Lessons from Amazon's Warehouse Game Promo: Reward Employees, Allow them to Choose their Gift, But Don't Get OSHA Involved

This highlights a couple of things: The first is that if people are working this hard for the hopes of earning swag bucks, there's an obvious appeal for a branded product. But, it's not that simple. Earning something like a T-shirt or water bottle shouldn't come at the expense of long-term physical health or overly long work days.

It also shouldn't be the only reward, especially when the work is as physically demanding as Amazon's. Distributors working with customers looking to implement a workplace reward program should educate them on how promotional products fit into the larger plan, rather than as the only part.

Companies that implement rewards programs should do so with realistic goals that reward realistic workplace success and milestones.

We've seen instances where branded merchandise is so popular that people will pretend to work at a place to get it.

In some ways, Amazon should not be the model for how a business operates. This won't shock anyone in this industry to hear. But, this program also shows the appeal for a promotional campaign that allows the end-user to select what they want, rather than receive something picked out by someone else.

That's why programs that allow an end-user to go on a website and pick out a branded gift for themselves usually ends up with the recipient holding onto the product for longer. It was exactly what they want, so they will keep it for a longer period of time.

Again, it's crucial to note that this gift shouldn't be the reward for hurting themselves on the job. This is where Amazon deviates from an effective promotional campaign into a promotional campaign where OSHA gets involved.