Award Program Promotional Tools

Presentation Packets & Gift Booklets

Packets and gift booklets can be customized and personalized for your company and its recipients. These promotional tools can be given to employees or customers who have reached a significant achievement or milestone with your company for an added impression. Packets and gift booklets are perfect for presentation ceremonies and formal events.

Meetings

Meetings are one of the best ways of showing approval and acceptance from leaders in the organization. Informal or formal gatherings can help create buy-in among employees at the launch of a new reward program, keep employees updated throughout the program and publicize the impact of individual contributions on the company's success. Meetings might be a good fit if your organization can easily hold face to face meetings on a regular basis at little to no cost.

Company Newsletters

If you already have a regular newsletter being emailed or mailed out to employees, it might be easy for the editor of the newsletter to add a new section about your incentive program. Your company newsletter can shed light on what the most popular awards of the program are, what employees have done recently to earn points and also provide regular updates on the impact of the incentive program.

Complimentary, Unlimited Emails

Emails are one of the most versatile tools to communicate a recognition or incentive program and thus the most common way to communicate and promote an award program. Electronic messages can be sent at the kickoff of a program, anytime employees earn points, when new goals are introduced or when milestones have been achieved. Emails can feature a mix of plain text, links and photos. Links in emails can be directed to online videos that can be used to promote participation. Electronic mail is a good fit if most of your award program users have email addresses listed in their accounts.

Posters

Posters are generally used as promotion devices-they feature popular merchandise awards that can be earned by participating in a reward program, include goals of the award program and tell employees how to access more information. Posters are large enough, usually 12" by 18", to be eye-catching and work best if you have common areas such as break rooms or locker areas so posters can be prominently displayed.

Flyers

This communication tool is also primarily used to promote an incentive program but on a smaller scale than a poster, usually 8.5" by 11". Letters or flyers can be mailed to individual homes, included in welcome packages for new hires or kept in a break room/general area such as an HR office. You can even include flyers with pay stubs to announce a promotion or contest.

Statements

Statements are generally the same size as flyers but include personalized information such as personal log in information and point balances for each participant. These can be mailed to individual homes or distributed by managers at work. Statements can also serve as an order form that can be mailed or faxed in for award redemption. If your employees would prefer a paper-based incentive program to receive updates and place orders, then this communication tool might be a good fit for your organization.

Social Media

If your company participates in online communities such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, you can communicate with participants by forming a group on the social media websites your company is already active on. Beginning a group for your reward program participants is relatively easy and allows you to develop a targeted message and create interest in an employee incentive program. Social media outlets are a great vehicle for communication if employees are already participating in these online communities.

Award Catalogs

Award catalogs and/or single award collections include all of the items that participants can redeem with the points they earn. Quick facts about the award program are often found on the inside cover of the award catalog or booklet and can include the custom website URL and where to find more information about the program. Catalogs can be customized for your organization and include only the collections you would like to feature. You can keep award catalogs or single booklets in common areas for people to browse through while on break or lunch and can help to get people interested in learning more about what they need to do in order to earn the rewards featured in the catalog. You can also hand out award catalogs or booklets to entice participation in a loyalty reward program.

Greeting Cards and Postcards

Greeting cards and postcards often serve as a reminder to participants. These can be mailed to work locations or home addresses to remind participants to log into the incentive program website, participate in the program and even remind employees of an upcoming deadline to use their points. If you have employees all over the map, greeting cards and postcards are a great way to keep in touch with participants and encourage participation.

Announcement Letters

These letters can be any size but the most common size is 8.5" by 11". Announcement letters are used to generate excitement and buzz around the kickoff of a new reward program. They often feature the start date of the program, images of the awards that can be earned and the website address to access the program. Announcements can be emailed or mailed for distributing to your reward program participants.

Point Receipts

Point receipts are a lot like carbon copy checks and are used to recognize and reward people on the spot. The carbon copy receipts are then collected and entered into participants' accounts as often as needed. The point receipts often include a space where an individual can fill out the recipient's name, the reason for the award, the number of points being awarded, the date and the name of the person giving the award. Point receipts can be collected so participants can track their point balances and also keep as a reminder of all the recognition received and accomplishments made. If you are looking for a paper based method to award employees on the spot while keeping track of the points that are being distributed, point receipts might be an ideal reward solution.

Award Cards

Award Cards are plastic and the size of a credit card so they easily fit in a purse or wallet. These cards are designed to attract the eye and provide management with a way to recognize employees regularly and spontaneously. When a manager observes a desired behavior, he or she can load the points into the employee's online incentive account and then immediately present the award card to the employee. This card has high trophy value and often numerous designs are used so an employee can work to earn all of the available designs and then display the cards at a work station or desk. You can pre-order award cards and keep them on hand to distribute as good behavior is observed. Award Cards are ideal for companies in which managers work closely with employees and need a way to positively reinforce good behavior on the spot.

Reward Program Website

One of the most effective ways to communicate a reward program is the website itself. All of the tools that help to communicate the award program often refer a person to the URL of the award program website for more information. Incentive and recognition program websites can be accessed anytime, anywhere and provide all of the information about the reward program in one place for participants.