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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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Jonathan Grey, Founder and CEO of Ovation Incentives, the technology-led global rewards and recognition specialist, has been named as the new President of the Incentive Marketing Association Europe.

Grey has been an IMA Europe Board member since the inception of the association eight years ago and succeeds Brian Dunne, Managing Director of Action Solutions, as President. The IMA Europe is part of a global IMA network of over 500 agencies and suppliers committed to promoting, creating, and managing the use of incentives and recognition programmes to improve business performance.

Since founding Ovation 15 years ago, Jonathan Grey has been an active participant in the business communities that seek to promote standards and foster relationships in the gift card and business incentive markets in the UK and Europe.

Grey says: “It is a tremendous honour to be appointed to the role of President of IMA Europe.  Under Brian Dunne’s leadership, IMA Europe has grown from strength to strength with members from the Atlantic coast to the Ural Mountains actively engaged in developing standards and driving results for all our clients and colleagues.”

He adds: “In the coming year, I hope to build upon the solid foundations that we have laid down for our industry and continue our traditions of bringing together great people from all over Europe to connect, learn and develop the next generation of incentive marketers.”

Brian Dunne comments: “I am delighted that Jonathan will be taking over the reins and I look forward to supporting him and the rest of the board in the role of Past President.” Dunne will also continue to serve on the IMA Global Board.

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For brands and services that sell through third-party channels, creating a strong and effective incentive program delivers real benefits, says Adam Whatling of incentive and loyalty experts Love2shop Business Services

Building a strong third party sales channel is essential to success in certain industries, including the telecoms, technology and automotive sectors. It is vital to ensure your product or service stands out from the crowd; but that is easier said than done when channel salespeople are bombarded with a variety of rewards and bonuses. In this highly competitive environment, aligning third party salespeople with your brand to promote your solution over those of your rivals is a challenge.

It is essential to first consider carefully the persona of individual, or groups of, salespeople. A person selling mobile phones in a retail store environment is likely to respond to different incentives to sell one product over another than a sales person who is part of an expert consultative team delivering IT services to other businesses.

Also don’t forget that salespeople in different industries may be able to help your brand in different ways. So, for example, salespeople in automotive dealerships are in a position to cross sell add-ons from service plans to finance packages. Incentivising these staff regularly and effectively to make appropriate add-on sales makes all the difference to the bottom line and transforms consumers into brand advocates.

Sales staff in the channel such as mobile phone shops or car dealerships expect rewards and recognition as part of their remuneration.  Depending on the type of business, they may be participating in a number of different incentive schemes and accessing more than one online rewards and recognition portal, typically building up points with a number of suppliers to redeem for rewards later on.

There are a number of techniques vendors can use to make sure that sales staff are accessing your incentives portal that will not only drive sales but also support desired behaviours. These might include cross-selling appropriate products and delivering levels of customer service that build loyalty, rather than making one-off sales or, in a worst-case scenario, mis-selling financial products.

Here are six top tips to improve the effectiveness of channel incentives:

• Segment channel sales staff just as you would the end user customer base. That way, it is possible to design rewards and recognition that meet the specific interests and motivations of individuals or groups of employees. Less experienced marketers commonly fall into the trap of focusing purely on the top performing sales people. In fact, incentivising middle tier sales staff to improve their performance delivers the greatest benefits. It is worth further segmenting the middle tier of sales staff – people at the top end might just be able to aspire to the performance and top rewards of the highest selling salespeople. Employees at the bottom end, and underperformers, need to see lower value rewards that they can aspire to and achieve if they are to improve. Highflyers who are hitting targets halfway through the year need a reason to continue to perform well – be ready to offer add-ons to the main incentive, such as a room upgrade within a holiday reward.
• Send regular tailored communications. Personalised push notifications are key to drive salespeople to your incentives portal. For example, let people know that this week they have earned 90 points and if they just manage to win 10 more there will be a reward for them on the portal.
• Make good use of management information. Gather actionable data – and act on it. Set KPIs and check regularly that they are being met. Are sales staff opening your emails or responding to your texts? Are staff in one dealership or region of the country less engaged with your programme than others? Offering frequent lower value tactical rewards to drive performance in response to this data can supplement more generous annual rewards.
• Don’t undervalue the motivational impact of kudos. The most effective rewards are not always the most expensive. In one dealership, top sales staff responded well to the incentive of not only a fancy holiday but also the kudos of sharing it with top management.
• Add bells and whistles. Set your online rewards and recognition portal apart from the competition with engaging add-ons. Consider encouraging sales staff to visit the portal to undertake rapid and relevant training modules or simple quizzes on your USPs – in return for points or rewards, of course. Gamify rewards and recognition, tapping into the ‘local ladder effect’ – the human desire to increase social standing relative to others – in a way that creates healthy competition between sales staff.
• Don’t rely on online alone – press the flesh. Supplement your online portal with regular face-to-face contact. This might include going out on roadshows to demonstrate products in depth to sales staff and being there in person for product launches. Follow-up on these face-to-face meetings with communications that drive sales staff once again to the online portal.

Engaging customer-facing sales teams that are bombarded with promotions is vital. At the same time, channel marketing goals need to be closely aligned with consumer marketing by rewarding channel staff for the sales behaviours that reflect the values the organisation promotes to consumers. Tailored and frequent rewards and recognition are key to transforming channel sales people into knowledgeable ambassadors for your product and service.

Adam Whatling is Head of Engagement and Development at Love2shop Business Services, the corporate division of Park Group plc, which delivers customer and employee engagement boosting programmes that utilise enticing rewards in recognition of consumer actions and workforce achievements. For further information visit https://www.love2shopbusiness.co.uk/customer/channel-incentives

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Creative agency Above+Beyond has chosen to celebrate the realities of Christmas with an initiative which focuses on the ‘true scents’ of the season and wishing marketers a ‘Smelly Christmas’.

The agency has chosen to counter the saccharine sweetness of much festive marketing that floods the senses in the run up to the 25^th, instead choosing to focus on the real smells of the season by sending its clients individually scented Christmas tree air fresheners emblazoned with captions such as ‘Dad Burnt The Turkey’, ‘Christmas Eve Gridlock’ and ‘Gran Passed Out By The Fire’.

Executive Creative Director David Billing explains: “We want to celebrate the little things that make Christmas so special – but not the magical fantasy version we see on TV. That version can make us all feel a bit inadequate. So we’ve captured the real Christmas, in scent form at least: each fragrance acting as a little reminder of the moments that make family festivities so wonderfully imperfect.”

There are a range of realities to celebrate, thanks to creatives Jo Lindmark and Sam Whigham, who add: “It’s been a year of uncomfortable truths. So why not go with the flow and embrace the real smells of Christmas. From a pretty long list we got to some core fragrances that will bring a blast of the wonderfully average British Christmas to our clients’ lucky nostrils.”

A limited number of Above+Beyond air fresheners are available to win via the agency’s Twitter competition. Go to @WeAreAbove to enter.

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Promotional and loyalty travel specialists Inspire has opened an office in Brazil following demand for travel-related sales promotions in South and Central America.

The company, which is headquartered in Bramhall, Cheshire, launched its Brazil operation at the end of 2016 with offices in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Inspire creates travel platforms and programmes for businesses looking to offer incentives for customers and employees, and will use its new base in Brazil to target the South American market with its solutions.

Peter Pantelides, Managing Director of Inspire, says: “We’re continually looking for business growth opportunities and identified Brazil as a key location to base our first operation in South America. We were aware of a high demand for travel-based sales promotions and already had strong contacts in the area, so we’ve pooled our knowledge with their outstanding relationships to form what we believe will be a strong offer to the market.”

Inspire, which has seen its turnover increase by 15% in 2015 to £17.7 million, expects the new arm of the business to generate in excess of £1 million worth of revenue within the first year.

Benjamin Ahrens, International Sales Director at Inspire, adds: “We have seen a huge interest and excitement from potential clients in the region already. It’s early days, as we are a ‘new product in town’; but, following market research, we are confident that our offering will be a huge success. We anticipate our ‘Free Flight Voucher’ campaigns to be of particular interest, as it’s a brand new concept in this part of the world which has received promising feedback during market research. Inspire has already delivered a number of similar campaigns for the likes of Samsung, Carrefour, Philips and Santander, which achieved exceptional results for our clients, so we’re excited to be able to offer these services to clients in South America for the first time.”

Inspire now has operations in over 20 countries, inclduing Germany, the UAE and Russia, and works with more than 250 global travel partners, including Expedia, Kuoni and Thomas Cook. Recent growth has been driven by the success of the company’s flagship product, The Inspire Travel Card (pictured). Launched in 2005, the Inspire Travel Card works as a physical or digital gift card which can be preloaded to any amount for recipients to use when booking travel through Inspire’s dedicated ABTA, IATA and ATOL licensed agency.

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Integrated agency BBD Perfect Storm is challenging people to keep DeFrosty the Snowman ‘alive’ by tweeting to power the freezer he resides in. BBD Perfect Storm will spread further goodwill by donating 10p to Evelina Children’s Hospital for every tweet.

DeFrosty, a real snowman complete with scarf and carrot nose, is on display in his very own freezer cabinet to prevent him from melting. The freezer is part of  a new interactive installation in the Old Street, London, based agency’s shop window.

The cabinet’s power is dependent on people tweeting using the hashtag #KeepDeFrostyAlive to stop DeFrosty melting away. Each tweet provides ten minutes of power to preserve DeFrosty’s smiling features.

The agency has also installed a camera to live-stream all the action from inside DeFrosty’s freezer and to capture the reactions of people as they walk past the eye-catching wintery window display.

DeFrosty will take over the @bbdperfectstorm Twitter and Instagram accounts until he melts away. He also has his own microsite, www.keepdefrostyalive.com, which displays the live stream, temperature information, and the power left in the freezer.

Danny Daley of BBD Perfect Storm says: “2016 has stolen enough from us already. We can’t let it take away the magic of Christmas too. Londoners don’t often experience the sheer joy of building a Christmas snowman so we’re building our very own to bring the festive feeling right to the heart of Old Street.”

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