Gift Card 101: A Crash Course with Eric Thiegs

August 13, 2025

🎁 Gift Card 101: A Crash Course with Eric Thiegs.

I was the featured presenter for the August 2025 IGCC Member Education Session -- a B2B Gift Card Industry Overview. If you’ve ever wondered how gift cards work—or you’re looking to sharpen your knowledge of the B2B side of the industry—this session is for you.

We cover the following chapters/modules over a 1-hour session:

• Chapter 1: History of Gift Cards

• Chapter 2: Gift Card Program Elements

• Chapter 3: Who’s Who in B2B

• Chapter 4: B2B Gift Card Buyer Types

• Chapter 5: B2B Gift Card Aggregators

• Chapter 6: How B2B Gift Card Orders Work

• Chapter 7: B2B Gift Card Innovation – Program IDs and Gift Card Reward Links

My goal?

To make this both useful and approachable—expect some lightbulb moments, practical tips you can actually use, and maybe even a laugh or two along the way.

Whether you’re brand-new to gift cards, part of a brand team (ops, marketing, finance), a B2B buyer, or an industry partner, you’ll walk away with a stronger understanding of how this space really works...