Who Could Be Thinking of Incentives At A Time Like This? You.

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It wasn't unusual for several companies to cut back (or even eliminate) company year end bonuses and the economy had a lot to do with it. However, it's been said that noncash rewards have proven to be a much more cost effective way to drive behavior. You can accomplish more in influencing motivation using merchandise as a reward/recognition tool than cash while spending just as much - if not less - money in the process.
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An April Fools Special: Who Could Think of Incentives at a Time Like This?

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It's been said that there's no greater motivator than fear. What's a better way to crack the proverbial whip on your workforce's efforts than the fear of termination? Fear serves as a catalyst to the intrinsic motivators in all of us to get the job done. In an effort to avoid termination, your employees will bend over backwards to achieve - and exceed - your not-so-specific goals for the company. Plus they basically owe you..right?
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Employee Recognition Fail (feat. Dwight Schrute on keyboard...)

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Incentive programs are like any basic tool. If used properly, they are largely beneficial to the user. However, if not used properly or aren't aligned with your company goals, they can do more harm than good. In your home, a hammer is an excellent tool if there is a clear goal in place (i.e. nailing a picture frame up to a wall). However, if you give someone a hammer and tell them to use it without any real objective or goal, potentially bad and unintended results could occur.
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Sweet 16 Cinderellas and Management

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Not to say that the Cinderella teams are less talented or just plain lucky (well in some cases maybe luck...) but if they had seen a lot of success and had consistent top tier talent year round, you wouldn't see a double digit number seed next to their names when filling out your office bracket pool. However, whether or not you have future Wheaties spokesmen on your team or individuals that are pretty good but not "great," the success doesnt rely on talent and ability alone.
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The Power of Merchandise

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This "call to action" in the PPAI case study refers more to a brand to consumer approach. However, isn't there a call to action in your incentive programs as well? The purpose of many incentive programs is to call employees to perform at certain levels to achieve company goals. Even though the merchandise is given after the action (instead of before like many promo-product giveaways), there is still a better recall with an item of merchandise than a cash reward. There is a greater trophy value associated with using merchandise as a call to action (or extrinsic motivator).
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Food! Glorious Food! The Power of Edible Incentives

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A huge component of a successful incentive plan is the experience or memory associated with it (Paul Hebert discusses this in a post). Merchandise has the ability to capture this "experiential" effect. For example, it's not the new grill you received but the great cookout with family you were able to experience as a result of having it. Food also provides the centerpiece to a great experiential motivator for employees. They won't (hopefully anyway) be able to have a tangible reminder of that meal. However, they will have the memories associated with that experience, whether it be at a lunchtime potluck or a company-wide recognition dinner.
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