Hawk Incentives (formerly Blackhawk Engagement Solutions, Parago, and InteliSpend), is a rewards-based incentives company that design, implement and manage programs for other companies. Hawk Incentives is based in
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.
Hawk Incentives has become one of the larger providers of manufacturer and retailer promotional marketing programs, including
rebates and incentives programs. The company has been a major player in the popularization of paperless rebates and prepaid rebate card programs.
In 2009 the company released research showing that 83% of consumers were seeking products with rebate
In addition, the company has received significant industry recognition for its research into customer loyalty, rewards programs and prepaid cards. In 2009, Parago received an A+ rating from the Dallas Better Business Bureau. However, as of April 2015, the BBB has received over 200 complaints against Parago and the rating has been lowered to B+.
Some of Hawk Incentive's clients include
Netgear,
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before being Merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US, acquired by T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 5 ...
and
Staples Inc. For Staples, Hawk Incentives is credited with redesigning and managing the popular Easy Rebates program, which enables customers to use paperless submission for rebates, offers a choice of rewards and quick payment. After a decade of working together, Staples extended its contract with Parago for another five years in 201
The company was founded in 1999 as the website How2.com. In 2001, the company shifted its business to rebate and reward programs. Parago was founded by venture capital firm T. H. Lee of New York and was formerly known by the name Parago Rebates HQ.
The firm has experienced significant growth and expansion in the early 2000s. In 2004, Parago launched a rewards and loyalty marketing division expanding their line of services. In 2010, Parago was named one of the fastest growing women-owned or led businesses in North America, as judged by the Women President's Organizatio
The same year, Parago ranked number 19 on PROMO magazine's 2010 PROMO 100 list of the top U.S. promotion agencie
and Spottiswood was named one of the Top 25 Industry Leaders by the Dallas Business Journal's Women in Business Awards
In September, 2014, Parago was purchased by publicly traded Blackhawk Network, a leading prepaid and payments network, for $290 million.
In 2009, former Parago President and CEO Juli Spottiswood was recognized as the
Ernst & Young
EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...
Entrepreneur of The Year 2009 in the business services category in Southwest Area-North. The same year, the company was selected as one of the best places to work in Dallas, through the Dallas Business Journal awards program.
In 2004, the leader of Parago's loyalty marketing division, Chris Moloney, published extensive research on customer loyalty and referral which appeared in the book Strategic Database Marketing, ''3rd Edition'' by Arthur Middleton Hughes of KBM.
Parago cited for breakthrough loyalty customer research.
References
{{Reflist
External links
The Great Rebate Runaround
site
Marketing companies established in 1999
1999 establishments in Texas