Mission Group’s promotions and partnerships agency, Mongoose Promotions, today announced that they will rebrand to become SPARK Marketing Services Limited (SPARK).

Explaining the change SPARK CEO David Pearson said “ Since the business began in 2016 we’ve worked with brands and agencies large and small to create fantastic work from promotions to partnerships and from B2B representation to benefits, rewards and beyond. “

“ Given the breadth of the services we offer, Mongoose “Promotions” just doesn’t do our capabilities justice and so it was time for a change.  We have a broad offering for our clients and a new name gives us a chance to better reflect that.”

“ We’ve always prided ourselves on finding the right solution to influence the behaviour of both consumers and employees alike and we’re excited to announce a new strategic partnership with our friends at Innovationbubble.”

“ As a team of commercial psychologists, Innovationbubble are uniquely positioned to help us to understand the 80% of the decision-making process which is unconscious ensuring that we can create campaigns that will really impact behaviour.

Founded in 2016 Mongoose Promotions have worked on high profile promotions across Europe for the likes of Mars, Lidl, Britvic and AirWick.  They also hold the B2B representation contracts for multiple cinema chains and operate the market leading cinema benefit platform The Cinema Society which is unaffected by the rebrand.

The post Mongoose Promotions Becomes SPARK appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

The IPM, the UK’s trade body for promotional marketing and brand activation, and new business consultancy Ingenuity today announced the launch of IPM Agency Referrals: Powered by Ingenuity, bringing agency recommendations to the IPM’s member base for the first time.

The new service will give IPM members access to exclusive brand owner briefs that fall within their discipline expertise. Ingenuity will be managing the service to help create the right brand and agency/supplier partnerships that support viable growth for everyone. The IPM will manage the ‘agencies looking for service/supplier agencies’ aspect of the service.

The launch of IPM Agency Referrals: Powered by Ingenuity is part of a wider strategic shift for the IPM as it strives to deliver an even more comprehensive membership package, going above and beyond to help members grow their businesses, and identifying and partnering with key industry players is a key part of this. As the sector leader, Ingenuity is well-placed to support new business and networking for the IPM’s members.

From today, brands will be able to reach out to the IPM Agency Referrals: Powered by Ingenuity team to discuss their challenges or brief and start the journey to finding the ideal partner. It’s free for brands to use, and agencies only pay a finder’s fee if they end up working together.

Paul Cope, Managing Director at the IPM, said: “The IPM prides itself in celebrating the best agencies, service agencies and work in the promotional marketing and brand activation space. We want to help our members grow their business and give brands access to the wealth of expertise and talent that we know they offer. Ingenuity is the perfect partner to help facilitate this.”

Dario Pagani, Head of Brand at Ingenuity, added: “Ingenuity’s integrated new business offering allows us to have an unrivalled, bird’s-eye-view of the agency landscape – we believe that brands should have this information at their fingertips. Our partnership with the IPM strongly supports this. We have a long-standing relationship with them and we’re really looking forward to moving quickly and getting great results for their members.”

This service can be accessed by visiting the IPM website here.

The post The IPM and Ingenuity partner to launch IPM Agency Referrals: Powered by Ingenuity appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Richard Barrett, Managing Director at Initials tell us why companies should open up the conversation of pricing, and how businesses should look at pricing strategically to benefit themselves and their clients.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – pricing. Everyone is thinking about it, but we’re all too polite, or nervous, to bring it up directly. There shouldn’t be any negative connotations to this conversation, it isn’t about agencies being creative with how they make money and far from being personal it’s simply a central pillar of any business relationship. It’s about us all understanding the value of our offering and conveying its importance to clients in an appropriate way and that means being open and brave without becoming belligerent.

This relates to client’s needs as much as our own. They (understandably) want value and results that are exponential to the price they’ve paid. It’s up to us to meet that need. So, charging for outcomes and outputs rather than service inputs benefits everyone – making things more economical through efficiencies and streamlining – but all that necessitates a move from commodity to value or outcome-based pricing.

First step – think about what you offer, then think about what you’re charging and consider if it’s appealing to your client. Identify the value of your offer (this must be tailored to the needs of your client and is bespoke to every brief), then commercialise it. One obvious example, we all need to move away from charging for things like amends. Those aren’t the things that matter to clients. There is a missed opportunity here to highlight what clients really care about – strategy, concept, evaluation and learnings – and make everything clearer for everyone in the process.

With margins shrinking, agencies need to focus on tailored solutions for individual clients and projects, old fashioned one-size-fits all approaches are margin killers. It’s the areas clients see as valuable that we should all be focusing on and over delivering in, but current models don’t necessarily reflect that need, or encourage that type of behaviour. If you tried to answer every marketing brief with the same solution you wouldn’t get far, the same can be said for pricing but by applying a little thought mutually beneficial solutions can be found.

Where does the role of pricing start? The normal paradigm is brief leads to scope leads to pricing. Agencies need to address value up front. Rather than project fee tunnel vision we should start by looking at the business problem we’re being asked to solve. Then price accordingly. We focus on the time it takes to do something, but what about the years of experience that are being utilised, especially when speed to market is so important these days? Distribution of the idea is the element with the least value, so why do we all continue to be so hung up on it?

The simple answer is that the more challenging the market conditions, the less inclined people are to have difficult conversations. We need to find a pragmatic way around this reluctance.

Retained relationships, ones that constitute ongoing partnerships focused on consultancy as much as execution, are increasingly what brands are looking for, and agencies love that type of relationship too. Essentially, we’re all moving in this direction, but traditional pricing structures are failing to keep up with the pace of change. For those that have been exposed to The Gap Partnership’s TCSN (The Complete Skilled Negotiator) course you’ll know the difference between a bartering/hard bargaining strategy and one that stimulates partnerships and relationship building and how pricing structures play a different role in both.

Old school marketing campaigns are becoming increasingly irrelevant. Channels should be used for ongoing conversations between brands and their audiences, it’s not about turning things on and off like we used to. Ongoing loyalty and communication with audiences means new marketing models, and these new models need new pricing structures to support them.

A couple of years ago I saw Tim Williams from the Ignition Group give an inspiring presentation on the future of agencies – exploring why and how we should all be more commercial. Pricing is just one of the many issues he touched on, but it’s a cornerstone element that will help facilitate long-term solutions to the changes we’re all experiencing.

We spend countless hours brainstorming ideas, and no time looking at pricing strategically. It’s just based on team and fee, nothing more. That’s madness. Rather than worrying about mark-ups we should focus on understanding our value, applying that value throughout the year and billing accordingly. That’s a fundamental shift, and it’s long overdue.

You don’t have to push the needle very far to make a crucial difference, and all kinds of game-changing things might result from that bravery – from putting quality over quantity to investing in the things that matter, from tech to flexible working initiatives. Those that take steps to change it – to the benefit of both themselves and their clients – will win out in the end.

For more information on how Initials can help your business, please contact Abby Hartley at aha@initials.co.uk 

The post Pricing – how time is no longer the essence appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Vue Entertainment has appointed ELLO Media, a marketing solutions company for UK businesses, to inject new life into its ‘Movie Money’ and ‘Vue Extra’ products within the corporate sector.

ELLO Media was awarded the tender following a competitive pitch delivering a vision for increasing revenue opportunities and raising brand awareness through its proprietary technology.

With 90 state-of-the-art venues across the UK and Ireland that are home to more than 850 screens, Vue is a leader in the premium entertainment cinema sector, and hopes to use ELLO Media’s expertise to create bespoke loyalty propositions to help drive ticket sales.

Michael Kalli, ELLO Media’s Managing Director, commented: “With an extensive rolodex of existing partnerships in Employee Benefits and B2B loyalty and reward programmes, ELLO Media will drive revenue and new areas of growth for Vue Entertainment.

“We have a number of innovative products and solutions in the pipeline, and look forward to delivering new, dynamic and market-leading services for Vue throughout the duration of our partnership.”

Shivali Ramanandi, Media and Partnerships Manager at Vue, said: “Vue has ambitious growth plans in the coming years and wanted a partner with a proactive sales and marketing team to help raise profile in the corporate sector and reach new customers.

“We knew that ELLO Media’s heritage in B2B and consumer partnerships would deliver commercial results for us and we’re excited to see what we can achieve together.”

The post Vue Entertainment appoints ELLO Media to re-energise corporate products appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Symington’s has chosen Brass following a competitive pitch to create its biggest ever promotional marketing and shopper campaign for its Naked Noodle brand.

Naked Noodle is the UK’s No.2 snack pot brand and the fastest growing authentic brand in category. The new campaign will seek to attract even more new consumers by driving awareness and household penetration with an innovative promotion that appeals to those with a taste for adventure.

Mike Benton, Head of Snacking at Symington’s said “These are really exciting times for the Naked Noodle brand as we look to continue to build on the rapid growth we’ve seen so far.  Brass presented a compelling promotional campaign and are the ideal choice for agency partner, offering a perfect blend of creativity and award winning experience.”

Paul McGann, Managing Partner at Brass added: “We’ve long admired the stylish Naked Noodle brand and we’re confident our 2019 campaign will have huge appeal. It is rare chance to create a contemporary promotion with stand out and lots of added value.  I’m sure it will fly off the shelves.”

The post Brass wins new campaign for Symington’s appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Marketing distribution specialist mda has been acquired by European logistics business Staci for an undisclosed sum. Staci says the acquisition creates the first pan-European marketing logistics business for brands and retailers.

Creating, storing, distributing and activating point of sale and marketing materials for the world’s biggest brands including Heineken, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Diageo and Mercedes-Benz, mda, which recently celebrated 30 years of business, becomes part of a £250m Europe-wide fulfilment group with operations across France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, BeNeLux and now the UK.

Wayne Chapman, mda Managing Director, says: “This is genuinely fantastic news for our clients and teams and we’re extremely excited about the years ahead. We’ve operated from the UK for 30 years, but in the last 24 months we’ve seen clients’ desire to operate facilities in multiple European territories under a single contract significantly increase.”

Mda, which currently has turnover of £5m a year, has 350 employees at five fulfilment centres across the UK.

Staci is the European leader in the B2B retail logistics segment for a large group of networks: retail, GMS and GSS, oil companies, agribusiness, hotel and restaurant chains, banks, insurance companies, operators telephone companies, car manufacturers, the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry and the public sector.

Prior to the mda acquisition, Staci had 35 sites in Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands with a workforce of 1,550 employees.

The post Fulfilment house mda acquired by European logistics specialist Staci appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Ovation Incentives, the London-based technology-focused performance improvement agency, has signed a strategic marketing alliance with GC Incentive, a leading US incentives and rewards company based in Omaha, Nebraska.  The agreement will enable customers of both companies to benefit from the combined technology, reward and motivation solutions offered by these industry-leading innovators.

The move is designed to take advantage of major trends facing the incentives and recognition industry.  With increasing numbers of US companies demanding global reward and recognition solutions and European companies seeking comprehensive US reward coverage, the alliance brings together these recognised market specialist firms to deliver a single-source solution.

The sharing of knowledge, technology and relationships between the firms brings a combined 36 years of customer experience to the marketplace, having successfully served customers in over 100 countries.  This strength of heritage will be evident as the companies begin to market their combined solutions in the coming months.

Jonathan Grey said the alliance with GC Incentives will extend the reach of Ovation Incentives, which he founded in 2001: “This alliance is a very natural fit for Ovation.  In GC Incentives we see a company that shares the same values of innovation and customer success that we endeavour to follow ourselves.  The business methodology behind our technology and product offerings are very similar, and I’m sure that our customers will see this alliance, and the strong connections that it brings, as a win-win for all.”

For GC Incentives, the opportunity represented by the alliance with Ovation Incentives is one that CEO Rick Buer said will provide strategic benefits to customers.

“We already know how important having a global footprint is to those who look to the incentives industry for leadership,” said Buer. “Working with Ovation Incentives is one more step forward in delivering that global perspective in our business.”

The alliance enables GC Incentives to market Ovation’s Encore platform for global employee recognition solutions, as well as their Universal Voucher System for global reward solutions. GC Incentives will make its GiftPass reward fulfilment technology available for use in the U.S.

As part of the alliance, Ovation Incentives’ Universal Voucher technology will be further developed to meet various client needs for both companies, an example of which would be initiatives to promote corporate wellness programs and sales incentive solutions.

Both companies have agreed to align their sales and marketing tools and assets for their mutual benefit.

The post Ovation Incentives and GC Incentives announce strategic partnership appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

When it comes to buying home and kitchen appliances, British consumers admit that the right reward is just as important to them as quality of product, according to new research.

The independent study of 2,000 British adults, commissioned by 360 Insights, a global leader in ‘Software as a Service’ platforms for marketers, found that 17% of consumers said their purchase decision was driven by a promotion, the same amount that identified product quality as the reason for their purchase.

The only factor deemed more important to consumers was product price, with 23% of respondents pinpointing cost as the main factor. The report also found that the internet is the most common place for consumers to find out about promotions and incentive programmes attached to home and kitchen appliances. 55% of respondents said that they heard about promotions online, as oppose to only 29% that had discovered them instore.

John Bird, UK General Manager at 360insights, says: “This research shows that rewards programmes are at the forefront of a consumer’s mind when purchasing home and kitchen appliances. With customers willing to substitute product quality for a reward, brands not offering an incentive programme run a serious risk of losing customers to rival brands that do.”

Bird adds: “This is worrying for brands that are spending considerable budget getting a customer to the point of purchase, just for that customer to switch to a competitor offering a promotion or reward. The brand is, effectively, spending money in creating demand that a rival company ends up benefiting from.”

360 Insights argues that with UK consumers’ main consideration being price, then promotions, a good price point in the market combined with a well-thought-out reward programme really will influence the buying decision of the customer.

360 Insights is a global Cloud-based provider of channel management software, incentive and promotional analytics and insights. UK clients include Bosch, Siemens, Neff, Stoves, Belling, Zanussi, Electrolux and Dimplex.

The post Promotions as important as quality for UK consumers buying white goods, research says appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Andrew Rae of incentives, rewards and prize management company The Black Tomato Agency argues for the value of rolling out the red carpet to attract and retain key customers.

There are relatively few great mysteries left unsolved in the world today. We know how the pyramids were built, we’re pretty sure that the Loch Ness Monster doesn’t want to be found and we are certain that the retention of clients is paramount to business success.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the FMCG sector, where the sheer volume of available options means that brands have to do their utmost to achieve two crucially important goals: the first is to immediately, at the point of purchase, distinguish themselves from their competitors. The second is to do what you can, at all costs, to foster brand loyalty. Account teams across the land are constantly set the challenge of turning a consumer into a fan.

In the incentive and rewards industry, we are regularly asked the same two questions: “what can we do to retain our customers?” and “how can we stand out from the crowd?”

The second question is relatively simple for us to answer; the former is more of a complex beast. Does brand loyalty still play a part in your customer’s purchasing decision? Are customers too cynical and time-poor to be swayed by incentives?

Reward to Retain

The conventional offers or rewards that are given to new customers are in general fairly similar and, dare we say it, not particularly engaging. The desire to keep on directing the customer back to the product with a voucher or money-off coupon is almost too alluring to move away from.  And in the right space, it is the perfect incentive.

But the question remains, if everyone is employing the same tactic, are you offering your customer the right incentive to choose and stay with you?

If you are confident that your product is the best around (which I’m sure you are, and I agree!), then make sure that confidence comes through in the sales funnel and reward the loyal with unique and remarkable experiences instead.

The sheer fact that your product offers the chance to win a tailored and unique experience is enough to automatically give you shelf appeal and set you apart from the crowd.

We recently handled prize creation and prize management for a client who was launching a product with a ‘Fire and Ice’ theme and wanted to create an experience intrinsically linked to the campaign messaging.

The objectives were, firstly, to set them apart from the crowd and, secondly, to reward their existing, loyal customers.

We created an experience where the winner was flown to Iceland to stay in the ION Adventure Hotel, and rode in a private helicopter over a live volcano before transferring by Super Jeep to another (dormant this time) volcano where a bespoke private dinner was laid out – within the magma chamber…

The effect was immediate and the impact tangible. By engaging with their customers in such a unique and remarkable way, their loyalty was rewarded and their custom retained.

However, sometimes the old methods are just as important – which is why we took the step of leaving a hamper of branded goodies in the guests’ room as a welcome gift. With a personal message included, it reaffirmed the brand message and reminded them of why they were there in a unique, personal and engaging way.

This method of rewarding or engaging customers by offering the chance to win experiences can be seen in a variety of different industries, not just FMCG.

Take Harley Davidson for example; they are currently offering potential customers the chance to win ‘The Tour of a Lifetime’ if they take a test drive. Now, more than ever, brands are seeing the benefit of experiences as incentives for customer acquisition and retention.

Creating a VIP Community

Moving on from the world of rewarding the individual, there is an increasing interest in the value of VIP community events and the opportunity for an elite few to share an experience with others in a similarly prestigious position.

In the same way that a private members club creates a sense of intrigue that sparks interest in those on the outside and pride from those within, a private VIP member’s community in the FMCG market can have an incredible impact on loyalty.

Many luxury brands have already taken this approach to rewarding VIP customers including Bentley, Rolls Royce and Johnnie Walker. They are increasingly using group experiences rather than more traditional gifting initiatives.

An event offers a brand an incredible opportunity to amplify its values and core message through creative and well-curated experiences helping the members identify with the lifestyle association of the brand.  What’s more, a reward that is shared by a community brings into play a unique dynamic that focuses on the human need to share experiences with others and a sense of pride in being recognised as one of an elite group by their peers.

Through effective pre- and post-event, as well as on-site, communications, the value of any event can have far wider reach and offers an incredible opportunity to create a legacy and drive significant longevity for each experience, thereby maximising Return on Investment.

Collateral such as images, videos and sound bites from these events can be repurposed to give those aspiring to be in the VIP club a glimpse into this exclusive world (and thereby encourage them to work towards this).

The combined budget of a group event can allow for otherwise unachievable experiences to be accessed and created.  The buying power of pooled reward budgets can often enable a group to negotiate the very best deals and open doors otherwise closed to the general public.

For a VIP group event, the challenge is always to create a ‘money-can’t-buy’ experience that is quite literally a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity.  In recent years, we have organised everything from a complete buyout of Richard Branson’s Necker Island for a VIP group to camping in Alaska in search of bears and a supercar rally through the UAE.

So whether you are looking for a prize promotion to influence the purchasing decision at the point of sale, or thinking of engaging with a community of loyal brand advocates, always think of how you can Reward to Retain.

Andrew Rae is Head of Promotional Marketing at The Black Tomato Agency, which designs and manages award-winning experiences that engage with customers.

The post Prize Management: Reward to Retain appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Promotional risk management consultancy Umbrella has appointed Nicola Christie as its new Client Services Director.

Christie joins Umbrella from McCormick, the global leader in herbs and spices, where she worked across Brand Management, Category Management and Shopper Marketing for Schwartz.

Beth Johnson, Umbrella’s Founder, says: “Nicola’s skills and experience make her a perfect fit for Umbrella. Not only will she have first-hand experience of the hurdles our clients face, but her marketing expertise will really help steer their promotional campaigns in the right direction.”

Johnson adds: “Data analytics is a crucial part of our business and Nicola will really be able to add value in this area too, along with her understanding of the grocery environment, having worked with Tesco, Asda, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and other retailers such as Toys’R’Us.”

Christie comments: “It’s great working across such varied briefs and brands. Umbrella, as a consultancy, are all about challenging the brief, so I’m pleased to be involved in a continuous flow of brainstorm sessions and creative proposals.”

The post ‘Spice girl’ joins Umbrella as Client Services Director appeared first on IPM Bitesize.