IBM Expands Incentives

IBM Corp. has selected FCm Travel Solutions to handle its global incentive program, which is open to approximately 20,000 IBM business partners in 78 countries. CiEvents, FCm's event and incentive management team, will handle the Know Your IBM program, which offers merchandise and travel incentives to IBM distributors and resellers.

The program first was deployed in Canada in 2001 and was extended globally in 2004, according to Ryan Faithfull, IBM's global project manager for the program. CiEvents first handled the program exclusively for Australia and New Zealand in 2004.

"Know Your IBM had a very strong year in 2006," Faithfull said. "We grew key indicators well over 100 percent, including active participation and the number of training modules completed. The customization and localization support offered through the KYI program has resulted in tremendous success in Europe and the Americas."

Along with leisure travel incentives, the program includes business development getaways for top-performing employees within specific markets, said David Cox, CiEvents general manager for relationship marketing. Although these trips have leisure components, Cox described them as "recognition events with a business undercurrent."

Incentive rewards vary based on each country's cultural and economic standards, and for what Cox described as "high-cost and low-cost countries."

"The program takes into account what they can afford and what they can sell," he said. "What sets us apart is that we are able to take a travel network and break it down into local markets and create a customized offering for each country." Faithfull added: "The local FCm office provides our business partners with travel destinations that are meaningful to them, whether they are from Germany or India. They offer global reach that is locally relevant."

David Cox estimated that half of IBM resellers and business partners participate at some level in the program. IBM plans to renew the program, which runs on an annual cycle, for the coming year, according to Cox.