Corporate and Promotional Christmas Gifts

And this month’s winner is …  

We don’t make this up you know! I’m talking about the information in our features. Before we put pen to paper, we publish details of features the preceding month on the website inviting contributions of editorial content and we also send out emails to remind suppliers to send us their news and information. The level of response varies (lots this month) … and so does the quality of some of the replies, but enough of that!

This month’s star prize for an amusing and informative response goes to KAN, whose response to our request for information on Christmas gifts goes like this:

"On the 1st day of Christmas, my clients said to me ... KAN you handle my Christmas Wish list?"
From five branded, golden rings, to three ships-a-sailing, (personalised spinnakers billowing in the wind) ... KAN can source and brand more than just your 12 days of Gold, Frankinsence and Myrrh-chandise!

KAN has a rich feast of funky promotional goodies to fill any Christmas stocking. Let KAN help you with the festive spirit and keep those Lords a leaping over their Snowdomes or their Snowmen USB's.....

Call on Santa's little helpers, three hundred and sixty five days of the year (well, 357 - even Elves have time off!!).

For all that you KAN imagine, and everything you can't."

That says it all really and in a very festive, yo-ho-ho sort of way, but if you want to know more, visit KAN at www.jazz-fish.com.

Christmas Cheer

For some people (OK, I admit it!), Christmas would not be Christmas without a drop of bubbly and EMC, a supplier better known for promotional products such as pens, umbrellas, clothing, USB Keys, lanyards, diaries and key rings, has launched a Christmas corker for champagne lovers. Bottles of champers that can be branded with labels which fit snugly underneath the producers’ collar label.

With a selection of champagnes including Moet & Chandon, Testulat, Lanson, Krug and Veuve Clicquot, the firm promises to supply own-labelled champagne to suit any budget and offers discounts on bulk purchases.

Even more encouraging, EMC managing director Simon Kay, tells us, “We will be offering great deals as we approach the Christmas Party Season and New Year. Prices are fluctuating because the Champagne houses are sending through special offers, so we are keeping an open mind on supplying all the brands and are happy to design new labels as and when needed.”  EMC

But champers is not the only tipple enjoyed during the festive season. A nice bottle of wine also goes down well and Euromarque Personalised Wines can supply one with your brand on the label, with strap line and logo, to create a corporate impact.  Euromarque

Cards, Calendars & Desktop Accessories

Printed Christmas cards are still very popular, despite the emergence of the Christmas e-card, and 4imprint has put together a selection of greetings cards which can be personalised with your logo on the front, contact details on the back and your own personal message inside. All of which will add a real personal touch when sending cards to clients and customers this Christmas. The cards are made from quality 120gsm white board and feature some simple but striking traditional imagery which include baubles, holly and presents!

4imprint also has a range of festive promotional products available that can be printed and personalised with your logo and/or details. The range includes snow shakers, Christmas stress balls in the shape of figgy puddings (pictured right), pens and desktop Advent calendars to name just a few.  4Imprint

Talking of calendars, Buyking has teamed up with one of the country’s leading calendar printers to offer a range that can have your client’s name featured in each month’s picture. You can choose from a massive library of images covering a wide range of themes including a special ‘birthday cake’ pic for the month of the recipient’s birthday. Buyking

For Calendars with a bit more bite GroovyChocolate offers advent calendars (square or tree shaped) with a choc behind each window. As well as the conventional 1 – 24 December calendar, the company also offers the 12 Days of Christmas Calendar, which has 12 windows instead of the usual 24 and celebrates the twelve days of Christmas. 

Due to popular demand for the 12 Days calendars, GroovyChocolate has added another print date in early November.  Director, Andy Fairburn, tell us, “Because it’s an overprint, we can turn these around really quickly and still get them to our customers by December.”

The GroovyChocolate 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendars are ideal for last minute decision makers and because they’re smaller with only 12 pieces of Belgian chocolate they are more economical!    Groovy Chocolate

Staying with desktop seasonal goodies, SAC Graphics of Stourbridge, West Midlands, tells us that their most popular Christmas product is the calendar mousemat from the Top Mat range. You supply the artwork for your logo/message, SAC provides the template for the 2010 calendar.

Helen Treadwell, from SAC tells us,"The product is popular as it stays on a customer’s desk all year round, obviously for use as a Mousemat, but also due to the added usability of the Calendar. We have many returning customers, year after year, for this product."

And there’s more … to avoid the last minute rush for Christmas gifts, SAC is offering 10% extra free Mousemats with each Calendar Mat orders (maximum 100 free mats) placed and approved by 13/11/09. SAC Graphics

If you think your clients would like to see their name in lights on their desktop this Christmas, then ScreenWipe has a range of pens that light up. Screenwipe 

 

Deck the Halls … with bunting, crackers, balloons and table lamps

Branding can also extend from gifts to Christmas decorations. Instead of sending individual gifts, why not offer to provide some decorations for your client’s Christmas party … and add your logo for good measure.

Champers is not the only Christmas must-have; Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas be without Christmas Crackers! They are an essential part of our seasonal festivities. At Simply Crackers, the team works a year ahead on the designs and often meets with customers 13 months ahead. However, they are also able to work to much shorter lead times and are able to turn round online orders within a matter of days. Simply Crackers  

Another promotional Christmas decoration idea comes from Hibin Promotional & Gifts Manufactory, which is offering Promotional Christmas bunting in different shapes, designs, materials and sizes.   Hibin

Balloons can also provide a spectacular Christmas decoration and are ‘fantastic value’ according to the B-Loony Event Management Team.  

B-Loony

For a bit of festive chic and stylish glitz, you can add gold and silver Flamps from Design Code.

These lamps are perfect for Christmas corporate gifts as well as great promotional materials for parties and events. Gold and silver Flamps are glitzy enough for the Christmas season, but subtle enough to be used throughout the year. They are also fully customisable; allowing you to personalise both the screen and box through your choice of colours and shapes, as well as the possibility of printing logos, corporate slogans, messages, etc. Design Code

Write on Christmas Advice

Choosing gifts, even at this festive time, is not always easy. Melissa Chevin, Marketing Manager of Senator, a leading promotional pen manufacturer, offers this advice to those contemplating buying promotional Christmas gifts. She says, "Organisations with tight budgets and little time can still offer exceptional, high-quality Christmas gifts that will make the right impression upon the recipient if they select their supplier with care. A three day express service is now available on our New Spring Chrome and New Spring Chrome Clear pens, which enables organisations to ‘panic buy with confidence’, as we can laser engrave and despatch within just three days."

The company also offers many other ranges of pens including the Senator Point ballpen, a retro-design classic and the Solaris Chrome range, (pictured) which includes a rollerball and twist-action ballpoint in a presentation case. Senator

Capital Christmas Ideas

Andy Philpott, Marketing Director of Capital Incentives & Motivation, gives this advice on 'How to Make the Most of Incentives this Christmas and New Year’. He says, "Too many companies are missing chances to end the old year and start the New Year well by using Christmas gifts and incentive schemes.

"Not enough businesses realise they can achieve so much more than just build goodwill and show appreciation for loyalty and commitment. They do not realise that the schemes can be valuable in maximising sales not only right to the end of the year but also to begin the year successfully."

But which incentive or gift should you choose?

Andy advises, "When choosing rewards, gift cards and vouchers can suit the varied tastes of all staff and can be adapted to different levels of reward.

"Compliments Card is an incentive gift card created to enable employers to make incentive payments to employees or third parties that can be the perfect solution for Christmas bonuses, even at the last minute.

"It is a highly flexible award.  Recipients can spend up to the balance on the card, in the same way as a debit card, in approved top brand high street and online retailers which include Selfridges, House of Fraser, Halfords, TGI Friday’s and River Island.

"Employers have a choice of two options.  The disposable Compliments Card is ideal for making one-off award payments, such as Christmas bonuses, while the reloadable card is fully personalised with the name of the winner and is more suited to ongoing incentive schemes.

"The Compliments Card comes in a range of exciting designs making it an award that can be given for all occasions.  Companies can also have their own bespoke design containing their company logo and incentive theme if they wish."  Capital Incentives

Bags More Advice

In the light of the current financial climate, Andy Steavenson, Director of Crazy Bags, says, "Yes corporate Christmas gifts are still appropriate; but what is more important is the format of the gift and how it’s presented. There is much debate about whether or not corporate gifts should be retained this year.  But perhaps it should be more a question of what's given and how gifts are presented.

"What has become clear from corporate and consumer behaviour this year is that waste and extravagance have given way to prudence. This does not necessarily translate into corporate gifts no longer being appropriate.  Moreover, it is the appropriateness of the gift that is the more important question.

"Having spent the year creating campaigns that convey added value, perhaps what becomes appropriate now is to adopt the same strategy for corporate gifts.  This creates opportunity.

"An easy way to do this is to think about how the gifts are presented and the messages that this conveys.  For example, using an environmentally sound, reusable and branded bag to put the gifts in will not only demonstrate added value and corporate and social responsibility; but it will help generate the chances to boost visibility, increase brand awareness and overall campaign success. 

This not only makes gifting practical, it makes them cost effective and viable, which are key considerations at any time, but even more so in a recession.

"The key is to think laterally, demonstrate added value and build in campaign awareness and brand values within gifting options."  Crazy Bags

And finally …

We’ve had drinks and chocs, desktop accessories, decorations and advice, but now for two final Corporate Christmas gift ideas on a slightly different note … entertainment!

Many companies are still keen to reward, motivate and incentivise staff as well as offer a special note of thanks to corporate customers and suppliers at Christmas. With so many people to take into account and personal requirements to consider, it can be an overwhelming task.   

So why not surprise them with a gift or reward that’s a little bit different from the norm. Theatre Tokens, currently celebrating their 25^th anniversary, has launched a special theatre CD gift pack, making the ideal Christmas present that will leave the recipient with memories to treasure. 

The CD gift pack includes £30 or £50 worth of Theatre Tokens that can be used to see a show at over 230 theatres nationwide so that they can choose from hundreds of plays, musicals, shows or pantomimes over the festive period.

Also included is a ‘Show Tunes!’ CD with a range of music from hit West End musicals, sung by a variety of people including TV favourite John Barrowman, who sings ‘Any Dream Will Do’ from Joseph and ‘Summer Nights’ from Grease.

In addition, and as an added bonus, theatrically themed greetings cards can also be ordered with the gift pack from a range that has been exclusively designed for Theatre Tokens. Each card uses imagery that captures the essence of the theatre from a chorus line to a wintry ballet scene.  Cards can be individually personalised and presented to staff, customers and suppliers with the CD gift pack.  Theatre Tokens

Sometimes it’s not appropriate to personalise a gift and I think that’s the case with the Cath Kidston/Roberts radios from EIC. The company is now an approved supplier of Roberts Radio for the promotions and incentives market, and with DAB growing they have a huge range to fit all budgets and tastes. But you would not necessarily want to add a logo to such an iconic item as this, so best include your greetings on a card or on the packaging. EIC

We’ve covered Christmas corporate gifts large and small, eatable, drinkable, desirable and entertaining, plus we’ve also offered advice from experts. What more could you want? Answers on a postcards to Santa please.

Carole Bull

Editor

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