers & Rogers Group, Norwalk, Conn.; and Selling Communications Inc., Tarrytown, N.Y.

The collaborative effort, to be known as the Enterprise Engagement Alliance (EEA), will bring together leaders in marketing and human capital to find ways to bridge the gap between marketing and operations that often hinders organizational efforts to maximize customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and financial results. The three organizations hope their efforts will foster greater dialogue and cross-fertilization among marketing, sales, human resources and operations and help organizations profit from the leadership and cross-functional management processes needed to engage customers and employees in a profitable way.

"U.S. businesses collectively spend billions to get customers, but relatively little to keep them," said Bruce Bolger, president of Selling Communications Inc. "It is getting harder for companies to get away with having poor service and uninformed, unmotivated
employees. Companies that get enterprise engagement right perform better over time, and that's the message we need to make sure corporate America understands and internalizes."

Participation in the EEA is open to any organization interested in employee and customer engagement, which involves a broad spectrum of issues, including leadership, communications, training, and rewards and recognition. Interested companies should contact bolger@sellingcommunications.com.

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