Issue: March 2005

2005 New Catalog Review

PFI merchandisers were once again busy throughout 2004 researching, selecting and sourcing merchandise for the full line of PFI catalog offerings. The success of their most recent efforts are clearly visible in the exciting award selections presented in the all new 2005 versions of the Deluxe, Deluxe Lite and Canadian Awards Catalogs.

Deluxe Catalog of Awards
The 2005 Deluxe Catalog is the biggest yet with an impressive 1336 selections.
The new catalog features an expanded list of brand name manufacturers in addition to the impressive list of some of the most popular brand names including Allen Edmonds, Tommy Bahama, Fossil, Tivolia Audio, Audiovox and many more. As in the past, the Deluxe Catalog is a point-based catalog with selections organized in merchandise categories. Awards are valued between $20 and $4,000 dollars. 72% of all selections are valued at $500 or less.

The following is a percentage breakdown of deluxe catalog selections by value

 
The Deluxe Catalog expires December 31, 2005 with redemption through March 31, 2006.

2005-2006 Deluxe-Lite Catalog of Awards

The 2005-2006 Deluxe-Lite continues the tradition of presenting participants with an anything-but-lite award selection at a tremendous value. This newest version of the Deluxe-Lite catalog features 740 brand name awards from some of the most popular manufacturers.

The real value of the Deluxe-Lite Catalog, however, is in the distribution of award values. Over 50% of the items in the Deluxe-Lite Catalog are valued under $100 and less than 10% are over $500. Here is a breakdown of the Deluxe-Lite catalog by the numbers:

The following is a breakdown of all merchandise by award category:

Perhaps the most popular feature of the Deluxe-Lite catalog is its “lite” price. In addition to the tremendous selection and value of awards presented, this catalog is available for only $0.95 for the catalog body or $1.15 for the catalog with our stock cover. And don’t forget, this catalog costs much less to ship than the Deluxe book. The Deluxe-Lite catalog is the best value you will find.

The Deluxe-Lite Catalog expires December 31, 2006 with redemption through March 31, 2007.

2005 Canadian Award Catalog

The 2005-2006 Canadian Awards Catalog presents Canadian participants the opportunity to participate in U.S.-based program. All merchandise featured in this 52 page point-based award vehicle is sourced, warehoused and shipped from Ontario, Canada.

In addition to U.S. based programs, the Canadian catalog can be used to run separate stand-alone programs in Canada. Although it is presented in point levels, this is not a plateau-style catalog.
 

The PFI Award Collections

PFI is the industry leader when it comes to providing incentive rewards. And nowhere is that more obvious than when you review the full range of award media PFI brings to you and your clients. In addition to the Deluxe, Deluxe-Lite and Canadian Award Catalogs, here is a brief summary of the other catalogs and brochures produced and supported by PFI.

Plateau Award Collection
The Plateau Award Collection features 1089 award selections presented in 13 individual award value levels ranging from $17.50 to $1,000. The Plateau Collection can be presented with all 13 levels bound as a single catalog, used as individual award level catalogs or any combination of the 13 award value levels. Each plateau level features between 37 to over 100 items.

All items in a plateau level carry the same award value. Although the Plateau Collection is designed with step-up or plateau levels, it can also be presented as a point award catalog. Combined this catalog can be effectively used with most any incentive application. When used as individual plateau brochures, this collection is perfect for gift award programs, employee recognition, and any application where benchmark or step-up goal achievement is the award criteria.

Expiration date: 12/31/05 with redemption through 3/31/06

Junior Mini-Module
The Junior Mini-Module is a six-panel brochure featuring a limited selection of the most popular awards from Plateau award levels 1-5 ($17.5 - $75.00). This brochure features 63 award selections and is best used in programs where participants have performance plateaus or goals to achieve and a limited earning potential.

Expiration date: 12/31/05 with redemption through 3/31/06

Senior Mini Module
The Senior Mini-Module is a six-panel brochure featuring a limited selection of the most popular awards from Plateau award levels 6,8,9,10 and 11 ($100, $200, $300 $400 and $500). This brochure features 65 award selections and is best used in programs where participants have performance plateaus or goals to achieve and a substantial earning potential.

Expiration date: 12/31/05 with redemption through 3/31/06

Mini-Max Award Brochure
The Mini-Max Award Brochure is the Junior Mini-Module and Senior Mini-Module combined into a 12-page brochure. Although it is a plateau catalog, the number of popular brand-named awards in a wide range of values makes this a great award collection for all incentive applications. Many clients have used the Mini-Max with points. The Mini-Max brochure features 128 award selections.

Expiration date: 12/31/05 with redemption through 3/31/06

Reflections Service Award Collection
The Reflections Award Sheets feature award selections chosen for their gift and/or commemorative value. Although the award collection is packaged as a Service Awards product, it makes a perfect offering for employee gift, recognition or kudos programs. The Reflections Award Collection features 14 award value levels ($25 -$ 2,500) and a total of 451 gift selections including lifestyle awards, artwork and jewelry.

International Collection
In addition to the Canada, PFI has developed partnerships in Mexico as well as Europe. Program participants in these parts of the world can now be offered merchandise selections presented and described in their native language fulfilled within their borders without the hassle of customs and international shipping.

PFI Online
The Deluxe, Deluxe-Lite, Plateau Collection, Reflections and the Canadian Catalog are all available online.

When it comes to merchandise awards PFI has you covered—in print, online and around the world!

Seven Basic Award Plans

There are an infinite number of ways you can design and execute an incentive program. In fact, it is often overwhelming to identify how to structure an incentive program, what award structure to use and how to design it. To help make this process a little easier to understand, you need to know that there are really only 6-7 basic incentive award plans. These are what should be considered the “core” plan of an incentive program. More than one plan type can and often is included in an incentive program. However, additional plans generally take the form of a fast start sweepstakes, a top performer contest, etc. Here are essentially the seven core award plan structures to consider:

Per Unit Awards: Utilizing this structure, participants earn points for each item, or group of items sold. Variations on this include paying out on a per unit basis “retroactive” to achieving goal or a percentage of a goal. Per unit award structures are typically used for long-term accumulation, as in continuity or frequent-purchase programs. This structure usually has a delayed redemption cycle (as points are earned and accumulated). This has the positive benefit of building motivational momentum for participants and providing a positive cash flow for your client. Per unit programs tend to have higher rates of breakage (unredeemed points).


Hit & Win Awards: This is probably the simplest structure of all. Participants are assigned a goal. When they achieve their goal they get a payout. The payout can be points, or specially selected awards. This structure lends itself to both short term and long term programs. Hit and win is most frequently used when there are specific sales goals to be achieved. Hit and win programs are the easiest way to insure that your client is paying only for results achieved.

Step-Up Awards: Also known as “plateau awards.” Participants are presented a series of incremental award levels and the criteria they must achieve to qualify for each level. This is a structure is used to get participants to stretch their performance to higher levels of achievement. Step-up programs are typically used in short-term programs with a one-time payout. Breakage tends to be much lower and administration requirements are often minimal.

Award Pools: Award pools present a group of participants with a fixed award amount to be divided equally or based on performance. The award pool structure is most frequently used when there is a limited budget, when individual measurement is not possible, or when you’re trying to foster a team or group effort.

Games, Sweepstakes, etc. . . Sweepstakes programs present participants with the chance to win awards based on entries they earn for achieving defined performance criteria. Sweepstakes and games are used when there are limited funds relative to the size of the target audience. Sweepstakes can create an air of excitement and increase the motivational impact of a small budget. The downside is there is a limited connection between awards and performance and, more often than not, more losers than winners.

Contests: A contest is a closed-end structure that allocates a fixed value of awards to those participants who meet and exceed defined performance criteria. With a contest there is always a fixed number of winners. Incentive contests can create an exciting and motivating environment. With contests you can present higher value awards. Contests, however, require more extensive reporting, tracking and ranking. There is also a significant chance goal achievers may earn nothing. Contests also present the challenge of establishing fair criteria, specifically if you have a wide range of sales/purchase volume among your participant base. In this scenario, volume based performance favors those with high sales/purchase numbers. Percentage based contest criteria favors the smaller volume performers who can more easily achieve percentage increases.

Competitive Groups: A competitive groups program is a variation on a contest allowing you to segment your target audience based on historic sales volume in a way that criteria can be equally applied. Competitive group structures can also be built around team, geographic or sales organizational criteria.
 

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