Incentive & Motivation

Packed with all the latest must-read news and views from across the gifting, incentive and loyalty markets, the latest issue of Incentive & Motivation offers all you need to keep you up to date with innovations, events and case studies.

We’ve been talking to Plastic Jungle, the number one US provider of gift card exchange, taking an in-depth look at the growing popularity of prepaid currency cards, and take a trip to the Eternal City to find out how Rome’s appeal hasn’t diminished in over 2,000 years. If you’d like to read any of these articles and the many more in this issue, follow the Incentive&Motivation issue 16 tag.

If you’d like to receive a copy of the magazine, email wendy@incentiveandmotivation.com, or if you have a story for Incentive and Motivation, contact editor@incentievandmotivation.com. We’re working on the September issue now.

Think of Rome and the chances are it wouldn’t be long before the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, St Peter’s Square or the Spanish Steps are conjured up. Or would you think of its art, centuries of history engraved on the buildings and landmarks of its chic piazzas, or the thronging, colourful markets, whine of Vespas and bustle of street life in one of the world’s fastest-paced cities?

You would be forgiven for picturing any one of these images as they – and many more – make up the multi-faceted charms of the Eternal City. Just as they did 2,500 years ago, business and leisure visitors arriving in Rome find a vibrant city of endless fascination.

Evidence of its magnificent history is everywhere. But this is not a city that can be covered off with a couple of short sightseeing walks so anyone wishing to make the most of a short stay should plan and prioritise their time in advance.

That said, an afternoon spent moving briskly around the historic heart of the city would allow a time-poor visitor to skim a few of the city’s world-famous ancient landmarks, such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum and the Arch of Constantine. Events organisers working with time-pressured clients can provide themed tours that focus on a particular aspect of the city and are tailored to the time available.

Those with more time on their hands can either keep up the pace and explore the city’s myriad churchs, piazzas and landmarks, or enjoy more leisurely strolls through its streets, indulging in the mix of ancient, mediaeval, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. In order to preserve their beauty, many of Rome’s most beautiful buildings have been privately purchased and transformed into hotels that cater for every budget. The city’s breadth of accommodation makes it one of Europe’s most popular conference venues.

However, corporate events are not just limited to ‘traditional’ hotels and conference venues. Rome also has a wide range of usual locations in which to hold business meetings, including Cinecitta Studios, the famous film studio where Fellini’s classic La Dolce Vita was shot. The studio has capacity for up to 2,000 delegates within its conference area, offers customised tours of its sets and holds structured film production activities.

If the out of the ordinary appeals, more adventurous visitors may consider a day trip out to the ancient port of Ostia Antica, a large-scale archaeological site noted for the excellent preservation of its ancient buildings, frescoes and mosaics.

Not many cities boast an independent state within its confines and no trip to Rome would be complete without a visit to the Vatican City. Dominated by St Peter’s Square, the Vatican is the administrative home of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican Museum contains a treasure trove of precious art, including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

If a little retail therapy is called for, Rome will not disappoint. Regarded as one of the world’s foremost fashion capitals (ranked just behind Milan, New York and Paris), it is home to major fashion houses such as Fendi, Laura Biagiotti and Bulgari. Other prestigious names, including Prada, Armani and Versace can be found within the elegant boutiques that line the Via del Condotti. Lower price tags can be found in the shops of the Via del Corso, which is popular with both tourists and residents.

Facts & figures

Getting to Rome is easy as most airports have daily departures. The flight time from London is about 2.5 hours, so it’s no wonder Italy’s capital remains one of Europe’s most popular destinations.

Rome has more than 600 hotels and 120 congress venues, ranging from purpose-built centres to villas and castles

The Auditorium Parco Della Musica is a congress centre has a meeting capacity of up to 2,756 delegates. The centre is close to the Parioli district, between the Villaggio Olimpico and the Stadio Flaminio and is well connected to the city centre

Rome is the third most-visited European city, attracting up to 10 million visitors a year

Due to its handy location, Rome is a popular twin-centre destination, with breaks being divided between the capital city and other tourism centres such as Florence, Sorrento, the Italian Lakes and the Amalfi Coast.

» For more information, visit www.romeconventionbureau.com

Yes, it may only be an annual event, but the financial ramifications of Christmas can echo throughout the year. And it doesn’t help that it’s one of those periods when, despite these difficult economic times, it can be hard to cut back. In fact, there are households who willingly tighten their belts for the other 364 days of the year in order to enjoy a festive blowout.

Even carefully planned saving can prove difficult when the cost of living is on the up and pay rises are in short supply. Conscious of the latter yet keen to motivate employees, is there anything employers can do to assist their workforce with periods of high spend?

Flexible benefits can help, as Kuljit Kaur, head of business development at The Voucher Shop, explains: “Flexible benefits that can help staff make their salaries go further play an important role. They also play an important part in any employer’s make up. Offering a range of benefits to employees makes the employer attractive to new recruits and enhances the remuneration package of existing staff, which is important at a time when many are paying more tax and not receiving a salary increase.”

Christmas savings clubs remain popular with many consumers who prefer to save a little each month, and employers have been quick to see the value in offering similar programmes. Love2reward offers Flexesaver, a newly launched employer-branded online Christmas savings scheme.

Alex Speed, head of corporate sales, Love2reward, explains: “With Flexesaver the onus is on the individual to save money throughout the year and they receive gift cards and voucher before Christmas. There are great savings to be made.”

Although benefits schemes can be branded with a Christmas cost-saving theme, it’s unlikely that a reward programme would be. Steve Baker, head of recognition and incentives at Grass Roots, says: “Being prescriptive about rewards isn’t recommended as you never know what motivates an individual.

“That said, there’s no reason why people can’t make the most of their rewards at high-spend times of the year. Someone earning reward points or receiving vouchers may save them up and then redeem them prior to Christmas.”

Just because belts are being tightened as a necessity, it doesn’t stop an individual wanting to give generously to those they cherish. But can they still make that grand gesture?

Ilona Kogutiuk, head of Smartbox Business Solutions, believes they can: “We have seen a greater influx of orders during the run-up to Christmas when corporates ask if Smartbox incentives and rewards can be shared or passed on to someone else as a gift.

“This flexibility of use is at the heart of the Smartbox concept. The reward comes in the form of a presentation box, so it can easily be passed on as a Christmas gift without the ultimate recipient knowing it was originally a workplace incentive.”

This ethos can be applied to cinema vouchers. Dave Pearson, director of Filmology, adds: “The Christmas and New Year period is a popular time for visits to the cinema, particularly with the raft of new films launching. Many employers help their staff to save money by giving them the treat of a cinema voucher as part of a Christmas package, helping them to save money on an enjoyable experience.”

Christmas will always be one of those times when people wish they had a little bit extra, but the good news is that employers are acknowledging this fact and doing what they can to help.

Whatever would Scrooge say?

Asda Business Rewards
Asda Business Rewards has just launched a new dual shopping card, which has been designed for inclusion in flexible benefits schemes and as Joanne Taylor, corporate sales manager at Asda Business Rewards, says is perfect for Christmas.

“The employee can add value to their card via the scheme and benefit from the discount negotiated with Asda via their employer. It’s a great way to save money on weekly groceries and at Christmas.”

Two shopping cards are given to each employee who takes up the scheme so that one can be given to a nominated second cardholder. The value employees choose to add to their account, between £1 and £1,000, can be shared between the two cards, which can be activated remotely.

Any company’s brand is its major corporate asset. Considerable investment has been made in its creation, exploitation and protection, and at the most basic level, an organisation will own a range of brand assets, including brand names, logos, colours and styles (stored as artwork, references and guidelines); brand messages, slogans and product descriptors; and corporate culture, vision statements, goals and standards.

Brands are key influencers and, if you run channel or customer programmes, you already know the importance of selling your brand along with your products. The third-party salesperson is your ‘brand ambassador’ – the first contact that many customers have with that brand. Employees, too, should live and breathe the brand, after all, they not only work to keep the brand in existence but, depending upon the products and services their business delivers, they could well be customers too.

So it makes sense that your motivation, incentive, recognition or loyalty programme is a key opportunity to communicate and reinforce your brand with this internal audience. But how do you make the most of that opportunity and how much does incentive branding actually matter?

First and foremost, applying your brand to your campaign and its messages provides the stamp of corporate approval. As for branding opportunities, there are many in the course of your programme, which may include some of the following:

Theming: Programme name, concept and design can come together to create your overall theme and flavour. Your theming needs to stimulate your audience’s interest and keep their attention, while reflecting the brand and complying with corporate standards.

Example: Acer wanted to increase sales while raising channel awareness of their brand and promoting the profiles of their account team. ‘The Acer Team’ proved an ideal incentive vehicle, complementing the brand yet capitalising on the popularity and excitement of action blockbusters like The A Team.

Mechanism: A ‘white label’ Internet platform, such as a points banking system (Corporate Rewards’ is called ‘MyRewards’), can be designed to incorporate complex theming requirements with limited expenditure. Your fully branded website can then integrate seamlessly with the rest of your Internet presence, offering a single front to the world.

This is high-impact stuff. Most participants will visit your programme website regularly to check on their progress. Every visit is a brand reinforcement opportunity.

Prize mechanisms: Mechanisms such as scratch cards or themed games of skill should be branded and can offer promotional items as small rewards.

Example: ‘Peak to Peak’ a joint channel incentive for HP and Intel, features both brands throughout its online presence, including interactive campaign games such as ‘Geti the Yeti’ and ‘Spot the Difference’.

Communications: Your programme should include regular communications to keep participants aware and engaged in the incentive. In this instance again, branding matters. Posters, banners and teasers carrying your logo may be displayed for weeks on walls and desks in the workplace.

Recognition: Recognition helps make individuals feel that they are a valued and integral part of the organisation. Your brand is the face of the organisation, appearing on certificates, on presentation items and on thank you cards.

Example: Helping employees working with different product brands at different locations feel part of a single organisation is central to Nestle’s ‘Your Reward’ programme. Though several campaign websites are necessary to handle operational diversities, all appear externally as a single themed and branded site. The five winning behaviours recognised through the programme have individual ‘Post-it note’ theming aligned to internal and external corporate branding.

Reward: Reward is your ultimate branding opportunity, and this may influence the type of reward you choose.

• Cash and vouchers are not usually brandable. Worse, store vouchers effectively use your programme to promote their brands to your recipients!
• Reward cards must carry the branding of the supplier, for example Mastercard or Visa. But these cards can be co-branded with your own organisation. So your brand sits in your participant’s wallet or purse, for months or years, presenting a very strong branding opportunity.
• Points catalogue-based rewards take corporate branding to a new and different level. Your frequently browsed branded online or printed reward catalogue can feature rewards selected to complement your brand, and include your own products.
• A travel reward can be viewed as the ultimate ‘carrot’, and a travel prize can be themed and branded to your incentive. You could, for example, have a destination associated with product image, or include a VIP visit to your global headquarters.

And if your prize is group focused, your own account managers and agency employees can be there promoting your messages, in addition to using branded merchandise, collateral and publicity materials at the venue itself.

In conclusion, promoting your brand may either be one of the primary objectives of your programme, or  may seem almost like an irrelevance, depending on your objectives and your particular audience.

But whatever your views, the people your programme targets are also your brand ambassadors. Use this opportunity to confirm them in this role. After all, you owe it to both your organisation, and to your brand.

For more information on effective incentive branding, visit www.corporaterewards.co.uk or give the Corporate Rewards team a call on 0370 405 2020

Whether it’s that longed-for, sub-tropical fortnight or a whirlwind city break, holidays are undoubtedly ranked up there as our favourite times of the year.

They are also times when people long for a perfect, hassle-free experience that provides happy memories, regardless of whether they’re careful planners or impulsive turn-up-and-see-where-the-mood-takes-them travellers.

But those halcyon visions jar with the reality of having to spend part of that time queuing to cash a stack of travellers’ cheques or returning home with that post-holiday glow to find a credit card statement that’s loaded with charges for foreign use waiting on the doormat.

There is, of course, an alternative in the form of prepaid currency cards, as growing numbers of consumers are starting to realise. Despite emerging into the marketplace seven years ago, it’s only been in the last couple of years that these cards have started to catch the public’s attention, after the bigger travel companies decided to back the cards.

As Tessa Unsworth, product and solution director, PrePay Solutions explains: “Big-name holiday companies provide consumers with brand trust – for example, Thomson will look after your holiday and, therefore, the perception is that they will look after your money.”

Their support has paid off and now thousands are issued each year. But what are they? Prepaid cards can be loaded with currency and used at cash points or to make payments abroad. They are issued by the likes of Visa, MasterCard and Maestro, and come in numerous currencies with specific cards for euros and US dollars.

The beauty of prepaid currency cards is that, although they can be topped up while the cardholder is abroad, the amount on the card at any one time is finite – there’s no ‘overdraft’ facility and therefore, they act as a budgeting tool for holidaymakers who are watching the pennies. They, therefore, combine the budget discipline imposed by travellers’ cheques with the ease of use and security of a credit or debit card.

Currency cards are gaining popularity gradually, but is there a ‘big break’ that will make them burst into popular conscious? Unsworth believes that there is, and it lies in the ability for fully engage  mobile technology, so that cardholders are able to manage or view their balance via their phone anywhere in the world.

“Resorts also need to ensure they have good levels of card acceptance and it’s up to MasterCard and Visa to improve their networks in order for this to happen,” she adds.

To date, the value of prepaid currency cards has lain in the consumer market, and they have yet to make much of an impact on the B2B sector, where corporates send employees on international travel.

Unsworth continues: “At the moment, credit solutions are more superior and international business travellers tend to be senior to the company and will be trusted with credit. Prepaid cards are not a corporate expense replacement at present but that’s not to say they won’t be in the future.”

There could, however, be a market for companies wanting to engage their overseas sales forces overseas with rewards issued in their own currencies.

Unsworth concludes: “We’re currently looking at SMEs that don’t have corporate credit. The next natural step is to take the currency price, so that they get the best advantage on foreign travel. Some corporates also have fleet travel abroad to pay for, so by giving their fleet drivers a prepaid card, they can give them money to get fuel without giving them huge amounts of credit, meanwhile making significant savings on currency exchange rates.”

THE ADVANTAGES

Security
Prepaid currency cards are safer than travellers’ cheques because if they are lost or stolen, the issuer can be contacted and a replacement card sent out. The cards use Chip and PIN and the balance also sits separately from the holder’s current account, so it’s safer to manage from an overseas Internet connection.

Exchange rates
Exchange rates tend to be good, are held at the point when money was loaded and secured at that rate for when it is spent.

Accessibility
Anyone with a UK bank account can get apply for a card by producing specific forms of identification. All the applicant has to do is choose the currency they require and the load value and wait for the card to arrive. Currency can be withdrawn from a million ATMs over 210 countries.

Emergencies
Some providers offer emergency cash replacement funds, which can be sent directly to the cardholder if their card goes missing while they are abroad.

Budgeting
Holders can only spend up to the value of funds on the card. This is great for those who want to budget they are away but can be problematic for those who need to access additional funds.

Flexibility
Cardholders can top up their cards as often as they want, giving them complete control over their money. Most card accounts can be managed online, allowing cardholders to stay abreast of their transactions. Some also offer text updates on the outstanding card balance.

Longevity
Any unspent funds can be saved on the card until the next holiday and, in the meantime, they can use it as a savings account.

THE DISADVANTAGES

Card limits
Some card issuers place an upper limit on the load amount, potentially restricting the cardholders’ spending, which could put the individual off applying for the card.

Checking the balance
Different issuers offer varying degrees of capability for cardholders to have complete access to their card balances and until this issue is rectified through full global mobile access, cardholders may run into difficulties in remembering or accessing this important information.

Budgetary constraints
The spend limit of prepaid currency cards is a double-edged sword. While many applicants welcome the opportunity to holiday on a finite budget, others may find it too restrictive, and may find it better to use them in conjunction with a credit card.

Fees
Fees and charge structures can vary wildly across issuers, making comparisons for consumers tricky. Some providers charge a one-off application charge while others levy a monthly fee. Some issuers charge for purchases and withdrawals abroad, and others opt for replacement card or inactivity fees.

Top-up and withdrawal charges
Although cardholders can top up their card and make withdrawals free of charge in the UK, some issuers do charge when the service is used overseas. However, these charges do not tend to be on the same level as those incurred by overseas credit card usage.

Protection
At present, currency cards cannot boast the same level of protection that credit cards can for purchases made overseas.

For well over a decade, US consumers with unwanted gift cards or vouchers have regularly sought to unlock their inherent value, by logging on to the country’s ever-growing number of online gift card exchange websites to buy, sell or swap gift cards.

But while the American ‘secondary gift card market’ (SGCM) has evolved into an online market to be reckoned with, its popularity has not extended to the UK.

Peer-to-peer trading is not a new phenomenon, online sales of used or unwanted gift vouchers/cards goes back to 1995, with the launch of eBay. Selling and bidding for gift cards quickly grew in popularity but it wasn’t until 2003 that the Internet’s first SGC marketplace was launched by Swapagift.com.

The Swapagift.com model focused exclusively on the buying, selling and swapping of merchant gift cards. The three-tier model gave consumers an active exchange for liquidating and trading cards in the SGCM.

So if these websites are a part of everyday US life, why haven’t they taken off to the same degree on this side of the pond? Retailers and issuers have yet to be convinced, believes Andrew Johnson, director general of the UKGCVA. He says: “There have been several discussions in the UK but until the benefits for retailers and issuers become apparent, there is reluctance in the market and until big companies back these sites, they won’t take off here.”

That hesitance was underlined recently during an episode of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, where two would-be entrepreneurs hoping to develop and market their fledgling gift card exchange website sparked an intense debate between the Dragons over the commercial viability of such a business. In the end, all four Dragons (two of whom offer gift card services as part of their own businesses) bowed out of making an investment.

But despite the question of large-scale commerciality, consumer demand is slowly building momentum, with eBay UK listing hundreds of gift card sales at any one time and a small, but growing number of followers and exchanges appearing on those few existing UK sites.

However, before exchange sites can boom, there needs to be a constant flow of products that appeal to both ends of the exchange. The UK primary market is changing to accommodate once-specialist retailers diversifying their product range and broadening the appeal of their cards and vouchers, so is that required flow more likely to be a ‘when’ not ‘if’ scenario? And if that’s the case, gift card exchange sites may well one day become a part of our everyday lives.

One key challenge for any start-up site is how to detect and prevent fraud, a potentially very expensive yet essential step for any new entrant to the market. Fraud most commonly occurs when cards are purchased with illegally obtained funds, with the merchant only becoming aware of this sometime after the card has already been bought and then sold or exchanged onwards.

Realistically tackling this problem can only be achieved with the resources of large-scale investors, and again we return to the point that corporate buy-in depends upon a convincing business case first being made coherently by the SCGM.

There are two types of gift card exchange markets – disintermediated (direct exchanges made between two consumers, with the online exchange business taking a commission from that sale in the manner of eBay or Craig’s List) and intermediated, where the online business purchases the cards and resells them on.

The former model requires trust on the part of the buyer and the seller and, if the sale is fraudulent or goes wrong, it can lead to a poor consumer experience. The latter, however, is regulated by the business and comes with some kind of money-back guarantee attached, making the experience a much safer, more positive experience for the consumer and, in return, the gift card retailer.

This more regulated approach has encouraged US gift card retailers and issuers to see how they can benefit from the services offered by exchange websites – namely converting unused card value into sales and, in many cases, consumer overspend. Perhaps the Dragons would have been more willing to listen if the entrepreneurs in front of them had more heavyweight financial backing that would have provided a richer consumer experience?

If, in the case of so many things, the UK follows where the US leads, gift card exchange sites may well become big business in the not-too-distant future. But where will that leave secondary, and primary, gift card providers?

Probably asking themselves some serious questions about where they sit within this newly emerging sector and how or whether they need to get ahead of the competition and invest in developing the exchange market before their competitors steal a march on them and design the model to meet their own requirements first.

Plastic Jungle

One of the US’s major gift card exchange businesses is Plastic Jungle. Based in San Jose, California, the company gives consumers the option to save money with discounted gift cards up to 30% off, and buys unwanted gift cards for up to 92% of the unused balance. The company’s mission is to bring liquidity to the estimated $30 billion unredeemed gift card economy for the benefit of consumers, retailers, and other ecommerce companies.

Last year, Plastic Jungle revealed the results of an independent study examining the impact of gift card exchanges on retail brands and found that respondents said they have a more positive impression of retail brands when they are given the flexibility to either sell a brand’s gift card for cash or use it at another online retail store. Plastic Jungle believes this presents “… an opportunity for retailers to further strengthen the perception of their brand by enabling their gift cards to be quickly and safely shifted away from consumers… and into the hands of motivated consumers who have expressed purchase intent.”

CEO Bruce Bower is a staunt proponent of the SGCM and is currently in discussions with UK gift card retailers and issuers about how they can get the most from the SGCM.

He says: “People are being misgifted – gift cards are being presented to them that are not the best fit for their needs. But if consumers are given the ability to shop for the retailers they want to spend money with, you fulfil their demand and open up a better retail solution for everyone.”

Users of Plastic Jungle must log in to participate in any exchanges, meaning that the business knows who is buying and selling the available gift cards and therefore giving Plastic Jungle the opportunity to communicate relevant retail messages and offers to consumers, delivering a more meaningful experience that carries greater value for the consumer and the retailer.

“Everyone’s interest in the transaction is aligned – we can add value for the consumer and create incremental dollars for the retailer. It’s a win-win situation,” Bower adds.

Plastic Jungle has also unveiled two new payment products, which allow consumers to use gift cards to fund their purchases of goods and services on other websites. Facebook’s 500 million active users can now exchange gift cards for Facebook Credits via Plastic Jungle.

Q. What are your thoughts on the record-breaking year-on-year sales figures that have released by the UKGCVA?

A. The results are extremely positive for the industry and show that gift cards and vouchers still hold a very strong position within the promotional marketing industry.

Q. Were there any trends in the figures that you weren’t expecting to see?

A. In some ways, the figures do come as a surprise, mainly due to the economic climate that most business and consumers are currently faced with. It’s surprising that consumers and businesses have continued to spend money on gift cards and vouchers, particularly when all we seem to hear from the economists and the government is that inflation is on the increase, that economic growth continues to be slow and so on.

Q. So to what would you attribute the success of the gift card and voucher industry? 

A. Well, if these figures include the vouchers issued by the likes of Groupon, Living Social and other online offer and/or discount websites then I do not find the results surprising and I would expect that these new digital offer companies would only help to stimulate even further growth within the sector.

Q. What should the industry do now to ensure it capitalises upon these figures?

A. I would suggest that companies should be using all the tools available to them to communicate, educate and distribute their products and services.

Q. Which direction do you think that the industry should now look to for future success?

A. The industry should definitely be embracing and taking advantage of new technology and distribution methods, such as online printable vouchers and mobile vouchers. This will help them to better engage with their target consumers and businesses. These technologies will also provide the companies within the industry with highly efficient and cost-effective ways to develop and grow their businesses.

One word can sum up the Gift Card, Gift Voucher and Reloadable Card Summit 2011: collaboration.

Attracted by rich networking opportunities and the chance to find out how fresh thinking and new technologies can be applied to the prepaid industry, more than 350 delegates came together at the summit to make the most of all that the event had to offer.

But the biggest collaboration of the event was that of UKGCVA’s partnership with Prepaid Expo Europe to host and organise the conference.

UKGCVA director general Andrew Johnson said: “We were delighted to join with Prepaid Expo Europe. The partnership has given us access to new speakers, new sponsors and provided greater insight into innovations and happenings across the prepaid sector in the US and Europe. A number of our members work in Europe and we need to understand what’s going on in various markets and their implications, so that we can work collaboratively with other countries to look at regulations and implement new technologies.

“This is a partnership that will continue into the future and we’re now looking forward to capitalising on the success of this year’s event, with a summit that is bigger, bolder and better next year.”

The collaborative nature of social media became a hot topic of the day, with social media marketing guru and keynote speaker Alex Hunter – former head of online marketing for the Virgin Group and now an independent brand consultant – proving a draw for many delegates. The charismatic speaker created a buzz among the assembled attendees (many of whom were programme managers and retailers) that lasted throughout the entire day.

A new subject matter for 2011 was the introduction of open loop and broader prepaid issues. This new topic was woven into the seminars without losing the quality of closed-loop education for UKGCVA members. Other popular sessions included those on high-level mobile implementations and discussions that introduced new distribution and marketing techniques that are applicable no matter what the product.

Networking breaks and lunch were a hive of activity as delegates came together to discuss what they had learned and network with potential business clients and partners.

Attendance figures rose by 20% and post-event survey showed that the event was highly appreciated by attendees, with subject matter and speakers both given a rating of 9 out of 10.

Moving forward with mobile strategies

In a particularly busy session, David Stone, CEO of US-based CashStar, which calls itself a ‘digital gifting and incentive partner to retailers’, and Giles Coccoli, managing director of UK-based prepaid processor PrePay Solutions, suggested that retailers should now build mobile strategies “brick by brick”.

Both support retailer-issued mobile gift and incentive cards, and called attention to the effectiveness of multiple electronic routes to deliver and redeem e-cards. Stone, who advocates making e-cards stand out through personalisation, warned delegates to stay away from e-cards that are just a “string of numbers”.

Coccoli followed with these key messages: Mobile is the ultimate customer-centric approach; mobile marketing has its own way to go; and adoption will follow a generation impact.

“Watch out,” Coccoli said. “The Facebook generation will soon be upon you!”

Fielding questions about technology and security, he went on to say that PrePay Solutions tackles fraud by treating closed-loop gift cards the same as open-loop, which have a high security standard.

Stone and Coccoli admitted that while the technology and a workable business model for a full mobile payments solution may be some way off, merchants should develop proprietary programmes to boost gift card sales while using social media to boost the impact of their efforts.

What a difference two decades make. From those first few flying lessons in High Wycombe, Acorne Plc has grown to encompass a huge range of experiences, to the point it finds itself at today – working with more than 500 suppliers across 1,200 locations.

Whether it is a one-man operation providing microlight experiences, or an international hotel chain, Acorne continues to expand its supplier base using its understanding and expertise to offer clients bespoke services and management of schemes.

That attention to detail is one of the reasons Acorne holds the industry position it has today – one of the biggest players in the gifting, voucher, experience days and leisure activity markets. The business places a great deal of emphasis on customer care and quality of service and its Quality Assurance professionals are on the road, working closely with its suppliers to ensure they meet Acorne’s exacting service level agreements, handle the volume of business consistently well and provide an experience that matches customers’ expectations.

Managing director Paul O’Brien explains: “Businesses and consumers will have given a reward in order to make a statement of their feelings toward the recipient, such as pride, thanks or prestige, and it is our job to ensure the experience delivered is exciting, enjoyable and commensurate with the intended sentiment.”

It was the quality, expertise and range of its suppliers that helped Acorne turn its relationship with Virgin (Acorne was the first non-Virgin company approved to redeem the then newly launched Virgin Voucher) into a commercial success.

Three years after setting up its own experiences division, Virgin decided it wanted to continue with offering but didn’t want the administration that went with it. Acorne stepped in and agreed to draw on its own supplier base, as well as white label and handle the administration.

To make this work Acorne entered into a brand licensing agreement for Virgin Experience Days and Vouchers – these services are fully owned and operated by Acorne and have gone from strength to strength ever since.

In more recent years, Acorne has acquired the Leisure Voucher business from Whitbread Plc and bought experience provider Exhilaration from lastminute.com. With the former, Acorne bought the rights to the scheme and took on some of the key staff that ran it, thus reviving the scheme offering paper vouchers redeemable at the likes of Premier Inn, Beefeater and Costa Coffee.

With its eye for timely acquisitions and commercial partnerships, Acorne has weathered the storm of the recession and come out relatively unscathed. In fact, the business has just enjoyed a highly successful financial year and its attention is clearly focused on the future.

In line with its innovative nature, the business has recently given clients the option to use their own brand on gift packs and will shortly be launching the high-end Virgin Gift Card and a number of other gift card products throughout the year.

As O’Brien says: “It’s our strategic objective to be the number one experience company in the UK and Ireland, in terms of volume and quality. Our aim is to be at the forefront of experiences; in the voucher and gift card market we want to increase scale of our operations, and we want to have the must-have product in the leisure sector.”

Key facts

Acorne can boast household names including Boots, Tesco, NatWest, Marks & Spencer, Aviva and Thomson Holidays among its clients

The business maintains a “modest” team of 43 specialists, largely based in Acorne House, High Wycombe

Acorne’s portfolio of brands consists of Virgin Experience Days, the Virgin Voucher, Exhilaration, lastminute.com, Leisure Vouchers, and Wahanda

The Acorne Virgin Experience Days team has consistently topped the Virgin Group’s monthly Customer Satisfaction tracker since 2007, while the Leisure Vouchers team is a National Customer Service Awards winner.

Paul Bartlett, Head of Reward and Benefits at Grass Roots

“With the UK’s workforce facing rising costs of living (inflation recently leapt to 4.5%) and the spectre of pay freezes slow to move away, those organisations that find cost-effective ways to support their employees in financially challenging times are most likely to achieve and sustain stronger employee engagement and loyalty.

“Salary sacrifice schemes are once again coming into sharp focus, and there are plenty of established options to go for, such as childcare vouchers, bikes and health-related programmes.  Yet it’s also worth thinking about ways to get creative and add value to your benefits offering. Introducing car-related benefits may help employees switch out of costly, fuel-inefficient vehicles and a course fees offering may assist people to gain essential skills in an affordable way.

“Salary ‘exchange’ schemes may not be as tax-efficient, but they leverage the power of purchasing to help employees pay for high-ticket items (such as key technology) without having to pay interest or find the entire sum up-front. Targeted properly, they can also help you reach and engage with new and different segments of your employee population. There are also emerging green options that allow employees to retrofit energy-saving products, which will deliver direct savings to their energy costs.

“Even more popular at the moment are benefits schemes which enable employees to obtain store vouchers at a discount on face value, or shop with certain suppliers and get exclusive deals. This can mean anything from cheaper holidays to reduced grocery bills, which can make a significant difference to household finances. Prepaid reloadable debit cards can be a useful tool for stretching the personal budget further too – not only are they an excellent reward mechanism, they can also be topped up by the holder each month and then used to earn cashback on purchases with partner retailers.

“Effective communication should lie at the heart of your engagement strategy, and the way to obtain best value from all your benefits initiatives is to communicate with individuals as individuals. Broadcast bulletins cannot compete with a proactive communication strategy that is linked to the employee’s life cycle and needs, such as induction, maternity, promotion and retirement. By messaging your workforce as if they were consumers – in a highly segmented and personalised way – you can drive greater appreciation of the personal benefit, scheme uptake, and therefore satisfaction and value for both them and your organisation.”

Grass Roots is a global business services company which helps clients engage with employees, channel partners, customers and prospects to improve their performance and provides a wide range of services, including Reward, Recognition and Incentives, Loyalty and Digital Marketing, Measurement and Events and Communications.