PPB December 2017

FEATURE | Wellness Programs motivational and reminder products. Many suppliers provide sell sheets and quick web searches for wellness program items, but all types of products can be incorporated in these programs. Because the products are used as incentives for achieving goals, they don’t need to be geared toward fitness. Both individuals or groups can be rewarded for meeting goals. Consider less expensive fitness-related products to begin the program, and then premium products as rewards for meeting goals and for continued participation. Creating a theme for the program that you can use on branded products is often helpful. It’s a good idea to plan to give a product to all participants at the start for immediate gratification and then to award products throughout the program as goals are reached. 7 Create an opportunity for engagement. It’s easier to succeed when everyone works together. Consider a wellness-focused website, blog or online group to post successes and help employees to encourage and support one another. 8 Evaluate the results. At intervals or at the end of a challenge, those managing the program should assess the results. A simple survey and data evaluation can give a company valuable information that can be used to assess the program and enhance wellness efforts going forward. Did employees enjoy participating? How many dropped out? Were there fewer sick days? Did productivity or morale improve? What worked and what didn’t work? Wellness is not a one-time program, but a lifetime of choices. How Promo Companies Are Walking The Talk Distributor and supplier companies can model their client programs for their own teams, andmany are getting on board by adding healthful activities to their events. Consider this example: A SuccessFit4Life! FUNRun/Walkwas added to the schedule at the 2017HALOBranded Solutions national salesmeeting in June inNashville. Terry McGuire, senior vice president of marketing, sums up the experience: “HALOhas a corporate culture that encourages people to be active. We realize that this is beneficial to our teams’ personal and professional lives.” SethWeiner, MAS, president of Sonic Promos, explains his view: “Implementing an effective promotional marketing program is vital to the overall success of health and wellness programs. Whether they are being used to introduce, reinforce or reward, you havemultiple touch points that not only help to tell the story of your programbut also assist inmeasuring its results.” Dana Zezzo, vice president of sales and marketing at IMAGEN Brands, sees the movement not only as a lifestyle that’s here to stay but an opportunity for product expansion. “IMAGEN Brands believes in wellness lifestyles internally, and on a national level as a growing industry,” he says. “We see the future path in wellness trends and the correlation of pulling promotional products into it. Therefore, IMAGEN Brands is investing in this category as this trend will continue for the next three to five years. Not only are we dedicated to our long-term product development strategy, we are proud of our current unique product offering.” Brian Porter, vice president of north American sales at Pro Towels, adds, “Across the entire Pro Towels family, we’ve fully embraced the health and wellness market, not only as a growing trend, but as a way of life. The long-term benefits for individuals and companies go well beyond the ROI of the imprint, but leave a legacy of happy, healthy employees. From the launch of our Clean Freek products years ago, to our continued product development in this field, we are fully dedicated. Health and wellness are here to stay, and we’re proud to continue to help companies promote it.” Gain a Competitive Advantage Implementing a wellness program will take some effort on the distributor’s part, FUNDRAISING EVENTS Generate Sales Opportunities In addition to wellness programs, a fitness-oriented event that raises money for worthy causes offers many benefits and creates product sales opportunities. This can be a simple fun run, walk, ride, hike or whatever activity you choose, combined with a networking mixer type format. An event like this is usually inexpensive to facilitate in comparison to typical banquet-type fundraising events that can be costly to produce, taking funds away from the cause that everyone wants to support. A designated portion of the sponsor’s dollars could be used to purchase branded products to fill a gift bag given to those supporting the event. In a traditional fundraising model, the sponsor’s brand impression ends when the program is completed. In this model, however, a sponsor’s brand message will live on long past the event through useful and appreciated branded products that attendees receive. Using branded promotional products in this way showcases the lasting impact that our marketing medium offers. An added benefit is that business relationships can be nurtured by working with the companies that are already supporting the designated cause. When a distributor collaborates with a nonprofit organization, they have access to these businesses, creating the opportunity for additional sales beyond this event. 54 | DECEMBER 2017 |