You'll still find more than 40 hotels and resorts represented on the show floor at this year's Motivation Show in Chicago, including Marriott Resorts Hawaii, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the Equinox Resort in Manchester, VT, Marquis Los Cabos and the Venetian in Las Vegas, among others. And a number of Convention & Visitors Bureaus – Hawaii, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Scottsdale and even Spain, just to name a few – will be there too, as will long-standing exhibitors like Norwegian Cruise Line, Marriott Individual Incentives and the Philippines, U.S. Virgin Islands, Spain and St. Petersburg, Russia Departments of Tourism. Incentive travel is also the topic of several seminars on Tuesday's Education Day; the Incentive Research Foundation's day-long symposium, "New Uses, Research and Tools Supporting the Business Benefits of Non-Cash Motivators," promises to be rich with data, research and case studies on travel rewards. For more information on the2011 Motivation Show, go to www.motivationshow.com
The widely held belief that cash incentive awards are always the most effective employee motivator has been questioned in a new research review conducted by the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) and the Incentive Federation. Examining a wide variety of studies in various industries, the audit found that non-cash awards can actually capture an employee's imagination better than cash – thereby motivating them to increase performance. For business executives focused on the bottom line this study proves extremely valuable and forces the question, "Does your company have the right award mix in place?" o read the full report, go to http://theirf.org/.6079225.html
The Incentive Gift Card Council (IGCC) is once again supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation by contributing gift cards from IGCC member companies to the Foundation for the holiday season. The Foundation will use the donated gift cards to fulfill wishes, helping to reduce the average wish cost. The cards will also be used for wish enhancements and wish parties. IGCC members are donating a variety of gift cards, from hotel and restaurant gift cards (for use during wish trips) to entertainment gift cards (to fulfill wishes at theme parks and other wish venues) to gas, grocery and super-store gift cards (to supply family basics).Members are being encouraged to bring donated gift cards to the 2011 Motivation Show in Chicago, October 5-6, or to mail them in to the IMA offices in Naperville by November 30th, 2011. For more information, contact Betty Weinkle at InteliSpend Solutions; betty.weinkle@InteliSpend.com; 305-663-6162.
TUMI recently introduced a new product that will likely be a hit in with incentive travel users. The TUMI Travel Scale keeps travelers from getting 'weighed down' in more ways than one. They can save money, time and hassle with this compact electronic scale that lets you weigh your bags before you leave for the airport. It offers simple, one-button operation, a backlit digital display that's easy to read in any light, displays weight in pounds and kilograms, and has the strength to hold up to 100 lbs. Use it at home or carry it with you. For more information, contact Mike Landry, TUMI's Director of Special Markets, at mlandry@tumi.com or 800-669-3181.
The September/October issue of Engagement Strategies Magazine is in the mail! Here's a look at what you'll find inside:
Maritz's Michelle Pokorny explains how 'gamification' can make recognition programs more engaging. To make sure you get your copy of Engagement Strategies Magazine, go to www.enterpriseengagement.org/account/login/ and update your subscription today!
In this exclusive excerpt from their forthcoming book of the same name, Curt Coffman and Kathleen Sorensen discuss how a rich corporate culture provides a fertile environment for engagement and growth.
How do you engage customers who've 'seen it all' when it comes to promotions? Atrium Enterprises found a unique way to get their attention...
How is technology shaping the modern travel consumer? Well, 75% of leisure travelers look to the Internet for travel information – but do they find too much information or not enough to make an informed decision? A recent Travelport study, The Well Connected Traveller, reveals rapid changes in consumer behavior. Want to find out what 62% of travelers are doing now that they probably weren't doing at all five years ago? Travelport engaged The Futures Company to conduct global research into the end-to-end travel process consumers undertake, from inspiration to shopping to booking to post-trip evaluation. Some highlights:
For more information, go to www.travelport.com/customer_community.aspx
A new White Paper, How Social Media is Changing Corporate Performance, discusses how lessons learned from Social Media are helping corporate employee-engagement experts capitalize on the momentum in self-motivated, peer-driven participation. Corporate recognition, rewards and incentive programs for employees are actually the unsung pioneers of the kind of 'social points' activity like we see in Social Media games like Farmville and others. By leveraging the power of online systems, corporations can provide a familiar social environment similar to those in which people have already chosen to engage during their own time. You can bring the power of Social Behaviors to your employees by offering intrinsic/extrinsic motivation rewards and recognition programs. Peer-to-Peer awards let people recognize each other. Team-based activities allow for relationship-building and trust. Wellness programs show that you care about employees' health challenges and that you want to help through education and online tools. Open 'suggestion programs' accelerate innovation by creating a meritocracy. To view the full report, go to www.dittmanincentives.com
Does your organization have a transactional website to handle bulk sales of merchandise to qualified buyers or points programs for incentive companies? The incentive industry is one of the few areas of business that doesn't have a true transactional model to support its end-users and incentive companies. The Corporate Rewards Exchange is a cooperative effort of leading brands, incentive fulfillment firms and incentive companies to build a new distribution channel for sale of gifts to corporations, incentive companies and marketing services firms. The CRE enables brands to tap into a large ad hoc market for bulk gifts and rewards in a way they can carefully control, providing a powerful means for incentive companies to more effectively use their products in reward programs via a highly automated billing, redemption, tracking and customer service system. It's designed to support all of the current players in the incentive marketplace by providing a more efficient means of offering rewards to end-users and incentive companies, at a very low cost. For more information, please contact us for a demo.
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For more information on Selling Communications, its products and services, contact Jim Kilmetis at 914-591-7600, ext. 229 or send an e-mail to jkilmetis@sellingcommunications.com.
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