Customizing, as we have been constantly asserting, is a critical element for the success of a corporate gifting program.

The corporate gifting exercise should be planned well in advance well before the festival season sets in. This will give you enough time to negotiate the price for the gifts you are looking for and also to avail of attractive discount offers.

We have already checked some guidelines to follow for corporate gifting during festivals. Of course, these guidelines may vary based on your company policy. Inputs from experts are very essential to strengthen bonds with existing and prospective clients since on the eve of festivals.

There are a number of intricacies involved at each step. For instance, it needs to be decided whether to go for personalized packaging with special notes inserted in them. 

In other words, sourcing, packaging and dispatching the gifts demand an on-time and high quality solution providers to manage the specialized gifting related tasks on continual basis.

Here’s one important tip before you finalize your gifting resource. You should not approach a retailer unless there is a corporate sales department in place that offers personalized attention to corporate clients.

Consider factors like shopping drop shipping, ability to customize gifts and level of customer service support to make choice of a gift company. It is important that you come up with a novel gift idea that would stand out.

If you are wondering whether this task can get easier and hassle-free, we have already suggested you two options in the form of Gifted Lifestyles from Tarana Khubchandani, Kanchan Khubchandani, Armaiti Bhagwagar and Rashna Talati. Another resource we have recommended is an individualized service offered by Nidhi Agrawal.  ekco is another reliable resource for product promotional campaigns.

It has been observed that a nice note can reduce feelings of obligation, if any, on the part of the recipient. Also, it can provide some welcome pleasure in a routine workday.

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There is no doubt about the fact that personalized gifts make a memorable and unique choice. However, the selection process and the ultimate act of choosing a gift that would appeal to the person cannot always be as simple as it looks.

In one of our recent posts, we focused on a unique venture of highly creative Nidhi Agrawal who makes gifts, which suit the receiver’s personality. As we found out, you just need to hand over a picture of your choice to her and she converts it into a dramatic present to reflect the person’s interests by applying her imagination.

There is another comprehensive resource more suited for corporate world when it comes to personalized gifting, merchandising and promotions. We are referring to ekco that stands out is their solid service and innovative ideas.

ekco implements entire product promotional campaigns for their clientele from across different businesses/ industry segments like FMCG, financial institutions, advertising agencies and pharmaceutical firms, among others on a turnkey basis.

ekco serves under the loyalty programs for which they work closely with right from the basic concept to the complete execution of the campaign all across India. Their specialization lies in providing innovative and concept-based gifting solutions.

They supply everything from chocolates, sweets, idols, designer candles, silverware to fancy Hampers. They also deal in items like windcheaters, umbrellas and diyas for various festivals like Diwali, Christmas and of course, the New Year.

Customization and personalization of gifting solutions is the forte of ekco. They undertake the gifting and promotional projects starting from manufacturing to personalizing products like T-Shirts, caps, mugs, clocks, watches, ceramic/ porcelain items, etc. They also execute customized print jobs like printing tattoos.

Some of the categories they deal in are Awards and Recognition; Branded Products; Eco friendly Products; Festival Gifting; Games; Handicrafts; Household Products; Office & personal products.

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There is enough evidence to firmly establish a link between festive corporate gifting and tangible increase in business activity. Should this proposition be enough to give you the confidence to make specific RoI (return-on-investment) projections in your marketing plan?

Several surveys conducted on corporate gift giving indicate that vendors who come up with innovative gifts were twice as likely to enhance their chances of being contacted by customers as those who didn’t have a well-thought gift program.

One simple thing you can do is composing a nice personalized, ideally handwritten note or card. This gesture can be as meaningful as the gorgeous gift itself, since it conveys to the recipient your genuine, non-business-like intentions and also the sincerity of your gift giving act.

Then there’s the vexing issue of whether to courier the gift or present in person. If the relationship warrants it, the idea of sending it to the recipient’s home can be considered to add a personal touch, especially when the gift commemorates your corporate friend’s personal occasion coinciding with a festival.

To put a logo or not to is another issue. Many businesses prefer customized gifts, believing it helps to retain the brand impression in the minds of recipients. When the item is a utility one likely to be used on day-to-day basis like a calendar, or coffee mug, this amounts to free advertising. So there is a tackiness quotient to consider.

The customized items with a logo may make great trade show premiums or perfect leave-behinds, but they could never be considered deeply heartfelt gifts. They will be sans a personal touch. It makes sense to avoid obvious self-promotion even when presenting a gift to create the impression that it is personal, and not a generic one!

Above are some of the key aspects that should be kept in mind during a festive corporate gift program.

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The task of marketing and relationship building is partly executed through timely and appropriate gifts to key personnel holding senior positions in the hierarchy of a client firm.

The job does not get over only with finalizing the choice  of a gift item for a particular occasion. Once the modalities are finished internally, the next critical tasks for gifting strategists are sourcing the gifts from a reliable, quality resource; negotiating prices, and packaging them in an elegant manner.

All these steps involve a lot of research and planning. In this post, we shall consider how one may look for corporate gifting avenues. The choice will depend on the scale of gift-giving exercise, its overall nature and budget allocated for it.

Other important points to consider from your end when making choice of a gift company are as follows:
• Are you looking for customization?
• Do you want them to be generic?
• Do you desire drop-shipping to recipients?

You will need to handle the entire exercise in a thorough professional manner or else there will be goof-ups, resulting in embarrassment for the company. You might be required to outsource some of the tasks and coordinate between various agencies and people to ensure that deadlines are met.

Also, if you are purchasing gift items in bulk, the parameters will change. In the past, retail gift services were not equipped to handle major corporate assignments. A growing number of retail companies and department stores now have exclusive corporate departments to offer end-to-end services.

Make sure you interact with the corporate sales department. Bulk pricing is another critical factor. If you are a savvy shopper, you will certainly look for discounts for bulk purchase, resulting in significant savings.

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For an added personalized touch to make your gift truly innovative and indeed unique, we suggest you one of its kind avenue! Gifted Lifestyles offers you a selection of mouth watering chocolates, jewelry or flowers to enhance the aura of your present.

Also on offer are wonderful wrapping services to enhance the beauty of your gift. Personal consultation is another value-add to the gifting service. Tarana Khubchandani, Kanchan Khubchandani, Armaiti Bhagwagar and Rashna Talati launched Gifted Lifestyles with the very purpose.

They all have combined their passion and professional skills in conceiving Gifted Lifestyles in November 2007. It’s a full-fledged boutique that has on offer a wide array of charming gifts that can be perfect for every occasion – social or personal.

Their collection of gifting items has been an outcome of proactive search and in-depth research done over two years after traveling to a host of fairs and events apart from visits to internationally acclaimed markets of Paris, Hong Kong, Florence, Barcelona, Dubai Milan, etc that has gave rise to this fabulous range of gifts.

Gifted Lifestyles is indeed a treasure trove of exciting gifts like mahogany desk boxes, silk mannequins, filigree lamps, golden fortune cookies and hand embroidered lap trays. What you get on the shelves of this cozy, captivating store is a range of exclusive home décor products and amazing accessories, as well as personal luxury items plus a distinctive display for men.

Another admirable aspect is the constant revamp of the extensive merchandise on offer to suit the different moods and seasons like Diwali and Christmas. The creative team gives inputs to come up with gift hampers, to match any occasion.

If you are searching for a unique gift that would suit your budget and also reflect the recipient’s personality and tastes, Gifted Lifestyles is your best option.

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Thanks to a truly challenging business environment, today’s businesses have been forced to think beyond lofty or impracticable promises of big bonuses and lavish retreats.

The businesses are now facing the tricky challenge of sticking to stringent budgets as well as conceiving newer, more novel ideas to show their ‘human’ side to clients and employees and to express their heartfelt appreciation. In such circumstances, a little help from outside is always welcome. This is where giftex 2009 came into play.

As you would agree, a gift is an ideal opportunity to make a lasting, fulfilling impression. Gift giving is not a mere ritual. It has emerged as a crucial corporate strategy as part of a larger jigsaw. Generic gifts picked by harried administrative assistants are giving way to personal gestures designed to indicate just how much your truly care for your corporate buddies.

The old cliché that ‘it’s the thought that counts’ has perhaps never been more dead-on that now! Today’s corporate culture demands more creative, more innovative and more thoughtful ways of expressing genuine appreciation to the people you care the most – clients, business contacts and your own employees.

In the field of sales & marketing services, clients expect gifting-industry consultants to be right on top of trends; be innovative and tuned to new technology. Part of their responsibility and role to our clients is to come up with innovative ways to get their messages across.

For those keen on sourcing the best corporate gifting options, Giftex, 2009 provided the perfect opportunity. The event spread over the spacious halls of Nehru Centre brought the best from the gifting industry under one umbrella.

A trendsetter and torchbearer in every sense of the corporate gifting industry, Giftex was a grand success. It was a perfect platform to grasp various finer aspects and get practical ideas to simplify the task of corporate gifting.

Tags: gifting to clients, Gifting events, Gifting occasions, Business Gifting
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Giftex 2009 was an extraordinary event, acting as a meeting point for professionals from the gifting industry. The trendsetting show in the corporate gifting arena was timed just perfectly, with the greeting and gifting season round the corner!

Just peeping into the past, Giftex was started way back in 1988, nearly two decades ago. Since then it has truly been a fruitful journey, well reflected in the success of this highly prestigious event.

In due recognition of the importance of Giftex to the gifting industry, the India Trade Promotion Organisation has provided the event with its seal of approval. The stupendous success of Giftex can be attributed to the fact that its organizers, namely Trade & Technology Exposition Co. (India) Pvt. Ltd., are steadfastly committed to a result-oriented platform. Their aim is to enable a meaningful exchange and interaction between exhibitors and potential corporate buyers.

A highly professional approach of Giftex over the years has ensured that business visitors could be able to source the best possible gifts and stationery brands under one single roof. Top advertising executives, sales & marketing managers made it a point to visit the Giftex show.

In fact, a host of high-profile visitors, essentially the lynchpins in the corporate decision-making process, thronged Mumbai’s Nehru Centre to be part of this showcase event for the whole gifting industry.

Just take a look at the product profile, and you will realize the huge scope of the event with endless varieties of gifts and novelties, including Stationery, Jute Consumer Products, Handmade Paper & Handicrafts. Albums, Artifacts, Bags, Ball Pens, Pens, Briefcases, Calculators, Calendars, Diaries, Indexes, Cameras, Caps, Promotional Clothing, Clocks, Watches, Crockery, Cutlery, Crystalware, Desk Top Accessories, Dining Tableware, Corporate Embellishments, Photo Frames, Home Appliances, Home Furnishings, Idols, Ganeshas, Statuettes, Key Chains, Lamps, Luggage, Leather Products, Packaging, Torches, Toys and so on. The list was endless.

In essence, you could find the products, which well fit your budget the best at the event for the purpose of gifting.

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Giftex 2009 has underlined again why it’s undisputedly the most keenly awaited and highly valued show, the truly one of its kind in India. Indeed no other exhibit revolving around the theme of gifting manages to generate so much buzz and excitement as this annual show.

Giftex acts as a one stop shopping event for bulk purchases by corporate entities and Traders, giving buyers access to India’s top sourcing hub. It’s an enterprising event where they could look for corporate Gifts & Stationery galore, Promotional Clothing, Promotional Giveaways, Promotional Items apart from a timely presentation of an unmatched selection of new products for the upcoming festive seasons of Dassera, Diwali, Christmas, and of course, the New Year.

All the innovative gifts could be sourced under one roof too. Overwhelming response to the Giftex 2009 thanks to extremely enthusiastic participation of top business professionals cutting across d diverse spectrum of business industries, domains, brands and domains was a testimony to the rising popularity of this hugely successful annual event.

Despite the looming recession, Giftex 2009 hosted at Nehru Centre, worli, Mumbai (August 7th - 10th, 2009) was a huge hit! It was the Season’s biggest ever buying opportunity that corporate entities could not afford to miss with a multitude of exciting gifting ideas ever offered on any trade show floor ever. And their representatives thronged the venue in large numbers.

There were several new things on offer at Giftex 2009 for those looking for truly creative ideas. The event was supported by All India Gifts & Stationery Association. With hundreds of stalls and thousands of gifting items, visitors could make a catchy corporate gift portfolio at Giftex 2009.

It had on offer among the most dynamic and contemporary gifting themes ever seen. Considered India’s biggest and the most ambitious corporate gifting exhibition, the event clearly lived up to the hype, providing the perfect opportunity to build an exclusive gift folio.

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Corporate gifting

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Who doesn’t like cookies? They are the perfect choice for someone who wishes to tantalize one’s taste buds and do away with those hunger pangs. One can get several choices for presenting cookies in a fun gift packing.

Cookies are among the most popular gifting items - synonymous with the Christmas celebrations as much as a cute Christmas tree or gorgeous golden bells. When wrapped in a wonderful box, they make a meaningful gift for your boss, friend or your colleague, to go with the spirit of this unique festival.

There are many quality brands that have a wide variety on offer, ranging from the more traditional crispy, crunchy cookies to the indulgent mouth watering cool chocolate dipped cookies, luscious creamy cookies, savory salty Cookies and even customized cookies.

For this season, take your pick from delightful stockings or jute bags, brightly wrapped gift boxes adorned with Santa, mistletoe, stockings and everything else that enhances the Christmas mood, filled with the choicest cookies in tantalizing flavours that include Chocolate, Coffee, Brandy, Honey, Coconut, Ginger and a lot more.

Most of these cookie packs are well within budget. At any of the leading malls in your city, the mega cookie gifts are available to make your near and dear ones happy. You can get a beautifully crafted cane hamper comprising mouth watering, melting chocolates, a selection of premium dry fruits, a pair of champagne glasses and other goodies. There are elegant photo frames and gifts galore!

There is something on offer for everyone on the Christmas eve including Chocolates and plum cakes specially created for the season. In addition, many malls run special Christmas programs and promotional offers. Children get an opportunity to meet and sing along with a lifelike Santa Claus at his jovial best. It is time to catch up with the Santa spirit!

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As Christmas approaches, Santa Claus is eagerly awaited by children and so also the goodies and gifts he brings along.

It is interesting to note that the popular view of Santa we all have today - with the sleigh, the reindeer and the chimney – was derived largely from Clement Moore’s ‘The Night Before Christmas’, the 1822 book, further reinforced further by an advertising campaign.

The Santa Claus story combined with the modern retailing phenomena and consumer culture has grown since the turn of the century to make gift-giving an integral element of the Christmas celebrations. Incidentally, there was no elaborate exchanging of gifts until late 1800’s.

The Christmas tree – apparently a German tradition – began in the early 700AD century. The tradition of a Christmas Tree gradually moved to the UK and US. Since Victorian times, people had been decorating trees with candies and cakes hung with ribbon, ornaments and candles. The first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. Mistletoe, representing the goddess of love (Frigga - Scandinavian), was used as a decoration in houses for thousands of years and is also associated with many pagan rituals.

The 12 days of Chistmas are the ones that separate Christmas day (December 25) from Epiphany celebrated on January 6, marking Christ’s baptism (the Catholic tradition) or the day when the wise men visited baby Jesus with their gifts. This includes great fanfare and singing. The Anglo-Saxon tradition revolved around gathering together for small, serene choirs on the scenic village green lawns to sing carols and popular Christmas songs that would entertain and please the passers-by.

This joyous festival truly enlivens our hearts with warm revelry that extends well into the new year! Gift your near and dear ones, the little children, your friends and colleagues to spread the joy of Christmas.

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