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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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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Zeek, a website and app that lets consumers buy and sell unwanted gift cards, is launching a one-day pop-up shop offering consumers the chance to swap their unwanted Christmas gift cards for the equivalent amount in cash – or donate the equivalent amount to charity.

The ‘Cash or Kind’ pop-up will be open on Tuesday 10th January at the Westfield Stratford shopping centre. Shoppers will be offered the chance to exchange unwanted vouchers for cash to buy something they really want or to donate their gift cards or vouchers to charity.

Zeek has pledged to match any charity donations.

The pop-up will accept most gift cards, paper and digital vouchers, so long as they have a minimum value of £5 and up to a maximum of £100.

The pop-up will be open from 9.00am-4.00pm and has been launched on the back of research from Zeek that shows that the average British consumer receives £44 worth of unwanted gifts over Christmas, with around £300m potentially wasted nationwide.

The pop-up shop was conceived by Zeek’s PR agency, Tin Man Communications.

The Zeek app and site provide a marketplace for selling and buying gift vouchers, allowing consumers to exchange unwanted cards for cash and also to buy gift cards at discounted rates (on average, 10% off). The app is available on App Store and Google Play.

To list a card or voucher, users just scan them using their smart phone camera and post them to the platform. Zeek claims 94% of vouchers sell within 24 hours – Amazon vouchers have sold within five seconds.

Zeek was set up by co-founders Itay Erel, Daniel Zelkind and Ziv Isaiah in Israel. Since receiving initial funding from Uri Levine, one of the co-founders of map software company Waze (bought by Google for over $1bn), Blumberg Capital and QUALCOMM Ventures, it has successfully launched in the UK and now has over 100,000 users trading on the platform. Zeek has offices in Israel and London.

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Burger King is running a promotional campaign this Christmas where it will swap an unwanted present for a burger.

On Boxing Day (December 26th 2016), selected Burger King outlets will let customers bring in gifts of any value to exchange for one free burger. All presents received will be donated to a local charity.

The catch? The outlets participating in the promotion are one restaurant in Miami, Florida, one in London, UK, and an unspecified number in Brazil.

In London, the outlet involved is the Burger King restaurant in Leicester Square. Unwanted gifts must be unused and, a Burger King spokesperson says, accepted only at the discretion of employees at participating outlets. The first 500 qualifying gifts brought in to the Leicester Square outlet between 10.00am and 6.00pm on Boxing Day will be swapped for a flame-grilled Whopper sandwich.

People unable to make it to a participating restaurant with their unwanted gifts on December 26th can still participate in the promotion by posting a picture on social media of their questionable presents with the hashtag #WhopperExchange. A certain number will be rewarded with a gift card which they can redeem for a free Whopper at their local restaurant.

Renato Rossi, Chief Marketing Officer for Burger King UK, says: “At BURGER KING restaurants, we are always looking for ways to surprise our fans, no matter if they were good or naughty. The Whopper Exchange will offer our guests the chance to basically get a flame-grilled gift in exchange for an unwanted one. Because this holiday season, we want everyone to receive something they will love.”

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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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Bridgestone Tyres are offering Wickes Trade customers a £30 gift card with every two Bridgestone or Firestone tyres purchased.

As part of the promotion, customers will have the opportunity to enter into a Grand Prize draw, with one lucky winner chosen at random during the first week in October. The prize includes a bespoke Develop Your Business pack, a customised digital strategy complete with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) budget, designed to boost company growth and put their organisation ahead of the competition.

The recipient will also receive personalised overalls, work protection wear and graphics for their vehicle, branded in the logo of their choice.

Natalie Vescia, B2B Client Manager at Wickes for Business says: ‘‘I am delighted with the ongoing success of the Bridgestone Tyres promotion. Our two companies share the same values and commitment to quality, reflected in the ease with which we have worked together to develop their summer offer. I look forward to congratulating the winner of the Grand Prize draw, as well as developing new initiatives with Bridgestone in the future.’’

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Corporate gift card and voucher provider Love2shop Business Services has launched a new team dedicated to the delivery of comprehensive, account managed, customer and employee engagement programs.

The new team (see picture) will focus efforts in a number of areas, including the delivery and end-to-end management of reward programs that help clients to improve interactions with customers and employees.

Two new members of staff have been appointed. Adam Whatling, previously with Capital Incentives, Edenred and Simply Thank You, joins as Head of Engagement and Product Development. Darren Tracey, formerly of P&MM, joins as Head of Full Service Marketing.

Chris Hartley, Director at Love2shop Business Services, comments; “Our knowledge and expertise extends far beyond fulfilment alone and the establishment of dedicated internal resource to the delivery of fully managed programmes is a reflection of the expertise we have available to our client base.”

Love2shop Business Services has also recently launched three new online solutions:

• Evolve – an online reward platform that provides instant gratification to increasingly time conscious customers, employees and members.
• Everyday Benefits – a revamped employee and member benefit program that provides access to over £1,000 worth of discount savings on everyday spending.
• Engage – an innovative, modular engagement platform that is designed for any business running a reward programme for staff, customers or channel partners.

Adam Whatling comments: “Love2shop is a hidden gem within the motivational industry, with perceptions of our service offering not necessarily matching our capabilities today. We’re very much looking forward to taking on the engagement challenges faced by large corporates and working in close partnership with them to add genuine value to their bottom line.”

Love2shop Business Services specialises in the development of technology to support employee and customer engagement. Headquartered on the Wirral, it is a division of Park Group plc, the UK’s leading multi-retailer voucher and pre-paid gift card company.

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Kinder is offering purchasers the chance to ‘Win a Bit of Different’ in its latest on-pack promotion for its Kinder Bueno brand, with up to 30,000 £100 Virgin Experience Days to be won.

Consumers who buy a pack of the confectionery product register with the promotional website and then enter a unique promotional code from their packaging to find out if they have won.

The promotion is running from mid-May through to the end of August 2016 on Kinder Bueno Classic (single and multipack) and Kinder Bueno White (single).

Winners receive a Virgin Experience Days gift card to the value of £100, which can be redeemed against the cost of activities such as spa days, hot air balloon rides and driving experiences.

Levi Boorer, Customer Development Director at Ferrero UK, which owns the Kinder brand, says: “We know that Kinder Bueno shoppers are always looking to try something different and aim to be more adventurous in life, and the Kinder Bueno promotion aims to give shoppers exactly that. By offering shoppers the chance to win and enjoy a Virgin Experience Day of their choice, we aim to appeal to new and existing brand fans, whilst also increasing the brand’s visibility on-shelf and encouraging trial.”

The launch is supported with consumer, digital and sampling activity plus tailored POS in store.

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Steve Bradbery, Vice President of International Product Solutions at global gift card provider SVS, answers questions on why gift cards should be a key part of any promoters’ toolbox.

Why should creative agencies be interested in gift cards?

Perhaps more than any other tool, gift cards offer great flexibility in the range of promotions that can be created and the level of analytics that can be applied.

They’re perfect for B2C, both for businesses with existing gift card programmes and those that without. They’re also great in the B2B arena, with many companies reporting successes from the use of gift cards for incentive programmes.

How can gift cards be used for promotions?

Although the possibilities are limitless, there are five main types of gift card promotion.

The first is a straight ‘thank you’. Thanks for shopping with us today, thanks for being loyal, thanks for trying our new range, thanks for recommending us to your friend, thanks for your hard work – there are plenty of options.

Next is a gift-card specific promo. Typically you’d reward a shopper buying a gift card with a bonus. For example: “spend £50 and receive a free gift card worth £10.”

The third main type of gift card promotion is a repeat shopper rewards programme. Here customers accrue points over a timeframe and are rewarded with a gift card. You can get really creative here. For example, you could reward customers who post pictures of themselves with their products to social media.

Another promotion involves teaming up with suppliers to offer brand-based offers. “During June, anyone buying an Acme product will be rewarded with a gift card to redeem against other Acme products in store”.

For retailers, this approach is a great way to increase footfall, without having to invest any resources to do it. It’s also a positive approach for brands, who enjoy raised profiles and increased sales (as shoppers often redeem gift cards against a product that is more expensive than the card’s value, topping up the remainder from their own pocket).

The final main type of promotion is popular among Millennials: brand association. Get a £5 gift card to redeem against this brand of jeans when you buy this brand of headphones. Consumers love it, as they get £5 off. Both brands love it, as they benefit from the customer loyalty and awareness of their partner’s brand in addition to their own.

Why should gift cards be used as a promotional tool?

Gift cards are popular. Most recipients see them as ‘free money’ and they enjoy universal appeal. Offer a bottle of champagne or a new car, you risk alienating those who don’t drink or can’t drive. Enable them to buy whatever they want, you instantly attract a wider group of people. The average redemption rate for our promotional cards is 32%, compared to less than 4% for paper coupons.

The cards also offer promotional opportunities. A classic card printed with a company’s brand or ad campaign can be viewed scores of times in a wallet or purse before it is redeemed. It is, in effect, your billboard in their pocket.

To really want to stand out from the crowd, use virtual or augmented reality to enable your physical cards to offer a virtual dimension and additional promotional messaging. This is also a great way to tie a promotion into an ad campaign.

What analytics can you apply to gift cards and will there be a return on investment?

ROI is often the first question on any client’s lips. With gift cards, the answer is easy to provide with detailed analytics. The number of cards sold and redeemed can be identified and tracked by location, date and even hour. Detailed data can demonstrate the success of a programme as well providing insight into customer preferences and behaviour.

What’s more, our own research has shown that, without exception, every promotion run by our clients at SVS has returned a profit. While it is fair to say that our clients have worked hard to make their promotions a success, much of the ROI was down to what we call uplift.

Uplift works because, in the vast majority of cases, consumers spend more than the face value of card. The extra on top is uplift.

It’s the reason why the typical ROI experienced by our clients is 300%. Not bad if you’re just looking to raise the profile of a brand or a product.

Steve Bradbery, is Vice President of International Product Solutions at the gift card provider SVS. The power behind more than 1.3 billion gift card transactions every year around the world, SVS’s award-winning solutions can be found behind household names and global brands on every continent.

SVS is a sponsor of the IPM Awards 2016.

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