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The Next Step: Industry Unification
December 10, 2007
50 industry leaders meet, seek a unified voice
By Leo Jakobson
When some 50 incentive industry leaders got together in New York this past November, the main topic of conversation was not the recent 60 Minutes segment on the need to motivate the workforce's newest generation—the millennials—that brought Morley Safer to The Motivation Show this year.
But that broadcast, which featured interviews with Bob Nelson and several others in the incentive industry, was a fine and timely example of how to resolve the major issue under discussion. That issue, according to Bruce Hollander, executive vice president of Don Jagoda Associates, was: With the industry poised to grow rapidly, thanks to this new, praise- and reward-hungry generation, "How do we capitalize on this? Is there a central voice of the industry?"
As for the latter question, no, there isn't, but that there should be was the only really solid conclusion to come out of the meeting. Who that is or how it will be accomplished is another question, although both the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) and Incentive Federation are possible answers.
This issue took on a new importance following the release of the Incentive Federation's U.S. Incentive Merchandise and Travel Marketplace study, which showed that despite growing to more than $46 billion a year—a $20 billion increase in six years—the percentage of companies that use noncash incentive programs remained virtually flat at one-third. Indeed, in a recent membership survey by the IMA, the top request was for the organization to do more aggressive outreach to Corporate America, says Jeff Beegle, chief marketing officer of MotivAction and an IMA board member.
"There are many factions in this industry," says Rodger Stotz, vice president, managing consultant, Maritz Inc. and one of the primary speakers at the meeting. "It is at least worth the effort to figure out how they fit together and how they can all work together."
Millennials are an opportunity, Stotz adds, noting, "Employee recognition seems to have taken on a life of its own."
A second goal of the meeting was to try and bring together the two main factions of this industry: incentive providers and the representatives of brands that provide awards for program winners. The problem is that the two groups don't have the same priorities, says Pete Mitchell, director, b-to-b sales, for Samsonite.
"The next sales call I make with [incentive houses] Carlson, BI or Maritz will be my first," says Mitchell. "Brands are the last thirty seconds of the conversation" with clients. He quotes one incentive house executive saying his company "is not in the business of selling brands, we sell solutions." Hollander said much the same thing, noting that when it comes to participants, "I want you to win, but I don't care if you get a television or a lawn mower."
And on the flip side, no incentive house—or even every incentive planner combined—orders nearly as many Sony HDTVs as Best Buy, for example. Incentives are, as a number of participants noted, a small part of any brand's overall business.
"It's a noble effort," says Hollander. "But realistically, we've got competitors, people with divergent interests. It will be good if we can work together, but there is a long road ahead."
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