Choosing gifts

Choosing gifts is not an easy task because we intend to make two people happy. We want to make ourselves happy by giving something we feel is special and we want the people whom these are given to find them useful or enjoyable. This is why we should not delay determining the list of people to be given gifts till the last minute. Choosing the right gift requires careful preparation, regardless of the occasion. The nature of the occasion and the number and status of the people to be given gifts are a primary consideration. Different gifts are adequate for 2-3 foreign guests and for our partners at an informal party – says Andrea Bakos, marketing manager of MD Line Kft. If we have several hundred people on our list, it is hard to follow the classic piece of advice that gifts should reflect their personality or hobby. In such cases, the image of the company or the nature of the occasion determine gifts. – It is increasingly important for gifts to be creative and unique. This is why we seldom order gifts from a catalogue – says Igor Spaics from Humán Telex. According to Katalin Kovács, senior account manager of Café PR, gifts at a press conference are really desirable for journalists if these cannot be purchased elsewhere. Győző Sauer, sales director of 3LGift Kft. believes that choosing a gift which people would not buy for themselves is a god idea. There are rules to be followed in handing over gifts. The present trend is to have gifts delivered by courier instead of handing these over personally. – If we have several partners, it is important not to offend anybody, by not sending a gift. – say Katalin Kovács. All experts agree that using a courier to deliver gifts can make even the most carefully chosen gift impersonal and create the “wrong” impression about our relationship with our partner. If couriers are used, a phone call or a letter should always accompany the gifts to compensate to the absence of personal contact. With the exception of a few special cases, it is always important to hand over gifts upon departure of the guests to avoid creating the impression that these are a form of “bribe”. Gifts should be presented in decorative packaging. There are several ways to make gifts from the catalogue personal. Branding with our logo is one. In the experience of 3L Gift Kft., engraving is used mainly around Christmas on gifts from the catalogue, which in not very creative but practical and elegant. Engraving is fast, no special tools need to be manufactured and it is also cheap. There are other methods for branding gifts as well. However, the method should always be suited to the gift. According to MD Line Kft, clients should be persuaded to accept logos of modest size, since enormous logos can not only ruin the appearance of gifts but practically make them useless. We should always take care not offend our partners accidentally. Religion, sex, politics, ethnic identity etc. are topics to be avoided. Quality of the gifts is essential. Inferior quality gifts are embarrassing. Extreme ideas sometimes appear among gifts. Examples are talking bottle openers or Unicum packaged in cartridges for printers. However, these are quite rare as the Hungarian market is rather conservative – says Igor Spaics. Companies spend more around Christmas and even those which do not use gifts as PR tools during the year, spend some money. Gifts are usually not linked to normal products but reflect the occasion.