IRR Industry Veteran Heather Chevreau on What Has Changed and What Hasn't
Celebrating her 10th anniversary at Citizen Watch America with over 30 years in the business, Heather Chevreau reflects on changes in the industry in which she has spent almost her entire career.Where Have All the Big Brands Gone?
Unprecedented Fragmentation
Click here to subscribe to RRN weekly, and here for an RRN media kit.
The big incentive trade shows are long gone, major brands have pulled out of the market, fads have come and gone, the industry has fragmented, technology has transformed the business and the reward experience: These rank among some of the biggest changes over the last three decades, says Heather Chevreau, Director of Corporate Sales for Citizen Watch America, New York.
Two things haven’t changed, she says. There remains a strong appreciation by people to be meaningfully rewarded with desirable brands, and the brand awareness for the IRR industry remains low. “I continually have to remind people that they generally can get better pricing and service when buying incentives, rewards, and gifting directly from a brand that is committed to the market.”
Where Have All the Big Brands Gone?
Of all the changes in the incentive, rewards, and recognition marketplace, the biggest of all may be the dramatic pullback of leading brands from the incentive, rewards, and recognition market, she observes. “There used to be two enormous shows, the Motivation Show in Chicago that featured many of the leading brands and travel from around the world, and the Premium Incentive Show in New York at the Javits Center, where you could also find many brands.” Today, she notes, "We have one big show left: the PPAI show every year in January where only a few brands other than Citizen Watch America exhibit on their own at the promotional products shows. Most are represented by master fulfillment companies. She says she cannot explain why the major brands have pulled back from the market but it’s good for Citizen Watch America, she believes. “There is so much competition today, I don’t see how a brand can make a serious impact without its own advocates. It’s not just about knowing your own product line, it’s about knowing the industry and where different products and brands fit in, who the players are and their various perspectives.” This has become increasingly important because of the dramatic change in the nature of the market since she entered the market working for Nikon in the 1990s.
“The business used to be dominated by the catalog companies. In fact, before the days of online technology and Replink (the industry’s online platform more managing product data for industry incentive catalogs and sales presentations by incentive representatives) a lot of our time was spent filling out product specification sheets. Now, the issue is that we are just one of hundreds of different brands in these catalogs, so it’s difficult to generate the same volume of business we used to from them. We aren’t just competing with other watch brands; we are competing with other product categories in our price points.”Without knowledgeable advocates, lost opportunities are inevitable. “With catalogs so much less of a percentage of the market today, up to 50% of business each year are one-time opportunities that come through promotional distributors, master distribution companies, through the power of our own brand names. The distributors, fulfillment companies, and our reps work with many brands. Being there to support our own CWA brands and having a robust marketing team leaves nothing to chance.
Unprecedented Fragmentation
This advantage, she feels, is multiplied by the fragmentation in the marketplace. “There are new categories of players and opportunities in recognition, online gifting, loyalty programs, the gaming industry, and event gifting that require knowledgeable people to spot and pursue.” It's too big a task to leave that exclusively up to resellers carrying multiple over lines. The brands that provide the most appeal and support, she believes, get the greatest attention.
Another characteristic of the market she says are the fads that come and go. “Without naming names, I can remember when one brand or another became hot and then went away. Or when I was in the camera business, there was a time we couldn’t get our hands on enough one-time use cameras. Who would have guessed the arrival of smart phone cameras would remove traditional point-and-shoot cameras from the market. Smart watches were supposed to destroy the watch industry but now watches are more aligned with jewelry pieces and are selling better than ever. With 10 brands under our umbrella, we have a product at every price point for almost any demographic."
Technology not only has all but eliminated the tedium of maintaining product specifications for catalogs, she points out, “we can now provide the online catalogs with the latest models available at retail.” At the same time, Citizen Watch America still maintains a staple line for continuity gifting programs, she adds.
With all the changes, Chevreau is reassured by the continued demand for rewards, recognition, and gifting. “I don’t see any change in the younger generations when it comes to feeling meaningfully recognized and rewarded with a special gift that truly speaks to them. And, given that there is so little loyalty today in the workplace or in the consumer marketplace, expressing appreciation through carefully selected gifts presented the right way will remain an important part of the toolkit for retaining and rewarding people.”
Now, if only more people knew about the industry, she adds.
Enterprise Engagement Alliance Services
Celebrating our 15th 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 for a media kit.
RRN Weekly on total rewards since 1996; click here for a EEA YouTube channel on enterprise engagement, human capital, and total rewards insights and how-to information since 2020.
2. Learning: Purpose Leadership and Stakeholder
Management Academy to enhance future equity value and performance 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.
6. Public speaking and meeting facilitation on stakeholder management. The world’s leading speakers on all aspects of stakeholder management across the enterprise.
