ACES Going Places: Viva Las Vegas!

At the recent NAED Marketing Summit, Atlantic Coast Electric Supply (ACES) was awarded numerous marketing awards. This South Carolina-based, contractor-oriented distributor is a marketing machine … and it is delivering results for customers, manufacturers, and themselves.

Most recently they returned from Las Vegas where they hosted almost 200 people during their second incentive travel program proving that “small” (<$100 million) distributors can also operate an incentive travel program.

With distributors beginning their 2026 planning, this is a reminder that incentive travel can be a powerful component of a marketing strategy. It targets customers who are critical to success … those whom you want to retain business as well as those who represent significant opportunity.

Further, these programs become target marketing platforms to these key customers.

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure to design hundreds of incentive programs, and many for electrical distributors (and some manufacturers.) In each case they generated incremental sales and profits, after expenses! (and if you’d like to learn more, reach out … and they can be used for some non-contractor accounts when well-designed.)

A key to incentive travel is making the reward memorable. Anyone can book a trip to Las Vegas. But 200 people with a shared experience with some unique features? That, in the infamous words of a credit card, “priceless.”

Congratulations to Atlantic Coast Electric Supply on their NAED Marketing Awards and for rewarding your customers.

Atlantic Coast Electric Supply hosts second incentive trip

On June 11, 2025, Atlantic Coast Electric Supply (ACES), headquartered in Summerville, SC, welcomed a group of their customers in Las Vegas, NV for a 4-Day/3-Night customer incentive program. Nearly 200 customers, employees, and their guests attended. Customers earned points for their purchases during the qualification period from January 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025.

The accommodations were through The Wynn Las Vegas. Guests enjoyed a daily breakfast, a choice of daily optional activity that ranged from Hoover Dam tours, Speed Vegas driving experience, and Spa treatments to Las Vegas tours, ATV off-road adventures, Majorwavez custom shoe experience, and even a mob museum tour led by Frank Calabrese, Jr.!

The program kicked off at the ACES VIP Hospitality Center, where guests enjoyed private check-in, lunch, and casino workshops. At this time guests were also able to cash in their ACES VIP chips that they had been collecting throughout the 15-month period for an opportunity to win raffle prizes!

Wednesday night’s welcome event brought guests to a night at Intrigue, one of the city’s most exclusive venues, tucked inside the host hotel, the luxurious Wynn. John Marshall, President and CEO opened the evening proudly welcoming customers to Las Vegas and sharing excitement of what the next few days would bring. Throughout the evening, guests enjoyed DJ entertainment, elegant showgirls, jaw-dropping contortionists, and a magician who wowed us with sleight-of-hand illusions. They were also able to visit a glam station to add some Vegas flair, get aura readings, and enjoy hand-rolled cigars at the cigar bar. The memorable evening was centered around a beautiful 90-foot waterfall to give guests an idea of the fun to come.

Night two brought guests to a private evening for an out-of-this world night at the iconic AREA15. Guests enjoyed the Asylum Arcade for appetizers and arcade games before heading into portal where The Raiders House Band played and the walls came to life highlighting the ACES team, VIP customers, and recognizing the trip’s diamond sponsors, Legrand and Siemens. During the event, the chip raffle winners were announced on stage.

Night three wrapped up the trip at the Keep Memory Alive Center where Dr. Dylan Wint of the Cleveland Clinic opened the evening to share what this impactful venue means to so many, and the importance of the programs and research dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by brain disorders and their families. During the evening, an ACES business meeting was held, and ACES took the opportunity to recognize the diamond trip sponsors, Legrand and Siemens presenting each with their own VIP Championship belts representing the champions they are in the industry. Everyone was presented with an ACES Commemorative Challenge Coin as a representation of our valued partnerships. The evening included a special performance by mentalist, Colin Cloud followed by an outdoor custom drone show highlighting ACES, our sponsors, and VIP guests. It was the perfect way to wrap up our time in Vegas.

Contractor feedback included:

• “Thank you to the ACES Team for another unforgettable trip! Everything was amazing! We are already looking forward to the next! Very thankful for the opportunity to connect with old friends and make new ones. We had a blast!”
• “This was my second ACES Incentive Trip, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been a part of both. The attention to details from the events and dinners to the transportation and nightly gifts made the entire experience seamless and unforgettable! Everything was so thoughtfully planned, and it truly made us feel appreciated.” – Terry H.
• “Thank you so very much for an amazing trip with an amazing group of people. Memories to cherish for a lifetime! It’s amazing doing business with people that put so much back into partners, customers, and their families! Pleasure doing business with the best and a privilege to share such wonderful memories now with them!” – Jessica G.

Take Aways

Incentive travel works, especially to motivate customers. It is effective in retaining business, which in the current economic environment is a challenge and critical to distributor profitability, but also helps capture customer share of wallet and incremental business.

Aside from driving sales, these programs strengthen relationships which are crucial for “breaking ties” and capturing discretionary business. You still need to be competitive, but you may not need to be low.

For businesses where relationships matter, incentives can differentiate.

Based upon Channel Marketing Group’s experience in designing programs, the “best” programs are self-liquidating, even assuming only 50% of the growth is attributable to offering rewards as yes, some of the business you would have earned anyways.

If you are considering an incentive program, Channel Marketing Group has over 40 years in structuring incentive programs and financial modeling. Another source is ITA Group, which I used to work for, and they should be a strong consideration. And, if you are considering a 2026 strategy, download the research report that CMG wrote for ITA Group earlier this year.

Congratulations to ACES and Viva Vegas.