Pioneer, which was established in Japan more than 60 years ago, develops and manufactures innovative products for hi-tech entertainment requirements – at home, in the car and in clubs. The company is market leader for professional DJ equipment (including digital turntables, CD players, mixers and headphones) for which it has a presence in nine European countries.
The challenge
Pioneer’s aim was to inspire its Selected Distribution (SD) dealers to focus on sales of professional DJ products throughout Europe. SD dealers are those distributor partners regarded as Pioneer’s elite sales teams, receiving a variety of benefits for their continued contribution to sales of Pioneer products. Encouraging dealers to be loyal to the Pioneer brand was another key objective.
Choosing an agency
Pioneer selected Performance Improvement agency River Marketing because of their strong incentive experience and their approach to driving results by making programmes personal, and communications targeted and exciting. There was also great chemistry between client and agency from the outset.
The solution
River designed and implemented a highly personalised incentive programme – ‘Pioneer forward’ – which gave each dealer specific and measurable sales targets. Dealers received annual targets and sales figures were monitored throughout the year, with individual performance measured against target. Results were displayed in one of six league tables, according to the size of the business.
River understood that the people making up the sales teams shared a knowledge and passion for professional DJ equipment and that many liked to DJ themselves. Therefore, those securing a ‘top five’ place in each league received the ultimate reward of a VIP ‘money can’t buy’ trip to Ibiza, the DJ capital of Europe. This happened after the close of the sales period, when all sales performances had been measured.
In addition to the main prize, River incorporated bi-monthly recognition for individual dealers, with the best performance against target, highest value order and most improved (from the previous two month period) winning their own choice of award up to a given monetary value.
The communications hub for the campaign was a dynamic and creative website, supported with relevant and targeted email alerts. The league tables were updated weekly, with the use of simple graphical icons to show at a glance whether participants were on track for Ibiza.
With the knowledge that the trip to Ibiza had to be fresh, exciting and different in order to appeal to the Pioneer dealers, River arranged for guests to stay in an exclusive hotel alongside celebrity DJ’s. Highlights included private beach parties with water sports and live music, and guests being given VIP entrance to top clubs Pacha and Space, including a behind the scenes guided tour with chief technicians.
The results
By incorporating a strong yet simple balance of business measures and creativity, genuine inspiration was achieved across all the countries. The desired results were achieved by delivering an original programme with tangible benefits that had a perceived ‘money can’t buy’ feel.
Of the dealers targeted by the programme, 100 per cent actively participated and the sales results demonstrated that they were genuinely motivated by it. Participating dealers improved month on month throughout the campaign period, with 78 per cent smashing their performance against target measures.
The aim of inspiring the elite sales teams was met. One winner commented, “I wouldn’t want to miss this trip – it gives me great access to the real heart of Ibiza and backstage insight I wouldn’t otherwise get.”
Likewise, loyalty to the Pioneer brand was achieved, “The programme is a real benefit. Knowing we can achieve something like this with Pioneer is a real boost, I’ve got to say”.
Bringing people together from across Europe was also well received, “The crowd is great and it’s good to hear about what other people are doing in their markets”
Mark Grotefeld, European head of marketing and global head of digital at Pioneer said, “The team at River understands our business, the industry and, most importantly, what makes the people involved in our sales channels tick. The ‘Pioneer forward’ programme is a fresh and exciting way of motivating people and the results speak for themselves.”
