On July 19, the Incentive Marketing Association held its annual Circle of Excellence Awards in Houston, Texas, which celebrated the best incentive programs from around the world to hit the market this year.
This year, a channel rewards program designed by Power2Motivate for Brother was named one of the five winners in the Consumer Offer, Branding and Customer Loyalty Program category.
A panel of independent reviewers took into account four criteria - creativity, value, execution and results - honouring both the company and the partner that co-developed and delivered the program. This is, therefore, a major success not just for Brother, but for Power2Motivate as well, says Executive General Manager EMEA & APAC, Mark Robinson.
"This is one of our biggest achievements this year," said Mr Robinson. "It's great to see companies we work with being recognised for such stellar results like this, as it shows the hard work and care Power2Motivate puts into delivering solutions that really work."
Brother "at your side" with $100K prizes to give away
The incentive program was used to motivate channel partners across Australia, from buying groups to independent resellers. Key to the initiative was the sales period in which the program focused on. As it was the start of the Australian school year, it was an important time for printing companies and hardware resellers, as teachers, administrators and parents get prepped for the first term by stocking up on their Brother needs.
The program was promoted through print and digital media distributed to resellers over the January to March 2015 period. For every $1,000 of Brother hardware purchased, channel partners would receive one entry into the first division prize draw - the chance to win one of three luxury trips valued at over $20,000 each.
Additionally, for every $1,000 spend, members could "Spin to Win" in a gamification tactic designed to create more opportunities to earn rewards and prizes. Prizes ranged from $100 to $1,000, which could be spent in Power2Motivate's global rewards gallery.
Creating rewards that create value for the audience
With a channel network comprising of mainly middle-aged and married men, the prizes needed to be outside of the box to be in line with what this audience desired and to achieve the objectives Brother wanted.
"Often incentive programs fail because the rewards don't properly align with what the recipients desire," said Mr Robinson. "If a company is wanting to push their products by using a rewards program, getting this part right is pivotal to its success."
"We took the incentive trend of unique experiences and created three ultimate luxury holidays perfect for the audience." said Stefanie Murphy, Marketing Specialist at Brother Australia.
Brother devised three travel incentives that oozed value for this audience. For instance, a lucky winner and their spouse will be going to Europe to enjoy everything from a 5-star hotel, dog-sledding around the Swiss Alps, a day spa retreat and skidding across the Swiss Alps salt lakes in none other than an Aston Martin race car. Two other top earners would be whisked off to the big NYC to live out a luxury local New Yorker experience that culminates in a rooftop party with A-list celebrities to usher in the New Year in style.
"We took the incentive trend of unique experiences and created three ultimate luxury holidays perfect for the audience," said Stefanie Murphy, Marketing Specialist at Brother Australia. "However, we also wanted to ensure that a larger proportion of participants had the opportunity to be winners too; so incorporating the gamification elements and the global rewards gallery enabled more valued partners to experience that winning feeling."
By taking a holistic and creative approach to rewards and incentive programs, Power2Motivate has proven its ability to deliver results. To find out more about motivating your channel partners, get in touch today.