Unique UK Incentive Destination Ideas: Port Lympne Wildlife Animal Reserve

As hotels and restaurants begin to open across the country (can we get a whoop), we know that UK incentives and reward experiences are likely to be on the rise over the coming months. 

When planning incentives for our clients, one of the most common points we get asked to deliver is an experience that is ‘unique’ and ‘memorable’ for the winners and, although this might be that bit more difficult in the UK, we’re always up for the challenge!

Towards the end of last year, we took a group of 15 top sellers of a vendor’s devices on a 2 day, 1 night trip to the sort after, Port Lympne Wildlife Reserve, which protects and rehabilitates endangered animals. Home to over 700 rare species and set in 600 acres of rolling countryside in Kent, the incentive went down a storm and delivered a significant vendor sales increase with over 80% of the network engaged throughout the campaign.

Want to know more about the incentive? Look no further!

What was the Qualifying Criteria?

Month-long vendor sales campaign

To qualify for the grand prize (an all expenses paid trip to Port Lympne), the agents had to sell at least 10 of the incentivised devices and score at least 80% on their training modules. The top 10 with the highest % vendor sales mix per division then went into a random draw. By looking at the highest % vendor sales mix meant that agents were actively selling the vendors products over competitors giving them a larger percentage of overall sales. 

How was the incentive run?

The incentive was run through an App, which is used by sales teams across the UK on a continuous basis. Sales were imported throughout the month so the advisors could track their sales and see where they ranked on the leaderboard. They also needed to complete the training modules that were linked to the incentivised devices and score 80% or higher.

Tracking sales throughout the campaign was vital as agents could see their progress and benchmark against others. This encouraged them to push for the Grand Prize towards the end of the campaign. Learning about the product the agent was selling was vital in ensuring information was correctly translated to customers (enhancing CSI scores) and ultimately helped them to sell more efficiently... the results speak for themselves!

How was the incentive communicated?

The whole App was branded to match the incentive for the month - safari themed. This included the backgrounds, which were images of Port Lympne. Every time the agents would access the App they would be reminded of the trip with captivating visuals. This added an extra level of desirability on top of the daily comms and news articles.

All communication and information for the event went via the App either as news articles or push notifications. News articles were updated regularly throughout the month teasing out details of the Grand Prize to keep the advisors engagement high. This ensured that interest levels were maintained and the agents were motivated to earn their place.

A game was also designed to fit the safari theme, which included vendor brand and product questions mixed in with animal general knowledge. Users were encouraged to come back to the App to play the game as there were daily voucher winning opportunities from doing this. 

We've previously spoken about how gamification not only reinforces product knowledge but boosts engagement with daily winning opportunities throughout any campaign and this incentive is a great example of it being put into practice!

What did we deliver?

Exclusive use of the Bear Lodge

The group had exclusive use of Bear Lodge, which consisted of 19 spacious tents and the Clubhouse Restaurant & Bar. 

Bear Lodge had amazing views over the bear paddock (hence the name) and over the South American Experience with static binoculars situated all around the campsite. Each luxury tent contained a double bed, en-suite, full-height ceilings, wood burners, fridge, as well as a private deck with seating looking over the nature reserve - which you could almost forgive yourself for forgetting you were in the Kent countryside. 

Activities 

Private VIP safari

We took the winners on an authentic safari truck journeying through the stunning Kent countryside. They encountered free-roaming herds of Africa’s most iconic wildlife and the groups had the chance to feed giraffes from the safari truck. 

GPS challenge

This was an interactive and fun activity with a competitive twist. The group were split into teams and given iPads tasked with a GPS challenge that gave them quick-fire tasks and creative challenges, some requiring them to use the iPad camera resulting in very differing results. The teams were able to track each other in real-time on the map with a live leaderboard to add to the competitiveness of the task. Once the timer ran out the groups raced back to the camp and had a prize ceremony whilst also viewing the best (and worst) submitted videos of the activity.

Impact and results of the incentive 

The vendor’s sales volume saw a large amount of growth from May to June. We saw the biggest volume percentage increase in the users who completed the training modules with a 20% sales volume increase. 

Engaged agents that completed training, not only improved their product knowledge, but also sold more!

Interested in running a unique UK travel incentive in the future? Find out more about the bespoke event solutions we can provide here.