Marketing2025 is skidding to a halt, and like a routine, branded mugs, pens, and t-shirts will soon be in our faces.
Marketing teams are finalizing budgets, HR is planning appreciation gifts, and someone from procurement just sent an email asking, “Should we go with the branded mugs again?”
This isn’t surprising because a Reltup report from 2024 showed that as of October 2024, 11% of companies had not yet chosen what to give in December 2024.
Before you sign off on the usual branded mugs and notepads bulk order, you should read this to the end.
Corporate Gifts Can Either Be a Waste of Money or a Marketing Strategy
According to a giftafeeling report, $9.5 billion is wasted annually on unwanted gifts, and the average person spends $71 on gifts that aren’t appreciated. Unsurprisingly, 79% of branded corporate gifts get thrown out within a year.
Think about that for a moment. That’s thousands, sometimes millions, spent on items that never make it past January. Guess what that means? Most corporate gifting budgets go to waste.
Yet, the impact of well-thought-out corporate gifts, especially during holidays, cannot be underestimated. Clients who receive a gift during the holidays are nearly twice as likely to continue a business relationship, and 82% of employees agreed that regular gifting made them more likely to stay with a company. (Source: Giftafeeling)
Clearly, the gift options you approve determine the outcome you get – whether you end up wasting money or retaining clients and employees.
The End-of-Year Corporate Gifts Checklist That Always Works
The end-of-year rush makes it easy to default to safe options. If you want to switch things up this year and gift with intention, here’s a checklist you can run your end-of-year gift options through, so you don’t end up wasting money.
Relevance
The first thing you want to do is to check for relevance. Your branded gift will only get used if it’s relevant enough to win a spot in people’s spaces.
- Does the gift align with your audience’s lifestyle or professional needs?
- Would you personally use or display it?
- Is it appropriate for the relationship level (client, partner, employee)?
The relevance of a gift depends a lot on how it fits into the recipient’s routine. So, if your audience comprises tech enthusiasts, a golf ball set would be out of place.
Read More: Best Corporate Gift Ideas for HNIs
Meaning
Prioritize gift options that capture your brand’s essence. It goes beyond logos; it’s about creating a gift that reflects what your brand does in a way that sticks in people’s memories. So, you want to ask:
- Does the gift tell a story about your brand, your values, or your relationship with the recipient?
- Is there a personal touch (custom design, name engraving, message, or symbol)?
- Does it evoke an emotion — surprise, delight, pride, nostalgia, or curiosity?
For instance, we created this doughnut van-inspired keychain for Krispy Kreme. It captures the core of the brand – doughnuts – and anyone who sees it gets the idea immediately.
Usefulness
The easiest way to ensure a gift gets past January is to make it functional. Don’t sacrifice aesthetics for functionality; just aim to strike a balance between both sides. These questions may help you find that balance.
- Is it functional enough to be used or displayed long-term?
- Does it enhance the recipient’s workspace, lifestyle, or environment in some way?
- Does it immediately feel like clutter, or would it feel “too pretty to throw away”?
This Providus Bank lamp we created ticks all the boxes. It’s a functional home accessory that mimics the brand’s logo and doubles as a decor piece. Anyone who receives it is sure to keep and use it.
Brand Alignment
What’s the essence of a corporate gifting budget if the gift does not align with your brand? So, before signing off on that list of gift ideas, you may want to tick these off.
- Does the gift reflect your brand identity without being overbranded?
- Would someone instantly recognize your brand’s personality from the design?
- Is it consistent with how your brand wants to be remembered?
Read More: Premium Branded Gift Ideas for Modern Nigerian Brands
A Better Way to Gift: Functionality, Brand Recall, and Relevance in One Piece
We’ve created never-seen-before corporate gifts for local and global brands, and we’ve seen how gifting can quickly go from being a routine that needs to be checked off to becoming a remarkable marketing strategy.
In our opinion, every gift should outlive the campaign, not the other way around. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to design custom, functional pieces that carry story and sentiment like the Huawei lamp and the Wema Bank cradle that doubles as a MagSafe charger and pen holder.
Now, think of what your brand’s version of that would be. Your brand gifts are more than items on a to-do list; they are campaigns that outlive the moment. And when done right, they’ll keep your brand in the room long after the year ends.
Do you want your gifting budget to actually yield results? Let’s craft a piece that keeps your brand in the room long after the unboxing. Start a conversation with us now: enquiries@createyourmeta-iv.com.
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