Incentive Publications PM40801507 - Manual (Page 11)

DVD players or MP3 players, recog-
nized brands have a high profile in
this market.”
But Christie also suspects many
parents redeem their stored rewards
and points from work for their kids.
“It’s a looser link, but I think there’s a
trend towards that purpose,” he says.
Besides electronics moving at this
time of year, Christie says Jamis bicy-
cles move a lot in late summer and
early fall. “I think people are getting
them for students who need trans-
portation to school. And I’m stretch-
ing, honestly, but I think a lot of peo-
ple choose small appliances as a prac-
tical redemption for students they
know who are setting up their first
home away from home.”
ANDREW NEWCOMB
DIRECTOR, CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT –
GLOBAL STORED VALUE
ECOUNT, INC.
New to the Canadian market, this
Citigroup company provides prepaid
Visa cards, which their clients use as
incentives for employees and cus-
tomers. Newcomb prefers the universal
spend option of a prepaid card over
product catalogues and single-mer-
chant cards that he says require too
much guesswork about what the incen-
tive receiver wants.
In fact, Newcomb says businesses
giving away Ecount’s cards often get
their gift right back. “A lot of cus-
tomers spend the reward at the
provider,” says Newcomb, who sees
information that identifies where
recipients use the cards. “The cards
drive spending right back to the store
that provided it.”
Newcomb says good program
results come from “planning an event
and building a program around it,” an
outlook that makes almost anything a
marketing opportunity. “But back-to-
school is a good time for our cards to
be used, matching a seasonal need,”
he adds. “And that resonates well
with people’s desire to see students
move forward.”
For sales incentives, Ecount does a
lot of work with telecommunications
providers. “They’re always busy at
back-to-school time with students set-
ting up cell phone and Internet
accounts,” Newcomb says.
CIM
Ian Tizzard is a freelance writer and regular
contributor to Canadian Incentive Magazine.
➤ [email protected]
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