What Do You Need to Kick It Into High Gear?

As the new year and new decade rolls in, many people are starting to take an individual look at themselves to see what areas need improvement in their lives. The new year's resolution trend can also be applied to a company! Many businesses can and should take a look at specific places that need improvement.

One common area that many companies consistently look to enhance is how to improve sales and overall employee satisfaction.

Setting tangible goals is one of the best ways to achieve long-term plans to better yourself individually at the gym and professionally in the workplace, and the right Incentive program is the key to success in attaining your corporate goals.

The Engagement Journey

The ROE (Return on Experience) is the concept of investing your time and effort into giving someone the best experience possible, in hopes of a positive return. Contrary to the performance measurement ROI, the Return On Experience model moves away from the numbers aspect and directly involves creatively engaging your participants with the highest quality experience.

• The ROE starts from the moment contact is initiated.

From start to finish, their valuation of the experience is based on everything leading up to, during and after their event has concluded. Here are some examples of ROE that truly add value to the participant:

Before:

• Multiple media touch-points across emails, websites and physical mailers that keep the participant engaged and excited.
• Personalized marketing material including, but not limited to, custom gifts, collateral and digital.
• Easily accessible customer service representatives to be a resource for up-to-date information about the promotion.

During:

• Exclusive on-site events curated just for the travelers.
• Individual recognition allowing the top performers to be acknowledged for their excellence.
• On-site Trip Directors that keep things running smoothly and the point of contact for questions and answers about the program.
• Signage and collateral throughout the program to inform and excite your participants, while highlighting your brand.
• Private transfers to and from the airport, resort and activities/events.
• Fun Amenities and activities that anyone can enjoy.

After

• Feedback questionnaires including surveys, polling and reviews of their time on the trip or experience.
• Memories board that serves as a social space for participants to share and interact with media from the trip.
• Post-program videos commemorating the trip and to serve as a memory for the travelers.

Experiences Are Everything

One of the best ways to not only gain a new customer, but keep them as well, is to invoke an experience that encourages them to engage with your company or product. By utilizing Brand Activation, you can drive consumer action by bringing your brand to life in the form of an experience that creates an emotional connection. In other words, your products or services will take on a new form and become something bigger and better to the user.

Brand Activation marketing campaigns take many shapes and forms. Some of the more common brand activation strategies include:

• Consumer Promotions, such as a drawing or coupon like J. Crew Factory's "mystery offer."
• Experiential Marketing, like when Red Bull had a man skydive from space to push the idea that their drink caters to extreme sports.
• Digital Campaigns, like Miller Light's "Going Dark" campaign to remind consumers to spend time drinking with friends rather than spend time on social media.
• Shopper Marketing, such as Home Depot's in-app ability get a real-time true-to-life 3D visual of a product in your home.
• Sampling Campaigns, like Netflix's Pop-Up Scoops Ahoy Ice Cream Parlor to create a sample of what it'd be like to buy ice cream in the Stranger Things universe to promote Season 3 of the hit show.

Photo Credit: Critical Popcorn

Brand Activation Example: IKEA's Private Dining Club

IKEA has always tried to push the limits of what a furniture can be, but back in 2016, the Scandinavian home décor retailer opened a pop-up restaurant where diners were able to build and cook their own meals using IKEA's provided kitchen. According to IKEA, "When we cook together, we make more than just food." The idea here was that the people could serve as the chef, preparing food for their group of friends and family in a public restaurant setting.

The brand decided to use this experiential marketing campaign to allow an emotional attachment between their products and their customers. This really pushes the idea that anyone can be a chef and can prepare a meal just as good as the top restaurants with IKEA brand products. Besides this DIY pop-up restaurant, the Dining Club featured an IKEA café serving Swedish delicacies, ‘Food for thought’ workshops, a kitchen showcase area including a virtual reality kitchen and a unique shop.

The pop-up installation proved to be a success during the 2-week long campaign that consisted of 38 sessions. Because of the hype involving such a unique and interactive experience, potential chefs had to be selected via application to which you could invite 7 to 19 friends to enjoy your meals. IKEA's brand activation ultimately brought attention to their products and how they stand against the top brands in the world for culinary arts.

Photo Credit: IKEA

What is RAIN?

RAIN is the “brain-child” of our very own Gary Cornwell and stands for Reporting And Information Network. It was originally designed to be a customer service tool and to keep track of our communication with each passenger. Through the years, it has been upgraded and updated to be GALACTIC’S COMPLETE REPORTING SOLUTION.

Everything “REPORTING” is housed here in our secure database

• Participant Information
• Email Correspondence
• Hotel
• Activities
• Flights
• Reports

It’s completely proprietary and is customizable for each specific program.

We actually “build” the program in RAIN with all the specifics – client & program name, destination, dates, attendee types, hotel and room types, the specific activities, fees, specific information requests, staff, etc.

Once the participants start to register, all the email communication is done in RAIN, so that everyone has access to the information. This is also tracked and color-coded to make sure all participants are contacted in a timely manner.

RAIN's Capability to Improve Productivity

Within RAIN, our staff has immediate access to all the information needed to make sure our participants are taken care and all their needs are met, whether it’s during the registration process or on-site. Real time flight information is also available which our in-house Air Concierge Agents use to ensure our participants are taken care of during travel.

Our clients also have access to a plethora of reporting tools, including flight manifests, hotel rooming lists, activity confirmations, passenger reports including roster with guests and company information, mailing lists, email lists, emergency contact information, passport information, the list goes on! We also have the capability to create custom reports for our clients – almost any information requested can be exported to excel for customized spreadsheets.

Solutions@GalacticPS.com

(817) 462-0400