Rewards & Recognition (October 2010)

MoShow Giveaway Promotes Maui Jim Gift Card Program.
Charming Shoppes Launches Virtual Gift Cards for B2B Market.
TravelAwardsOnline Unveils Incentive Cruise Card.
New Gift Card Regs Won't Become Effective Until January.
Engagement Event Returns $2 for Every Dollar Spent.
Is Engagement Your Silver Bullet?
Can CSR Clear Up the Industry's Image Problem?
GAP Focuses Resources on Employees with High Potential.
Whitepaper Connects Engagement with Economic Recovery.
About Selling Communications Inc.

News Briefs

MoShow Giveaway Promotes Maui Jim Gift Card Program

At this year's Motivation Show in Chicago, Maui Jim will be promoting its recently-launched Gift Card program by distributing 2,000 special sell sheets to attendees at the entrance to the Exhibit Hall. Each sheet will have a card sample with a number on the back of it, and 30 lucky recipients will win one of 30 Maui Jim Gift Cards – twenty $250 gift cards and ten $150 gift cards. All they have to do is stop by Booth #5008 and speak to a Maui Jim rep. If their number matches the winners list, they'll be handed their Gift Card on the spot. With only 2,000 numbers being distributed, odds of winning are extremely good, so be sure to look for the sell sheets at this year's Show! Maui Jim Gift Cards are available in any denomination from $25–$500 for incentive and reward programs. Recipients can select their own style, frame and lens color, redeem their Gift Card at @@http://www.mauijim.com/, and their order will ship within two to three business days. "This is a convenient, fun program that lets recipients easily choose their favorite pair of Maui Jim sunglasses, and we now have some of the best pricing and value in the industry by offering up to 50% off of the face value." Says Corporate Gifts Sales Manager Brett Hatch. "And if a company really wants to make the gift card special, they can add a custom case and cloth with their logo on it." For more information on program details and ordering, contact your Maui Jim rep or call (800) 614-6790.

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Charming Shoppes Launches Virtual Gift Cards for B2B Market

Charming Shoppes, Inc., a leading multi-brand apparel retailer specializing in women's plus-size apparel, recently announced it has launched Virtual Gift Cards in the Business to Business (B2B) Market. This new digital capability enables companies to order bulk e-gift cards through a secure encrypted link. E-gift card recipients click on a link that takes them to a landing page where an e-gift card can be printed out and taken to any Lane Bryant, Cacique, Lane Bryant Outlet, Fashion Bug or Catherines store or redeemed online at Charming Shoppes brand's websites. With the assistance of GiftCard Partners, Charming Shoppes has partnered with RevTrax, an expert in the digital delivery of bulk gift cards, to offer this new functionality. The ordering process for these new virtual gift cards mirrors the current corporate gift card process for Charming Shoppes where partners can visit a secure ordering portal via a unique username and password that allows them to submit and confirm bulk gift card orders. For more information about Charming Shoppes and its brands, visit @@http://www.charmingshoppes.com/

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TravelAwardsOnline Unveils Incentive Cruise Card

TravelAwardsOnline recently announced an individual incentive cruise card. The card allows redemption for incentive cruise awards that are currently available from large-ship cruise lines such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and NCL. In addition, award redemptions will now also be available for small and mid-size vessels offering luxury, adventure and non-traditional cruise experiences. "This card represents a unique individual travel awards opportunity within the cruise industry," says Phil Duyff, Founder and CEO of TravelAwardsOnline. "The TravelAwardsOnline Cruise Card significantly increases the redemption options for cruise awards available to the individual incentive travel market." The TravelAwardsOnline Cruise Card is a dual-tender travel award debit card designed specifically for incentive and recognition cruise awards. Each Cruise Card carries a unique 19-digit redemption number that reflects the dollar value that is associated with it. The value on the TravelAwardsOnline Cruise Card is completely open-ended – and dollar amount may be associated with the card's redemption number, making it idead for tiered incentive programs or for recognizing ad hoc individual performance or service. For more information, go to @@http://www.travelawardsonline.com/

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New Gift Card Regs Won't Become Effective Until January

Incentive magazine reports that gift card issuers have been given a slight reprieve from the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act that required implementation of new rules and regulations on cards as of August 22, 2010. The U.S. Congress passed H.R. 5502, the ECO-Gift CARD Act, which extends that deadline to January 31, 2011. According to a statement from the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA), "Passage of the extension helps avoid the needless destruction of over one hundred million plastic cards and ensures consumer access to these popular gifts during the busy holiday shopping season." The ECO-Gift CARD Act allows the industry to sell existing gift cards, gift certificates, store gift cards and general-use prepaid cards produced prior to April 1, 2010, provided businesses comply with the new rules regarding five-year expiration of funds, conspicuous disclosures and fees.

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Insights from ESM Rewards & Recognition e-News

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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In the Next Issue of Engagement Strategies Magazine

The September/October issue of Engagement Strategies Magazine will be out soon! Here's a look at what you'll find inside:

Is Engagement Your Silver Bullet?

William Schiemann, CEO of Metrus Group, notes that many firms exhibit some decline in employee engagement – and it costs them dearly. Research demonstrates that when engagement plummets, customer service, quality and productivity also drop, while costs and employee turnover rise. A recent cross-industry study conducted by Metrus Group found performance differences of nearly 10% between organizations where employee engagement was high and those with low-engagement operations. Many employers thought that with unemployment hovering at 10%, people would be delighted just to have a paycheck. And they were correct – up to a point. Many employees are delighted to have a paycheck, but it doesn't mean they're satisfied, committed or even engaged with the organization. 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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Can CSR Clear Up the Industry's Image Problem?

Caught up in the backlash against the major corporations whose questionable business practices helped precipitate the current economic crisis, the image of meetings and incentive trips in the general media has largely been one of excess and irresponsibility – right up there with exorbitant bonuses, private jets and company limos on the list of things people think of when they hear the words "corporate greed." So how does the industry fight that perception? Many ideas have been proposed, but one seems to offer more promise than the others – find ways to "humanize" meetings and incentives, make them less about money and excess and more about people and service. The recent rise of Corporate Social Responsibility offers that opportunity...

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GAP Focuses Resources on Employees with High Potential

For GAP Inc. and its stores, engagement is part of the definition of a high-performing employee. "We think of a high-performing employee as one who is very engaged," notes Marko Satarain, the company's Director of Talent Management. "If they're engaged they'll produce more and stay longer. So there's a business imperative as to why we would want to hire and retain a high-performing or highly engaged employee. If an employee is engaged, we know their productivity levels will be higher than the norm, they'll stay with us longer and it will actually influence and inspire their contemporaries or counterparts to perform better as well." 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." For a copy of the report, click here

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About Selling Communications Inc.

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