Mind the Gap: Solving for Incentive & Reward Expectation Discrepancies

All | Wednesday, July 19 | 9:45 - 10:45 AM 

People know what they want when it comes to rewards and incentives. But while many businesses, retailers and employers may think they are in tune with those expectations, many are missing the mark—and research proves it. In this session, Marina will present research from three new studies to help close the gap between peoples’ expectations for rewards and what they are actually offered. Creating this alignment is critical for brands and businesses, as effective reward programs are becoming increasingly vital for loyalty, retention, and engagement.

Marina Hodges, Head of Incentives Marketing at Blackhawk Network (BHN)

In her current role at Blackhawk Network (BHN), a global branded payments provider, Marina sets and executes go to market strategies that deliver success for BHN’s partners and the company. Marina advises BHN’s clients spanning across a spectrum of channels on how to best structure, market and execute meaningful reward and incentives programs. Additionally, she leads a team that educates BHN’s partners and prospective partners on how to leverage prepaid solutions across a variety of use cases, such as disbursements for government and nonprofit entities. A seasoned financial professional, Marina is an expert in leading high-performance teams, developing strategies for new and maturing businesses, and analyzing and reporting results to achieve financial and operational excellence.

Marina joined BHN in 2018, when she led the product marketing team in generating demand for BHN’s original content and robust service offerings via integrated, global, cross-functional teams that delivered on high-impact initiatives.

During the course of her career, Marina has held numerous high-level positions across a variety of industries and disciplines, including financial services, investor relations, analytics, healthcare, compliance and more. Prior to her tenure at BHN, she served as Director of Treasury Operations at Walmart, where she led global strategy and operations for the closed-loop gift card and paycard programs.

Marina is an avid supporter of the incentives, payments and gift card industries, and is active in numerous industry organizations. She is a member and past chair of the Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA) board of directors and fraud committee, and is a member of the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA), International Gift Card Council (IGCC) and Incentive and Engagement Solution Providers (IESP). In these roles, Marina has accumulated extensive speaking and media relations expertise, and is responsible for identifying industry best practices and advising on industry and organizational policies.

In addition to her robust experience, Marina is also an innovator; she holds three patents for innovations in the payment industry.