Feature: Incentive products: Leisure seekers

Next month is the annual Work Your Proper Hours Day, organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to highlight increasing hours and stress in the British workplace. According to the TUC, full-time employees in the UK work longer hours than anyone else in Europe, so finding time for leisure and relaxation is becoming ever harder.

This is one reason that leisure incentives are growing in popularity, from spa days and holidays to high-adrenaline experiences.

“With more and more pressure at work and stress levels continually rising, it’s no longer purely accumulating material possessions but more about making the most of what little leisure time we have,” explains Libby Christie, head of operations at promotions company Unmissable.

This has a particular impact on parents who are likely to be excited by incentives that allow them to spend quality time with their children and partners. This underpins Sara Lee’s current promotional campaign for Radox, created by Geronimo, which offers a broad range of family activities from meals out to holidays.

Michelle Boland, head of reward and recognition at motivation and communication company BI, says: “Family-oriented rewards or a weekend away with a partner are becoming increasingly desirable as the time spent at work means that fewer hours are spent with the family.”

House of Fraser offers a shopping experience to appeal to those who are stressed out and time poor, combining vouchers with a personal shopper – and, for two London stores, adds elements such as lunch, treatments and styling. Virgin Experience Days has also just added a new stress-busting massage to its portfolio along with other relaxing days-out such as a steam train journey for two. Other spa incentives include Marriott’s vouchers specifically redeemable for “pamper days”.

Leisure experiences with a high perceived value are also more of a turn-on for people with more disposable income. Paul Brown, incentives specialist at motivation company Maritz, explains: “As people’s standard of living continues to improve, traditional physical awards can become less special. Increasingly, people desire rewards that are experiential and a great fit with their own unique leisure interests.”

Memorable experiences make for incentives with longevity. Mike Davies, director of performance improvement at BI, explains: “In any incentive scheme, rewards that are memorable and meaningful are more likely to have a lasting effect on the behaviour and performance of its recipients. To positively influence the behaviour of employees and make that change in behaviour last, employers should consider choosing those rewards which have longevity.”

Davies says that winning an exciting experience has a number of benefits. People are more likely to boast about having a great time than they would about a cash bonus. There is also more guilt-free pleasure to be gained from a luxury trip if you are not paying for it.

Experiences with a luxury or VIP element are a growing trend for both prizes and rewards. “One of the factors that has driven this lifestyle trend is consumers’ insatiable interest or obsession with celebrities and all things celebrity, fuelled by the phenomenal growth in the celebrity and tabloid gossip columns,” says Christie at Unmissable.

Her company has developed a number of prizes to meet this need. Winning a concierge service for a month means having someone take care of chores such as dry cleaning, grocery shopping, cleaning and gardening. Another engaging incentive is the chance to win a celebrity chef to come to your house to host a dinner party.

Luxury experiences for foodies is something that The Full Experience Company has responded to with two newly launched Smartbox vouchers. Royal Gourmet Escapes and Delicious Retreats are redeemable for trips to country houses, castles and other hotels. These add to Smartboxes for spa trips and adventurous experiences as well as gourmet trips in France.

Brown at Maritz says there has been a similar growth in demand for VIP-style incentives in staff schemes. “Rather than offering just vouchers or points on a stored-value card for a shopping trip, you can transform this into a really memorable experience by adding elements such as a chauffeur pick-up, a personal shopper and champagne afternoon tea. For VIP programmes, where you are often looking to motivate people who have seen and done most things already, offering something the person or group could not otherwise gain access to is important, for example, back-stage or after-party passes for concerts or film premieres.”

With exotic holidays becoming more accessible, the same applies to travel incentives. “Such rewards often offer the recipient something that they can’t afford or can’t justify paying for themselves,” says Graham Howarth, director of P&MM Sales Promotion and Protravel. “Trips to some of the more unusual destinations often can’t be booked at a local high-street travel agency as they require specialist knowledge to arrange, which puts them out of the reach of many people.”

He adds: “With at least 80 per cent of the UK’s population taking at least one holiday a year, travel is seen to be inspirational and generates that feel-good factor that clients are seeking.”