Three ways to shake up your corporate gifting experience
Photo Credit: Cultivate
If you're reading this article, there is a very good chance you've either hosted a gifting experience or were the recipient of one. Regardless, one thing holds true: you've got to shake it up every once in a while.
Here are three corporate gift ideas on our radar:
Incorporate destination immersion and/or special causes in the details
Consider a gift that pays homage to the local culture of your destination. Cultivate offers premium gifts handcrafted by local artisans and wrapped in a destination inspired box. Their portfolio currently includes Mexico, Hawaii, The Caribbean, California and Florida and soon, Costa Rica. When tried these out for a meeting in Southern California, guests loved the stunning packaging filled with gourmet coffee, chocolate, pottery, and more. Another special touch were thoughtful educational cards for the guests to discover more about each special piece. We also love Wet Paint Group- an incredibly creative gift vendor with a giveback component to every gift they offer. (Get in touch with us to learn more about partnering with these brands!)
There's nothing wrong with opening a gift early
We've had great experiences sending corporate gifts weeks or even months before the incentive trip. For starters, your guests are not limited by onsite inventory- they get to pick the pair of Maui Jims they really like. Secondly, it gives your attendees the opportunity to experience their gift longer. Lastly, it's a chance to build anticipation and reinforce achievement (a personalized congratulatory note goes a long way). For example, we once had a client request Rainbow sandals for the attendees of their beachside incentive trip. We seamlessly pulled shoe sizes during the registration process, but were concerned about these leather sandals being notoriously painful to break in. To avoid an entire sales team with blisters during the big event, we sent the sandals months in advance along with some beach bag goodies. This decision inadvertently started an early buzz about the incentive- and the client was thrilled.
Trade instant gratification for meaningful customization
There is no doubt a perk in having your gift handed to you the very moment you pick it out, but there's also something very memorable about being able to design your own Laudi Vidni bag or NIKEid shoes at a customization booth onsite. An alternative would be to give your attendees the opportunity to personalize their gift pre-trip and have it waiting for them onsite or as a room drop, big bow and all.
If you're looking for the perfect corporate gifting experience to reward your team, our biggest advice is to consider the individual attendee's experience. What would wow them? What would would be refreshingly different?
This is one of our favorite meetings and incentives topics- feel free to reach out and start a conversation!