Although branding in the past for incentive programs has meant many things, branding modern incentive programs has transitioned from placing logos on awards to truly making staff award program an extension of your company’s overall brand and mission. There are three ways organizations can accomplish this:
Incorporating the look and feel of the organization into all incentive program components
Considering the mission/objectives of the company when designing incentive program goals
Considering the types of award merchandise that are offered as corporate gifts
Making your company easily identifiable through branding happens when marketing consistently promotes your logo, tagline, theme colors, packaging, etc. This consistency allows an emotional connection to exist between customers, employees and the business itself; the business takes on a personality as perceived by the people it interacts with. Since many companies have logos, websites, letterhead, etc, extending this consistent branding to an incentive program is quite easy to achieve.
As an Account Manager, I work with clients to make sure the logo, coloring and feel of incentive program components match that of my client’s organizational branding. Corporate gift programs that are made to match the look and feel of the organization, such as an incentive program website mirroring the corporate website, lends legitimacy to the staff award program in the eyes of recipients. Matching an existing website provides a seamless transition for communication across the organization. In addition to websites, any award packets, certificates of appreciation, posters, statements, emails and other components of the incentive program can be matched to the brand of any company and should feature the company logo on each piece consistently.
Aside from these components of a staff award program, goals of the incentive program should be closely tailored to another aspect of the company’s brand-organizational culture. The values of the top executives and leaders in a company set the tone for the rest of the business is conducted. An innovative and growing company should reward employees with innovative ideas and recognize exemplary employee behavior. An established and mature company, on the other hand, would probably opt to recognize employees who reach milestone anniversaries and reward employee and customer referrals/loyalty. In both cases, your company must define what it is you are looking to improve with the incentive program and how it will relate to your overall organizational objectives.
The last way to make sure that an incentive program is branded properly is to look at the types of awards it offers recipients. Lifestyle, brand name merchandise has been proven as the most effective award tomotivate employees and is the most appealing to diverse groups of people. For most organizations, this means that offering a well rounded assortment of gifts is the best way to ensure there are desirable gifts for everyone and that you are providing your employees with the best brands and incentives available. Associating your brand with other top brands in the incentive program award catalog makes a lasting impression among participants.
Branding your employee incentive program makes it easier for participants to identify how their position impacts and relates to overall organizational objectives. Developing a seamlessly developed staff award program sends a consistent message to recipients that the company is behind this initiative and the direction of the award program came from the top-down; lending the incentive program legitimacy and creditability. The bottom line is that when you extend your brand to an incentive program, employees are more likely to participate and be motivated to achieve your goals and be a part of your corporate culture.