Nearly eight in 10 Indians (77%) prefer Clothes, Sweets (including chocolates- 69 %) and Books (49%) as their preferred gifting items. Importantly, more than half of the people surveyed indicated they would shop online.

Following are the broad findings of a survey conducted by Nielsen India on gifting patterns research panel.

• Differences are there across different age groups in terms of gifting items, budgets and shopping channels.

• Sweets, Clothes and Books are universally popular, but more so with the mature group aged 45 and above

• The younger crowd (15-24 years) prefers to gift technology gadgets such as mobile phones and MP3 players.

• Holidays (travel and accommodation), travel tickets and tickets to amusement parks are popular new-age gift ideas.

• About 20 percent would like to give wine as a gift.

• More than half of the people surveyed indicated they would shop online.

According to N. S. Muthukumaran, Director, Online Panel, the Nielsen Company, India, the technology that has entered our lives in the last 10 years is deeply affecting young people in their twenties who have grown up with it. He says, “To many, it is cool to be seen with the latest model of phone or music system and giving one as a present is in the same league, albeit a costly option for these young folks.”

Look for more findings of the survey indicating the habits and beliefs of Indians regarding gifting in the next blog posts…

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Looking for a Christmas gift that exudes elegance, commemorates celebration and truly captures the essence of the Christmas season? Vintage Wines Private Limited, creators of the premium Reveilo wine label, have launched the perfect solution for you - an elegant wine gift set that makes for an ideal complement to the sprit of Christmas. Custom create your gift by choosing from a selection of Reveilo wines that include the award winning Chenin Blanc and the newly launched dessert wine - the deliciously flavoured Late Harvest Chenin Blanc (LHCB), created in consultation with Italian winemaker - Andrea Valentinuzzi. It is a perfect gift this Christmas. The attractive gift box can fit two wines, chosen by especially by you, and are priced upwards of Rs. 1010.

The creation of LHBC was quite an unexpected twist for the company. In early April, six months after pruning, the grapes had started turning into raisins. Andrea Valentinuzzi’s visit from Italy had been delayed; when he arrived, he found inspiration in the sun-dried over-ripe berries for a delectable dessert wine. A selection of five tonnes of over-ripe grapes were individually hand-sorted and made into 2500 litres of exclusive Reveilo Late Harvest Chenin Blanc Dessert wine. The LHCB is priced at Rs 845 for a 375 ml bottle.

“The Late Harvest Chenin Blanc has a lovely golden hue and an underlying aroma reminiscent of honey and scorched almonds,” says Mr Yatin Patil, Director of Vintage Wines. “These intertwine on the palate with impressions of liqueur and dried apricots. It is mouth-filling, rich and sweet, but has retained enough edge to provide it with perfect balance. Though our first batch was fortuitous, we plan to continue with this wine range as it is being highly appreciated by premier dining establishments and wine enthusiasts.

A big ho! ho! ho! to that!

Currently Reveilo wines are available in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik & Bangalore, and plan to increase their presence to Delhi, Kolkatta, Chennai, Jaipur, Hyderabad and the other prime metros and mini-metros.

Pairing Dessert Wine

A good general rule to follow is that the wine should be sweeter than the food it is served with.  A perfect peach is an oft used example as an ideal partner for a dessert wine.  A challenging example would be a chocolate or toffee based dessert.  Dessert wines are often paired with a bakery sweet; consider a baked good with a hint of a bitter flavor, like an almond biscuit or almond topped croissant. Chocolates, after-mints, strong cheeses like Stilton, Gorgonzola or other mustiness cheeses and rich biscuits at tea time are wonderful companions to dessert wine.

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We always think that giving a gift that is huge or very expensive makes a big impression and that is the only way to make our colleagues and others happy. People often have this in mind that:

“A gift must be something lavish in nature” 

I completely disagree. A gift is a gift and it doesn’t come in sizes but with a spirit of celebration, encouragement and a deeper understanding. Gifts come with a bond of happiness which makes a person happy. It is not the matter inside the gift that makes a corporate gift special but the spirit attached with the corporate gift.

There is a phrase that I strongly believe in:

“Life is to live, Love is to give and Power is to forgive”

If you really wish to love a person, one of the best ways to express love is through corporate gifting an item such as a small box of sumptuous box of chocolates gift-wrapped with shining ribbons and a gold-satin gift-paper which certainly would be enough to express the warm feelings of your heart.

The point is each corporate gift is special irrespective of what it contains materially as each corporate gift comes along with a handful of love. Thus, a small corporate gift can also be enough to establish a bond with people.

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Corporate gifting naturally uplifts the spirit of the people who receive gifts from other people. Gifts are always termed to be precious and everyone loves gifts. Why?

Because everyone loves to receive gifts as they are a token of love. And who doesn’t love to be loved? Everyone does. A corporate gift brings a special message with it. A message that spreads cheer in the form of love. A message which brings two people closer to each other. A message that creates the path of glory, success and happiness.

Just a simple gift wrapped uniquely and attached with a special message can give vibes which can build a relationship for a lifetime.

Do send as many corporate gifts to as many people as possible and you will spread a lot of cheer not only to the people you know but also to the whole world. A small smile can motivate a person to do something extraordinary for thousands of people acrss the globe. Thats the power of charm. So, do not forget to charm people as much as possible by choosing gifts that melt their hearts and spread cheer across oceans.

Cheers!

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Every office has some staff which does minor work. More often than not, they are disregarded as minor people who dont have any skill or any education. Many-a-times, they are even ill-treated for petty mistakes such as a tea spill-over or even not able to do work on time.

The office boys or peons are human beings and they have to be treated carefully and respectfully. They do a lot of work for so many people in the office and are still not appreciated for the work they do. Apart from financial rewards, every individual whether a peon or an office boy requires a spiritual reward that emphasizes their intrinsic qualities as a human being.

Every individual in an office desires to be loved by the others for whatsoever and whosoever they are. It stands the same for the peons and other office staff.

Gifting a nice gift for people who contribute in those very small ways can enable you to increase their bonding with your company. Even a small token of appreciation would also do a lot to their morale. A gift that includes some very good clothes such as a nice t-shirt or sari, or even some sweets can be a great token of love towards them. Ultimately, gifting them stands as an incentive for them to work better within the company.

Make a note. Their gifts should be gift-wrapped in a very authentic and unique way that emphasizes their contribution to the company.

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While you are shopping, you suddenly show up near a crockery market. You will definitely find vases, tea cups, mugs, and specific items made of china clay there. Now, gifting items such as ones made of china clay can be a good gift just for the show of it. However, It has a certain disadvantage.

These items made of china clay are breakable easily at a fraction of a second. Moreover, if you are buying from a local market, you might not end up with a quality that you desire.

Buying a cutlery though isn’t a great or even a very bad idea; here’s what you must take care while buying them:

1. Buy from a branded store. This way, if there are small defects, you can catch hold of the store manager and get your gift replaced. Keep the bill safe with you.
2. Have a “Handle With CARE” label attached on the box within which the gift is placed.
3. Make sure you place the cutlery item in a box that is strong enough to hold the cutlery intact even if the box falls off the receivers hands.
4. Gift-wrap carefully.

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We usually gift our colleagues and others during occassions, but why?

Well, we gift not just to celebrate the occasion but..

To express best wishes on the occasion to the receiver.

The receiver could be anybody whomsoever you connect with in your daily life.

So, is corporate gifting a neccesity or an opportunity?

Ask these questions to your own self:

Is it that your business will suffer if you dont gift? 

What is the purpose of you gifting someone? 

What will be the result if you do or dont gift someone? 

I personally don’t think corporate gifting is a neccessity all the time…

Because it is certainly an opportunity to improve relationships.

Corporate gifting is mainly done to exchange best wishes rather than

just show that you care for your clients irrespective of whether you do or don’t.

Frequently gifting your clients might show up as a lower scale of self-value from your end.

This might lead you to an awkward situation when you stop gifting after gifting consistently.

The timing is very important while gifting people.

One must have a valid purpose while corporate gifting people, especially clients,

otherwise it shows up as a negative remark.

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Hello Readers,

We are glad to bring you an interview with Mr. Nitin Suri - VMware, a technology company. The reason we are doing this interview is for the marketers, sales people and all our faithful readers to make them understand corporate gifting from the company’s point of view.

Here’s the interview:

1. Does Your Company do Corporate Gifting?

Yes we do.

2. How much on an approximate basis does your company spend on corporate gifting?

Dont know but our gifts are mainly technology oriented. Mice, usbs etc.

3. What is the most unique gift that you have come across?

Personalised USB key.

4. As a promotional tool does corporate gifting impact sales? If yes, can you give an example?

People like receiving gifts. It doesn’t impact per se but it leaves a good impression.

5. What are the type of gifts you would normally receive? Which one has been your favorite?

Normally I would get gifts which would be either calendars, mice, usb keys, stress balls etc.

6. What are the occasions on which you gift your clients? And what is the gift?

Depends on who the client is. We might address a large number of clients and give them gifts or it might be something more personal.

We hope you liked the interview. Please give us your feedback with regards to these interviews on our blog and let us know if you would like to read more of these interviews.

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Gifting is an art and if used to its potential it can be converted into a fantastic marketing tool. Promotional items used as corporate gifts create an irremovable impact in the mind of the receiver and harness fruitful long-term relations. Corporate promotional gifts not only make the receiver feel important but also help the gifting person’s brand enter into his potential client’s consideration set.

There is an excessive amount of choice available for promotional gifts for different purposes e.g. desktop items such as weasel calendars or desk calendars, paperweights, photo - frames etc. are extremely useful gifts. And when the company’s name is etched on these, it gives extremely high recall value. Other kind of gifts can be displayed on the wall such as paintings, murals etc. that carry the company’s logo and act as a constant reminder for the client.

Ultimately, what matters is that the gift that you choose must promote you, your company and your brand’s goodwill. That is all what promotional gifts stand for. Do not forget to write a small note along with a gift that speaks about why you are gifting and what makes it so special for you to gift the receiver.

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We live in a society which consists of different kinds of people from different walks of life. There are certain people who are different, absolutely in every sense. They have what it calls courage to do a thing that makes a difference to society in ample.

They do everything to establish ‘ a uniform society ‘. Some even commit their whole lives and some even give away their lives in order to make sure that the world, after they are gone, sleeps with peace. They are special and they have to be honored even though if it has to be done within a small budget.

For them, day and night are all the same. They truly reform and transform the lives of millions of people by doing an emotional but magnifying deed.

What matters is to appreciate a brave social worker’s courage and commitment to society, to the world, and to you. Corporate gifting a memento describing the outstanding efforts of the brave social worker along with a rewarding cash/kind gift can be great.

Such people must be honored in a way that the world remembers to do much more than what they did for the society. Corporate gifting such kind of people is not only essential but one of the most important things a corporate company must do. Especially during times of earthquake when you require courageous people to help out the victims, it becomes essential that we take pride in their efforts.

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