Coffee Time with Eric

I’m in the UK this week visiting our Head of UK and Euro Accounts, Kelly Hinds, and catching the buzz at MAD//FEST. But the topic for this week’s coffee chat is about our team training at NeoCurrency on CQ (Cultural Intelligence)—led by our summer intern, Parker -- as a way to help grow our global rewards business.

This week’s Coffee Chat is a little “inside baseball” for those of us in the incentive industry. As co-chair of the Incentive Gift Card Coalition Communications Committee, I’ve been in Incentive Marketing Association mode with the IMA Summit happening in Austin July 14–16. I wanted to give a personal sneak peek at this special industry event.

This week’s Coffee Chat is a special one - I’ve got a guest...my daughter, home from college and proudly repping GenZ, joined me for a post-Father’s Day chat about gifts, dads, and what gifts feel the most meaningful from her 20-year-old point of view. As a GenX dad, I loved hearing how she thinks about showing love and appreciation. According to her, the best gifts check these four boxes: Make it personal. Keep it simple + heartfelt. Make it useful, e.g. gift cards. Prioriti

Many of us have had them…Jobs that never made it to the résumé. Roles that don’t quite “fit” our career narrative. Positions that got left off LinkedIn—not because they weren’t meaningful, but because they didn’t align with our so-called professional brand. This week, I’m sharing one of those stories. In my late 20s, I took a six-month job that had absolutely nothing to do with incentives, gift cards, loyalty, or payments. I worked at Bredenbecks - a Bavarian bakery.

We’re in the middle of a Payments War…and the consumer is losing. This week, I dive into the chaos erupting at checkout counters across America, where 34% of merchants (per J.D. Power 2025) are passing along the 3% credit card swipe fee directly to customers.

I am celebrating my 33rd anniversary in my longest-standing loyalty program (I signed up for it my freshman year of college) and reflecting on how gift cards and loyalty are a match as good as peanut butter and jelly.

Want to Change a Habit? Start Small and Reward Yourself. I'm live from the Mall of America / Minneapolis this week. We all have habits we’d love to break—or build. But change is hard… unless there’s perhaps a little incentive involved. This week, while I’m on the road as a speaker at the Gift Card Education Forum, I will share how I’m using a personal reward to kick a nagging habit—and you’re welcome to join me...

I'm live from St. Louis this week at the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) conference. With market research on the mind, this week I ask the question: What makes a great research incentive? Hint: It’s not toasted ravioli. The Answer: An incentive that includes the "3 M's"...

For those of us in the US, we will spend an estimated $2.5+ billion on gift cards for Mother’s Day...but do moms really want a gift card? The short answer: YES—and I’m not just saying that as an incentive/gift card junkie. My Coffee Chat this week shares why, with some fun insights into what moms prefer, how shoppers choose gift cards for that special Mom in their life, and the growing role of local merchants in the Mother’s Day equation

This week’s chat is inspired by my daughter (in college), who hadn’t returned a recent message. I know finals week is coming up, and she’s busy. I thought, hey, I'll keep dropping her little touchpoints to let her know I’m thinking about her. It got me thinking—this isn’t so far removed from my experience in B2B sales and partnerships over my career. In sales (and adult parenting), we often extend ourselves without immediate response from the receiving party.

IMA Global released their massive Incentive & Recognition Provider Research Report, based on input from 650 industry leaders. The report explores key trends and insights across five core incentive categories: 1. Gift Cards 2. Travel 3. Merchandise 4. Peer-to-Peer Rewards 5. Points-Based Programs

This week I'm sharing the biggest takeaway from being on location with a client in Mumbai, India. Last week Geoff Miller from NeoCurrency and I had the opportunity to visit clients and partners in Mumbai (for a loyalty conference) and Dubai. It reminded me just how valuable it is to connect with business partners in person. There’s something irreplaceable about getting out from behind the screen to meet face-to-face. Real conversations, shared meals, learning best practices..

I have a confession to share. I just got back from the beach, and I turned down an awesome incentive on my Spring Break trip. 😳 Now, you might be thinking, "Eric, you LIVE for incentives!" And you’re right—I do. I’m a 25+ year veteran of the loyalty/incentive space. Why did I walk away from this one? Answer: You’ll hear the story in my Coffee Chat video. But here’s what’s interesting: I’m not alone. Research from loyalty firms back up what I felt at that moment.

On this first day of Spring, I was a bit surprised, weather-wise. I woke up ready to embrace the first day of Spring, only to find a winter wonderland outside. My first thought? I'm going to grab my coffee, get cozy in my office, and dig into work. Guess what…I found that this instinct aligns with science. The Journal of Applied Psychology published a study from the American Psychological Association (APA) that found bad weather can boost productivity. Because fewer distracti

This week, I ask the question, "Who helped shape your career?" Think back to the early days of your career—who took a chance on you? Who inspired you? Who challenged you to be better? Maybe it was a boss or a mentor who guided you, or a client who trusted you before you fully trusted yourself. I wouldn’t be where I am today without some incredible people in my corner. So for this week's coffee chat, I’m raising my cup to some leadership folks from my time in my early career.

Eric interviews Kelly Hinds, Head of UK Accounts, from NeoCurrency

I share a 1-minute overview on what matters when selecting a gift card and prepaid aggregator for your rewards, loyalty, promotions, or employee recognition program. After 25+ years in the incentive industry—winning (and losing) RFPs— I've seen these seven factors influence nearly every major buying decision when it comes to selecting a gift card or reward provider.

Did you know there are 20+ gift card aggregators, such as NeoCurrency, powering B2B and B2B2C global programs with gift cards, prepaid cards, and digital rewards? Yet many brands and buyers still find them a mystery.

In this week's Coffee Chat, I'm excited to share three organizations using innovative technologies to make payments and/or gift cards faster, cheaper, and safer for merchants.

Small Value with High Loyalty Impact - let's talk about the power of ‘micro rewards. These small, frequent incentives can increase engagement in loyalty, rewards, promotions, and employee recognition programs by up to 25%.