Incentive Today articles from May 2004

Incentive Today archives from May 2004

Creativity will be key in new era of sales promotion.(Editor's note)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
May 1, 2004... The queen of cosmetics, Estee Lauder, who died last month, is credited with "inventing" the sales promotion technique of a free gift with every purchase. Looking at the winners of this year's ISP Promotional Marketing Awards, it is clear...

Taking games 'out of bedroom'.(Letter of the month)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... Gaming has long been part of our business so I was pleased to see Incentive Today (February 2004) identity many of the market trends we have been helping to shape for over seven years. As a marketing company that embraced the term...

Marketers must be holistic.(Editor's note and letters)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Some of the biggest-spending consumer brands in the UK miss out on a fundamental trick when it comes to brand marketing. Although the spirits sector invests heavily in above-the-line advertising, it often fails to link its advertising themes...

Soft drink Snapple.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Soft drink Snapple has launched its first on-pack promotion, Snapple Says, as part of a wider in-store and outdoor media campaign. An instant-win across 1.8 million bottles offers prizes such as Piaggio Zip 50 scooters, Sony Ericsson T630...

United Biscuits.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... United Biscuits is offering the chance to win one of 200 annual family passes to Tussauds Group attractions in an on-pack promotion on Skips crisps. The campaign marks the brand's sponsorship of the Dragon's Fury rollercoaster ride at Tussauds'...

McDonald's.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... McDonald's has been warned by the Advertising Standard Authority to take more care over publicising promotional activity after upholding a complaint about its 1 million [pounds sterling] Giveaway campaign last year. An outdoor poster advertised...

The Dairy Industry Association (DIA).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Dairy Industry Association (DIA) is giving children the chance to win football-related prizes in a promotion aimed at raising awareness of the health benefits of drinking milk. Campaign Marketing has created a dedicated website,...

Coors Brewers UK.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Coors Brewers UK has launched a new promotion offering one of a million giant national flags as part of its Love Football campaign for Carling. Coinciding with the run-up to the Euro 2004 championship in Portugal this summer, it is offering the...

Procter & Gamble.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Procter & Gamble has launched a competition with online lingerie retailer Figleaves.com to promote its panty-liner brand, Alldays. Customers can win a top prize of 350 [pounds sterling] worth of Figleaves.com goods and 45 runner-up prizes worth...

Brands talk to mobile phones via ad tags.(News)
May 1, 2004... New technology that allows mobile phones to interact with poster adverts is featured in two promotional marketing campaigns. The "Hypertags" have been used by Procter & Gamble (P&G) to promote its Aussie Hair products, while they form part...

THQ links with Laser Quest for game launch.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... THQ has partnered with adventure centre operator Laser Quest to promote the launch of its newest game, Full Spectrum Warrior. Grasshopper developed the activity to reflect the Xbox game's origins as a light infantry-training simulator used...

Chocolate wrappers offer Great Things To Do.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Triangle Group has developed an on-pack promotion across more than 60 million wrappers of Cadbury Trebor Bassett brands. The campaign offers the instant reward of over 2,700 "two for one" leisure activities that require consumers to simply...

Andrex rolls out new puppy promotions.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Kimberly-Clark is supporting a 5 million [pounds sterling] above-the-line campaign for a new variant of its Andrex toilet paper with extensive promotional activity. A TV ad was unleashed last month for Puppies on a Roll--tissue embossed...

Founder quits Landround for US.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Mike Crompton, the founder of travel promotions company Landround, has stepped down as chairman to spend more of his time in the United States. He created the business in 1992 and floated it on the Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment...

Personalised game cards target promotions.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Marketing agency Poulter Partners has secured the UK licence for Lasertick, a new game card for sales promotions that can be individualised. It is described as unique because it allows companies to personalise and tailor messages and...

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has criticised a promotion involving Sainsbury's and the News of the World offering a free DVD of the rugby world cup final. The give-away was advertised on the front of the Sunday paper, but the ASA...

Premier Foods.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Premier Foods is running a promotion on cans of its Crosse & Blackwell Hunger Breaks with the prize of a "footie pub for your garden". The campaign, aimed at men in the run-up to the Euro 2004 championship in Portugal, is in fact offering the...

Bacardi-Martini.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Bacardi-Martini is to run up to 2,500 events in managed pubs in July as part of a new 1 million [pounds sterling] campaign to promote Southern Comfort. Fat Tuesday, which is the literal translation of "Mardi Gras", will include barbecues with...

The Smash Martians.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Smash Martians characters, who have promoted instant mashed potato for 30 years, are to feature on a new range of canned pasta. Produced by Premier Foods under licence, the new products will offer money off the Smash range in exchange for...

Jelly Belly Beans.(Gordon's Bar)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Jelly Belly Beans has teamed up with California Tourism and Selfridges to offer customers at the group's four stores the chance to win a holiday to California. In a linked promotion ending this month, customers who buy exclusive alcoholic and...

Virgin Money credit card.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Virgin Money credit card is targeting sports fans by offering entry into a prize draw for tickets to the Euro 2004 football championship with every application. Glue Money has developed creative for promoting the campaign on nearly 20...

New laws on promotions 'must be clearer', say MPs and peers.(News)
May 1, 2004... Proposed new laws on sales promotion need to be reworked to prevent confusion on competitions and other activity, according to an influential committee of MPs and peers. They have called for better clarification of the definitions of prize...

Points on offer with John Lewis card.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Retail group, the John Lewis Partnership, is offering customers of its new credit card the chance to earn points that can be converted into store vouchers. It has launched the Partnership Card in conjunction with high street bank HSBC,...

Texaco picks High Street Gift Vouchers.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Texaco has opted to use High Street Gift Vouchers as one of its incentives to customers using its loyalty points scheme, WE O U. Every time consumers spend 1 [pounds sterling] at any Texaco petrol station and swipe their card, they collect...

Marriott vouchers expand in Europe.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Marriott Incentive Vouchers hopes to benefit from the increasing popularity of short breaks by extending its redemption opportunities into mainland Europe for the first time. The UK-based supplier is now offering voucher holders a chance to...

Campaigns help publisher target new readers.(News)(SP Partnerships)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Gossip Girls series of books for teenagers has been promoted to a wider audience in a series of campaigns engineered by SP Partnerships. The agency carried out the activity for Bloomsbury Publishing to coincide with the publication of...

Mates offers women their 'ultimate pleasure'.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Women are being offered a chance to experience their most indulgent fantasy as part of a campaign to promote the new Mates Pleasure range. They are asked to name their "ultimate pleasure" on a dedicated website, in no more than 50 words,...

LivingWell goes West.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Health club chain LivingWell is offering vouchers worth up to 250 [pounds sterling] to new people who join up this spring as well as to existing members who refer a friend or relative. Until the end of May, the company is rewarding...

Agencies risk fines over new FSA rules.(News)(The Financial Services Authority)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Sales promotion agencies and marketers have been warned that they face heavy fines if they do not comply with new rules on insurance cover for over-redemption and other risks. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is introducing...

Events.(News)(Calendar)
May 1, 2004... May May 12 Seminar: harnessing the power of others IPA, Belgrave Square, London Organised by the ISP 020 7837 5340 www.isp.org.uk May 18 A Class Act: Cause-related Marketing in Schools Cadbury Schweppes...

Flytxt goes to Hollywood with Orange.(Promotion of the month)(Cover Story)
May 1, 2004... A new link-up between mobile phone giant Orange and the cinema industry marks a significant step forward in the use of mobile phones in promotional marketing. The Orange Wednesdays campaign involves the use of mobile coupons to give Orange...

"And the winner is ...".(ISP perspective: the latest views from the Institute of Sales Promotion)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... I estimate there are some 50 award schemes within the marcom industry. In the promotional marketing area alone I can think of six major events each year. Are they necessary? They require large resources of time, money and labour to...

Clients should pay towards pitch, says IPA.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Potential clients should pay sales promotion agencies a contribution towards the costs of pitching, according to a leading industry figure. Hamish Pringle, director general of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), said that...

C2C campaign gets cheeky.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Pop Idol rejects, the Cheeky Girls, were brought in by rail operator C2C Trains to represent its offer of "two for one" admission to top London attractions. The promotion, which ran until the start of this month, was put together by...

Reload brings colour to promotion.(News)(Reload Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Reload Marketing promoted a new Garnier hair colourant by using staff who were using the product on their own hair. The in-store "Garnier Ambassdors" were given live cards and tested so they could communicate the benefits of the product,...

Fragrance offers women escapism.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Prestige and Collections' new female fragrance, Ralph Lauren Blue, has been promoted through "escapism zones" at shopping centres across the UK. Live brand experience agency ID has created the activity, which offers luxury treatments, such...

BITC launches new cause-related marketing service.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... A new support service has been launched to help companies to develop cause-related marketing (CRM) programmes and integrate them into their broader strategies. The Cause Related Marketing Premium Service has been set up by Business in the...

Campaign ads sparkle to charity fund-raising.(News)(Vitamin V)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Marketing Communications agency Vitamin V has created a series of fund-raising activities for The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations. It has created a fund-raising pack which includes 60...

Footie Chick fashion label.(New media file)
May 1, 2004... Last week, I spotted an article about Footie Chick on a marketing website. And even although it was a reprint of a press release, I felt this company might be on to something. They seem to be tapping into a fresh market and have a chance to...

Quality not quantity counts, say Incentive World organizers.(News)
May 1, 2004... The organisers of Incentive World show say the quality of visitors improved this year despite a fall in total numbers. Reed Exhibitions estimates that 3,850 people attended the show at Earls Court Two in London last month, 30 per cent fewer...

WH Smith adds razzle dazzle.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The range of products redeemable with WH Smith Gift Vouchers has been extended into theatre, music and sport events. It has formed a partnership with leading entertainment ticketing company Ticketmaster to provide customers with tickets to...

Good team is key to motivation, says rugby hero.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... With the right team in place, "motivation takes care of itself", according to England rugby team coach Sir Clive Woodward, who has been named Motivator of the Year. The annual award was announced at last month's Incentive World show, based...

KGV tunes into music incentives.(News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Kingfisher Gift Vouchers (KGV) has linked up with music distributor Entertainment UK to offer a "one-stop shop" for CDs, DVDs and other entertainment products for use as incentives. It extends the supplier's services for businesses,...

Staff reward plan for electronic gift cards.(News and Opinion)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) plans to extend its electronic gift card services to create a bonus card that can be used in staff reward programmes. It aims to take advantage of its existing retail network linked to more than 35,000...

New network to develop motivation.(News and Opinion)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... A network of people who put together recognition programmes at leading employers is being formed to share best practice. A preliminary meeting was held at last month's incentive World show, hosted by motivation agency, the Grass Roots...

Staff offered TLC.(News and Opinion)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... TLC Marketing, which specialises in providing holidays and leisure incentives to the promotions industry, is extending its business into the motivation sector. At last month's Incentive World show, it launched a new division dedicated to...

Field marketing must be more integrated.(Opinion)
May 1, 2004... Although most brands will claim to carry out "fully integrated marketing campaigns", I wonder how many actually encourage communication between their various agencies, and how many of these campaigns truly show any crossover between the...

New BI boss to review strategy.(Motivation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The new managing director of business improvement specialist BI is to put together a new strategy for driving the company's growth and profitability. Richard Bandell, who comes from precision marketing giant Claritas Europe, has replaced...

Retailers sign up for Pure.(Motivation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Leading retailers have signed up to become redemption partners for the Grass Roots Group's new stored-value bonus card. The Pure Card, which was launched at last month's Incentive World exhibition, is due to go live at the start of June as...

B&Q staff enjoy record bonus.(Motivation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Staff at home improvement chain B&Q will receive an average bonus of 10 per cent of their salary after the company's parent group reported a rise in profits. About 34,000 employees across more than 320 stores and head office will share in...

Welsh 'happiest' workers in UK.(Motivation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Welsh workers are "significantly happier" in their jobs than those in other parts of the UK despite having the lowest wages, a new study reveals. Research presented at the Royal Economic Society conference in Swansea last month suggested...

Insurer offers brokers 'stress-busting' incentives.(Motivation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Third-party finance provider Singer & Friedlander is encouraging brokers to sell its products by offering them health and beauty gifts and electrical goods aimed at helping them to "unwind". Between March and May this year, it is running...

HFC Bank replaces long-service scheme.(Motivation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... HFC Bank has appointed Cottrills to manage its long-service award scheme for its UK workforce of more than 4,000 people. The programme uses Cottrills' own points-based product, Aspirations, which enables employees to choose from a range of...

Working from home 'boosts productivity', say commuters.(Motivation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Most employees believe they would work more productively if they were able to work from home, according to new research in both the UK and US. A survey of commuters at London's Liverpool Street station and New York City's Penn Station,...

Wining and dining at Vinopolis.(Experience profile)
May 1, 2004... Activity: Vinopolis Experience For Two Supplier: eXhilaration It's not often that companies admit to driving their staff to drink, but eXhilaration offers an experience where getting a little squiffy is unavoidable. The package centres...

Employers urged to prepare for childcare vouchers.(Motivation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Employers have been advised to prepare for the introduction of new childcare vouchers that will offer a tax subsidy worth up to 850 [pounds sterling] a year for a working parent. From April next year, working parents will be able to ask for...

Charity calls for parent's right to flexible hours.(Motivation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... A charity has called for parents to be given the right to have flexible working hours--rather than just the right to request them. A report from Working Families last month found that 60 per cent of parents with young children had been...

Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton.(Book Review)
May 1, 2004... The question of what motivates us to do better is something that preoccupies psychologists and economists as well as performance improvement specialists. In Status Anxiety, Alain de Botton takes a philosophical approach, finding out why...

Sex Lottery picks up top prize at ISP Awards.(ISP Awards)
May 1, 2004... A high-profile campaign promoting safe sex in holiday resorts won the Grand Prix at this year's ISP Promotional Marketing Awards 2004. Iris Promotional Marketing picked up the top award for the Sex Lottery campaign for the Department of...

Hyslop heralds death of sales promotion.(People)(Roger Hyslop)
May 1, 2004... According to Roger Hyslop, one of the founders of marketing agency Triangle Group, "sales promotion is dead". For nearly 30 years, the company has been at the forefront of innovation and creativity in below the line. But Hyslop, who retired...

Leisure Vouchers.(Moves)(Whitbread)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Jane Bristow, pictured, has taken over as managing director of Leisure Vouchers, part of leisure giant Whitbread. She was previously logistics director with Whitbread's food logistics team, the largest in-house foodservice operation in the UK....

Tequila\London.(Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Ian Thomas, the former managing director of Proximity London, has been appointed managing partner of Tequila\London. At Proximity, his accounts included Shell and Masterfoods. In March, the agency promoted managing director Tim Bonnet to chief...

Logistix Kids.(Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Jim Wilkinson, pictured, has been appointed creative director at Logistix Kids, the specialist children's marketing and sales promotion agency. He was formerly creative director at Brewer Blackler, part of the Carlson Marketing Group, where he...

ValueLink LLC.(Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Claire Stone has been brought in as director of European operations at ValueLink LLC, which supplies gift and spending cards, to lead the UK-based European sales, marketing and technical team. It follows the introduction of the Esprit gift card...

Fenix.(Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Sally Tarbit has joined Fenix as client services director to expand the agency's business. She was previously associate director at The Communications Agency.

Carlson Digital.(Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Claire Davidson has been promoted to the role of digital strategy director at Carlson Digital after joining the agency nearly three years ago. She will be responsible for strategic marketing communications for companies such as Hyundai and...

Euro RSCG Worldwide UK.(Moves)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Ben Langdon has been appointed chairman of marketing and advertising giant Euro RSCG Worldwide UK, which is made up of 12 agencies including Euro RSCG Skybridge. He was most recently co-founder of UK agency Ben Mark Orlando, which was launched...

Competing in the paper chase: circulation wars are driving newspapers and magazines to look for increasingly innovative or attention-grabbing promotions. Glynn Davis finds that it is a fight to the death.(Newspapers)
May 1, 2004... Try picking up a newspaper at the weekend that does not include a promotion of some description or other. Or during the summer months try and find a popular women's magazine that does not include a cover-mounted gift. This is a result of fierce...

One for the road: the relationship between cars and consumers is a strangely personal one and presents promoters working within and outside the automotive sector with a variety of ways to influence behaviour.(Cars)
May 1, 2004... We all know who man's best friend is. Or do we? Nowadays it seems the faithful pooch is in danger of being driven from the number one spot by its owner's motor. Many consumers are passionate about their vehicle of choice. As a result, man is...

Working for the public good: nurses, police officers and other public sector workers are supposedly motivated by knowing they are serving the community. But Mark Ludmon finds that, in the real world, employers appreciate that recognition and reward programmes play a key role in improving performance.(Public sector)
May 1, 2004... Research suggests that people who work in the public sector are a different breed from those in sales-driven, profit-greedy companies. They are motivated by the satisfaction of adding "genuine value to society" as well as the perception that...

New ideas soar at BAe Systems after launch of reward card.(Case study)
May 1, 2004... When engineering giant BAe Systems needed to boost its long-running ideas programme, Ideas in Action, the company turned to Maritz to develop an effective reward solution. Maritz proposed the introduction of its unique Exclusively Yours stored...

Devil is in the detail; effective administration is key to a successful motivation programme, and is as critical as communication and rewards.(Administration)
May 1, 2004... The success of every motivation programme rests on three pillars. First, there is communication, from launch through to explaining rewards. Then there are the incentives that drive participants to raise levels of achievement or change their...

Gifts get snappy: advances in technology mean that digital cameras are now an affordable option for incentives but, as Catherine Chetwynd finds, traditional film is not out of the picture.(Cameras)
May 1, 2004... One of the great characteristics of technology is that however expensive it is when new, prices quickly come down as the next generation comes on to the market. When digital cameras were launched, the top end of the range was astronomically...

Time for change: watches and clocks are no longer just for retirement and rewarding long service--they can be a stylish or aspirational gift for use in all kinds of promotions and reward programmes.(Timepieces)
May 1, 2004... Traditionally, watches and clocks have been associated with long-service rewards--the classic retirement gift, accompanied by a speech about how George has become an institution and his going will leave an aching void in the company, etc, etc....

Inner light.(Showcase!)
May 1, 2004... A working light-bulb made of ice is one of the new ideas for adding an extra sparkle to ice sculptures at events. The Ice Box, which has made everything from a life-size elephant to a bar made entirely of ice, has launched a new service to...

Super furry printables.(Showcase!)
May 1, 2004... Furry lunch bags were among the new products unveiled by Navigate at last month's Incentive World show, described as introducing the "ultimate ahh factor". The containers keep food and drink fresh throughout the day and can be designed to...

Calling car.(Showcase!)
May 1, 2004... A new desktop toy from Algar will guarantee that people will look forward to getting your phone call. The mini car s a clock with an alarm, but more importantly it detects electronic radiowaves from mobile phones--so whenever there is an...

Uplifting products.(Showcase!)
May 1, 2004... Electromagnetic forces are harnessed in a new device that can be used to make anything from a globe to a branded product float in thin air. Bliss Sound Direct used last month's Incentive World show to launch a new range of levitation devices...

Budding rewards.(Showcase!)
May 1, 2004... Colourful flower arrangements can be packaged and branded as corporate gifts or rewards by the Fresh Flower Delivery, Company, which put its products on show at Incentive World Last month. They are being promoted as suitable for gifts for...

Lord of the flies.(Showcase!)
May 1, 2004... As summer approaches and flies start to invade the office, Plastoplan has come up with a fly swatter with a difference--a small hole in the middle to "give the fly a chance". Andrew Hill, sales and marketing manager of Senator Pens which...

Kitcsh corner.(Backside)
May 1, 2004... Inflatable furniture has been around since the 6Os when Vemer Panton dreamt up the first inflatable chair. I can just see Henry Kissinger tackling affairs of state with JFK on bouncy armchairs. I bet Peter Sellers and Twiggy never went anywhere...

Going out with a bang.(Backside)(Institute of Sales Promotion)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... This year's Institute of Sales Promotion awards brought tears to many people's eyes, if only because of chairman Randle Stonier's opening speech. He entertained guests at the London ceremony last month with the tale of another award...

Carry on regardless.(Backside)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... It was rather unfortunate for Lucy Alexander, the self-assured newareader from TV's London Tonight, that she had to follow Randle Stonier's tale of two testicles with her own speech at last month's ISP Awards. The whole affair descended...

Q&A: Mark Fosbueary, managing partner of Fenix.(Backside)
May 1, 2004... What is your favourite promotion? Coke's two-part Perfect Serve and Collect for Glasses--and not just because I worked on it. In stage one, 11 million authentic-shaped glasses were collected and in stage two 8.5 million glasses. What...