[Misc] Corporate Gifts....

[Knocky's Nose]

Albion unrelated as I've probably spent the last 3 days watching re-runs of the Man Utd game plus have logged onto the forums to read about everything related to it, then toggled between the Sky Sports reports and the BBC ones... and now I'm getting what I can only describe as severe 'smug fatigue'

So.. here we go. I'm starting a new business at the end of July, and part of promoting that business will involve (amongst digital marketing, networking, and all manner of other advertising is) a series of 'pop up shops' which are solely for the purpose of getting the brand known and talking to people. As a sweetener the intention is to give out little 'gift bags' containing some info about the business and what it offers, a little discount voucher and a little gift which people will actually use.. as opposed to just toss in the bin or throw in a drawer never to be seen again.

It will be 'branded' of course, to reinforce the name and hopefully then lead people to familiarise themselves with it.

My question is, is there a little corporate gift you've been given in the past (or present) which you've actually used or at least thought would be useful - or have used and enjoyed?

Answers like 'a brown envelope full of cash' or 'a Lexus' are not valid as I don't want to spend fortunes. It needs to be cheap, and either very useful or innovative and something which will be used or remembered.

As ever, thanks for the input. You wonderful lot are usually my first port of call for things like this...

 

[um bongo molongo]

A decent quality branded reusable water bottle has worked quite well for my business and works well if you have any sort of sustainability message you want to nod to.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Albion unrelated as I've probably spent the last 3 days watching re-runs of the Man Utd game plus have logged onto the forums to read about everything related to it, then toggled between the Sky Sports reports and the BBC ones... and now I'm getting what I can only describe as severe 'smug fatigue'

So.. here we go. I'm starting a new business at the end of July, and part of promoting that business will involve (amongst digital marketing, networking, and all manner of other advertising is) a series of 'pop up shops' which are solely for the purpose of getting the brand known and talking to people. As a sweetener the intention is to give out little 'gift bags' containing some info about the business and what it offers, a little discount voucher and a little gift which people will actually use.. as opposed to just toss in the bin or throw in a drawer never to be seen again.

It will be 'branded' of course, to reinforce the name and hopefully then lead people to familiarise themselves with it.

My question is, is there a little corporate gift you've been given in the past (or present) which you've actually used or at least thought would be useful - or have used and enjoyed?

Answers like 'a brown envelope full of cash' or 'a Lexus' are not valid as I don't want to spend fortunes. It needs to be cheap, and either very useful or innovative and something which will be used or remembered.

As ever, thanks for the input. You wonderful lot are usually my first port of call for things like this...

A Montblanc pen

 

[wellquickwoody]

Albion unrelated as I've probably spent the last 3 days watching re-runs of the Man Utd game plus have logged onto the forums to read about everything related to it, then toggled between the Sky Sports reports and the BBC ones... and now I'm getting what I can only describe as severe 'smug fatigue'

So.. here we go. I'm starting a new business at the end of July, and part of promoting that business will involve (amongst digital marketing, networking, and all manner of other advertising is) a series of 'pop up shops' which are solely for the purpose of getting the brand known and talking to people. As a sweetener the intention is to give out little 'gift bags' containing some info about the business and what it offers, a little discount voucher and a little gift which people will actually use.. as opposed to just toss in the bin or throw in a drawer never to be seen again.

It will be 'branded' of course, to reinforce the name and hopefully then lead people to familiarise themselves with it.

My question is, is there a little corporate gift you've been given in the past (or present) which you've actually used or at least thought would be useful - or have used and enjoyed?

Answers like 'a brown envelope full of cash' or 'a Lexus' are not valid as I don't want to spend fortunes. It needs to be cheap, and either very useful or innovative and something which will be used or remembered.

As ever, thanks for the input. You wonderful lot are usually my first port of call for things like this...

A Montblanc pen

 

[Blinkers]

A very bright luggage tag, so I can find my suitcase on the conveyor belt. Branding printed on the other side of the luggage tag

 

[bhafc99]

Ideally it needs to be in some way be related to what the business does, or stands for (like [MENTION=2534]um bongo molongo[/MENTION] says).

Otherwise it's just a gimmick for a gimmick's sake.

 

[Rowdey]

Bottle (cap) opener.

 

[Brok]

Bottle (cap) opener.

Better still, a whistling bottle opener. You won't go wrong with a whistling bottle opener.

 

[Goldstone1976]

A couple of good ideas already. The one I’ve consistently used has been (boringly) a pen. I got it from a firm of solicitors and it’s branded with their name (note: I don’t remember the firm’s name!). It’s not a Montblanc (!), but neither is it cheap and tacky - I’d guess it’s in the couple of quid a pop range if bought in volume; but I’ve used it every day for two years…

 

[Butch Willykins]

Re-usable shopping bag or a decent small umbrella.

On the face of it both incredibly dull items, but both have proved very handy!

 

[Live by the sea]

A tote bag with your branding on it .

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

What is it you do? Might help to know.

 

[McTavish]

I got a token for a shopping trolley that attaches to a key ring from a company that produces corporate branded gifts about five years ago - still use it (but never used the firm). I suspect they have a good idea what works...

 

[dazzer6666]

Memory stick

 

[HastingsSeagull]

I stopped buying mouse mats for computer mouse as a teen 25 years ago but as a result end up with 39p plain blue one when I buy a desktop computer or else a corporate one. Not going to be useful to as many as a pen but could stick around for a long time and very visibly for the right few.

Alternatively a year 2023 calendar is my best suggestion

 

[Happy Exile]

I go to quite a lot of conferences for work where there's always a gazillion branded freebies given out. Some of the more useful ones I generally carry around until they break or stop working: a USB stick, bottle of hand sanitiser, tote bag, notebook (decent quality A5 with nice paper), water bottle, reusable bamboo coffee cup with a lid (I use this most days if I'm not working from home - sustainable and lots of places give you a discount for using your own cup), one of those hard plastic banana cases with a banana in it. Still use that if I'm out for the day anywhere and taking lunch with me. Key with anything bigger than your thumb is to make the branding subtle. A lot depends on who your market is, but generally if it's too in your face people won't use it - the object has to be useful, and not something people feel embarrassed to use in any environment because it looks childish / loud / like they got it as a freebie etc.

The most useless was a conference last October, where a company was giving out a branded keyring contraption designed to enable you to open doors without having to touch the handle with your hand and catch COVID. Totally bizarre, didn't work, and in the bin within hours.

 

[Official Old Man]

I was given two reusable straws with pipe cleaner tool to clean them, in a velvet style bag. Company was 'ilovemeetandgreet' (Gatwick airport) which is on the bag. The bag is lying in the drawer with the knives and forks thus gets seen every day, hence remember the company.

 

[grubbyhands]

One of the many gifts I was given happened about two and a half years ago at a hospitality event at Old Trafford for their home game against us. A smart speaker in a little velvet bag. I rubbed the little red devil motif off and used it once then put it in a drawer. I tried it again this morning and,a bit like Man Utd.It needed recharging and didn't function very well.Make of that what you will.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Bottle (cap) opener.

Another vote for bottle opener, tho has to be a WOODEN one. Have packed one of these little beauties as a travel essential for yonks. Don't leave home without it!

 

[Brovion]

On your behalf Mr Nose I have just spoken to a member of our marketing department as she wandered through. She said the popular stuff for us is: good quality pens (metal, not plastic), memory sticks, Swiss Army-style penknives, mini-footballs (both bouncy and soft, non-bouncy ones) and notebooks. (Note that is paper notebooks that you can write in and tear pages out of, not computers!). One product that they no longer do is mouse mats as they've dropped out of use to a large extent now and no one wanted them.

She did add an important caveat that we're an engineering company, and so the recipients are usually male and, well, a bit geeky. She said at her last place they wouldn't have dreamt of having penknives and probably not footballs. Even the notebooks may not have worked - so know your target audience.

On a personal level the most ridiculous one I ever received was a china money box!