Branded Corporate Gifts: How to Make Business Gifting Feel Personal

There is a fine line between a branded corporate gift and a box of promotional merchandise.

Done well, branded gifting can make a client, employee or business partner feel genuinely valued. Done badly, it can feel like someone has emptied the contents of an exhibition stand into a cardboard box.

The difference usually comes down to how much thought has gone into it.

What are branded corporate gifts?

Branded corporate gifts are gifts created for employees, clients, customers or business partners that incorporate a company's branding or identity.

That could be as simple as a personalised card inside the box, or it could extend to branded packaging, ribbons, sleeves, inserts and carefully selected products.

The important thing is that the branding complements the gift rather than becoming the gift.

People generally don't get excited about receiving another pen with a company logo on it.

A well-presented gift box with products they'll actually enjoy is a different proposition entirely.

When does branded gifting work best?

There are plenty of reasons businesses send gifts throughout the year.

Some of the most common include:

Welcoming new employees
Thanking clients
Celebrating project completions
Customer retention campaigns
Conferences and events
Product launches
Employee milestones
Christmas gifting
Sales incentives
PR and influencer campaigns

The occasion should influence the gift.

A welcome box for a new employee should feel different from a premium thank-you being sent to an important client.

Corporate gifts for clients

Client gifting is one of the areas where presentation really matters.

You're not simply sending somebody a collection of products. You're creating a small representation of your business.

A carefully designed gift box can reinforce a relationship, celebrate a successful project or simply thank somebody for their continued business.

It can also be considerably more memorable than sending another email.

For higher-value relationships, bespoke corporate gifts can be built around the recipient, the occasion and the company sending them.

This could include premium food and drink, personalised messages and packaging designed specifically around your brand.

Branded employee gift boxes

Branded gifting also works particularly well internally.

New starter boxes are a good example.

Somebody joining a company for the first time could receive a welcome package containing a combination of treats, useful items, company information and a personalised message from their new team.

It creates a very different first impression from simply receiving a laptop and an HR handbook.

The same approach can be used for employee anniversaries, achievements, birthdays and company-wide celebrations.

For businesses with remote teams, individual boxes can also be delivered directly to employees rather than requiring everyone to be in one location.

How much branding is too much?

Usually, less is more.

There are plenty of ways to introduce branding without putting a logo on absolutely everything.

For example:

Branded packaging

A custom box, sleeve or sticker immediately connects the gift to your company.

Ribbon

Branded ribbon is a simple way of carrying company colours or identity through the presentation.

Personalised cards

A card can include your branding while also giving you space for an individual message.

Printed inserts

Useful for campaigns where you want to explain why the recipient has received the gift or tell them more about a particular event.

Selected branded products

One or two branded items can work brilliantly as part of a wider gift rather than making every item promotional.

The aim should always be for somebody to open the box and think, "that's nice", rather than, "that's branded".

Personalisation makes the difference

Branding tells somebody who sent the gift.

Personalisation tells them why they received it.

That's why the two work particularly well together.

Adding the recipient's name or a short personal message can turn a corporate gift into something that feels much more individual.

This is particularly useful for client gifting, employee milestones and smaller campaigns where there is an opportunity to tailor the message to each recipient.

For larger campaigns, personalisation can still be incorporated without making fulfilment unnecessarily complicated.

Planning a larger branded gifting campaign

The earlier you start planning, the more options you have.

If you're ordering a handful of boxes, the turnaround can naturally be much quicker than a campaign involving hundreds of individually addressed gifts with bespoke packaging.

Before getting started, it helps to know:

Rough quantity
Budget per recipient
Who the recipients are
The occasion
Whether individual delivery is required
What level of branding you want
Any dietary requirements
When the gifts need to arrive

From there, the products, presentation and fulfilment can be planned around the campaign.

Creating something people actually want to receive

The best branded corporate gifts don't feel corporate.

They feel like somebody has taken the time to put together something worth opening.

Branding still has an important role, but the recipient experience should always come first.

BoxxedUp creates bespoke and branded corporate gift boxes for clients, employees, events and business campaigns. From the contents of the box through to branding, personalisation and delivery, each campaign can be built around your budget, audience and requirements.

Planning a branded gifting campaign? Speak to BoxxedUp about your quantities, budget and ideas and we can help turn them into a gift people will actually want to receive.