Whether you're using travel or merchandise incentives, the best results come from effectively communicating and promoting the program's details up front.

That's why the granddaddy of corporate gift certificates, GiftCertificates.com, has added communications services to its offerings. The company assigns a consultant to review clients' current activities and help to determine their objectives — whether they are to increase employee productivity or sales or to provide a competitive advantage. The team then 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 company that recently took advantage of the communications offering for its 2005 marketing program, and included an offer and purchase page, a landing page, an online card, and a custom redemption page. “We helped them exceed their customer expectations,” reports Giftcertificates.com CEO Tim Barefield.

The new communications services join five other incentive solution services that GiftCertificates.com offers as enhancements to its core products: program strategy, technology tools, program administration, universal rewards, and fulfillment. www.GiftCertificates.com.