It seems to sneak up on us every year, but the holidays are officially here… again!
We love the holidays for all kinds of reasons: fun parties, delicious treats, a time to celebrate being together, whether in the office or outside of it. But one thing that we hear is a challenge over and over, year after year from our clients?
Gifting.
Don’t get us wrong: most of our clients LOVE to gift. In their personal lives. But the same can’t always be said for their corporate gifting needs. Yet, gifting matters. As we’ve seen after doing this for years on end, a beautiful, perfectly curated and perfectly timed end-of-year gift can make a huge impact. It not only celebrates a great year of work, whether that’s with a client, vendor, partner, or an employee, but also serves as a hint of what’s to come in the new year.
Beyond the logistical challenges that accompany sending out a multi-part gift (we’ll be talking all about that in future Corporate Corner posts, so stay tuned!), the first step is figuring out what to gift.
A common phrase around here on client calls is “we don’t want to do what we did last year.” Which is truly our favorite thing to hear, because it means that our clients care as much about creating something not only aesthetically pleasing, but on-trend, too. (You could say we’re pretty lucky to work with some amazing people).
So we’re giving you the inside scoop on the three top trends this year in our world to give you the edge you need to gift better. (If you like what you see, our Corporate Concierge would love to chat).
Substance > Swag
We’ll go right out and say it: swag is over! Gone are the days of plastic pens emblazoned with a neon logo that sit in a desk drawer. Your goal as a client should be to send something that ends up on that primo real estate: the top of the desk! And the chance that someone is going to have something with your brand displayed prominently sit on their desk (or on their kitchen counter, coffee table, or nightstand)? We’re not mathematicians but we’re going to say it’s not looking good.
That’s not to say that a subtle branded element doesn’t go a long way. We’re experts at leather embossed notebooks, gold engraved coffee scoops, and screen-printed glass water bottles. It truly is all about preserving the essence of the product with subtle branding cues. Another common workaround for the in-your-face swag approach is including your brand within our packaging, whether that’s through a logo tag, custom ribbon color, tissue sticker, or collateral insert. There are many ways to get your point across and still keep the authenticity of the gift intact.
Copper is the New Gold
We love gold as much as the next person, but this year, we’re coveting copper. We love that it’s a more subtle answer to the flashiness that gold can have, but that it’s not quite as cold as silver can sometimes be. We’ve incorporated it into our precurated holiday collection via the STRAIGHT UP and GOURMAND and we’ll be rolling out more and more of our new favorite hue as the season continues.
Experiences are Everything
We hear it all the time — what do you possibly gift the person who has everything? We’ve thought a lot about this (you could say it’s all we think about around here), and our tried-and-true answer is an experience-based gift that packs a punch.
While a truly special single gift can work in some occasions, the truth is, unless you’ve got an unlimited budget, it’s going to fall short of what you’d like it to convey. Which is why an experience-based gift can do all the heavy lifting for a few key reasons:
1) It’s thoughtful: it shows each element was handpicked with care and it tells an immediate story of time, place, color, and season
2) It’s beautiful: everything fits together in an aesthetically pleasing pack that’s just begging to be shared
4) It inspires action: if you’re sending someone a cocktail-themed gift, they’re going to be inspired to put it to use. And that experience far transcends the lifespan of the gift, so it’s truly the gift that keeps on giving.
Feeling inspired? Have a question? Reach out to our Corporate Concierge today to request our catalog or get to gifting.
