Incentive Awards: Home Improvement Tools

Incentive: Merchandise

Incentive Awards: Home Improvement Tools
October 30, 2008
Cool tools and clever gadgets are hot draws for any do-it-yourselfer

By Marc Boisclair

When flipping through a typical points catalog, we expect to find skis, stemware and watches. But miter saws equipped with lasers? A sterling silver pruner/pocket knife named Squirt that lists for $3,600? Sure enough, planners need only think a bit outside the typical toolbox to discover how manufacturers have transformed household tools into something worth drooling over. The key to making them work as incentives is balancing diversity and sexiness with a tool belt practicality and price point.

Brand-name Appeal

For starters, it helps to proffer a familiar product name. "We do a significant business in incentives, so it's certainly important to us," says Corey Haugen, national account manager with Black & Decker, who says his products end up in everything from loyalty programs to safety awards. "The strength of the brand is the biggest draw," says Haugen, citing relationships with both incentive houses and manufacturers rep groups. "We offer multiple price points through two different brands, but under one major company," he says. The higher-end Dewalt products are built for professionals; the Black & Decker brand is more for the homeowner. It could be basically the same product, but at a dramatically different price point—say $100 for the Black & Decker drill as opposed to $300 for the Dewalt version."

That brand familiarity, in turn, can be leveraged by the client in a variety of ways. "It comes down to placement and choice issues," says Randy Winterhack, an account executive with Hitachi Koki USA Ltd. To wit, he points to Hitachi's involvement with Top Brands, a Wisconsin-based catalog company that works with entities from credit card companies to casino rewards programs. "We began with them three years ago when they were looking to replace another manufacturer," says Winterhack. Hitachi's appeal, he adds, derives from its diverse product line—fancy woodworking and industrial-grade tools that would also fit the average home owner's needs. "The last thing you want to do is give the final customer a product that's marginal at best, or worse, a piece of junk that they use once then throw away," he says. "Hitachi puts a lot of money back into research, with five-year warranties on some of these tools."

That's a huge selling point for the client, if not the end user. "The feedback we get is that people really appreciate an extended warranty, as opposed to just one year, so we have that quality advantage to offer the client," says Jessica Erdman, Top Brands' marketing manager. "Hitachi's power tools are also innovative—their drills and saws are lightweight, have newer battery technology and they're eye-catching, and people recognize that." And then, of course, there's the cachet factor. "Hitachi is not sold to all the mass merchants, so it has a certain value to it," says Erdman. "It's a professional-grade power tool but it's easy to use for the do-it-yourselfer. It's sold in specialty woodworking stores, but you might find it at Loew's."

Everyman Appeal

If finding two price points for the same product seems a plus, having one product that draws across the entire end-user spectrum can prove even more appealing. Cabela's features over 200,000 items in its catalog, including a selection of multifunctional Leatherman products. "They're used in safety programs for construction companies and in sales incentives for the agriculture industry," says Mindy Knight, who manages business development in the incentive industry for the Nebraska-based firm. "A lot of their products are also used for engagement programs and for an on-the-spot thank-you for loyal

employees and clients."

Indeed, it's not uncommon to find the same Leatherman Juice, Kick or Micra tool gracing a dentist's office and the cab of an 18-wheeler, which has prompted Leatherman to pursue the incentive industry more seriously. "We've had a fair amount of success in promotional programs without putting in a lot of effort, so we thought 'imagine what we can do if we really try,'" says Matt Kentner, the Oregon-based company's national sales manager for corporate markets. To that end, Leatherman has hired a premium sales rep team to spread the word among incentive houses and catalog companies. "There's a myriad of applications for the tools, and they have an extremely broad appeal across economic lines, from carpenters to engineers," he says.

For example, Kentner cites one medical professional who has been using Leatherman's Squirt to both incentivize and thank doctors for referring tertiary-care patients to her hospital. "She's not in marketing—she's an R.N.—but she understands the appeal of the Squirt. It's a screwdriver, bottle opener, paper cutter and metal file," says Kentner. "They know the dollar value and quality, and they keep it in their offices, cars and more importantly, they bring it home with them."

In fact, the program has been such a hit with M.D.'s, says Kentner, that his client is thinking of extending it to paramedics and other first responders. "She can even order her products to match the colors of their helicopters and emergency vehicles."

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