New IMA President Jeffrey Brenner on Upcoming Plans

The newly elected president of the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA), the incentive, recognition, and reward industry’s worldwide association, reports on his plans for his upcoming term. A top priority: supporting the industry’s latest study.

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With about 37 years in special markets, Jeffrey Brenner, CPIM, brings a formidable resume to continuing the mission of the Incentive Marketing Association. Brenner is Director of the Special Markets Division and Military for Seiko Watch of America LLC and the new IMA president.
 
His No. 1 priority, he says: “We are focused on supporting the industry's incredible global growth. The IMA is conducting a groundbreaking new research study that will cover the vertical industries and the regional markets of our IMA members. The insights will help IMA members understand the similarities and differences in the incentive marketplace across cultures and economies around the world. It will provide a picture of where the industry is growing and identify opportunities for future growth. We encourage all IMA members and anyone managing incentive and recognition programs to take the survey.
 
RNN. What are your priorities for the year related to the purpose, goals, and objectives of IMA?
 
Brenner. I plan to continue the incredible work begun over the past several months on funding for research that will enable IMA to provide the education the industry is looking for regarding data, emerging trends and industry insights.  This flows into our initiative on knowledge sharing. The IMA is the local, national, and global industry voice advocating and promoting the use of incentives and recognition to improve business performance. We have many seasoned industry professionals from every discipline, and together they serve as a tremendous resource to incentive and recognition program managers.

RNN: What do you think are the most important services you provide as an organization?
 
Brenner. Expertise in every aspect of incentive and recognition program design and delivery from a global network of industry leaders.
 
That includes best practices, including research establishing ROI benchmarks for well-designed incentive and loyalty programs and our IMA Excellence Awards case studies, demonstrating ROI and successes from organizations in many industries, all of which leverage the expertise of our IMA members.
 
RNN. How satisfied are you with the awareness of the industry?  Is there more that can be done to elevate the industry’s brand and awareness?
 
Brenner. The IMA works continually to deliver on its mission as the local, national, and global industry voice advocating and promoting the use of incentives and recognition to improve business performance. Our corporate outreach programs communicate the benefits of the IMA Network to external organizations to elevate the visibility of our association so that corporate buyers will connect with IMA member companies.
 
RNN. What new trends, if any, do you see in the market that IMA would like to address?
 
Brenner. The education program at our recent IMA summit was an outstanding summary of the latest trends and generated significant buzz among attendees. Topics included the latest research and trends in incentive travel, leveraging personalization to maximize motivation, unlocking customer data, creating a culture of recognition, evolving your incentive strategy to meet consumer preferences and more.

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