Feature: Give brands a sporting chance

David Atkinson, managing partner at Space, examines the opportunities for brands to leverage the opportunities from sport this year and beyond

Feature: Brand profile: Say goodbye to hi-de-hi

Butlins is creating promotional partnerships to help it keep pace with today’s holidaymakers

Feature: B2B marketing: Finola Fogg and Best Western Hotels

Best Western Hotels turned to Finola Fogg and Foundation Marketing Communications to boost conference bookings, reports Mark Ludmon

Feature: B2B marketing: Yell.com B2B campaign is ‘knock-out success’

Chemistry Communications created a business-to-business campaign to engage with media planners and motivate them to direct advertising spend into Yell.com

Feature: Business-to-business marketing: Loyal retainers

Retaining customers and driving up their spend is a priority for business-to-business suppliers as it is on the high street, reports Mark Ludmon

Feature: Motivation: Experience preferred

Companies are helping employees to improve their skills and work-life balance by investing in inspiring experiences, reports Mark Ludmon

Feature: Luxury incentives: Objects of desire

Catherine Forrest (pictured), business incentives manager at House of Fraser, examines how luxury incentives have evolved

Feature: Promotional risk management

With their role in most UK promotions, risk management specialists reveal their view on trends in promotional marketing. Rachael Glazier reports

Feature: Incentive products: Electric dreams

While a Wii may be hard to find, Rachael Glazier discovers there are plenty of other electrical and electronic products available for incentives and promotions

Feature: Achieving buy in from procurement

The word “procurement” may strike fear into the hearts of agencies, but Rod Geoghegan (pictured), business development director at promotional marketing agency Wax Communications, shows how, with understanding and an inclusive approach, you can make procurement work for you

Feature: Vouchers and gift cards: Weathering the credit crunch

Travel incentives remain popular when the economic climate is looking gloomy, reports Andrew Johnson, director-general of The Va

Feature: DMA Digest: Exhibitions are lagging behind

Mike Barnes, director of marketing and business development at the Direct Marketing Association, on marketing at exhibitions

Feature: Experiential marketing: Festivals

With more music festivals taking place this year than ever before, Mark Ludmon examines how brands can activate their sponsorship packages through experiential marketing

Feature: Experiential marketing: Go live together

With partnership marketing extending into brand experiences, Mark Ludmon examines the benefits and challenges for brands working together

Feature: Have a good downturn

Colin Lloyd, chairman of Motivcom – the marketing services group that includes P&MM, Fotorama and Protravel – explains why an economic downturn could be a fantastic opportunity for sales promotion in the UK

Feature: Digital promotions: Widgets

Widgets are the new buzzword for sales promotion but do they work? Mark Ludmon looks at how brands are using web applications in promotions

Feature: Brand profile: Samsung

Samsung is building on its links with sport and fashion through promotional activity designed to make it the number-one brand in consumer electronics

Feature: Promotions made to measure

Charles D’Oyly, managing director of promotional solutions business Valassis, explains how understanding the performance of promotional activity can help to maximise marketing spend

Feature: Keeping promotions out of trouble

David Armstrong, managing director of Aztec Marketing Solutions, advises promoters not to bury their heads in the sand – for the sake of brand owners and the industry

Feature: Motivation: Prepaid cards stack up

With this year’s VA conference focusing on prepaid solutions, Mark Ludmon reports on the opportunities for the different card offerings in the motivation sector