.jpg)
Analysis: Stunning Retreat of Brands From IRR Industry
This article is part of the Enterprise Engagement Alliance’s ongoing analyses of the enterprise engagement and rewards and recognition field.Brands
Master Fulfillment Companies
Incentive Representatives
Over 300 brands, master fulfillment and technology firms, not including retail gift cards, exhibited at The Motivation Show in Chicago in the 2000s. Collectively, these brands provided extensive industry marketing and industry awareness through advertising in industry trade magazines, all mostly gone, and other more general marketing in human resources, sales and marketing publications. Today, the industry is essentially silent.
RRN searched the Internet and AI for US brand manufacturers and master fulfillment companies active in the incentive, rewards, and recognition. Today we could find 40 suppliers, defined as a brand that has a special markets department active in the market or a wholesaler who specifically supports the incentive, reward, and recognition field. That is a fraction of the number of brands once active in the market.
This corresponds with the surprisingly small number of incentive, reward, and recognition companies serving the field worldwide, with less than 100 headquartered in the US serving a potential marketplace of 200,000 or more organizations with $10 million in sales or more than 100 employees that could benefit from formal engagement strategies.
An analysis using AI estimates finds that there are about 600 widely known manufacturers in all consumer products categories suitable for the corporate IRR market, and probably up to 1,200 if one includes well-known regional or niche brands. This does not include retail brands.
By RRN’s estimate, only about 60 brands, master fulfillment companies and incentive representatives are active in the US IRR market.
Based on recent RRN articles on the IRR marketplace, brands largely pulled out of the market in the Great Recession and have largely outsourced distribution to the master fulfillment companies listed below. The main reasons appear to be that the marketplace does not supply a sufficient level of revenue and profits for major brands to contend with the industry’s unique buying and distribution patterns and its often antiquated catalog management features that cannot support the real-time APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that brands are accustomed to with online merchants.
Here is a list of the few players left in the market.
Brands
These are the brands that have a dedicated sales person or team for the IRR marketplace. Linkedin profiles for brand managers are provided because most of the brands do not have web sites or pages dedicated to the corporate market.
1. A.T. Cross – Andy Boss; corporate sales website.
2. Aloe Up – Thom Whatley; corporate sales web site.
3. Apple Inc. – Charles Harkins; corporate gift cards web site.
4. Carson Optical – Steven W. Goudy; Cameron Richard
5. Citizen Watch America/Bulova – Adrienne Forrest; corporate sales website.
6. Echo Valley Meats, Inc. David Alwan
7. Fujifilm North America – Joe Hafenscher
8. Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc. – Steve Izykowski
9. JURA Inc. – John Brennan
10. Movado Group, Inc. – Michelle Smith
11. Omaha Steaks – Matt Burdette; corporate gifts web site.
12. Orrefors & Kosta Boda – Donna Nardella
13. Pasolivo – Marissa Bloch
14. Samsonite LLC – Todd Montalbano
15. Seiko – Jeffrey Brenner; corporate sales website.
16. SodaStream – Joseph Kohen
17. Sony Electronics, Inc. – Shelly Colla
18. Tumi –Mike Landry; corporate sales website.
19. Victorinox Swiss Army, Inc. – Kimberly Dennison; corporate sales web site.
20. Weber-Stephen Products – Jane Quinn; corporate sales web site.
Master Fulfillment Companies
These companies provide fulfillment services for brands in the IRR marketplace.1. All Star Incentive Marketing
2. Carlton One Engagement
3. DPI
4. Harco Incentives
5. Hinda Incentives
6. Incentive Concepts
7. Indigo
8. Kleer West
9. Links Unlimited
10. Loyalty Source
11. MAS, Inc.
12. Mojo Incentives / Incenta Rewards
13. O’Rourke Sales Company
14. Partners for Incentives
15. Premco
16. Power Sales
17. Quality Incentive Company
18. Sheryl O’Toole Associates
19. Stark Premium
20. Zane’s Inc.
Incentive Representatives
These companies represent the interests of brands in the IRR market.1. Continental Premium Company
2. Pinnacle Incentives
3. Dragon Promotions
4. Clark & Clark
5. Keystone Incentives
6. Pilgrim Promotions
7. Hoffedge (The Hoffmann Edge)
8. MBG Marketing
9. Top Brands
10. Gretsch Incentives
11. Marketing Essentials
12. Genevieve Group
13. Carlisle Sales
14. MJM Incentives
15. O’Toole & Associates
16. Target Marketing USA
17. Continental Premium Company
18. Sharp Incentives
19. BrandSmith
20. Lone Star Incentives
21. Wynne Marketing
22. Incentive Source
Enterprise Engagement Alliance Services
Celebrating our 17th year, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance helps organizations enhance performance through:1. Information and marketing opportunities on stakeholder management and total rewards:
- ESM Weekly on stakeholder management since 2009. Click here to subscribe; click here for media kit.
- RRN Weekly on total rewards since 1996. Click here to subscribe; click here for media kit.
- EEA YouTube channel on enterprise engagement, human capital, and total rewards since 2020
Management Academy to enhance future equity value for your organization.3. Books on implementation: Enterprise Engagement for CEOs and Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap.
4. Advisory services and research: Strategic guidance, learning and certification on stakeholder management, measurement, metrics, and corporate sustainability reporting.
5. Permission-based targeted business development to identify and build relationships with the people most likely to buy.
Contact: Bruce Bolger at TheICEE.org; 914-591-7600, ext. 230.
