Rewards & Recognition (May 2010)

AEIS Becomes InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions.
EEA Will Announce Engagement Certification Program at Expo.
Rymax Expands Gift Card Offerings.
Engagement Event Returns $2 for Every Dollar Spent.
Globoforce Further Expands Global Merchant Network in China.
DimpleDough Launches Specialized Card Marketing Division.
People on the Move...
What's the Return on Efforts to Engage Channel Partners?
Collaboration: More than the Sum of its Parts.
At American Airlines, the People are the Process.
Whitepaper Connects Engagement with Economic Recovery.
About Selling Communications Inc.

News Briefs

AEIS Becomes InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions

American Express Incentive Services (AEIS) has been re-christened InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions, LLC. The name change comes roughly three months after Maritz Holdings purchased American Express Company's minority interest in AEIS. "InteliSpend will offer the same American Express-branded prepaid products and services it always has, including its patented DirectSpend product suite," says CEO Darryl Hutson. The re-branding effort blended extensive qualitative and quantitative market research with client prospects, channel partners and employees. "Our new brand was selected because we believe it represents what sets us apart in the prepaid category," adds Vice President of Marketing Matt Harris. "The name InteliSpend certainly speaks to our connection with DirectSpend, but it also sheds light on our business approach as a company. Our expertise lies in pushing the envelope of what prepaid incentives can do. InteliSpend communicates our role in executing strategic solutions that enable our customers to spend their investment intelligently." Over the next several months, the organization will roll out its new brand identity online, at select trade events, among customers and internal audiences, and through all marketing communications materials. InteliSpend remains an independent issuer of prepaid products on the American Express network and also an authorized seller of American Express-branded prepaid products.

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EEA Will Announce Engagement Certification Program at Expo

A new curriculum and certification program for the emerging field of Enterprise Engagement will be announced June 3-4 at the Enterprise Engagement Alliance Networking Expo & Conference at the Doral Arrowwood, Rye Brook, NY. The curriculum and certification initiative is being developed by the Enterprise Engagement Alliance, a coalition of organizations committed to improving financial results on an ongoing basis by fostering the sustained engagement of customers, channel partners, sales and non-sales employees, and vendors. The effort will be directed by an Advisory Board composed of management in all areas and levels of the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Claire Howells, Vice President of Engagement for Zions Bancorp, and Don Peppers, Partner, Peppers & Rogers Group, will serve as co-chairs of the Executive Advisory Board. The goals of the curriculum and certification are to provide individuals and organizations with the skills and framework essential to profiting from engagement over time. "The return-on-investment of Enterprise Engagement is based on understanding the inter-relationship of engagement across all audiences – internally and externally," says Allan Schweyer, EEA Chairman. The curriculum and certification program is designed to address the need for today's executives and managers to understand engagement both in terms of their personal leadership skills and their ability to integrate the elements critical to engagement: leadership, training, multi-platform communications, technology, rewards & recognition, incentive programs and more. Registration is complimentary for the morning plenary sessions at which this curriculum will be announced and for exhibits; the conference is $329 for two days. Register at @@http://www.eeaexpo.org/.

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Rymax Expands Gift Card Offerings

Rymax Marketing Services, Inc., the Largest Manufacturer's Representative in the incentive industry, recently announced gift card partnerships with the Destination Maternity Corporation and The Home Depot. These retail gift card additions will help to broaden Rymax's existing gift card lines across several categories, including department stores, clothing and accessory stores, dining, sports and recreation, toy stores, travel, entertainment, books/DVDs/music, health and beauty, experiential, auto and home.

The Destination Maternity Corporation represents Destination Maternity, Motherhood Maternity, and A Pea in the Pod retail brands. Since its inception in 1982, Destination Maternity Corporation has grown to become the world's largest maternity apparel retailer, revolutionizing the maternity industry. The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,245 retail stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico and China. For more information, go to: @@http://www.rymax.com

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Engagement Event Returns $2 for Every Dollar Spent

The Enterprise Engagement Alliance (EEA) recently announced that research measuring the return on investment (ROI) of an annual meeting of healthcare insurance brokers that stressed training, relationship-building and networking opportunities found the sponsoring company enjoyed a return of almost $2 for every $1 invested in the program. Initial results reported in March revealed that the program had a profound impact on the way brokers thought and felt about the company, its products and its people. Part 1 of the report, The 'ROI in Channel Partner' Conferences – A Case Study, noted that the annual gathering translated into higher sales, performance and engagement among those who attended. Part 2 of the report examines the actual change in sales of Allsante, Inc.* products among program participants, summarizing the ROI the company achieved from the event. EEA analysis of the methodologies and findings reveals that Allsante earned significant ROI from its annual event. "After all variables were accounted for, a highly credible and conservative estimate of 190% ROI was arrived at," says Allan Schweyer, Chairman of the EEA. "In other words, the company enjoyed a return of almost $2 for every $1 it invested in the first six months following the event, and our researchers say it's likely that the returns, if calculated after another six months have passed, will be even greater." Parts 1 and 2 of the study, The 'ROI in Channel Partner' Conferences – A Case Study, can be downloaded at @@http://www.enterpriseengagement.org/

* The company in this report is referred to as "Allsante, Inc." at the firm's request, due to competitive reasons.

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Globoforce Further Expands Global Merchant Network in China

Globoforce has announced that Globoforce ex*change, its global merchant network, has surpassed 2,000 global and street-level local merchants and other reward options across 130 countries. As part of this growth, Globoforce has further expanded its reach in China. The expansion is designed to meet the growing needs and regions of the company's current and future clients' employee recognition programs. In 2009 and 2010, Globoforce has seen many of its clients increase their business activity and personnel within Beijing, Shanghai and the greater China region. As a result, the company took its core rewards strategy and fulfillment one step further by hiring a dedicated rewards and customer service team in China. Together, alongside its China-based team, Globoforce worked with clients to add even more highly desirable merchant options from both local Chinese and globally-known, trusted, and popular brands. Examples of new additions include:

Joyo.com – online retailer with wide selection of books, music, videos, and electronics
Rainbow Department Store (Tianhong) – a leading department store
Suning Appliance – electronic appliance retailer

Watsons – health, well being, and beauty products retailer

To learn more, visit @@http://www.globoforce.com

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DimpleDough Launches Specialized Card Marketing Division

DimpleDough recently announced that is has launched a new division that will help retailers and banks implement high performance prepaid, credit and debit card marketing campaigns. DimpleDough Marketing Intelligence will offer technology-enabled professional services drawing from disciplines including data integration and analytics, database marketing, email marketing, social media marketing and usability design. DimpleDough Marketing Intelligence is partnering with select technology and service providers to expand the range of services available to DimpleDough's clients and partners. One such partner is Speedeon Data, a leading provider of customer and prospect contact data to many of the world's top retailers and financial service providers. As a result of the partnership with Speedeon Data, DimpleDough Marketing Intelligence is able to offer clients unprecedented access to fresher, more accurate customer and prospect contact data. DimpleDough Marketing Intelligence is sold directly and through several leading processors, including First Data Corporation, throughout North America. More information about DimpleDough Marketing Intelligence can be found at @@http://www.dimpledoughmi.com

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People on the Move...

Heather Abbott has been named Director of Gift Card Programs at BedandBreakfast.com. She brings more than four years of gift card industry experience to the company, most recently serving as an industry consultant, and prior to that managing gift card corporate sales and third-party programs for Barnes & Noble Booksellers. Abbott is also an active board member of the Incentive Gift Card Council (IGCC) and currently serves as the board's Director of Membership. She also spent five years marketing and selling for companies including Coca-Cola and J.P. Morgan Chase.

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Insights from ESM Rewards & Recognition e-News

What's the Return on Efforts to Engage Channel Partners?

A recently-released research report from the Enterprise Engagement Alliance takes an in-depth look at the 2009 annual meeting of brokers and management personnel from a major healthcare provider. The goal of the event was to implement – and measure the results of – a program of training, industry updates, relationship building and networking opportunities designed to increase sales and profits in specific markets and engage channel partners with the provider's brand. The company was looking to obtain a clearer understanding of the return on investment (ROI) it could expect for the event, and obtain hard data on participants' attitudes, learning, behaviors and actual outcomes following the event to help make decisions about improving future programs. The company used the ROI of Engagement Group to collect and analyze the event data. Initial results show the event had a profound impact on the way brokers thought and felt about the company (dubbed "Allsante, Inc." for the purposes of this study). Participants were found to have more trust in the company, more confidence that Allsante would do what it says it will do, and more confidence that the company's products will meet customers' and brokers' needs. Participants also reported better relationships with Allsante staff and a better understanding of the company value proposition. This also translated into brokers presenting and quoting Allsante products more often and, in turn, selling more product.

For a copy of the research study, The 'ROI in Channel Partner Conferences' – A Case Study, click here.

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In the Next Issue of Engagement Strategies Magazine

The June/July issue of Engagement Strategies Magazine will be in your mailbox soon! Here's a preview of what you'll find inside:

Collaboration: More than the Sum of its Parts

A pair of articles examines this critical building block of engagement from two different perspectives. The first, Internal Collaboration: Why Partnering Works, by Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller, Ph.D., notes that great partnerships don't just happen. Whether your joint mission is to build a great company, coach a team, improve the government, do something spectacular for a charity, or any other worthy goal, all successful partnerships share the same crucial ingredients. The second article, External Collaboration: When You Can't Do It All, looks at some of the companies in the engagement marketplace that have successfully used collaboration to expand their reach through alliances and partnerships. To make sure you get your copy of Engagement Strategies Magazine, go to @@http://www.enterpriseengagement.org/account/login/ and update your subscription today!

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At American Airlines, the People are the Process

Sue Gordon has been with American Airlines for over 20 years. As a result of her vast and varied experience, she not only knows American Airlines and the American Way very well, she also understands very clearly how the company's internal communications and branding efforts work to promote employee engagement and employee retention, while at the same time contributing to a more positive customer experience. In other words, she's seen it all – what works and what doesn't. "From 2001 to today, our industry has essentially been in turmoil," she says. "But we found the most traction by involving employees in the business. This is where we've seen the greatest process improvements and the greatest cost savings. It's where we get our best ideas and the greatest amount of buy-in, by involving our employees from soup to nuts in the process." Read more in the next issue of Engagement Strategies Magazine – coming soon.

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News From Selling Communications Inc.

Whitepaper Connects Engagement with Economic Recovery

One of the greatest opportunities to increase corporate profits – and subsequently boost the economy – lies in motivating workforces to improve performance, drive greater customer engagement and ultimately increase revenue, according to a new report from the Enterprise Engagement Alliance (EEA) and the Human Capital Institute (HCI). The Enterprise Engagement Alliance is a coalition of companies and associations dedicated to promoting the importance of engagement, founded last year by the Human Capital Institute, Peppers & Rogers Group, 1to1® Media and Selling Communications, Inc. Entitled The Economics of Engagement, the report provides a comprehensive analysis of research in the field of Enterprise Engagement and offers how-to information on benchmarking tools that can quantitatively measure the benefits of employee and customer engagement. These measurement tools are critical to demonstrate the bottom-line impact of enterprise engagement, both to corporations and to the economy as a whole, using financial language that senior executives, investors and economists are accustomed to. "One of the most encouraging findings of this report is the revelation that vast reserves of overall performance potential are essentially hiding in plain sight," says Bruce Bolger of the Enterprise Engagement Alliance. "Engaging the people that companies deal with on a day-to-day basis – both internally and externally – in a comprehensive, compelling and connected way will create a result that is more than just the sum of its parts. Naturally, as with any such investment, the return needs to be demonstrated to decision makers, and there's a growing body of evidence in the engagement arena that does just that." Get your copy of the report >

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About Selling Communications Inc.

Selling Communications, Inc. is a fully integrated, target marketing, media and technology agency that improves results for clients by focusing on the people who matter most. We can help your business grow and save you money by targeting key prospects, getting their permission and strategically integrating your marketing and sales communications with the specific audiences most likely to affect your business performance.

Take advantage of these SCI services to improve your business development: