IMA announces four Circle of Excellence winners for successful incentive campaigns

ROSEMONT, Ill., July 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Four strategic programs, designed to engage and motivate employees, dealers and customers, creatively used incentive campaigns to achieve successful results, winning the Incentive Marketing Association's (IMA) 2014 Circle of Excellence Awards, which were presented at the Association's 15^th Annual Summit, held July 27-29 in Philadelphia.

This year's award winners are Schweppes Australia with incentive marketing partner Solterbeck, South Melbourne; Bayer Australia Ltd., Pymble, NSW with incentive partner Synchro Marketing Australia; Regal Entertainment Group, Knoxville, Tenn., and Aéropostale, New York, with marketing partner CashStar. An honorable mention award was presented to Creative Group, Redondo Beach, Calif.

Launched in 2000, the Circle of Excellence Awards identifies and recognizes outstanding examples of successful customer and employee incentive programs designed to help drive business. Both the company and the incentive marketing partner are recognized.

"Incentive programs have proven themselves time and time again as effective tools to drive business," said IMA President Richard Low. "IMA's Circle of Excellence Awards recognizes organizations for effectively designing and implementing incentive programs to motivate their employees and win customers."

Here is a summary of the winning programs and their successful results:

Employee Engagement Recognition Winner: Schweppes Australia recognition program refreshes company culture - Schweppes Australia joined forces with incentive partner Solterbeck to create new, exciting and fresh employee recognition opportunities, with equal focus on appreciation and awards. The "Schhhweppic" platform was born, combining the highly-regarded Schweppes brand with "epic" to signify the magnitude of the program and to capture the essence of Schweppes Australia's culture. The program included a half-day training session for all employees, an online store to redeem award points, service awards, and quarterly and annual recognition events. More than 90% of Schweppes Australia employees are participating in the "Schhhweppic" program.

Dealer Distributor Program Winner: Bayer Australia Limited dealers deliver healthy results – Bayer Australia's Animal Health division and Synchro Marketing Australia set out to improve product positioning and sales leadership among veterinary practices and pet specialty retail stores. The "Bayer Accelerate – Learn, Grow, Reward" training and awards program was created. It encompasses product knowledge online training courses, marketing tools, and incentive rewards for veterinary practices and pet supply stores and their associates. The program has achieved 80% participation, retail channel sales have grown by 34%, and 13% at veterinary clinics.

Consumer/Offer/Branding Winner: Regal Entertainment, Aéropostale cross-branding promotion combines fun and fashion – CashStar brought together the two companies popular with teenagers and young adults to launch a 2013 two-week holiday sales promotion in which purchasers of $40 or more of Regal eGift cards received a $10 bonus eGift card from Aéropostale. The "Regal/Aéropostale Cross-Brand Initiative" program was a resounding success. Regal Entertainment experienced a more than 100% year-over-year growth in its movie theater eGift card sales, and a 50% gain in repeat purchases. Aéropostale was equally pleased with the results and intends to pursue more cross-branding opportunities.

Employee Engagement Recognition Honorable Mention: Creative Group successfully revamps recognition program – Working with four separate recognition programs, together with an employee suggestion plan, sales lead referrals, and service awards resulted in low participation and lack of clarity among employees at Creative Group. Following a series of strategic planning steps and employee focus groups, the company launched "Excelevate," a simple, easily-deliverable program to honor employees who excel and elevate their performance to new heights. The program saw 78% participation within the first two months, and Creative Group's recent sales year has been the best in its history.  

About the Circle of Excellence Awards - Past Circle of Excellence Award winners have included noted companies such as GE Financial Services, GlaxoSmithKline, Kohler, Kraft Foods, Purina, Microsoft Corp., and Sprint Communications. The growing archive of Circle of Excellence Award case studies illustrates the power of incentives, setting even higher standards for the incentive marketplace. Judging criteria includes overall success in meeting program objectives, program originality/creativity, appropriate incentive selection, perceived value of the incentive, and effectiveness of communication strategy and promotional materials.

About the Incentive Marketing Association

Business improves when employees and customers are recognized, rewarded, and engaged through effectively structured programs with defined goals and proven returns. The Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) is comprised of the companies who are leaders in the incentive industry.  IMA provides education, resources and research to promote the use of incentive programs to the business community and is the umbrella organization for the Global Incentive Council (GIC), the Incentive Gift Card Council (IGCC), the Incentive Manufacturers & Representatives Alliance (IMRA), the Incentive Travel Council, the Performance Improvement Council, the Recognition Council, IMA-Canada, and IMA-Europe.

More information about IMA and the incentive marketplace is available at www.incentivemarketing.org.

Press Contacts:
Julie Weldon 847.447.1711
[email protected]

Sue Voyles 734.667.2005
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SOURCE Incentive Marketing Association