Is Your Brand Keeping Up with Promotional Trends?

Have you planned what, when, and who to surprise with promotional gifts yet this year? You may have noticed that a lot has changed in the past few months when it comes to gift-giving, especially due to the unpredictable situation we find ourselves in. Old traditions have started to fade into the background and are being replaced by new promotional trends, which are quite successful in adapting to the changing times. Namely, we notice changes not only in companies’ decisions when it comes to choosing gifts, but also in their decisions on the best time and method of gift-giving.

The holiday season is, naturally, a great opportunity to thank your customers and staff for their help and the trust they have shown your business. However, this is definitely an extremely traditional time to give out gifts, during which many people even expect to receive one. These expectations eliminate the element of surprise to some extent, and at the same time gives the impression that gift-giving is absolutely necessary during the holidays. It is precisely for these reasons that businesses have slowly but surely been changing their approach to gift-giving.

What you need to remember before deciding on the what, when, and who, is that when surprising people with gifts, you want to communicate different things to different people. For instance, you can motivate your employees, instil confidence in business partners, and prove your loyalty and gratitude to customers. The right choice of gift can consequently contribute to better work ethic, expansion of the company and to establishing new contacts, as well as a larger customer base.

Trendy Gifting

Gifting trends are emerging everywhere – in both personal and business circles. Of course, they are quite different from each other. You’re probably familiar with the classic trend of adding a ballpoint pen printed with the logo or name (sometimes both) of your company to a goodie bag. But have you ever asked yourself if anyone sincerely appreciates a small gift like that? Sure, there’s more gifts in the bag and ultimately, it’s the thought that counts, but a ballpoint pen or notepad don’t seem like the type of gifts that had much thought put into them.

Of course, such a gift can also bring results – all you have to do is make sure your ballpoint pen stands out! It has to be unique, innovative, and trendy – 2020, for instance, saw the rise of recycled materials being used to produce promotional products. The pen could, for example, be made of environmentally friendly materials, and promote a sustainable lifestyle. Maybe you can give customers, employees and business partners a pencil that grows into a plant!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As with everything else in the business, when it comes to gift-giving, you will want to start with your goal as well.

Why Are You Actually Giving Out Gifts?

The main reason for gift-giving should definitely be a desire to express gratitude. In today’s fast-paced world, very few people take the time to recognize all the good things that surround them – and one of these is certainly their co-workers and business partners, who make sure a business runs smoothly. Acknowledging their diligence sometimes means more to them than you can imagine.

Of course, surprising people with gifts also brings other benefits that are much more important to many entrepreneurs than just expressing gratitude. Gifts encourage employees and partners to put more effort in their work, which in turn leads to better results and a growth of the customer base. But always remember that focusing on just this aspect of the gift completely nullifies the original purpose of the gift – make sure the gift recipients know that you actually appreciate them and that they are more than just your workforce.

With that in mind, the gift needs to be truly tailored to the recipient. It is at this point that most companies fail, so devote all your attention to personalization and consider in detail what your gift recipients would actually appreciate the most – is this a personal message? Perhaps they would be more excited about a kitchen gadget they’ve been talking about for months? Why not surprise them with a combination of both? If you really put a lot of effort and thought into a gift, then success is almost guaranteed. However, remember to always keep promotional trends in mind.

Some companies are boldly switching to digital gifts, although I personally think many people are exaggerating with them. This was a great idea a few years ago, when in fact almost every digital product represented some innovation in the market. Soon after, the trend of digital technology dried up, with the exception of extremely unique and new products. All of this has recently changed again, as people have once again welcomed even the most basic electronics – new laptops and tablets have become an extremely important part of the business during the pandemic, as most office companies have indefinitely moved their work online. But at the same time, many people quickly get tired of digital content – we crave real experience and personal contact.

One of the better ideas of companies is segmenting gifts in a similar way as segmenting marketing works, where making the whole experience much more personal for the recipient. In return, you can give your most loyal customers more special and expensive gifts, for example. Of course, this is not the best approach to gifting employees, as gifts of different values ​​can hurt the emotions of many, and this in turn affects your and their morale. If you decide to give out bonuses or gifts to employees, the process should be fair and uniform, either as a percentage or as an actual gift.