When thinking about giving goodie bags, businesses can be swung by the idea of emulating the Oscars’ goody bags - big, bling, expensive and fit for A list celebrities. However, as press coverage in years gone by can attest to, sometimes this sort of level of generosity can back fire in public relations terms. Think back to late 2008 when the recession hit and bankers was a word akin to homicidal maniacs for a time - the press surrounding their staff goodie bags which were given out at the Christmas party was not favourable, to say the least.
Sometimes it’s just an exclusive brand name which can convey a theme of excess and wilful over spending - for example the press reported that one bank’s staff received a bottle of Moet & Chandon Champagne in their goodie bags - but of course there are a variety of different size bottles available, and there was no mention of whether the bottle was one of the single serve options. It’s all about taking care to ensure what you give staff and clients hits exactly the right note for those receiving the bags, and, if you are potentially in the public eye, for those not receiving the goodie bags too! And the press are always keen to attach a price tag to the goodie bags in these sort of instances, so care needs to be taken about the perceived retail value whilst simultaneously striking the right balance with a high perceived value for the recipients. A rather careful line needs to be stuck to!
At Cocoon Corporate, we act as a corporate gift agency, and have ways to alleviate concerns such as these. And, with the Bribery Act due to come into force in the UK in July 2011, there can be legal issues as well which could create a troublesome vibe about the whole goodie bag and corporate gift giving subject. It’s a misnomer to worry about the Bribery Act with regard to the sort of business gifts you will find one this website, however. The Bribery Act is specifically aimed towards targeting excessive gifts which have a clear (and very high) cash equivalent value. Its trips abroad with little or no rationale behind them -think UK based pharmaceutical companies shipping a lorry load of UK based doctors and their families out to the Seychelles for a conference on their new medications - the Act is designed to put a stop to the sort of thing which could be perceived as an indirect bribe. Hospitality tickets to events are unlikely to be targeted too - unless it’s a batch of 10 tickets being given and no-one from the company even attending as well. Again, it’s a pretty clear cut case of indirect bribery, and one which the Act hopes to stamp out. Giving corporate gifts such as the business hampers and goodie bags you’ll see on our website come nowhere close to the scope of the Act - they are genuine gifts - and they are not affected by the change in legislation whatsoever.
Even if you are looking to spoil your recipients and spend big, we’re on hand to offer advice and our expertise in selecting items which won’t have the press up in arms - a high perceived value but a difficult to calculate retail value, for example. Its something which the press don’t tend to bother with as it’s not a clear enough story for them. And of course, your purchases with us remain completely confidential from the start of negotiations through to long, long after the event has been and gone - will be never disclose any of the information relating to your purchases with us, financial or otherwise, to anyone other than yourselves. We pride ourselves on complete customer satisfaction - and we would in no way risk anything other than a happy customer in any circumstances.
So why not start planning your corporate Christmas gifts now - whether that’s some of our exclusive and much sought after business hampers for your clients - where you can tailor packaging, greetings cards, gift tags and contents to suit your preferences - or even individual recipients’ preferences. Or have a browse through our range of Goody Bags - we offer both off the shelf or create your own goody bag options so you can again tailor contents, packaging, colour schemes, and printed personalised tags to fit your exact requirements. This flexibility means we can meet budget constraints without too much pain, however tight the spend is this year! Have a look, or get in touch, and have a chat with us about what we do and how we can help you out.
Read more articles on corporate gift giving.
|
|
