What is a Gift Technique?

A Gift Technique is giving a promotional product in a way that not only leaves a lasting impression,
but gets the recipient to do what you want.

Gift Technique: To announce the company’s ability to provide “liquid color” batching in the cement tinting market, Cemstone divided the target audience into two categories: an “A” and a “B” tier. The “A” tier¾350 key customers and influencers¾received three mailings. A liquid color-filled “ooze box,” a liquid color-filled mouse pad and a magnet postcard all underscored the idea of “liquid” and “color,” two themes that summed up the company’s new technology. Each mailing contained a cover letter and brochure. Another 1,500 “B” tier mailings were sent containing only the letter, brochure and magnet postcard. A Power Point presentation was also designed in tandem with the promotion for the sales force to use when calling on customers. The unique promotional items, carefully chosen “A” and “B” lists and a well-written cover letter cemented the campaign’s success!

Gift Technique: The lighting company created a training school known as "Illumination University" at its facility in Vicksburg, MS. To create interest and spur enrollment, they developed a college-like logo for "Illumination U" and used it on a range of items. Stationery was printed to invite agents to their training session and during classes for daily agenda sheets and other handouts. A black imprinted backpack, notepad and pen greeted students as they arrived at their desks. College style pennants were used in competitive exercises and played off the idea of fraternities with such created Greek names as Lambda River Delta. Sweatshirts were given to each participant on the second day of the training session and caps were awarded to members of teams with the highest scores on daily tests. A granite-look plaque was given to each agent upon completion of the training.

Gift Technique: Dell selected a "monster" theme for its sales incentive program based on the idea that add-on sales create a large, "Monster Sale." To kick off the program, T-shirts displaying the "Monster Sales" graphics were given to all sales personnel. Large floor graphics in the shape of monster footprints were placed throughout the sales area to remind sales people they could earn 10 points for each selected add-on component they sold. At the end of each week, the five sales people with the most points could win a logo-imprinted item such as a leather sport bag, writing portfolio, passport wallet, leather organizer, Sony Watchman TV or desk clock.

Gift Technique: Three weeks prior to the grand opening of its new beachfront suites, the Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman held a festive, Caribbean luncheon at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. The highlight of the party was a completely edible, chocolate tropical island presented to each guest. The message drawn in the chocolate beach's brown sugar sand?: "It's Suite-er on the Beach!" Each chocolate island was packaged in an upscale, gold-finished box, tied in straw as though plucked from a beach hat. Key attendees at the launch party were invited to "Satisfy Your Suite Tooth" and take a complimentary familiarization trip to the Cayman suites.

Gift Technique: One local store of a national grocery store chain had adopted a neighborhood elementary school for which they regularly raised funds for various school activities. To help raise financing for a new running track, a promotion called "Expect the Unexpected" was organized featuring a golf and tennis tournament. Rather than provide typical golf and tennis items, and since the event was held on April Fool's Day, it was decided to have fun with the gifts and awards being distributed. Each contestant received a cooler containing their lunch; a towel placemat accompanied by a water pistol to "bring out the child" in each adult; a Koozie for soft drinks; a pen to keep score; a seat cushion for comfort while watching events at the school's new track; a mousepad symbolic of the donations of computer equipment the company had made to the school; and a travel mug for the ride home. At the concluding banquet, each person was given a clock with a note reading, "Your time is valuable. Thank you for spending it with us today."

Gift Technique: Kroger invested in a custom-colored blimp to fly over Atlanta events and Olympic Game events. As support, recognition and identity of the blimp increased, specially-designed shirts were worn by the more than 40,000 store employees in Georgia during the Olympics to remind the public of the red, white and blue flag decorated logo on the blimp. Playing on the theme of "The Sky's The Limit," imprinted products including key tags, collectible lapel pins, ties, license tags, umbrellas, hats and jackets were distributed as employee awards, incentives, gifts and for employees to wear to create customer awareness.

Gift Technique: Believing that efficient and effective work is achieved through good organizational skills, Kroger used a "space camp" to help more than 800 store managers get organized and "boost sales to the outer limits." In a clever departure from the typical desk-top organizer, Kroger provided smaller, portable organizers featuring a functional "at-a-glance" version of their selling period calendar. The high-tech, futuristic look for the organizers extended to a series of follow-up, reinforcement gifts distributed in special packaging through in-store mail. The pens, mouse pads, travel mugs, and pocket note pads all featured copy tied to the theme and served as constant reminders to recipients to use the organizer.

Gift Technique: Kroger's annual Deli Merchandising Show gives suppliers a chance to promote their upcoming holiday products and displays. The temptation is great for Kroger managers to wander casually through the show and enjoy the festival atmosphere and free samples rather than treat the day as a coordinated purchasing and planning opportunity. This year, Kroger developed a full-scale program that encouraged organization and teamwork and gave managers a complete set of tools for making the most of the day. Embroidered briefcases, clipboards, pens, carabiner key tags and embroidered shirts transformed the individual managers of 165 Atlanta regional Kroger stores into well-coordinated teams. The promotional items not only facilitated a more focused approach to the show but inspired pride and teamwork among the managers, resulting in an unprecedented number of orders placed before the deadline.

Gift Technique: The publisher booked booth space at the National Plastics Exposition and during the show hosted a cocktail party at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium as part of its strategy to boost circulation and increase advertising. A fishing theme, "Reel in the Catch" tied in nicely with the events. Party invitations were mailed in a bottle accompanied by a fishing pole and sand. Subsequent mailings contained a personalized fishing license inside an imprinted, buoy-shaped key holder, a plastic tackle box housing promotional literature and a fish hook. At the trade show exhibit, resembling a bait and tack shop with a pond, attendees fished for a variety of prizes. Invitations to the aquarium party arrived in a treasure chest filled with coins, jelly beans and a treasure map. Three keys mailed with the invitation could be used at the aquarium to open treasure chests containing prize certificates.

Gift Technique: Promoting themselves as complementing news sources for the plastics industry, Plastics News and Plastics News on the Web used a program that dubbed them the "News Brothers." Tipping its hat to The Blues Brothers, the campaign mailed a blues CD to 2,000 prospects, accounts, and agencies in the plastics industry. Two follow-up mailings were sent, one containing a harmonica. These mailings began eight weeks prior to an upcoming plastics trade show and promoted the publications' booth and a party at the House of Blues during the trade show. At the party, attendees received "News Brothers" masks and were greeted by the staff who wore black hats, sunglasses, and ties. At the trade show, attendees received scratch-off cards. Winning cards directed the holders to the booth where they collected prizes such as sunglasses and harmonica key chains.

Gift Technique: Announcing its grand opening, Print Logics sent selected guests a small, white box containing a circular metal tin. Inside, they found a five-part, circular invitation and a key. The circular invitation represented a “spot,” an important element in the new corporate brand and an integral theme in this promotion. Each one was personalized with the invitee’s first name, and the last page urged the guest to attend an open house (“Come see our new Spot”) to see if their key would unlock a prize door. Upon arrival at the open house, guests received a “spot utility bag” including a customized journal in a spot color of their choosing, a made-to-order t-shirt, high-tech frost pen and various literature pieces explaining the benefits of doing business with Print Logics. Five guests used their winning keys to unlock prizes ranging from a spa gift certificate at an exclusive Austin Day Spa to a pair of round trip airline tickets. Exceptional printing, clever copy and beautifully designed graphics were the highlights of this excellent campaign.

Gift Technique: This hotel is on the site of an old runway and affords a view of the airport operation. The target audience of this promotion was leisure travelers, aviation buffs, media and families traveling with children. Junior Aviator Kits were designed to allow guests to enjoy the view of the operations of the airport. A sturdy plastic box, die-cut with a welcoming message to guests, held a pair of junior binoculars, a compass, mirror, junior "wings" and a dry erase pen. The top of the kit featured another die-cut shape representing airplanes frequenting the airport. An envelope in the box held a brief history of aviation, etc. Finally, the box also included a laminated map of the airport and scratch paper. Brochures and press releases were sent to previous guests of the hotel, travel media and news services.

Gift Technique: During the week following Thanksgiving 1999, 120 families who had booked reservations at the Topnotch at Stowe Resort and Spa received a direct mail piece containing a "Countdown to the Millennium" CD and a letter from the hotel's president. Upon checking in, guests received a single-use Fuji camera to help them capture their millennial memories during their stay. While there, guests were showered with attractive promotional items placed in their rooms daily including a wooden picture frame, a deck of playing cards in a wood case, wine and corkscrew with gourmet chocolate truffles, backpacks stuffed with tops, dominos in a velveteen pouch and the LIFE "Millennium Book." Numerous touches were used throughout the week such as commemorative dinner plates and wineglasses during dinner. No one in attendance will forget where they were on New Year's Eve 1999. Twenty percent of the guests even lift behind or sent unsolicited thank-you notes commenting on the promotional products and how they had added to the week's festivities.