It was mid of 1986 when Mr. Anil Ambo, sales manager of Eureka Forbes, my immediate boss and mentor decided to leave the company. Till then I was very comfortable and experiencing fast track growth with the organization but was disturbed with sudden changes so decided to join him after my impending wedding in July.
My better half discussed my future goals which from beginning was to start my own business and which became more promising because of sudden developments which were unnerving. She nailed it beautifully that if the end goal is to start your own business then why not start now? My message is that if you want to start your own business then why to delay as earlier is always better.
There comes a time in the life of every product/brand where further increasing sales and thereby market share become difficult. Time to think outside the box and consider viability of totally new vertical called distribution through reseller partners of Corporate Gifts. We would like here to differentiate between the institutional sales as ongoing in nature whereas the corporate gifts are mostly one-time promotions though repeated across different products/markets.
If you have an attractive range of utility products required by the masses then apart from regular retail, wholesale, large format, online and institutional sales you can consider adding corporate gifts channel too to ensure new trials to increase both your sales and market share. Read More
An attractive compact purse mirror offered free on buying ‘Kajal’ influences the lady to try your brand. There are good chances that she will become a regular new user of your brand if she likes the product. Branding on the mirror helps recall the value of your brand and the overall experience makes her even your goodwill ambassador.
A personalized leather box for important business associates or influencers where the person can empty his pockets in the evening after returning home. The customized case will have separate pockets for wallet, pens, keys, watch, coins etc. The subtle logo reminds the user about your brand every night and morning enhancing the relationship. Read More
If you are a small and medium enterprise in India with a very low budget on customized corporate gifts, then you must have faced the challenge of sourcing the same and that too at reasonable prices! Gifting is a fragmented market with one-man show making the viability for the operator difficult if the order size is small. Further, if you try to source the smaller quantities from the personalized gift vendors whose business model is single customized pieces then the price per piece for you becomes very high. Outside India, in advanced countries, the business model is stock and sell with limited products choices given for online orders which works out well for both the buyer and the seller. But Indian buyers are very price sensitive and when order size is very small for SMB business outfits or various project teams (who many times are part of large companies) cost-effective solutions are desired. Read More
When our clients ask us about our range of gifting products our usual answer is EVERYTHING FROM A PIN TO A PLANE and we did supply a cargo company with a desktop gift item with a plane. We have made miniature models of buses and tractors replicating their full-size model through moulds to help them impress their target audience as desktop items. To make it simple for all corporate gifting buyers we are giving below list of most used promotional business gifts for pleasant surprises.
MOUSE PADS can be made in customized shape and size with foam or rubber bottom base with your artwork at the top to remind the user about you and your products 24×7. The printed top sheet can be protected through lamination to increase the life of the mouse pad and to ensure that cursor of optical mouse behaves and is under your control. Option to insert a postcard size photograph to make it or for greater comfort you can order mousepad with palm rest filled up with gel.
COASTERS can be made either single or set of 2, 4 or 6 with choice of materials in foam, rubber, leather, plastic, acrylic, steel, wooden, brass, metal, silicone, glass, cork, tin etc. Depending on the material you have choice of branding on both sides as yearly calendar to impress the recipients. You can further add led lights to highlight the brand with added mechanism of light glowing when the glass is picked up or put down on the coaster. The holder to keep the 4 or 6 coasters can also be designed to highlight your brand.
APPARELS: –30% of the corporate gifting business is apparels playing important role in the life of all brands. T-shirts, caps, jackets, hoodies, sweat shirts, shirts, ties, hankies, rain coats, wind sheeters, cargos and jeans are the most common gift ideas with space for large branding at the back and small logo at the neck, chest or pocket area. The printing can be either screen or photo quality with added option of embroidery to highlight your brand.
BAGS: – The apparel story above can be repeated for the bags too where the newspaper vendor delivers the daily newspaper in the carry bag you have hanged at the doorknob with the advertisement of your broadband provider. The gym bag was gifted to you by your local supermarket andyou reach office with the backpack given to you when you were newly inducted in the organization. The tiffin bag you are carrying has logo of another known brand. The various other promotional bags are laptop sleeves, briefcases, backpacks, business bags, custom tote bags, coin pouches, carry bags, allied business accessories, imprinted bags, golf bags, shopping bags, portfolios etc. The most common materials used are leather, PU, rexine, cotton, canvas, and non-woven fabrics to suit different budgets.
MUGSare another popular gifting item which can be further personalised by putting the photo of the recipient on the mug. The printing on mug is done in such a way that the person drinking will see one and another message is visible to the person sitting opposite. The mug can also be used as the pen holder or as souvenir. Ceramic mugs are available in bone china and stoneware whereas travel mugs come in steel with lid for ease of carrying with insulation. You can select from various capacities, shapes, sizes and customizethe design in your house colourwhen quantities are large. The desired colourful logo with message printing can be done inside the mug too to impress the recipients.
DIARIES, calendars, customized note pads, promotional notebooks, organizers, planners can be personalised with the name of the recipient to encourage them to use it round the year. Apart from the first few pages you can insert various product photos at the beginning of every monthto keep reminding target audience about your company. Consider adding a line at the bottom of each page to better connect with the users and water mark printing on each page to silently enter the sub consciousness mind of the users.
LEATHER ACCESSORIES:- Wallets, visiting card holder, key pouch, coin pouch, pocket pad with pen, small card holder, credit card holder, passport holder, cheque book holder, clutches, belts and various combinations of the leather products as corporate gifts. When pure leather products are required there is choice of sheep, goat, cow NDM leather etc. However, to fit the budget you have choice of leatherette which looks like leather.Moreover, for very low-price segments wallets can be made of (PU) poly or synthetic leather, rexine, PVC which can be welded, pasted, or stitched.
PENS can start from a low of Rs. 2/- and can go up to five figures depending on the brand you shortlist to give as corporate gift. You can get good quality plastic, paper, and wooden pens from a single low digit price up to high 3 figures made of metal, granites, marbles, brass etc. For customized coloursideally order should be in multiples of thousands. For smaller quantities you can select from ready stocks available in all fast-moving colours which can be customized with your logo, brand, and promotional message.
KEY CHAINS can be made from metal, rubber, leather, acrylic, wooden, plastic, glass, brass, silicone, crystal in any shape and size imprinted with your message to help remind your customers about your logo, product or brand. Added useful features are torch, opener, key finder, led light, screwdriver set, lighter, USB, spoon, fork, etc. Either insert photos in the transparent plastic container or create the shape of key chain in silicone rubber as per your products with excellent branding space. The objective and budget can be aligned to catch the attention of users from low car Maruti brand to high Honda to luxury Mercedes to super luxury segments Jaguar.
CLOCKS & WATCHES: – Clocks are in good demand because in a cost-effective manner you can occupy the space on the wall with enough space for branding. We have supplied big quantities of clocks to telecom giants, jewellers, FMCG companies. Bigger size clocks displayed at temples, public places, airports, and railway stations get your message across to one and all. Most of the desk top gifts invariably uses a clock to add utility to the tabletop product. Alarm clocks and table clocks are other useful gifts in the desk top range. But the moment you want to personalize it the watch takes over as the preferred product.
MEMENTOS:- Trophies, shields, cups, plates made of wood, metal, glass, crystal, ceramic, acrylic, brass, gold and silver are much in demand to reward and recognize the performers and to encourage others to aim and strive for the same. Schools prefer to have lower budget mementos made of acrylic whereas others decide depending on the event, budget, and level of competition. When the idea is sheer recognition then the symbolic gesture is enough but the moment the prestige sets in the budget and customised design takes over. Fixed norm is quarterly and yearly performance recognition apart from big milestones like completion of 5, 10, 15, 10 and 25 years of services.
MOBILE ACCESSORIES GIFTS: – Mobile has become the most used gadget and almost everyone has minimum one handset. Keeping this fact in mind the most common gift items are mobile power banks, USB chargers, car chargers, various cables, mobile wallets, stylus, stands, screen magnifiers, covers, stickers, screen protectors, ear phones, head phones, Bluetooth sets, solar chargers etc. The low-price accessory product can be short listed for mass coverage of the target market with your logo. Pen drives with both sockets for USB and mobile charger are great in demand due to ease of use of the drive at both laptop and mobiles.
IT GIFTS: – Work from home and learn from home have made users IT savvy so it makes sense to give related products to impress the target audience. USB fans, lights, cup warmers, fan coolers for laptop, foldable mouses, cables, pen drives, sleeves, headphones, speakers, laptop bags, screen protectors, laptop skins, solar chargers are the most in demand gifts. Pens with pen drive, laser pointers, slide changer are much in demand because of appreciation from the receiver.
TABLE TOP GIFTS:– Personal utility products, table clocks, table top gifts, paper weights, ash trays, staplers, punching machines, paper cutter, scissors, paper knife, mobile holders, pen stand, coffee mug, photo frames, table calendars, wooden table tops, brass table tops, stress busters, table flags, idols, name plates, pen holders are common table top or desk top gifts. Any item which can be kept or displayed at the table is called tabletop gifts and includes coasters, mouse pads etc.
HOUSEHOLD GIFTS:– Flask, tiffin boxes, casseroles, dinner sets, bed covers sheets, blankets, fleece, iron, mixer – grinder, coffee warmer, coffee maker, juicer, mini vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, hand mixer, toaster, pans, non-stick pans, induction cooker, crockery sets, juice glass sets, dinner sets are common household gifts. All gift items which are normally used at homes comes under the household gifts category and the main purpose is to involve the whole family through the gift.
WOODEN GIFTS: – As the name suggest all articles made of wood comes under the category of wooden gifts. Wooden gifts start from the low budget range to high depending on the material used with finishing and polishing. All tabletop gifts, mementoes, trophies are preferred in wood due to their eco-friendly nature and nontoxic properties apart from easy availability of the good local craftsman. Complaints are rare due to less breakage and longer usage with variety of choices to pick from at varied budgets.
BRASSWARE GIFTS: – Due to gold finish polish and impressive look the moment budget permits companies prefer to give brassware table gifts. The brassware gift is more impressive on the desk due to weight, look and finish with utility as a pen stand with mobile holder and a clock. The various other brassware gifts are decision making dices, various stationery gift set, miniature items, mobile stands, money clip, pocket watch, sports related to cricket, golf, stationery items, trophies, mementoes, awards, visiting card box, watch cases, wooden and brass combined world time etc.
STAINLESS STEEL GIFTS: – As the name suggest all items made of stainless steel comes under this gift category. Stainless steel dinner set of 51 pieces consisting of full plates 6, quarter plates 6, sweet plates 6, vegetable bowls 6, big spoons 3, small spoons 12, glasses 6, water jug 1, serving pots 3, rice plate 1, rice server spoon 1 is always in demand. Even if the receiver already has a dinner set, they still look forward to more such sets to keep handy as a returnor last-minutegift. Depending on the budget the gift set can be made for 2 persons instead of 6 and the scheme can be run where partners keep accumulating more items to ultimately make it a set for 4 or 6 persons. Liquor industry does regular promotion of their brands with etching of their logos on napkins holder, ice tray, peanut bowls, salt n pepper, bottle openers, jugs, stirrer, thongs, cocktail shakers etc. Create your own business gift as steel bar set, golf set, dinner set, spoons and forks set, stationery tabletop gift sets for office including dust bin as complete cabin set is a big hit with the recipients.
CRYSTALS GIFTS:– Table tops gifts, crockery’s, glasses, bar products, bowls, trays, vases, lamps, trophies, mementos, golf items, idols, table clocks, decanters are all exclusive premium range of crystal gifts. When the budget is not a constraint and idea is to impress the recipient then crystal is an ideal choice.
BAR GIFTS:- Liquor industry does regular promotion of their brands with printing on napkins holder, ice tray, peanut bowls, salt n pepper, bottle openers, jugs, stirrer, thongs, cocktail shakers to enhance the ambience at a bar, club and restaurants. These items can be given at various times to encourage your target audience to go for the complete collections for their private bars at home.
IMPORTED GIFTS: – Items which comes from China due to low price of production per piece and with acceptable standard quality parameters are called imported gifts. The difference between the Chinese gifts available on the roadside and us is that you can catch us for the quality and reliability as we need your business again and again. In our own interest we avoid dealing with untried and untested products. Since we maintain regular stocks and must service all the goods sold, normally all the available products are with warranty for full satisfaction. We do a very tight rope walking with Chinese products with warranty and attractive prices with all taxes and duties paid.
STRESS RELIEVERS: – As the desk jobs are increasing and the young working force is getting more and more restless the need of stress massagers is increasing. Ideally it can be in the form of smiley balls which can be given different shapes and size to help the working force release their stress. Also known as stress busters helps in releasing stress by doing some physical activities to break the monotonous nature of the job. Your desired shape and size can be created against bulk orders by making the mould which can have your branding to ensure exclusivity for your Company.
MISCELLANEOUS GIFTS: – All the other gifts not mentioned in this article and fails to find the appropriate relevant category can be put under the banner of the miscellaneous business gifts. Grooming kits will be one such product and there are many more such products depending on the availability of the products. New products are added and tried as and when the corporate feels the need or find the required connections to promote along with their products to increase the trial and thereby regular sales.
CONCEPT GIFTS: – When you have a concept which you would like to convey to your target audience then such gifts are called concept gifts. You need to provide us a brieflike what you provide to advertising agency to create a campaign. Please also provide the quantity and budget so that the concept fits in to your promotional budget. Once you approve the concept then we will give you a prototype for your initial approval and on final approval deliver the gifts to you. We did concept gift for a large telecom company by home deliveringchocolateboxes withrespectivepersonalised mobile number digitsmade of chocolate pieces to each of the recipient whom theylost due to portability by sending them a message “we missed you!” hoping for a chance on next switch.
We encourage you to add to the list of the above product categories but let there be only business gifts and not personalised or wedding gifts. Personalised gifts like mugs, diaries and pens for example can be added as they are business gifts when overall single combined order is large instead of 1, 2 or very few!
Corporate gift is a fragmented industry mostly as one man shows and that creates challenges for you as part of the procurement department of a large blue-chip company. Small team means low learning curve due to lack of relationship with clients further resulting in slower response due to limited resources and very few innovative ideas. However, in contrast professional team with experience in reverse auctions, global deliveries, escalation matrix, dedicated relationship manager, strong back office, local runners for fast approval of final physical samples with seamless automated processes saves you time and makes your life easy. All your departments irrespective of whether from branding, product, marketing, sales, HR, or PR can plan to build strong connections with their respective esteemed consumers, customers, influencers, trade partners, employees, and business associates. Read More
Depending on various types of user’s requirements you as part of the procurement team can onboard a corporate gifts vendor with a sizable, empowered team to make life easy for all your internal departments like marketing, HR, plants, and CEO.
Marketing teams focus on new product launches, point of purchase promotions, meaningful connection with the consumers and a scheme for trade partners to increase both the awareness and enough trials for mass acceptance. The initial promotion continues to fight to win the sizable market share through continuous consumer promos and trade schemes. Depending on the product and services of the market segment even the various influencers needs to be touched to cash in on the brand awareness and buzz thus created. For example, we developed the compact mirror to help a FMCG company promote their Kajal and headphones for a telecom service provider to help switch many pre-paid sim buyers to post-paid. Read More
Supply chain management (SCM) or procurement department helps in huge savings in cost with consistency of quality of supplies on time every time. Over the years the combined cumulative learning helped in establishing proper processes and systems to ensure robust sourcing operations. However, the challenge remains when it comes to sourcing of odd and irregular items like Corporate Gifts or promotional products with additional customization requirements.
Manufacturing and selling are two totally different challenges difficult for any small entrepreneurs to master both and that is why we see separate specialised batsman and bowlers in the game of cricket. Read More
Born in the early sixties but lucky to be exposed to technology starting 1987 due to trading in the business of electronic typewriters ribbons, daisy wheels, floppies, dot matrix printer ribbons, inkjet, and toner cartridges to early adopters of technology in almost all large corporate companies. Now recall that from the beginning we were early adopters of technology to manage billing, the number of SKU’s, inventory, outstanding, profit & loss account, and balance sheet by developing a customised software solution as early as mid-nineties.
2000: -Y2K was a big deal because a lot of devices stored the year as a two-digit value a widespread computer programming shortcut that was expected to cause extensive havoc as the year changed from 1999 to 2000 at the turn of the Millennium. The change was expected to bring down computer systems infrastructures, such as those for banking and power plants. During Y2K Learned about emailing because of our favourite principal Wipro, signed up for a paid email account with VSNL, became distributor of Satyam to promote & sell ‘dial an internet pack’ and created our first website. Read More
Bio Bubble products are Anti-Virus Coatings which provide long-life germ-free surfaces, hands, electronics, floor, vehicles and fabrics based on “Retentive Silane Technology” which is approved by US EPA Antimicrobial science division and have been tested as per European standard EN13697 and Indian standard IS 5402. The product is non-toxic certified by FDA affiliated laboratory to synthesise the molecule from a 50-Year-old company manufacturing Speciality Chemicals introducing a ‘Preventive Approach’ to disinfection.
BIO BUBBLE range of anti-virus coating products creates an iconic spike coating which electrocutes the virus. Bio Bubble bonds with the surface to create a protective layer to attracts pathogens which bursts like a balloon on contact. Bio Bubble is a Trimethoxy Silyl Quaternary Ammonium Chloride based long-lasting invisible sub-microscopic coating that kills viruses and bacteria, on contact for weeks to years. Effective on all water resistant hard and soft surfaces, BIO BUBBLE is a naturally derived formulation based on retentive Silane technology as an active method for control of gross microbial colonization under extreme conditions, having broad spectrum antimicrobial activities with low cytotoxicity which does not allow viruses, bacteria, mould, mildew or fungi to survive on the treated surfaces. Read More
