It may only be September, but like falling leaves and pumpkin-flavored everythings, the fourth quarter gift season is a fast-approaching inevitability. Before you know it, the client barrage of “I need electronics! I need fancy snacks! I need cards!” will begin, and then it’ll be time to bear down, dig deep and sell your clients on gift and incentive programs like this year’s end is going to be the last one we’re all going to have.
But are you ready though? Ready to dole out the newest, hottest products? Ready to make old holiday standards seem new through brilliant creative planning? Ready to answer 9,000 questions about gift wrapping?
We know you are. (You are a Promo Marketing reader after all, so by default you are a promotional marketing genius.) But, given the general madness of the holidays, it never hurts to be a little extra prepared. With that in mind, below are a handful of tips and tricks for some of the most popular gift categories of the fourth quarter.
GREETING CARDS
A staple of gift-giving, greeting cards are a sure bet with most gift promotions. When pitching or selecting cards for clients, remember to consider ecological paper and ink options (always a nice touch in a season where end-users might be sensitive about pollution or waste). Further, suppliers that offer variable printing are a must when you’re looking to personalize a large number of cards.
A HELPFUL TIP: Stand out with different holidays
Sending cards for Christmas or New Year’s is a no-brainer, but your clients stand to gain a lot of attention by focusing on other holidays as well. “There are a large [group of] greeting card customers out there that focus on Hanukkah and Thanksgiving Day cards instead of Christmas cards,” Bill Mahre, president of ADG Promotional Products, Hugo, Minn., said. “Christmas cards are extremely common to send and receive, however, you can be the first to make it on your customers wall by sending greeting cards during these lesser used greeting card opportunities.”
COOKIES
Cookie Monster said it best: “Me want cookie.” Few and far between are the end-users that can resist the allure of one of the best treats humanity has ever created. Cookie promotions still require a smidge of attention to make sure they don’t metaphorically or literally crumble on you. Make sure any cookies you plan to pitch or send to clients have passed your own personal taste test first, and remember that any cookies being sent to warmer climates might need to be packaged in materials that will protect them from the heat.
A HELPFUL TIP: Try a self-promotion
Cookies are a great choice for a fourth quarter self-promotion, since they’re perceived as a seasonally appropriate gift, and getting them into (potential) buyer’s hands is a reliable way to get them to taste the cookies and consider them for a promotion of their own. Christine Tworzydlo, senior account manager/key accounts for Admints & Zagabor, Bellmawr, N.J., noted that cookies that are fresh-baked and ship within 24 hours, such as the cookies packed in the company’s Executive Cookie Box, are a good choice for such self promotions.
ELECTRONICS
Barring vehicles, trips or a check with six or seven zeroes in it, electronics are pretty much the most lavish and exciting gift a person can receive. Oddly enough, electronic gifts are not all that different from their cookie counterparts, in that it’s highly recommended you try the product before pitching it to clients. This can be especially true of items such as portable speakers, where there’s a component to the item that can’t really be conveyed in a catalog write-up.
A HELPFUL TIP: Use as the finishing touch for a larger gift promotion
Electronic gifts can be a great way to add prestige to a promotion, even if said promotion is already something fairly extravagant. David Fiderer, director of marketing for Prime Line, Bridgeport, Conn., related an example of an electronic item accomplishing just such a feat. “A financial services company rewarded their top producers with a first-class all expenses paid trip to the Bahamas,” he said. “The company’s meeting planner selected Prime Line’s Mini-Boom Speaker/FM Radio as the primary room gift. It was placed inside each traveler’s room with a USB flash drive inserted. A card was placed next to the speaker with instructions to ‘please press play.’ Guests heard a welcome message from the CEO followed by a custom playlist of island-themed music.”
AWARDS
From celebrating sales achievements to just being a classy way to say thanks, awards are a big part of the fourth quarter giving season, especially in the corporate world. When designing awards for corporate clients, obviously it’s important to keep their company’s branding in mind, but remember too that awards are most effective when they have a personal touch. It could be something as simple as a nice engraving of the recipient’s name, or it could be something that goes further, such as a design that says something about them personally. (A golf-themed award for an avid golfer, a boat-themed award for someone who likes to sail, etc.)
A HELPFUL TIP: Get creative with your message
Awards don’t always have to be a literal “thank you for accomplishing task X” product. Because they can be designed with the sophistication and quality of a legitimate piece of art, awards can express more complex messages using metaphor and imagery. Bridget Dahlgren, marketing manager for Crystal D, St. Paul, Minn., share one such example.
“When you think of a clock, the first thing that comes to mind is probably not a room gift,” she said. “However, our customer and their end-buyer had raving fans after using our Chesterfield Clock as a room gift. The end-buyer was hosting an event for their elite supplier partners,” she explained. “The main purpose of the meeting was to communicate new delivery standards and technologies for the partners. The end-buyer wanted to convey the message that they will never miss a deadline with the new systems in place. The Chesterfield Clock was imprinted with the organization’s logo and delivery promise,” she said. “The supplier partners were blown away, as they were not expecting to receive something as substantial as a crystal clock for a room gift. (Though, in the end the cost was close to the same amount as the “standard” room gift they usually provided,)” she explained. “The end-buyer was pleased with the response from the supplier partners-and very happy knowing their logo sits on the desks of their customers. Just think, that is eight hours of multiple impressions every day.”
