What Happens to the Corporate Gifts You Give?

You can choose how your corporate gifts look, how you distribute them, and who to bestow them on, but you can't control what happens to them once they've been given away. Have you ever wondered what happens to your corporate gifts after you've parted with them? Research conducted by the BPMA - the British Promotional Merchandise Association - reveals exactly that.

According to a survey conducted by Source-e in 2007, 92% of those surveyed agreed that promotional merchandise increases brand awareness. This is what these respondents said they did with the promotional merchandise they'd received:

Kept if For Themselves: 83%

The majority of people receiving corporate gifts choose to keep the gift. In these cases, branding is exposed largely to the individual you chose to give the corporate gift to. This makes it highly probable that this individual will use your gift, become familiar with your branding, and therefore remember your brand, making them more likely to become a new or repeat customer. You can increase the likelihood of recipients keeping your gift by making it something you know they'll find useful. For example, if you have a largely young, social-media savvy target market, a promotional selfie-stick would make an appealing gift.

If you want to make your gift appealing to individuals whilst also gaining a large number of impressions amongst a wider target market, choose a gift that is useful but that will also get your branding seen in public, such as a tote bag or an umbrella.

Umbrellas are outdoors items with large branding areas, so can expose your logo to a large number of new people

Gave it to a Colleague: 14%

A significant number of corporate gifts are passed along to others in the workplace. This suggests that when an individual does not have a need for a particular item themselves, they see fit to gift it to someone else. This means you can rest assured that, even though your gift might not be being used by the person you intended it for, someone who is likely in a similar social demographic to your recipient is using it instead! Plus, you know at least two individuals have seen your branding and so will be more likely to remember you and use your services.

Some gifts are useful in the workplace, so your recipients might share them with colleagues

If you want your corporate gifts to be shared out amongst members of an office to ensure a large number of your target market are exposed to your branding, you could order inexpensive gifts and hand out more than one to each of your customers, with instructions to share them with friends. Promotional sticky notes could be used in this way, as they are lightweight and compact, and all members of an office would benefit from them.

Gave it to a Family Member: 3%

Whilst not a very significant number, this suggests that some corporate gifts might reach someone entirely different from who you intended, thus spreading your brand to a wider audience. It also reveals that corporate gifts can be much valued items that people see as worth sharing with their loved ones.

If you want to encourage your corporate gifts for sharing or for use in the family home, you could choose a decorative item such as a candle to sit upon the mantelpiece, or some kitchen equipment such as an egg timer.

Household items branded with your logo can be great for promoting a wholesome, family-oriented image

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Overall, this proves that corporate gifts are, overwhelmingly, an effective way to spread brand awareness to your target audience, as the vast majority of people keep the corporate gifts you give them for themselves, ensuring that your branding is seen regularly. Evidence also suggests that people are more likely to buy from companies that give gifts, so raising brand awareness also works to increase revenue!