Consider the ubiquitous corporate gift or promotional product. These are most often associated with freebies at sports events, swag bags distributed at conferences or giveaways at tradeshows.
There have been all kinds of studies that confirm these gifts are meaningful ways to make contacts, clients, or employees feel loyal and valued by a company. Whatever the case, corporate promotional products serve their purpose best if they are of good quality and useful. After all, it has been observed that some corporate gifts are very nice, some are simply alright and others are, unfortunately, useless.
Therefore, if someone is a donor of corporate gifts, how do they stand out from the rest? How can you give a corporate gift that does not go straight to the trash can? Gifts can be given to industry peers, conference attendees, employees or any other stakeholder involved with the company.
The idea is not to give any old item, but a meaningful and useful giveaway. So, businesses are advised to conduct adequate research on the kind of potential gifts their clientele would like to receive. Following are some top tips on how to select great corporate merchandise:
Reflect the company culture
The corporate gift must reflect the work the company does, or the culture of the team who work there. For example, in a company where Friday casual dress is the all-week norm, with employees wearing T-shirts everyday, a good corporate gift for staff may be branded T-shirts that reflect this casual culture.
Be inclusive
Businesses must be aware of gender, religious and other preferences that may include or exclude certain sections of their intended audience. In the above example, T-shirts may not be ideal gifts for everyone. Some recipients may decline the gift if it is not appropriate to their cultural dress code. So, it is good to consider the nuances of a wider audience and select items accordingly.
Presentation counts
What if a gift lacks good packaging? It may be a wonderful gesture, but the presentation also counts. Consider the experience someone has while opening a gift they have received from your organisation. It could include a handwritten note, tissue paper, attractive wrapping; all this implies attention to detail and it can impact how something ordinary can be transformed into something amazing.
The presentation and polish of the entire gift package helps in communicating the intention and thought behind the gesture. Besides the actual gift, the unboxing experience can make or break the act of giving. This includes both the visual aspect, as well as other senses like smell and taste.
Get the team involved
Businesses can make gift-giving a collective effort by engaging a wide range of company employees in creating or sending gifts. Such events can be fun and provide opportunities to bond. They can seek opinions when conducting research on merchandise, or get someone close to the recipients to compose a handwritten note to accompany the item. This can be an opportune time to take a break from work and laugh and chat while packing gifts and even problem-solving.
Be considerate
This tip corresponds with being inclusive. It is a good idea to sometimes inquire from the potential recipient about the nature of the gift. For instance, no one would want to gift a person with food items that can cause allergies to them. As for apparel, refrain from guessing sizes. Though businesses may compromise on the element of surprise, asking questions up-front to the recipients can save disasters or mistakes in the future.
Share a bit of local flavour
Companies can represent their state or city and offer support to local businesses by sending products that are ‘home grown’. This proves to be beneficial for persons who live far away and also for businesses in their locality, promoting good business for all.
Stress on quality above originality
There is no need to reinvent the wheel! It is perfectly alright to give away a promotional product that has been given before. This might be an opportunity to stand out by doing the gift-giving in a better way. Many will give away mugs and pens, but if those items are premium products most people will notice and appreciate the quality.
You could even consult a sample of the target audience about what features would make a gift stand out as better to them. But if businesses do not have the resources or time to come up with a range of quality products on their own, good suppliers or third parties can take on the job of curating a range of gift ideas of good quality.
Plan ahead
Sourcing interesting and useful gifts can take time, and recipients can easily tell whether gifts have not been thoughtfully compiled. The best bet for gift giving, particularly in the holiday season, is to plan ahead.
Experts recommend that all items and their packages must be selected and bought by the end of October, in order to be ready for Christmas and the holiday season. Below are good reasons why planning ahead can make sure you achieve your promotional merchandising goals:
● Towards the end of the year, especially during the holidays, shipping routes become overloaded and tend to slow down.
● The increased volume of orders at the end of the year can result in inventory shortages, so desired items can be out of stock causing further delivery delays.
● It may take several weeks to organise the complete dispatch of gifts to various addresses, sending early will ensure that all recipients receive their intended gifts in sufficient time.
In sum, these are some of the top ideas for designing promotional products Australia.
