Rewards Management
The Rewards Management system allows marketplace admins to manually recognize exceptional publisher contributions — awarding points, granting badges, promoting tiers, and running bulk reward campaigns — with a full audit trail and dual-admin approval for significant awards.
Why Manual Rewards Exist
The automatic reputation system handles the vast majority of point accumulation through installs, reviews, certifications, and community activity. Manual rewards exist to handle cases the automated system cannot capture:
- Contributions to the ecosystem that happen outside the marketplace (conference talks, open-source contributions, partnership activities)
- Beta program participation where publishers are compensated for testing unreleased features
- System error corrections where automated points were not credited due to a bug
- Milestone recognition for publishers who are among the first in a new category or integration
- Structured incentive campaigns tied to business development goals
Reward Types
Point Awards
Direct reputation point additions to a publisher's account. Points are added to both lifetime total and weighted score. Require a reason note. Large awards require dual-admin approval.
Badge Grants
Admin-granted achievement badges that appear on the publisher's profile. Badges can be granted without meeting the normal milestone criteria — used for special recognition that doesn't fit standard metrics.
Tier Promotions
Force-promote a publisher to a specific tier regardless of their current lifetime point total. Used for exceptional contributors who have earned elevated marketplace standing but haven't yet crossed the point threshold.
Bulk Rewards
CSV-based point awards for multiple publishers simultaneously. Used for structured programs where many publishers receive the same or similar rewards for participating in a defined activity.
Who Can Use Rewards Management
| Role | Can Issue Awards Up To | Approval Required For |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace Admin | 500 pts single award, all badge grants, bulk awards up to 500 pts/publisher | Awards >500 pts require a second admin to confirm |
| Super Admin | Any amount | Awards >500 pts still require dual-admin approval for accountability |
| Publisher | No access to rewards management | N/A — publishers are recipients, not issuers |
Every reward appears in the publisher's reputation event log labeled "Admin Award" with the reason note the admin provided. Publishers can see every point addition and badge grant made to their account. Transparency is a core design principle — publishers know exactly why they received a reward.