Former Managing Director of specialist experiential and staffing agency Blackjack Promotions, Sally Alington, has launched a new global consultancy, Ethos Farm, which aims to help companies transform their approach to the customer experience.

“Business leaders across the globe undervalue service. Yet it can deliver real differentiation in an increasingly commoditised world,” said Sally Alington, Founder and CEO, Ethos Farm. “Companies talk about having a customer-facing workforce but what’s actually needed is staff who fully understand the corporate values and business objectives. Only then can they deliver exceptional service levels that meet both customer and company needs.”

The idea behind the Ethos Farm name is about positively transforming attitudes and corporate cultures, supporting the development of a successful company ethos in which workforces become advocates of the company.

“We help organisations to do this by combining best practice in employee learning and training with the latest communications technologies to transform workforces into brand custodians,” Alington explained.

Alington has brought together a team of globally-recognised experts with in-depth understanding of the latest management practice and training theories, coupled with years of real-world experience at rolling out service improvement programmes for some of the world’s best-known companies, brands and organisations, including Heathrow and Dubai Airport, the BBC and Westfield, to name a few.

She says that at Ethos Farm’s heart is a unique ‘Customer Service Architecture and Engineering’ concept.

Architecture refers to the company’s Consultancy team, headed by Alington, which helps companies develop a blueprint for customer service to align workforces with their values and aspirations.

Engineering relates to the Learning Development and Technology teams, led by Josie Barton and Mat Garner respectively. These provide the building blocks to make the new service blueprint a reality and transform the customer experience.

Alington is a former Director of Retail and Experiential Services at OmniServ and Managing Director of staffing solutions and experiential marketing agency Blackjack Promotions. She has a deep knowledge of designing and implementing customer services solutions and brand ambassador training.

Josie Barton is former Head of Operations, Finance and Planning at the BBC. From building competency frameworks for British Airways to playing a key role in relocating 2,000 BBC staff to BBC Media City in Salford, Barton has 25 years’ experience of people and corporate development, including designing and managing apprenticeship strategies. She also helped set up the BBC’s first ever joint venture outside of the UK – the Media City in Abu Dhabi.

Mat Garner is former Operations and Customer Services Director of a 2,000-strong operation at Heathrow, ex-Head of Commercial for Manchester Airport Group and Passenger Services Director at Stansted Airport, and is highly experienced at designing and developing technology solutions that are built with the end-user in mind.

Ethos Farm Learning and Development is designed to inspire the highest levels of performance from teams using a range of next-generation training tools and techniques. These include specially developed ‘Performance Rooms’, where the Ethos Farm team can deliver immersive training experiences.

The latest state-of-the-art technology will play a vital role in supporting the efficient and effective delivery of Ethos Farm’s customer service design and development concepts. This includes both bespoke and ‘templated’ solutions to drive enhanced service levels and colleague engagement from frontline workforces, as well as providing data analysis to drive insights into staff behaviours and avoid service problems.

“Using a range of tools, we will guide clients and their teams to develop the insights and approaches that will ensure they stay close to their customers and are able to adapt and thrive in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world,” adds Alington. “Our role is simply to help clients find the unique formula that will inspire the highest levels of performance from their people.”

The fourth member of Ethos Farm’s founding team is Lauren Walsh, who heads up the company’s operation in the Americas, based out of New York. Walsh is former Global Head of Client Services at Blackjack Promotions, and was previously Travel Retail Regional Manager, L’Oréal Luxe UK for YSL and Biotherm.

The new venture has already secured backing from global facilities solutions provider ABM, with Andy Donnell, Group Managing Director of ABM UK, joining the company’s Board of Directors. ABM is the current parent company of Blackjack.

For UK clients, Ethos Farm is able to advise companies on the complexities of the new Apprenticeship Levy and will soon be accredited as an approved Apprentice Training Provider.

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How do you get the maximum amount of impact from an incentive program, asks Dan Kelly of Corporate Rewards.

Employee incentives are a great way to drive the performance of a team – offering a goal to work towards and rewards for staff can really help to drive continuing success. But there are some simple steps that employers should take to help maximise the impact of any incentive scheme.

Build Hype

Before the incentive program even starts, you should be trying to build interest among your team. Don’t just spring it on them as a surprise – let them know in advance what’s going on and why. That way, the incentive won’t seem like it’s just suddenly being dropped on them.

The idea is you build anticipation in order to make sure staff are enthusiastic going into the incentive, which is likely to make them more interested in participating and more motivated to work towards a goal.

This can really help to start your incentive off on the right foot, with staff ready and raring to go.

Identify opportunities to train

The incentive shouldn’t just drive staff towards a goal. It should also give you as the employer an opportunity to identify areas of weakness, and identify what steps you need to help train staff so they can improve their performance which, in the long run, benefits your business.

You might identify a problem throughout your team that needs to be addressed with a group training session; or you might discover smaller individual issues which can be remedied with one to one training or mentoring, such as refining sales technique, or reiterating how to use specific systems and processes within your business.

Reward throughout the incentive

While it’s a good idea to have a final grand prize, you should also be offering smaller rewards to staff on a daily or weekly level. This maintains excitement and interest, and also allows the reward element to be spread more widely across your employees. Acknowledging performance throughout the lifespan of an incentive can help to maintain momentum and motivation.

So consider offering rewards for the person with the highest sales during a shift, or the person who has made the most progress towards the incentive that week. The reward doesn’t need to be something big – a voucher or a small reward can serve as acknowledgement that the hard work being done.

Recognise High Performance

While you should be offering a range of incentives so that as many people can participate as possible, there should be a final ‘star prize’ incentive, and the person who gets it should be the staff member who has had the most consistent levels of high performance.

Their reward needs to be something substantial to highlight that hard work and effort are rewarded. This is often something major like a trip, or access to a major event. The aim is to provide a prize that people will wish they’d won, giving an extra level of motivation going into your next incentive program.

Maintain Momentum

Following the conclusion of your incentive scheme (assuming it’s not a rolling program), it is important to try and maintain the momentum and performance level it has created.

Continuing to recognise performance and running small incentives can help to do this. The key should be to begin to build hype and encourage staff to work towards fun, attainable goals. This helps to create much stronger foundations for future incentives to be successful.

Incentives can be a hugely rewarding undertaking, not just for your staff but also for your business in terms of increased sales, increased performance, higher morale and reduced staff turnover.

Dan Kelly is a founding partner and Sales and Marketing Director of Corporate Rewards, which offers a range of services for employers looking to run incentive and motivation programs for employees and channel staff, working with some of the world’s largest companies such as Microsoft and Dell in his position as Sales and Marketing Director.

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Chinese beer brand Tsingtao is sponsoring Ping Pong Fight Club, an inter-company ping pong tournament, and has launched a campaign to engage businesses across the UK encouraging employees to roll their sleeves up and rise to the challenge this summer.

Hosted in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Glasgow, businesses can register to take part in a lively night of teambuilding and networking, with competitive ping pong and beer included.

The events are being held at secret locations in each city and businesses can register at www.pingpongfightclub.co.uk, with full details revealed to companies when they sign up.

Not open to the general public, Ping Pong Fight Club mimics the underground feel of Fight Club the movie with an eight-table ‘fighting arena’.

Only a few select companies will be able to take part at each event, playing to become the ultimate Ping Pong Fight Club champion, who will then go on to compete in an overall UK final against winners from the other cities.

James Wright, for Tsingtao Beer, says: “Tsingtao Beer is excited to partner with Ping Pong Fight Club, because it’s a world away from the usual team building, networking and corporate nights out. Everyone can have a go at table tennis and we want to encourage all types of businesses, from start-ups to well established industry leaders, to get involved. This event always gets such a great response from staff – from the ultra-competitive to the non-sporty types. Some companies invite their competitors too, as it’s the perfect way to throw down the gauntlet in a fun and social way.”

The next Ping Pong Fight Club event will be in Manchester on July 13. Proceeds from the night will be donated to the MEN’s ‘We Stand Together’ fundraiser supporting the families of those killed and injured in the Manchester Arena attack.

Guests will receive complimentary drinks on arrival – including Tsingtao Beer – as well as company-branded T-shirts and wristbands, keyrings, professional pictures and videos for companies to promote their involvement after the event. There are also prizes on offer, not just for the winning team, but also via an online charity raffle, which last year included brand new professional table tennis tables, camera drones and GoPros. Around the ping pong action, friendly ‘grudge’ matches and robot challenges will take place in surrounding social zones. Face painters will be on hand to draw company logos and tribal colours, while DJs and live MCs will hype up the guests for the battles ahead as they eat food and drink Tsingtao Beer.

Tsingtao Beer is imported by Halewood Wines & Spirits, the UK’s largest independent alcoholic drinks manufacturer and distributor. Family owned and based in Merseyside, Halewood has a comprehensive product range including award-winning Whitley Neill Gin, J.J. Whitley Gin and Vodka, Liverpool Gins and Vodka, Marylebone Gin, Bajan Rum Sixty Six, Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer, The Pogues Irish Whiskey, and Red Square Vodka.

Tsingtao Beer (pronounced Ching Dow) is brewed by the Tsingtao brewery in Qingdao, China, one of China’s leading brewers, founded in 1903 by German settlers. The Tsingtao brand is sold in more than 50 countries worldwide and accounts for more than 50% of China’s total beer exports. It is the number-one branded consumer product exported from China and the seconnd biggest beer brand in the world by volume.

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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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The entry deadline for the Institute of Promotional Marketing Awards 2017 is in less than three weeks on February 28^th – and agencies and brand owners who want to enter their promotional campaigns from 2016 are being encouraged to get their submissions together now.

The IPM Awards 2017 Call for Entries booklet plus top tips on how to write entries and examples of ‘best-in-class’ award-winning campaigns can be found in the awards section of the IPM website.

Richard Pink, the IPM’s Head of Awards, Judging & Entries, says: “Our judges are looking to reward campaigns that stood out in an incredibly competitive market during 2016, that worked hard for the brand and that delivered exceptional results. Tell us your stories and let us know why you deserve to win!”

The IPM is the industry body for promotional marketing, and its awards, which have been running for 40 years, have been created to showcase and champion the best work created in the previous year.

Any campaign which included a promotional element and which ran in the UK during 2016 is eligible for entry. Campaigns which ran outside the UK are also eligible, if they were created by a UK agency or for a UK-based brand or company.

To qualify, campaigns must have been running at some point during 2016; they can have started in 2015 and carried on into 2016, or they can have started in 2016 and run on into 2017. While the IPM would ideally like to see full results, Pink acknowledges that that may not be possible for campaigns which continued into 2017 (or which are still going).

He says: “Obviously, we’d ideally like to see full results, but we realise that, particularly with campaigns which are still live in January and February, that isn’t always going to be possible. In cases like that, we’re encouraging people to enter and explain clearly why they can’t provide absolute results. The judges will understand.”

Further information and advice on this topic is available on Richard Pink’s LinkedIn page.

The IPM also has its own YouTube channel, which features videos from a number of this year’s judges providing their Top Tips on how to create the best possible award entry.

Brands and agencies do not have to be members of the IPM to enter, although IPM members get discounts on their entry fees.

The trophies will be presented at the IPM Awards 2017 Gala Dinner on June 7^th 2017 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

The headline sponsor for the IPM Awards 2017 is SODEXO and its subsidiaries Protravel, Filmology, Fotorama and Entice. Other partners include Promotional Handling Ltd, Sykes and i-movo.

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The entry deadline for the Institute of Promotional Marketing Awards 2017 is in just 40 days’ time – and agencies and brand owners who want to enter their promotional campaigns from 2016 are being encouraged to get their submissions together now.

The IPM Awards 2017 Call for Entries booklet plus top tips on how to write entries and examples of ‘best-in-class’ award-winning campaigns can be found in the awards section of the IPM website.

Richard Pink, the IPM’s Head of Awards, Judging & Entries, says: “It’s time for brands and agencies to submit their Awards entries and help us celebrate the amazing talent, the hard work and the promotional successes of 2016! As the industry body for promotional marketing, the IPM is here to proudly showcase and champion your work over the past year, and ensure you and your peers receive the industry-wide recognition you deserve.”

The IPM has just run an online Masterclass on crafting the perfect IPM Awards entry, hosted by Richard Pink, which attracted nearly 100 attendees from agency, service companies and brands.

One issue which the Masterclass highlighted was a concern over results from campaigns which started in 2016 but which continued on into 2017 and either finished close to the February 28^th entry deadline, or which will still be running after that.

Pink says: “Obviously, we’d ideally like to see full results, but we realise that, particularly with campaigns which are still live in January and February, that isn’t always going to be possible. In cases like that, we’re encouraging people to enter and explain clearly why they can’t provide absolute results. The judges will understand.”

Further information and advice on this topic is available on Richard Pink’s LinkedIn page.

The IPM also has its own YouTube channel, which features videos from a number of this year’s judges providing their Top Tips on how to create the best possible award entry.

Marketing campaigns which ran anywhere in the world are eligible for entry to the IPM Awards 2017, so long as they included a promotional element and they were created and run either by an agency based in the UK or on behalf of a brand based in the UK.

Brands and agencies do not have to be members of the IPM to enter, although IPM members get discounts on their entry fees.

The trophies will be presented at the IPM Awards 2017 Gala Dinner on June 7^th 2017 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

The headline sponsor for the IPM Awards 2017 is SODEXO and its subsidiaries Protravel, Filmology, Fotorama and Entice. Other partners include Promotional Handling Ltd, Sykes and i-movo.

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Price cuts are short term responses which can damage brand values, says Chris Baldwin of Sodexo. Instead, brands should build value with intelligent promotional activities. PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

With a fluctuating pound and ongoing political uncertainty, the pressure is on for UK brands who are facing potentially higher import and export costs to still offer customers value while protecting both their margins and their reputations.

Manufacturers who have already tried to compensate for the additional costs caused by the falling post-Brexit pound have faced criticism in the media and resistance from retailers happy to position themselves as the consumers’ champions. Tesco and Unilever’s row over Marmite and other iconic brands was put to bed at record speed but the issue itself looks set to run and run.

Cutting price is often seen as simple ‘quick-fix’ when trying to appear good value; but the problem with price cuts is that, unless they are part of a long term strategy aligned with the budget sector of the market, in the medium to long term, they damage a brand’s reputation and cheapen the identity as a whole. Put simply, the long-term consequence of price cuts is devaluing the brand.

Brands and manufacturers need to think instead of their long-term goals. A quick fix is very rarely the answer and will more likely create further problems down the line.

The price of loyalty

With a longer term strategy, such as a focus on loyalty, brands can instead start building up consumer engagement and retention. According to forbes.com, just a 5% increase in customer retention can boost a company’s profitability by a staggering 75%. This impressive statistic highlights just how important consumer loyalty is – and the huge value in repeat customers.

Experts say that it can be six to seven times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one, so the importance of loyalty is clear.

Risk and reputation

Savvy consumers will look always for value – but rarely at the expense of quality. Resorting to price cuts will only serve to cheapen a brand’s identity, creating the impression of poor quality. If a brand wants to be seen as still delivering quality products, and so drive customer interest, while still achieving margin targets, it would be far better to get clever about tapping into the consumer psyche.

Clever brands think of their objectives with every consumer campaign, whether the activity involves creating a buzz with coupons offering the opportunity to ‘try me free’ at launches, or driving repeat purchase and building loyalty with ‘Money Off Next Purchase’ offers or encouraging one-off purchases with well-aligned, inspiring prizes.

Manufacturers need to focus on what their brand associations are and offer something completely complementary to these. Something tangible like a prize or a getaway adds value to a product, balances risk and increases the opportunity to connect with the customer in further marketing and social media communications.

Sodexo’s Savvy Cynics report found that over a third of consumers interviewed were more likely to buy a product that was part of a promotional campaign, which clearly demonstrates that the potential impact of a well-planned campaign is massive.

Just the ticket

For clever brands who have researched and developed their strategy, focused in on their target audiences and settled on their key objectives, the trickiest part can be deciding which prize mechanism works best to excite and reward their customers – should marketers opt for adding value with physical prizes that have great product synergy or should they be exploring something a little more personal, like a tailor-made holiday experience?

Research suggests that the Millennial generation of consumers does find far more value in an experience than in a physical thing, with three in four of them saying they are willing to spend more on events and experiences than ever before.

Events and experiences doesn’t just mean winning exotic holidays, or dream trips to sporting events; cinema offers another tried and trusted option. Brands can partner with the latest blockbuster film via competitions offering tickets as prizes to create a real buzz around a product, while shrewd brands may also consider aligning with film in a more general sense, offering longer-term promotional activations giving people discounts on cinema tickets for example. Linking with individual films or with the cinema in general can be hugely attractive – over 70% of 16-24 year olds cite cost as a reason why they don’t visit the cinema as often as they would like.

Consumer cred: adding value

The key to keeping consumers on side is not offering them something for less, but rather something more. Price cuts and BOGOFs can only go so far before a product starts to lose value. They can also put customers off with confusing price points that seem to fluctuate throughout the year or, worse, make more consumers into promiscuous shoppers.

By keeping prices relatively stable but supporting brands with value-added promotions, marketers can maintain or even increase long term brand value and avoid cheapening brand image.

Added-value promotions also allow marketers to capitalise on a range of opportunities to raise the profile of their products, boost sales and be seen by consumers as offering something a bit extra. Clever promotional marketing campaigns can see help manufacturers align with the latest trends, whether in cinema, travel, music, sports or consumer goods while maintaining a healthy brand image.

Promotional marketing gives a brand the opportunity and environment to display its personality and drive engagement and conversation with their target shopper, or potential shopper, in a way that a BOGOF simply cannot.

Chris Baldwin is Director of Consumer Programs at Sodexo. The Sodexo family, which includes the Promorati brands Protravel, Filmology, Fotorama and Entice, is Headline Sponsor of The IPM Awards 2017.

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Loyalty and promotional travel expert Inspire has recruited Geanette Howard as a Business Development Manager, taking its headcount to 110.

Howard has 15 years’ experience in the voucher and rewards industry, having started her career at Whitbread before progressing to Boots and, most recently, SVM Global.

Keith Herman, managing director of Inspire, says: “Geanette’s appointment demonstrates our passion for providing companies with benefits and incentives that will make a true difference to their business. Having worked with such a wide variety of businesses, her experience is unrivalled and I’ve no doubt that she’ll be instrumental in our growth as we continue to not only meet our customers’ needs, but also exceed their expectations.”

Howard will focus on expanding the client base of Inspire, which now has operations in over 20 countries, through the provision of its flagship product, The Inspire Travel Card. 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.

In 2015, Inspire saw its turnover increase by 15% to £17.7 million, thanks to a number of successful campaigns with Nivea, Samsung and MasterCard. This year, the company is on track to achieve £20 million in revenue and has invested over £100,000 to revamp its services in order to offer a more streamlined customer journey and efficient usability.

The firm has also created the Inspire Travel Card for Charities and has been working for three years with Family Fund, a charity that provides grants for families raising disabled or seriously ill young people to take much-needed family breaks.

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Love2shop Business Services, the corporate division of Park Group plc, has acquired brand engagement specialists Fisher Moy International Limited in an all-cash deal for an undisclosed sum.

Chris Hartley, Director of Love2shop Business Services, says: “The synergy between the two businesses made this acquisition an easy decision all round. With our market-leading consumer reward technology combined with FMI’s strategic alliances with its client base, we can now offer an end-to-end engagement boosting service for any business that wants to improve its relationship with customers and employees.”

John Fisher, Managing Director, FMI Ltd., adds: “Love2shop is one of our most respected clients. They had previously asked us to devise an online engagement platform for their many corporate clients. After a few months, it became apparent that we could offer their clients a much broader engagement service than the provision of rewards alone, so a closer type of cooperation was discussed.”

FMI will remain based in Chilton, Buckinghamshire and will initially continue to operate under the existing brand to spearhead Love2shop’s engagement services expansion and act as a local base for clients in London and the Thames Valley.

Love2shop is the UK’s leading multi-retailer gift voucher and prepaid gift card, accepted at over 150 major retailers with more than 20,000 stores UK wide.  Love2shop schemes are tailored to individual customer needs, principally recognising and rewarding a range of consumer behaviors.  These include customer loyalty and acquisition, referral generation, market research and sales promotions, as well as staff motivation and reward.

Fisher Moy International Limited (FMI) is a strategic brand engagement consultancy with more than 30 years’ experience working with major blue-chip clients.

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Leading employee and customer engagement solutions company Grass Roots is being bought by Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc., a leading prepaid and payments global company based in California.

The acquisition will allow Grass Roots to offer new products and capabilities to its current clients, as well as take advantage of Blackhawk’s global network to broaden Grass Roots’ international reach.

Blackhawk plans to use the acquisition to extend its global footprint by offering global reward and incentive products to its clients through Grass Roots’ leading employee and customer engagement solutions. The deal also adds an important element to Blackhawk’s portfolio by allowing Blackhawk to tap into Grass Roots’ expertise in meetings and events management.

“We are really excited about the opportunities this partnership brings to Grass Roots,” said Richard Bandell, CEO of Grass Roots. “Joining Blackhawk opens up significant growth opportunities for Grass Roots, transforming us into a leading global business and allowing us to inspire more people worldwide. Together, the two companies will have increased scale and scope, and we will bring those benefits to our clients and partners.”

“The acquisition of Grass Roots complements the existing client portfolio of Blackhawk’s incentives business, and enhances solutions for customers requiring global reward and incentive platforms and products,” said Bill Tauscher, executive chairman of Blackhawk. “We will also offer new products and capabilities to Grass Roots’ clients.”

“The Grass Roots team has extensive industry experience and a proven track record of success in the consumer and employee engagement markets. We are thrilled to welcome them and over 2,000 managed service clients to the Blackhawk family,” added Talbott Roche, CEO and president of Blackhawk.

Grass Roots has been an affiliate of WPP for a number of years. It will now operate as a subsidiary of Blackhawk. Matthew Howe and Jonathan Kenny, co-managing directors of Blackhawk’s UK-based Europe operations, will lead the European operations of Grass Roots. Stewart Rigby, managing director, Blackhawk Asia Pacific, will lead the Asia-Pacific operations of Grass Roots.

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