What's in a name?

It might smell ten times sweeter! Such is the case for “Promotional Products Media” and “Corporate Gifting”. According to Forbes, corporate gifting is now a $242 Billion annual spend! The promotional industry tracks at about a tenth of that. But are there really differences and is it the name that makes it different?

First it is necessary to really understand the promotional products business. Depending on how you conduct business with your clients, it is either a “product supply” business selling things with logos on them, or it is “promotional products media”  delivering messages and growing your client’s business. In reality most industry distributors see their company as a hybrid doing it both ways depending on the client. 

Corporate gifting has always been a part of the promotional industry but distributors that focus on this sales channel have approached it as a bit more sophisticated sell where corporate executives are more likely to be involved rather than leaving things to their staff. 

With $242 billion moving through the corporate gifting channel, it is important to know that 60% is spent for gifts going to people outside the corporation with the remaining 40% for gifting within the organization, according to Forbes. Also, some distributions are one to one and some are one to many. These variables will play an important part in what is recommended to clients. Obviously budgets are of paramount importance. On average unit gift prices fall between $25 to $125 with a target price of $75 to $100.

While these prices may seem unrealistic if you normally are involved in selling disposable writing instruments and ice scrapers, they are very real, well documented and backed up with years of research. Perhaps the most amazing statistic I discovered researching this article is that the I R F (Incentive Research Foundation) stated that their 12 year survey is indicating a 34% increase in corporate gifting in 2022.

Some gift programs tend to be more complicated to administer than you might be willing to handle. That is why there are vendors that can handle the actual program for you. From web stores allowing point redemptions to direct courier delivery, a corporate gifting program can be an ongoing part of your business.

Certainly holiday business is the “busy season” for corporate gifting, but that is not the only time gifts are exchanged. Business meetings, contract signings, home purchases, anniversaries, birthdays, length of service, meeting sales projections and dozens of other situations are reasons for many corporations to give gifts.

There are differences between corporate gifts and normal promotional advertising. One key difference is that corporate gifts generally will not have a prominent logo. Many will have their corporate identity in a “private” location like an engraved imprint on the back of a watch or on an inside label of a leather coat. The impact of corporate gifting is strong.

I have hundreds of pens. The company I work for sells millions of pens every year. 30 years ago I was given a corporate gift from a major pen manufacturer. Not only do I consider that pen “pocket jewelry” that I take into virtually every business meeting, I remember who gave it to me, exactly where and when. The impact of that gift has lasted 3 decades so far and without an imprint!

So perhaps adding “corporate gifting” to the introduction you give and the communication you conduct with clients might start a conversation that leads to a fabulous new profit center for your business. If you have a prospect that says they don’t do corporate gifting, you might ask what businesses investing $242 billion each year know that your prospect does not!