The Philosophy of Corporate Gifting & The ideology of Promotions.

Gifting is an expression of acceptance. Acceptance of behaviour, wavelength, thought and goodwill of people. It turns what"s insubstantial into substantial, what"s unsung into an allegro of joy.

All societies, civilisations and cultures throughout centuries practiced the custom of giving away gifts. Gifting was an exercise to re-establish camaraderie and fellowship, Unity and solidarity. Gifting marks an occasion. In the western world, people gifted each other during New-Year, Christmas and Thanksgiving where as in the Eastern world, in countries like India and China people gifted each other during festivals like Diwali and Chun Jie. Each part of the globe had its own occasion to gift and to be gifted. Years rolled on, life progressed, a few things became part of history and few inhumed in the grave known as oblivion. From those customs that continued, "Gifting" stayed vibrant and grew to be a part of life. Gifting in the lapse of years grew beyond Festivals, seasons and birthdays as each day on earth is dedicated to some cause or the other.

Gifting is an expression of acceptance. Acceptance of behaviour, wavelength, thought and goodwill of people. It turns what"s insubstantial into substantial, what"s unsung into an allegro of joy. Categorically, the exercise of giving away gifts has become vibrant in the Corporate sector now and it goes by the elite term, Corporate Gifting. These days all major and most minor companies have some thing or the other to be given as a corporate gift to their employees, clients, well-wishers and the list goes on.

The term Corporate gift reminds either a Wrist-watch or a Table Top Accessory or a T-shirt with the respective company"s logo imprinted. It was an avuncular gesture, which did not cost much in comparison with the kind money that was involved in advertising. The quantum leap in the promotional products and Corporate Gifts began with Professionals from the modern school of management. They altered the age-old product pattern and ventured out new and innovative products. " The era of conventional products is dead, People are brand conscious and long for quality" Says Githesh Viswambharan, Manager Promotions who also takes care of B4U"s International Corporate Gifts and Promotional requirements. "Though good, the innovative aspect doesn"t work out all the time" adds Githesh "Many times I had to think on my feet. Most programmes come up without prior information". B4U once planned a Press Conference over night and Githesh was given the task of giving away the scribes, a Corporate Gift for having participated in the Conference. " Regular suppliers help when it comes to such crucial junctures". Superbly designed Ceramic mugs with the logo of B4U imprinted was the Corporate Gift, given away that evening.

B4U also has distinct style in distributing their Corporate Gifts. Most of their products are innovative and durable. The in-house designing team of B4U designs and the production is carried out by different manufacturers.

" I give a gift and if that"s not found on the table of the person I gift, then, I better don"t give a gift" says Aditya Thakore, Business Manager Content & Communication, Star TV, India"s number one satellite Network . According to Aditya, a Corporate Gift is a not just a thing to promote the business or a show or a program, rather it"s a. gesture of togetherness. Star network, which has diverse number of channels like Channel V, Star Movies, Star Plus, Star World, Star Gold, Star News, Star Vijay and National Geographic Channel gives away a wide variety of products like Caps, T-shirts, Ceramic mugs, Metal covered organisers etc. " Quality of the Gift is the concern" says Aditya. Star has regular product providers as well as new experiments. Star gave away Mugs, Fancy Dairies, Books, Compact Disks, Bands and Pens as promotional items last year. Since its inception Star has had innovative products as Corporate Gifts and Promotional Items.

Jet Airways, often referred as the Corporate Flight of India gives away products which are useful. Passengers rhapsodize about the kind of gifts they receive on board. " They always give something useful and so there"s always a bend towards them ", says Sundeep V Menon, Editor , Reel Images.

Despite all this how come Corporate Gifts fail? Where do people find it inconsequential? In a brouhaha of ideas and the rapid progress in civilisation, People expect more. "Most companies arrive at a decision on Corporate Gifts without considering people and their tastes "says, Francis Chettiar, Researcher and analyst. " Knowing the requirement of people is important. I have seen people throwing certain gifts cursing the companies who gifted them." Most companies are concentrating on improving their Corporate gifts like Reliance which has a distinct style in gifting. Every year they have different but stupendous gifts. " A long lasting bond begins with a gift" says Vandana Varma, business Executive, The Leela. Another practice, which is prominent by companies both big and small is giving away "Promotional Products". Either to promote their products or to re affirm their presence in the market most companies distribute a lot of products like T-shirts, Caps, Ceramic Mugs and Wrist watches with their company"s logo or brand name imprinted. Promotional products can help businesses and organisations to show appreciation to customers, increase donations, increase store traffic, Generate sales leads, Increase direct mail response, Reward focus-group participants, Open stores, Launch or promote products at trade shows and reward Employee performance. Giving away of promotional products was a practice that belonged only to Pharmaceutical and Liquor Companies since long. Pharmaceutical companies found it the most economic way to take their products to the remotest villages and Liquor companies because as per the law they are not authorised to publish the advertisements of their products. The restrictions in advertising Pharmaceutical products apart from OTC (Over the Counter) drugs also directed the pharmaceutical companies to make this practice resonant. While Pharmaceutical companies give away products like scribbling pads, pens, pen-holders and so on, Liquor companies give away Ashtrays, Glass Tumblers, Cigarette lighters etc. Many industries have followed the suit. Entertainment, FMCG, Airways, Service Industries etc.

For many years pharmaceutical companies were the ultimate "big sale" for promotional products distributors. Throughout the "70s, "80s and "90s, hundreds of promotional products companies made it big with just supplying products to Pharmaceutical companies world wide. A report says in the 2002 the sales in the promotional products industry grew to 19 billion from 13 billion in 1999 across the globe. Ranbaxy, the Pharmaceutical giant spends millions of dollars on promotional products every year. A small group of promotion agencies and promotional products distributors have managed to carve out a niche among the pharmaceutical companies, which permits them to end with the high volume giants. Some offer a handful of very specific items deemed "medically relevant," while others produce only custom products correlating closely to a particular drug"s entire marketing campaign. M L Gupta C M D, Parental Drugs ( India) Ltd. says " The idea of promotional products does not really generate business overnight. It helps to build a rapport with people." PDPL, the Indore based company with its 100 crore plus turnover is considered as a pharmaceutical champion which will hit the headlines soon. With complete range of pharmaceutical products, PDPL has 350 offices across the Indian subcontinent. The range of promotional products they gift include, Pens, Desktop accessories, Ashtrays, Leather belts, Umbrellas, Lipsticks, Nail Polishes, Wallets and a lot of other novelties. The Corporate Gift PDPL gave away this year is a very exceptional product. It was highly appreciated in the medical fraternity. The product was a fan. With a Microprocessor attached to the blade, the Fan as it"s switched on show messages from PDPL, the logo of the company and the slogan.

Talking about Promotional products MTV"s contribution cannot be ignored. Most youngsters are admirers of the promotional products of MTV. Either it"s a Funky T-shirt or a Ceramic mug with MTV logo. Youngsters love it. MTV gave away a rare promotional product during the Navratri of 2001, an idea, which was novel, though the product was in use since centuries, the innovative concept of giving it as a Navratri gift was highly appreciated by people, young and old across the country. It was a pair of "Dandiyas" with a tiny little thread hanging with MTV"s logo. Most newspapers gave rave reviews about it. " People should use it as well as remember Music Television whenever they use it" Says Saurabh Kanwar, Manager Marketing, MTV. Saurabh along with a team of vibrant young men and women plan the promotional products at the MTV. Their promotional products of the past like Mouse Path and T-shirts were talked about and jackets for the forthcoming show, Roadies will be discussed about.

Shiv Atal, Commercial Executive, Zee Telefilms Pvt. Ltd says, "promotional products are an integral part in promoting an establishment". Zee, the pioneer of satellite broadcasting in India made it big as one of the first private sector entrants to the Indian broadcasting Industry. Zee, now has several channels exclusively for different tastes like Zee MGM, Zee Music, Zee English etc. " Our promotional products are based on the programmes we have" adds Atal. Zee "s promotional products include. T-shirts, Wrist watches, Coasters etc. " We rely on quality products because that justifies the cause for which the programme is aired". Atal makes it clear that promotional products play never a less role, rather an appealing one in establishing a nexus between the people and the channel. In the past couple of years Zee has been giving innovative promotional products in accordance with the programmes. Eco friendly products like bags jute bags and economical products like Key chains, Mouse pads, Pens used in the past for promoting their programmes has worked well.

Sahara Airways, the homely Air service providers gives away a spectacular range of Promotional products. Last year Sahara Airways promoted their Business nexus with Sweet Boxes, Gift bags with a wide variety of things, packs for children with stationery items. Apart from that Sahara also has paid gift programmes.

Corporate Gifts & promotional products are essential aspects of the identity of a company. The Microeconomics of each industry regard the practice of giving away promotional products and Corporate Gifts as an important factor in establishing the presence of the company in the market. This practice works only if the products are good and innovative. Both the Corporate decision-makers and manufacturer should understand the requirement of people and go ahead before deciding a gift and thus bring harmony in the art of gifting and being gifted.