Display Stands that Stand Out
Whilst the world of live events is at somewhat of a standstill, we were thrilled at the chance to get our creative juices flowing once more and showcase another side to our very talented A&I team. We worked with Marshalls and Jewson to install Product Display Stands in Jewson branches across the country. Read on to find out how we did it!
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Autumnal Activities
We don’t know about you but here at A&I we can’t believe it’s October already! With Halloween and Bonfire Night just around the corner we are getting the cosy jumpers out and spending many an evening watching Netflix (We’d recommend The Fall and Selling Sunset). If you’re in need of a bit of inspiration for alternative autumn activities, so you don’t burn through all of your tv series in one weekend, look no further…
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Staycations: Our Top 5 UK Destinations!
Whilst the lure of an exotic beach holiday might be tempting, particularly after months of lockdown – the UK is bursting with gorgeous getaway options that are right on our doorstep!
Check out our top 5 UK destinations in this blog post!
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Keeping Your Customers Loyal
ASOS “A-List” loyalty scheme has come to an end after 3 years. Why didn't it work for them? Loyalty schemes are not the only reason that audiences return. So what is? Read on to find out on what you can do better!
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Engagement Management: Why it works?
Ever thought of going into engagement management? If not, then you might want to reconsider! According to LinkedIn’s annual report on the nation’s fastest growing jobs, engagement management was ranked at number 7 on the list.
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Travel Incentive Destinations for 2019!
Happy New Year! Have you got the January blues? I bet your employees have too! So how can you help ramp up the motivation in the office? An incentive holiday of course! We’ve picked out the Top 5 travel destinations in 2019. Sun, sea, city and snow.
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Is Gamification effective?
This week our blog is focusing on gamification and if it would be effective for your business. The simple answer is yes, read on to find out more...
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Retaining your best people
Employee retention is critical for the long-term effects of your business. When you have a great employee, it gives you more freedom and adds to the success of the company.So, how do we retain our best employees and why should we? Read on to find out!
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Walking in a Winter Wonderland
Christmas is only a stone throw away and whether you want to treat your employees for doing great or want to incentivise them to go further then Winter Wonderland could be for you!
Picture it, you’re in Hyde Park, wrapped us cosy and warm with a glass of mulled wine in hand and some tasty food in the other, what could be better?
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City Scoop: Perfect Paris
The French capital is one that has attracted tourists for centuries. The city of love has everything to offer! So why not incentivise a break to this romantic destination?
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Events: Why Agency over In-house?
This year A&I have sponsored and are supporting at the PA Forum Christmas Party in Birmingham this month, we can’t wait to get stuck in and have some involvement with the local business community. We’re grateful to have the chance to help them out. But could we help you too?
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New Year’s Resolutions in Work
It’s not long to go until Christmas and then before we know it it’ll be 2019! Which is followed by the old saying “New Year, New Me” but let’s be honest, we’ll still eat as much, drink as much and the only machine used at the gym will be the vending machine! So how about you make some resolutions that you can actually keep? If you incorporate it into your working life, then you will feel good when you hit your goals.
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Out of the ordinary marketing
Marketing, it’s hard to think outside the box sometimes to create something that people will remember and see every day. We’re not saying you must copy an FHM-type stunt of projecting a naked Gail Porter onto the house of commons, but we are saying use the tools given to you to circulate what you want to market.
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Feeling Festive? Top Christmas Incentives
Yes, we know we haven’t even got Bonfire Night out of the way with but it’s only 53 days until Christmas and we like to think in advance! It’s a great time now to implement a Christmassy incentive to get people in the mood and to keep them engaged and inspired in order to drive sales and keep motivation up!
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Face-masks at the ready: Top Spa Days
Winter can be stressful can’t it? The thought of getting Christmas shopping, the cold and darkness can all seem a bit daunting. The last couple of months in the year can be a drag and people are bound to feel less motivated when they’ve got so much else on their mind. You could help raise productivity with some nice incentives – like a relaxing spa day.
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Roving Report: Passionate Paris
Paris is a renowned capital city, not just for its iconic landmarks but also for its one of a kind architecture, trendy boutiques, incredible food and collections of iconic art. You are truly spoilt for choice in the city of love and romance. So, we sent Grace, our roving reporter to Paris to scout out the best hidden gems and most unique experiences.
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Incentives that go Bump in the Night
Halloween, it comes around once a year, and it might seem like a strange thing to incentivise, but you can. The last few months of year can be a drag and team morale can sink with the pressures leading up to the Christmas period. So give them something to look forward to!
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City Scoop: Birmingham
Many people think of the accent when talking about Birmingham, but there’s so much more! As the dark nights dawn on us, the bright lights of the city come out to play! Birmingham the city of diversity, is great for Family Fun, couples who like to wine and dine, or a day spent making memories with friends!
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Winter Warm Incentives
As the colder weather creeps in, and the darker nights dawn on us, it’s harder to keep your employees motivated during the autumn/winter blues.
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Roving Reporter: Lovely Lucerne
Lucerne is the geographic and historic centrepiece of Switzerland. The city of Lucerne and the Lake Lucerne Region are frequently referred to as the ‘pocket-size Switzerland’. We decided to send our roving reporter Trudy to Lucerne to scout out all the different things to do, see and where to stay so that you don’t have to do any extra research work!
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Virtual Meetings: Future or Failure?
Technology is forever advancing, and this means it is making it easier to connect and communicate with each other. Virtual meetings involve people interacting through the web on platforms. There are advantages and disadvantages to this, but to help you make your mind up we’ve weighed up the pros and cons for this.
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Millennial Motivation: What's needed?
Let's put all if these stereotypes to bed! Do millennial's need more motivation than others? Maybe the only motivation they need is to set aside the prejudices and treat them as fairly as any other employee.
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7 Wonderous Locations for Travel Incentives.
Travel Incentives are known to boost motivation and productivity amongst employees. Who wouldn’t want to be awarded an all-expenses paid trip. A trip to one of the Seven Wonders of the World is something they are ensured to never forget!
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City Scoop: Blissful Barcelona
Interested in Architecture? Captivated by culture? Barcelona is the place to be! City breaks are perfect for couples wanting a weekend away, or trip away with friends and family for some quality time spent sight-seeing, shopping and testing out tasty local delicacies.
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Calling all Sports Fans: Sport Incentives
Just picture it, whether you’re holding a corporate hospitality day, or want to use it as an incentive for your employees/customers then sitting in an iconic sports ground, in the executive box with a three-course meal and the best views, will make them feel like they are getting the ultimate VIP experience.
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Spotlight on: Dunston Hall, Norwich
At A&I we are always looking for different venues for you, even when we’re not at work. Often, we are introduced to great venues when we’re not looking. Over the weekend our Roving Reporter, Georgia, attended a wedding at Dunston Hall, Norwich. Whilst there she had a little nosey around to see what facilities are available and if the venue caters for all.
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Spotlight on: The NEC
A&I have been appointed for events at the NEC and have a three-day event there as a key-fixture in the industry calendar. So, the question is, why would we use ...
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Rewards type: What’s Hot?
The aim of a reward is to show your employee that their work is valued. When receiving a reward it serves as motivation to keep improving their quality of work.
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Top 5 Rooftop Venues in the UK
Imagine picturesque views, a skyline that lights up in the background and flowing drinks. There aren’t many events you’ll find this at. But if you were to host ...
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City Scoop: Lively Liverpool
Why not venture out and take a trip to Liverpool, it’s great for Family Fun but also good for couples who like good bars and a historic music scene, a day out s...
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Roving Report: Artsy Amsterdam
Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ capital, attracted roughly 16.2 million tourists in 2017. So, what we want to know is why it’s so popular? We sent Dan, our Roving ...
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Top 5 Things to do in Dubrovnik
As the warmer weather approaches us, we can only think of one thing, and that’s a holiday! Why not incorporate somewhere interesting to suit all holiday needs a...
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Spotlight: Alton Towers
Alton Towers is known for being one of the most-loved theme parks in the UK, but did you know that it holds perfect venues for business conferences, spectacular...
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Is Teambuilding Important?
Some love it and some hate it, but team building is important and can factor many changes in your company. Even small, silly events such as a work sports day ca...
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Wellbeing in the Workplace
The Governments Department of Health advises that 1 in 4 of us will experience ill mental health at some point in our lives. It is therefore important that empl...
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Women Who Mean Business
Forget ‘behind every successful man is a woman’ – behind every successful woman there’s a tribe of more women who have her back. There are so many influential w...
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Events: Preparing for GDPR
The changes made to the General Data Protection Regulation will completely change the way events can collect and handle personal information of attendees of the...
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Rewards: A Science, Not An Art
Most people approach incentives from the top down. What is the most interesting part? Oh, the reward! What shall we give them / where shall we go? But in fa...
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Bringing Inspiration Back!
Yes, you read that right! When he's not bringing Sexy Back, he's showcasing his event planning skills. If you haven't seen Justin Timberlake's new music video to the song Filthy, you should!
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Bribery - The Elephant in the Room
It is a proven fact that, when done well, corporate hospitality can benefit your business, whether it be in terms of cementing client relationships, showcasing your event management skills or attracting new customers.
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Incentives: Music To Your Ears
Incentive rewards do not need to break the budget and can be an effective way to drive performance and results, whether that’s amongst your employees, customers or partners.
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What’s Different with Millennials?
We need to talk about Millennials! After all, Millennials will reportedly make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025 and, according to research by Gallup, it turns out Millennials are the least engaged generation!
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5 Ways to Generate B2B Loyalty
When a customer is spending a lot of money with a company, they don’t want ordinary. Customers like to feel special and loyalty schemes can enable them to feel that way.
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Get the Most Out of an Event!
How do you create a Return on Investment for your Event? Try a 440% increase in sales for size! At A&I Events we’re passionate about proving the value of what we do and so we work with our clients to measure return on investment!
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Roving Report - Picture Perfect Porto
Not all our roving reporters get to be intrepid. Sometimes these “never-off-duty” investigators need to turn themselves into distinctly discerning detectives as was the case with a recent study trip to Oporto.
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Roving Report - LA Style meets Vegas
Welcome to our series of Roving Reports! Our intrepid investigators are regularly out and about checking new destinations, re-visiting well-known ones and building up the knowledge and network needed to ensure every event is a success for our clients.
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A&I Cracking Christmas Incentives
From the 12 days of Christmas and advent calendar themes to post-Christmas getaways, our team are ready to turn the season of goodwill into results, giving your winners the VIP experience.
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Ensure They Rise
According to a Gallup poll, getting employee communication right can increase staff retention, increase productivity and increase profitability. Conversely, ineffective communications can deliver completely the opposite: higher staff turnover, reduced customer satisfaction and falling productivity.
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The Weird & The Wonderful
Within the incentive sector, we’re always looking for new ideas and new places that people won’t already have visited. So here’s just a small selection of some of the more weird and wonderful hotels in Northern Europe – could be just the thing for an incentive with a difference!
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The Do's and Don'ts: Dilbert Says
A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real life Dilbert-type Managers. It might be an idea to think about these in your next communication. That’s to check our logic or as a bit of comedy, not as a core message.
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How SMART are You at Goal Setting?
Obvious as it may sound, setting goals and objectives is absolutely key to your programme being successful. Everyone is aware of the acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound). However, what’s important here is the A = Achievable.
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Getting it Right the First Time
Generating sales and ensuring a healthy pipeline for the future is one of the biggest ongoing business challenges. Whilst marketing plays its part, sometimes a tactical sales incentive is what’s needed to really focus on a specific product or react to changes in the marketplace.
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A&I Top 5 Incentive Destinations
Travel Incentives are one of the most 'looked to' reward schemes for employees. Reaching high sales figures and creating friendly competition within the business to encourage employees to go that extra mile to earn a trip of a lifetime. But what's exciting?
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Events: A Model For Measuring
Live events are an excellent way to bring your business community together, whether they’re aimed at staff, customers, recruiting new channel partners or staff, launching a new product … the list is endless.
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Looking up at the Long term!
Not long ago, customer satisfaction was seen as the holy grail of business objectives. Using CRM software companies gathered data from every touchpoint to better understand their customers. What’s the use of endless data if you don’t use it correctly – or worse, it tells you that you’re not doing it right?
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Employee Engagement: Peddling Success?
It would seem that the “holy grail” in the business world has become the achievement of high employee engagement. But is this just a passing phase or have we stumbled upon a means of improving business performance which benefits all parties?
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Maximise Your Channel Partners
Sell, Support & Engage
A channel partner incentive program is a great way to promote your brand, achieve growth and reach new markets which otherwise may have been ignored.
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Loyalty - Getting It Right and Oh So Wrong
You may open your wallet to see club cards and points cards from all over the high street. But it’s interesting to understand why some are so successful and why some fail to provide any benefit to their customers.
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