- 1 read
Here is some insight from Mike, “I have had the fortunate opportunity to be the recipient of a handful of corporate gifts in my previous life in the business world and I feel that gives me a unique perspective when designing corporate gifts for customers of ours. Through my experience, I have to say corporate gifts should be considered something more than ‘checking the box.’ I should preface this by saying the company should make sure to be clear on what the goal of the ‘gift is’ then make a good decision as to what that gift should be so it doesn't backfire on the intended goal...buying pens and paper to have on the conference table is one thing but sending gifts to clients and partners, I feel would have a lot better effect if some thought went into it. I have met with the ‘gatekeeper’ for gifts at many a company only to leave feeling that this person, no disrespect intended, is not qualified to be the person to decide what gifts are purchased for a corporation, especially if the corporation is environmentally conscious or has another cause that the ‘gift’ may inadvertently contradict.
Mike goes on to say, “Someone gave us a gift bag made in China with a bunch of items in it with the company name all over the stuff which was also made in China. Although I appreciated the gesture and know that the gift giver didn’t mean anything but good it made me feel like his company just was checking the box and went completely against what our culture is about. I would rather have a company say they don't give out gifts and instead say they put ‘x’ amount of money into a charity of their choice instead of meaningless gifts. On the other hand, if companies feel the need to give a gift it doesn't take much effort to seem like they put a lot of thought into a gift...Less is more...it makes much more impact to make a gift something that clients/partners desire and look forward to rather than expect.”
In describing the Waltzing Matilda products, Mike said, “Our products are made one at a time and thought goes into every style/material/function etc. When someone picks up and holds something from WM USA they can immediately feel the quality. The story card we present explains our brand and that
brand association is key for the gift giver. Of course one cannot get 10,000 items for the same cost that it may take to get 500 of one of our pieces, but those 500 people will actually use our product and the long term use and the ripple effect that comes from being a good gift giver will pay for itself in short order.
Mike provided a personal example of quality over quantity. He said, “Here is one example from my old neighborhood. On Halloween year after year, one neighbor would give out full size Hershey bars but only to the first 100 kids. Needless to say they were the talk of the town and kids looked forward to being one of the fortunate few year after year.”
Testimonials often help tell a story. Independence LED Lighting (http://www.IndependenceLED.com) recently purchased gifts from Waltzing Matilda. Independence LED focuses on energy-efficient LED lighting, that is eco-friendly and made in America, so they embraced the Waltzing Matilda USA offerings. Charlie Szoradi, the CEO of Independence LED Lighting, said, “For our company holiday party in December 2015, we were pleased to see the overwhelming positive feedback when we presented the Waltzing Matilda USA leather laptop / touch pad cases to our top employees. We added a custom “brand” with our logo to the cover of the cases and it was a very elegant way to enhance the gifts that are functional, eco-friendly, and beautifully crafted right here in America.”
Here is the link to the leather cases purchased by Independence LED Lighting: http://waltzingmatildausa.com/collections/tech-portfolio/products/avery-sleeve
