THE MERCHANDISE EVOLUTION

IN THE EVER-CHANGING WORLD OF INCENTIVES, one thing is constant: “Companies will always use incentives to change the way people behave,” says Jim Bufton, vice president of sales and marketing for Top Brands Inc., a premium company based in Oshkosh, Wis. “They'll use merchandise to try to make their customers change their brands, to keep their employees accident-free, and to get their sales reps to sell one insurance policy over the other.”