Incentives: Seasonal spurs

last year.

While no brand can afford to miss out on its share of Christmas
spending, neither can any business miss out on the opportunity to cement
good relations with staff, suppliers and customers; the festive season
is an ideal time to thank somebody for a job well done or for business
received - which means the incentives industry is much in demand.

Yash Chadha, managing director of merchandise supplier B2B Initiatives,
says 40% of his sales come in the last quarter. 'We do lots of work in
the drinks industry, encouraging pubs to stock up on particular products
for Christmas. Last year we ran a promotion for Baileys, giving away Sex
and the City videos, which supported its sponsorship of the show.'

The frenzy of campaigns around this time can make it difficult to cut
through to sales staff, according to Phil Romans, chief executive of
channel marketing agency Meerkat Culture. 'We came across a call centre
where there were 35 different incentive programmes (aimed at staff)
running at once,' he says.

Romans explains that to stand out, incentive activity needs to grab the
attention of staff from the start. Meerkat Culture has devised a
programme called 'Mind, body and soul' for Coca-Cola Enterprises' (CCE)
festive push. The campaign is aimed at telesales staff on some of CCE's
biggest accounts, including Matthew Clark, Carlsberg, Coors and Scottish
Courage. The work encourages the drinks companies to sell CCE's products
in a package with their own brands to the on-trade. Rather than giving
the usual PowerPoint-assisted briefing, the agency drafted in West End
actors to deliver the half-hour brief as a musical, complete with
knowing references to real staff members.

Hitting sales targets is rewarded with a Christmas hamper - though the
targets are cumulative, so the more sales, the more products from the
hamper are won, from a jar of brandy butter to a bottle of wine. This
means everyone should get something, rather than simply rewarding those
that hit the top target. 'Staff need to buy into the programme straight
away,' says Romans. 'If they don't hit their targets at the beginning,
they know they won't get the rewards, so they just switch off.'

Tracy Aslam, head of incentive business at Kingfisher Gift Vouchers,
believes it is vital for departments that are especially busy over the
Christmas period, such as call centres, to keep staff focused. 'These
organisations run incentives all year, but at Christmas they might need
an extra push,' she says. 'We run an event using our voucher vortex - a
wind tunnel containing vouchers that people can grab. We can also take
in a Santa's sack with the top 10 toys or run a store event.'

Chris Hartley, general manager at Argos Rewards, says the novelty factor
can boost a campaign's effectiveness. 'Every brand and retailer will be
offering some kind of Christmas promotion. Those that are successful in
capturing attention are those with the most imaginative or tailored
approach.'

Richard Kirk, chief executive of Projectlink Motivation, believes
keeping staff engaged is particularly important around Christmas,
because absenteeism, which costs the UK £11bn a year, is a
particular problem in December.

'A lot of people disappear to go shopping and you have to do something
to keep them at work,' he says. 'We have run campaigns where staff have
attendance cards they have to get stamped. If they miss a day, they lose
half of the reward.'

Reward levels

Employees often use the New Year to consider their career options, so
making staff feel valued at this time makes sense, adds Katherine
Francey, head of Harrods corporate service. 'Christmas can be a good
time to reflect on how the company has done throughout the year, rather
than particular people.' She recommends that all staff are rewarded in a
similar way, but that levels of reward can differ. 'Different levels of
hampers can be given to staff according to their rank or
importance.'

Kirk says the dangers of simply giving everybody a gift as a thank you
is that it is taken as a given and has no motivating effect. 'It needs
to be seen as part of a programme of reward and recognition throughout
the year or it has no meaning. Christmas is a good time to say thank
you, but it just one of many.'

Andrew Johnson, sales and marketing director of The Virgin Voucher,
agrees.

'Ideally, a Christmas incentive should form part of an overall incentive
calendar designed to stimulate activity at key trading times throughout
the year.'

Katy Lefevre, marketing manager at Thomas Cook Vouchers, also believes
Christmas can be the culmination of a year of activity. 'Many people
book holidays in January, so travel voucher programmes are successful if
they aim toward Christmas.'

Rapid solutions

For some organisations, a complex scheme is too much, and they may want
to simply say a festive 'thanks'. John Bohan, account manager at John
Lewis Corporate, claims many businesses are looking for a quick and easy
solution at Christmas, hence the enduring popularity of hampers, wine
and flowers. 'At any other time of the year businesses might want to
talk to us about incentives and additional support, but at Christmas
they simply want an off-the-shelf, rapid-response solution.'

Like the customer arena, interest in staff incentives is building
earlier.

'We've been getting calls from September when the kids go back to
school. Last year we were running low on items from late November and
ran out of stock on some products completely,' says Bohan.

However, companies must tread a fine line between offering a powerful
incentive and the reality of delivery. 'You get increased interest if a
prize is an item in short supply. But don't promise if you can't
deliver,' warns B2B Initiatives' Chadha.

Andrea Born, head of business incentives at House of Fraser, says that
the essence of a successful campaign is unchanged. 'Careful planning is
as true for running a Christmas incentive scheme as it is for running a
scheme at any time of the year.'

Thinking ahead, it appears, is the difference between translating the
festive cheer onto the bottom line and watching other people make
merry.

3663

Supplier: Projectlink Motivation

Objective: To boost sales and enhance loyalty among 3663's free-trade
clients in the lead-up to Christmas.

Campaign: For catering supplier 3663, the run-up to Christmas is one of
most important trading periods and it is crucial that clients with
discretionary budgets maintain their spend. The company sets threshold
spends for those that have signed up to the scheme. Clients gain points
for buying selected items to a predetermined level; those that meet the
spend level are rewarded with Supercheques, a reward currency that can
be exchanged for a range of high-street or experience vouchers.

JEWSON

Supplier: John Lewis Corporate

Objective: To drive an increase in sales of all Neff kitchen appliances
in Jewson showrooms.

Campaign: Jewson Kitchen Showroom managers are incentivised to sell more
Neff products, such as ovens, extractor fans and fridges. Managers
achieving set Neff sales targets before the closing date of 31 November
2005 win a luxury John Lewis hamper in time to enjoy it over the
Christmas break. The scheme also empowers all staff involved in the
strategy; Neff's own area business managers are also eligible for the
John Lewis hamper if the top Jewson branches in their area achieve their
sales target objectives.

GLAXOSMITHKLINE

Supplier: Kingfisher Gift Vouchers

Objective: Keeping in touch with the company's retired staff.

Campaign: GSK is committed to the wellbeing of retired staff; 23,000 are
members of its retired staff association in 50 branches around the
country. These branches organise a range of social activities, such as
outings and dinners. Some members who feel they are too young for active
involvement with the association or too frail are called 'Keep in touch'
members and Christmas is a key opportunity to maintain contact. The
company send members a Christmas card each year with a £10 gift
voucher and a diary.

JAI KUDO

Supplier: B2B Initiatives

Objective: To promote Jai Kudo frames across Europe during a
traditionally quiet trading time.

Campaign: Designer spectacle-frame manufacturer Jai Kudo is targeting
resellers in 10 European countries with a sales drive that runs from the
end of November to the end of January next year. The company ran the
same promotion successfully last Christmas. The activity offers
optometrists and opticians the opportunity to collect one of 30
different products. If sellers are successful in boosting frame sales
over the period, they can choose from merchandise ranging up to an LCD
TV worth £500.

SLUG AND LETTUCE

Promoter: Red Bull

Objective: To boost sales during the Christmas period.

Objective: Red Bull is aiming to boost its appeal in the 50-strong Slug
and Lettuce estate during the party season with the introduction of
cocktails. The brand is sponsoring two skiing trips to Austria as prizes
for the staff who sell the most drinks. The winners will also get the
chance to visit the Red Bull factory. Slug and Lettuce marketing manager
Nicola Acreman says the company prefers to run incentives that are not
cash-related. 'We want activity that sits well with food as we will be
having a lot of Christmas parties. The season starts in late November
for us.'

POOLIA PARKER BRIDGE

Supplier: Spirit Integrated Communication

Objective: To keep Poolia Parker Bridge front of mind during the
Christmas period with companies that want to recruit staff.

Objective: Poolia Parker Bridge recruits temporary and permanent staff
for finance, accounting, banking and office-support roles. The company
is looking to Christmas as a brand-building opportunity by sending out a
chocolate Advent calendar to key contacts and business prospects. As
well as acting as a reminder of the consultancy, the calendar also
contains useful information such as the last Christmas posting dates for
first- and second-class letters.