About The Client
Our client is a global leader in commercial laundry equipment. They design, manufacture and market a line of commercial laundry equipment under several brands in over 100 countries.
The Challenge
The incentive program’s goal was to increase sales in our client’s distribution channel. Our objective was to design and implement a multi-pronged communication program that was relevant and impactful in order to deliver maximum engagement for program participants. The campaign needed to include a variety of communication elements throughout the entire incentive program, as well as before, during and after the group travel reward to truly inspire change and drive results.
The Solution
We created an interactive and engaging marketing communications plan to excite and inform participants throughout the selling period that would ultimately inspire more winners to achieve their sales goals. With the audience demographic and company history in mind, the theme Living Legends was developed because it spoke to our client’s legacy (112 years in business), the legendary families who started their business decades ago, and the legends of Machu Picchu, the destination chosen for the group travel incentive
The 14-month communication campaign included a wide variety of messaging touch points, from e-newsletters to monthly blogs to physical gift mailers sent to their homes.
Program Website
A Living Legends website was created to house all information related to the incentive: program rules, sales standings data, motivational messages, and Peru trip details. We also delivered monthly standings reports, giving visibility into individual and group tracking toward goals.
Each month, after standings were posted, a blog was uploaded to the site that teased the upcoming communication for that month. Emails were sent to participants alerting them that standings were updated, nudging them to visit the site. A week or two later, the communication piece was delivered to each participant.
Home Mailers
The July trip announcement contained a custom Hiram Bingham luxury train announcement that provided an overview of the Peru trip, including full day Machu Picchu experience and Sacred Valley of the Incas tour. Each participant also received a bottle of Pisco brandy – the Peruvian national spirit – and two etched Living Legends Pisco drinking glasses in a custom-designed box.
In October, after an electronic quiz was served to participants, prizes were sent to homes that included a martini shaker, Pisco sour mix and a recipe card. Later, we sent a mailer that delivered a taste of Peru’s legendary flavors – a culinary box filled with the contents of a traditional Peruvian dinner for an evening of home-cooked goodness.
In November, an extension trip announcement was sent to pique interest in the top qualifier pre-trip bonus, which included a Nazca and Paracas luxury tour (including a fly-over of the mysterious Nazca lines). To drive excitement, we sent a popcorn-and-movie-night-themed gift featuring a DVD about the mysterious Nazca Lines produced by National Geographic.
In May, the top achievers received their winner announcement and a book: Machu Picchu – Rediscovering the Lost City. And finally, in September, participants received a gift – Patagonia vests – along with their trip materials, which included departure booklets, flight confirmation, personalized luggage tags, etc.
The Outcome
There are times throughout the year when “eyes can come off the prize”, with a long and challenging sales cycle. Infusing energy back into the sales effort is crucial. Having consistent communication touchpoints to catalyze engagement and behavior is important to generate desired results. By sending communications directly to the distributor principal’s home, it helped engage the spouse/significant other and their excitement reinforced the drive for the participant to do everything possible to win and experience this destination.
Our client finished the year with a large double-digit sales increase versus the prior year and posted the largest single two months of order history in the final two qualifying months for the trip. Needless to say, the trip more than paid for itself within the calendar year.
Post-program participant feedback was very positive. Participants’ comments spoke of the goodwill that comes from strengthened relationships when a group experiences a legendary adventure together.
Watch this video below recapping the ADDY and SITE Crystal Award-winning communication plan.
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Engaging Communication Campaign Increased Sales
