Many programs designed to influence a persons behavior include the opportunity to earn "points" or other program currency that is the redeemed for merchandise, gift certificates or individual travel. In the days of old big, glossy-paper catalogs ruled the world. But much like dinosaurs they too met an untimely death in the incentive industry when a meteor called the Internet hit. Seeing a quick way to reduce costs (but not margins) many if not all major incentive companies started eliminating the catalog and started to promote their online catalog.
But like most things in the world there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer and it's not an issue of "paper or electronic" - it's an issue of connecting the participant in the program with tangible representation of their effort.
This article in BusinessWeek Online discusses how retailers are using catalogs in two ways - make people want the items more and get them to go online for ordering. The catalog has moved from being an "ordering instrument" to being a communications instrument.
Our goal in the incentive industry should be the same. We need to retail awards no differently than the retailers merchandise their merchandise. This doesn't mean you need a catalog - but you should spend time figuring out how to communicate the award potentials in a program and get the participant to want to do the work to redeem for the award. Consider doing both an online catalog for the ease of ordering and a paper catalog that helps participants see themselves enjoying the fruits of their effort. Maybe we need a new word for those types of communication pieces. Maybe a "communilog". Hmmm.
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