Go Behind the Scenes with Corporate Incentives
From Escalade Sports’ showroom, factory and Club Max
With temperatures rising and only a couple weeks left until Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, now’s the perfect time to reinvest in games and equipment for fun indoors, outdoors, and on the water. And when it comes to seasonal corporate gift solutions for your team, no one does recreation like Escalade Sports.
In the most recent episode of Incentive Concepts LIVE – “Innovators at Play: Onsite@ Escalade Sports” – host Andy Hudson (Director of Marketing) went behind the scenes at the brand’s Evansville, Indiana headquarters to see how these innovators at play bring their durable, high-quality rewards to life. Watch our video on corporate incentives and go behind the scenes.
Corporate gift solutions for every recreation category
To kick off the episode, Andy and Escalade Sports Account Manager Gloria French greeted viewers from the headquarters’ entrance, and then joined Mike Butterfield, Vice President of Global Sales, in the Brand Pavilion. Standing in front of an expansive collage of lifestyle photos, Mike shared the brand’s positioning as an “anti-device company” that brings families together through fun activities indoors and out. He then offered an overview of the many categories Escalade Sports covers, including basketball, outdoor games, table games, and billiards, among several others. Incentive Concepts offers corporate gift solutions for all recreation categories.
A multipurpose room dedicated to fun incentives and rewards
Next up, Andy and Gloria headed to the showroom, where they met up with Stephen Wawrin, the company’s CFO. Stephen drew attention to the breadth of products and categories represented in the space, offering an impressive inside look at numerous incentives and rewards that motivate employees.
He called special attention to pickleball, cornhole, and equipment from college and professional leagues with whom Escalade Sports holds exclusive licenses. Moving around the room, he highlighted the fitness section, darting, basketball goals, archery, and two new acquisitions – Brunswick, a celebrated billiards brand, and RAVE Sports, for all things watersports.
Stephen also shared the multiple purposes of the showroom, with the space serving not just as a product showcase but also a place to host shareholder meetings, business review meetings, vendor visits, customer visits, and board meetings.
A space to see innovators at play with fun rewards
To conclude the tour, Gloria led Andy to “Club Max”, a space where employees can get active and work out; play hard after working hard; test products; and see the fruits of their labor by playing with the products they create and market. There was actually a live pickleball game going during the broadcast, a prime demonstration of how Escalade Sports staff uses the space and an example of just how explosive pickleball’s growth and popularity is. Later in the segment, Gloria highlighted available pickleball offerings from Onix.
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While in “Club Max”, Andy and Gloria teamed up with RAVE Sports Sales Director Jason Borg. Jason gave some background on RAVE and highlighted a curated selection of products, including two iSUPs, or Inflatable Stand Up Paddleboards, crafted from marine-grade PVC and shown in sizes 10’6” and 11’2”; the Steady Eddy Kids Trainer Water Skis combination package; the Chillin’ Pool, Lake & River Float; and the Aqua Dock 10.
A special highlight was the Big Easy Towable, a tube that boasts two supersized couch-style seats for maximum comfort and gives thrilling rides for groups of 2 to 4. The towable was recently named “Innovative Product of the Year” by the Water Sports Industry Association (WISA). Surprise guest Kevin Hagan, Incentive Concepts VP of Sales, showed up in the Big Easy to share some quick updates. This newst RAVE Sports towable will be added to Incentive Concepts’ RAVE Sports lineup soon.
Additionally, Gloria showcased Fowling, detailing the rules and the growing appeal of this new sport, and Andy took a turn, successfully knocking down the red pin from “the other team”. Viewers had a chance to enter a drawing for their very own Fowling set.
“Club Max” is also home to basketball courts, billiards tables, and several other Escalade Sports products. All in all, the space provided an exciting look at a wide variety of recreation and fun rewards to motivate employees and inspire their afterwork fun this summer.
To revisit the broadcast’s most engaging moments, watch the highlight reel below. Also, visit our official Escalade Sports landing page to see the full family of brands and explore products from the episode.
To recognize your employees with fun, summer-themed corporate gift solutions, contact us today using the form below or call us at 888-862-9283. Be sure to ask about our Preferred Pricing membership.
The word “Incentives” can mean different things to different people and can be confusing and even intimidating. But boiled down to its simplest terms, an incentive is anything that is designed to modify and drive behavior to an ultimate goal. Whether it’s for employees, customers, or prospects, Incentive Concepts delivers brands that will help you achieve your goals.




















































