GIFT CERTIFICATES ARE the fastest-growing segment in the noncash incentive arena, according to the 2003 Incentive Federation Study. And more than half of incentive planners used gift certificates in their incentive programs that year, a 20 percent jump in usage since the 2000 study. But whether you're spending your company's money on travel or merchandise incentives, the best results come from effectively communicating and promoting the program's details upfront.

To help deliver the most compelling message about its noncash incentive programs to recipients, managers, and awarding administrators; GiftCertificates.com has added communications services to its incentive solutions offerings.

The granddaddy of corporate gift certificates, GiftCertificates.com offers the best-selling SuperCertificate, a universal reward with no expiration date, redeemable through an extensive list of national and local merchants online or by phone. It's become a staple of 77 percent of the Fortune 500 companies, says CEO Tim Barefield. So adding the communications piece to the equation was the next logical offering in its suite of six incentive solutions. “Our clients have been asking for it,” says Barefield. “It's just one more component that a company can outsource and it reinforces our emphasis on being a partner rather than being simply a provider.”

GiftCertificates.com assigns a consultant to create a strategy program to review a company's current activities and to help determine its objectives — whether they are to increase employee productivity or sales or to provide a competitive advantage.

The team creates a communications plan and selects branded vehicles to deliver tailored messages at critical, pre-determined times.

Communications services tactics might include Web landing pages, promotional materials, HTML e-mail messages, and electronic and printed direct-marketing collateral.

Expedia Inc. is one happy customer, Barefield reports. The online travel agency's cruise business used communications services' capabilities for its 2005 marketing program, including an offer and purchase page, the landing page, an online card, and a custom redemption page. Says Barefield, “we helped them exceed their customer expectations.”

Communications services joins five other incentive solution services GiftCertificates.com offers: program strategy, technology tools, program administration, universal rewards, and fulfillment.

For more information, visit www.GiftCertificates.com.