Lackluster Incentives

There's an old saying that "Cash is King."  But when it comes to incenting wellness behaviors, cash is but a lowly peasant.

The Power of Tangible, Non-Cash Awards

Although most often requested, cash has been shown to be the least appreciated type of incentive.

Some of the drawbacks of cash are intuitive, while others are not.  If you think about the last time you were given $50, versus the last time you won a tangible award of roughly the same value, do you remember where the $50 went?  Was it gas for your car? Groceries?  Underwear?  Cash provides little long-term memorability - once it's spent, the award is forgotten.

The term used to descibe the power of tangible incentives is "trophy value."  That is, earning a non-cash incentive tends to carry more value than receiving the market value of the item in cash.  For example, winning an iPod serves as a visible, constant reminder of a participant's accomplishment every time the device is used.  The value of an iPod in cash soon evaporates and is long forgotten.

To read more, please download the white paper below.  It's loaded with scientific assertions to support the use of tangible, non-cash awards to incent behavior modification.  That's why all Sonic Boom programs include tangible awards, where members get to choose their own award from a catalog of over 3,000 must-have items.  Once the client sets the budget, we take care of the administration and award fulfillment.

Download White Paper on Tangible Incentives