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Rewards That Rock
November 05, 2007
Musical instruments make a resounding impact
By Anne Marie D. Lee
It was one of the big voids in the industry, says Spencer Toomey, vice president of The Corporate Marketplace Inc., a luxury-focused product supplier. Almost every supplier or distributor carries speaker systems and MP3 players, but what about catering to those who play instruments? Piano lessons as a child, melodic strums of the guitar in college, a penchant for bongo drums—no one wants their musical proficiencies to go to waste, but how many people will actually go and buy themselves a professional-quality instrument? Seeing a market, The Corporate Marketplace sought out world-famous professional instrument brands like Takamine, Ovation and Hamer guitars and Gretsch drums— brands associated with music legends like Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel—and introduced its new collection last year.
"When we first introduced it, we were at the PPAI [Promotional Products Association International] show," says Toomey. "We had a full set of drums—no one can pass by the drums without tapping them, it's just one of those things that draw attention." Visitors to The Corporate Marketplace booth at The Motivation Show in September saw enough hanging guitars, keyboards and drums to make it look like a serious music store.
Toomey emphasizes that the quality of the instruments is a big part of the story. "We went after professional quality, thinking there are a lot of people who do very well, who may get some kind of sales incentive or some kind of award…and who may play an instrument and may have never thought about getting a professional-quality instrument."
Besides quality, these instruments offer customization options. The Corporate Marketplace showcased a Takamine guitar created for Southwest Airlines. Hot off the assembly line, the guitar's face was painted with Southwest's logo and an eye-catching image of one of the airline's planes.
Also at The Motivation Show was one of the most recognizable names in professional-grade instruments: Yamaha. In addition to showing the latest home audio systems, Yamaha decided to make a prominent display of its keyboards. Speaking of its new focus on instruments, Ray Hykoski, national accounts sales manager at Yamaha, says, "About a year ago we hired a direct-focus group to handle all of our business across the United States, and they have gotten us in touch with all the big premium incentive houses. We've gotten placed in a lot of the bigger programs, a lot of the casino programs, and…we've seen our business in the past year and a half at least double."
In casino programs, big-time gamblers accrue points that can be redeemed for free hotel stays, free shows or dinners and, in what is a growing part of the casino business, high-quality merchandise. Hykoski says that casino catalogs are becoming very sophisticated and that many not only carry Yamaha's lower-end portable keyboards, but its baby grand pianos as well. Over the past year Yamaha has actually received redemptions for baby grands. Yamaha instruments are also being incorporated into service award programs for top incentive houses like BI and Maritz. Says Hykoski, "Most people out there have an inner desire to want to play. You see them walking down the street playing air guitar or tapping on their steering wheel like they're drumming. And with American Idol being so big, they all want to be in the music business. Yamaha being one of the biggest music manufacturers in the world, we give them that opportunity."
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