Connecting With Corporate Gifts

The Devil Is in the Detail
Vicky Thomson

As I work on one of our bespoke business gift orders today, it strikes me that even with the simplest of projects, once you start paying attention to the details, the gift really evolves into something else entirely.

Take the gift hamper in question. One of the elements is a bespoke notebook, made and bound in the UK. It incorporates a number of pages at the front which have the favourite recipes from the client's team. Now, we loved this idea anyway, a lovely personal way for our client to connect with theirs'. We’ve paired it with a few baking related items, such as a canvas bag to keep your baked goods fresh. Creating a thoughtful, rounded package that we hope will be used for years to come.  

But really that’s just the start. The personalised notebook is bound in a tactile black linen with a bespoke illustration gold-blocked onto the front. This illustration is then replicated on the canvas bread bag. We incorporate a personal message on the title page of the book including the client’s logo. It should be noted that this will be the only place we will use the company branding on the gift itself (other branding and corporate colours will be used on the gift wrapping). We use the thoughtfulness of the gift to connect the two parties and create advocacy. The recipes themselves then each include a personal note from the contributor and we’ve added some in-house created illustrations to bring the recipes to life...

Ok, before I get carried away and start writing an essay on the importance of choosing the right ribbon quality (which I totally could, i’m a bit weird like that). I suppose the key message is that the finer details count -really count. The recipient of your bespoke gift might not even consciously notice that you’ve replicated an element of your brand or the gift say, as part of the illustration on the gift card but the total value of that gift will be far greater than the sum of their parts. We talk all the time about adding value and we will break this down further on the blog soon. But in the meantime here are a few ways that you could easily seek to add value with your Christmas business gifts this year:

  • Hampers are one of our favourite gift choices. You might initially think of food or drink but actually these can be the least thoughtful ways to gift if not considered carefully.  We’re talking about packages of beautiful stationery for those inevitable long hours spent at the desk or pieces like handmade mugs, tea and books to cozy down with through the winter months. That curated selection, a combination chosen to tell your story, then often personalised with techniques such gold-blocking or engraving will really create a moment to stop and appreciate the gesture.
  • Tight budgets can be the scourge of gift giving with both personal and corporate gifts.  We would never suggest breaking the bank to give the perfect gift, with a bit of lateral thinking you can add lots of value. One of our most popular hampers is The Entertainer, full of the pieces for a great night in, such as barware, playing cards and a scented candle.  But with a starting price of over £100 it’s not for all pockets. Could your budget stretch to a piece or two of luxe barware? For around £35 you could give a cocktail shaker and include a bespoke recipe card for a cocktail which could even be created especially for you. 

  • On a similar vein, make budgets stretch by choosing one main, more valuable piece and then support with a few smaller, associated items. Such as a personalised leather bound journal with a set of pencils and a brass sharpener or a beautiful bespoke bone-china mug with a small pack of luxury tea and a snack.
  • Gift packaging. I used to spend many idle hours browsing the latest pieces online on Net a Porter or (realistically) Zara.  My husband jokes that these days on a Saturday night you’re more likely to find me ‘watching’ Strictly whilst dual screening our preferred suppliers of gift boxes and ribbon, looking for the perfect colours and sizes to perfectly compliment the gifts we might be working on. We’re obsessed with those details. We consider it the highest compliment if the giftpacking is kept and re-used.
  • Gift card & message. Gifts are all about context. Whilst in an ideal world your Christmas corporate gifts would speak for themselves, sometimes a little reminder in the message will really help things along. In the vein of ‘Saw this and thought of you because…’ is really going to hit the spot.
  • When sending a gift directly to the recipient we always think about the first impression. Smart new, unmarked boxes, matt-paper packing tape start us off on the right foot and starts to give the recipient the impression that they are really valued.  
  • Or hand the job over to us! We love all this stuff, we’ll be really nosey, find out everything we need to know and then create a bespoke gift that could’ve only come from you (and they’ll never need to know it didn’t).

Read more here about about the importance of branding your gifts in the right way.

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