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In a couple instances I have talked about branding through this blog and in general it continues to be one of my favorite areas of interest.  This infographic is a simple representation of why branding is important and the areas of focus that are key.  While your company may have its’ own corporate branding – when All Star speaks with clients about this topic we are typically more focused on the brand identity of a company’s rewards program or event.  Of course, as mentioned in the past program/event and company branding should always be aligned in some way.  Take a peek at the graphic to learn a little more about how to initiate the branding of your company’s rewards and recognition program.

We often speak with companies that have concerns about initiating a safety program because they believe that it may cause accident hiding or under reporting.  From All Star’s perspective and experience in properly designing and managing these types of programs – this is on the contrary.

One of my newest favorite products is KidzSafe™ My Design™ D.I.Y. Headphones for boys and girls by SMS Audio.  We saw these out at CES back in January and I fell in love with them then – for a few different reasons.

Check out this interesting infographic about what social media outlets are being used by women vs men.  Women lead the charge in usage of all social media outlets and are a close second to men on LinkedIn.  Interesting information to consider when developing a strategy for utilizing this medium in the framework of your online rewards program whether your target be customers, employees, or prospects.

I consider myself a bit of a branding junkie. I am intrigued at the way that brands (big and small) choose to position and themselves and the impact those decisions have on consumer buy-in. In my former life I was in public relations and specifically worked with McDonald’s – one of the world’s most iconic brands. It was a challenge to keep the brand fresh, relevant, and protected especially when the biggest brands are very often the most frequent targets of negative news. In today’s world – social media has the ability to change things in an instant.

A recent article on Boston.com sites a survey which finds that employers are spending more on wellness programs than ever before.  95% of the companies participating in the survey plan to offer some kind of health improvement program for their employees with 74% offering associated incentive programs in 2014.