The economic, political and social situation characterised by increasing uncertainty is pushing consumers to make choices based on convenience, changing brands and trademarks for new opportunities. To regain loyalty, industry and distribution players are focusing on reward initiatives. After the drop recorded in 2020 due to Covid, prize competitions rose again in 2021, then stalled in 2022 due to fears related to the war in Ukraine and rose again in 2023 (data from the Promosfera Observatory). And there are also many activities involving collections of free gifts. The Promotion magazine reviews about 500 of them per year, for the large-scale retail trade alone.

And the free gift is not only a valuable incentive in the FMCG world, but also in sectors that seek to support sales by incentivising dealers, counter sales staff and installers.

Receiving an update on the world of rewards is therefore important for all agencies, whether they work with companies operating in the B2C or B2B sectors. PTE has selected some proposals from operators who attended the recent editions.

Pelco relies on big brands to incentivise and reward; it is no coincidence that its portfolio boasts around sixty brands with a high perceived value including Swarovski, Piquadro, Parker, Hugo Boss and Cerruti 1881. The result is a kaleidoscope of product categories, ranging from watches to Millenia necklaces with a string of Swarovski crystal and zirconia on rhodium-plated settings; from clothing to leather goods and a myriad of other accessories, all strictly at the click of a mouse via the dedicated, intuitive section of the Pelco website.

The range of products and brands in Promotred's catalogues is also extensive. There, the exclusivity of brands such as Pininfarina and Parafernalia is combined with the experiential dimension, as is the case with In Estasy fragrances, a refined made-in-Italy line of room fragrances, with formulations that can also be customised for the customer’s own brand. And because exclusivity goes hand-in-hand with sustainability, the Promotred sample book also includes companies such as Grünbagwith its bags in appealing designs made from recycled materials.

Experiential and 'tailor-made' are also the concepts at the heart of Wonderbox Italia's gratification items, whose boxes are as effective in B2C and loyalty contexts as they are in B2B, from incentive/challenge activities for collaborators to team-building rewards, not to mention company anniversaries and gifts in the broadest sense. The most intriguing new entries include a 'Warner Bros Studio Tour - The Making of Harry Potter' gift box including a visit for two to the British set of the young wizard's adventures, as well as the '3 days in 100 capitals' gift box, with overnight stays in 4- and 5-star hotels.

Technology is also used to make top rewards, particularly when presented in a neat and original guise. This is certainly the case for products such as i-Tools.Tech, a wireless LED table lamp with a minimalist design offered by BSC. In painted metal with finishes in Abs and Ps, i-Tools.Tech offers the dual advantage of being unscrewable from its stem to fit into the neck of a bottle, as well as offering advanced technology for creating a wide range of lighting moods thanks to its dimming feature, which can be controlled through a simple, easy-to-use soft touch on/off system.

No less emblematic of the technology-design combination is Projector Circle, from the Premium Square catalogue: a projector with an unusual, rounded shape, which features wi-fi and Bluetooth technologies for seamless connectivity with content and functionality of other devices on the same network. The possibility of positioning the projector both horizontally and vertically, thanks to the elegant wooden base provided, makes it suitable not only for watching TV, working, playing games, and interacting on social media, but also for ceiling projections. Changing point of view has never been easier...