Corporate Gifting with Purpose: The Journey to Authenticity.

Corporate gifting and rewarding can be a powerful tool (how?) for increasing brand awareness, conveying brand’s values and building relationships with clients, employees, and partners. But in today's world, authenticity is key hence unique, purposeful corporate gift ideas can play a key role. There could be an increasing number of your recipients aware of the impact of their purchasing decisions and wanting to know that the products they receive align with their values and that the companies they do business with are socially responsible by making a positive impact on people's lives. Corporate gifts are from ways to build a good client relationship.

To give a quick overview of what to expect in this article, key points would include, how adding a purpose and co-branding with carefully selected brands can elevate your corporate gifting strategy and make it more authentic. We will also cover some creative and unique gift ideas for corporate gifting that are purposeful and long-lasting, such as gifting products that contribute to providing access to safe water, gifting products that save water, exploring the use of innovative technology like blockchain in the gifting industry, how a brand stopped 7.9 million KGS of plastic from entering the ocean, how mass giveaways maybe harming your business and more. This article could be must-read for any marketer, sustainability, HR, or procurement professional looking to make a positive impact through corporate gifting.

One way to add authenticity to corporate gifting is by adding a purpose. Instead of simply giving a gift, companies can use the opportunity to make a meaningful impact. Gifting mass giveaways with a logo to reach many desks and pockets, but without a responsible strategy backing it could no more be relevant.

Many mass-produced promotional giveaways, such as plastic pens, mugs, and keychains, could often be left unused, left in a drawer, or tossed in the trash after a short period of time, and end up in landfills. This is not only a waste of investment for the clients but also contributes to environmental pollution. A survey conducted by the UK environmental campaign group Hubbub found that 92% of the branded water bottles handed out at an event ended up being discarded, contributing to plastic pollution. So, when it comes finding new corporate gift ideas or concepts, corporates should consider more sustainable, purposeful, and long-lasting gifts that align with their values and mission.

Another way to add authenticity to corporate gifting is through co-branding with brands that align with the company's values. By adding a purpose and co-branding with brands, companies can show that they are not only grateful for their relationships but also that they share the same values. A survey conducted by Deloitte found that 84% of consumers believe that companies should do more than just make a profit; they should also positively impact society and the environment. Additionally, according to a study by Nielson, 63% of consumers are willing to pay more for products and services from companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact.

Here are a few strategies for corporate gifting, examples of corporate gifts that could have a social impact, are purpose-driven and/or co-branded with some well-known brands:

??WATER IMPACT, GIVING: Water is a precious and essential part of life, but for millions of people, access to safe water could be a daily struggle. Imagine being able to make a difference in the lives of these people with just one simple purchase. The CHANGE collection offers a wide range of products, including mugs, bottles, polo shirts, power banks, laptop bags, backpacks, pouches, and wireless chargers, all of which contribute 3% of sales to Water.org, a global NGO that provides access to safe water for millions of individuals. Not only does this collection make a meaningful impact, but it is also award-winning, having recently been recognized as the best CSR initiative at the Gulf Sustainability Awards. The IMPACT collection offers another range of products that also contribute towards water.org based on product sales.

??WATER IMPACT, SAVING: But it's not just about giving, it's also about saving.

According to WWF, it takes more than 20,000 liters of water to produce just one kilogram of cotton, which is roughly the equivalent of one t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

JASANI offers eco-neutral? Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certified recycled cotton tote bag models which saves 1000s of liters of water by substituting water-thirsty cotton fabric with recycled cotton. PRO EARTH by Santhome is a GRS-certified fully recycled polo shirt collection - made with 40% recycled post-consumer polyester and 60% recycled post-industrial cotton waste. Each PRO EARTH Polo saves 1200+ liters of water and reuses 17 plastic bottles plastic bottles and is also part of CHANGE collection, thus each polo shirt contributes 3% of sales to Water.org, of sales to Water.org, making a real difference in the lives of those in need.

The CHANGE and IMPACT collections offer a wide range of water saving products including caps, notebooks, laptop cases, laptop backpacks, Tech kits, Wash Bags, Duffle Bags, Messenger bags. The IMPACT collection goes a step further by using a disruptive tracer and blockchain technology AWARE? to guarantee the use of genuine recycled materials and to ensure their water impact reduction claims are accurate.

With these collections, the options for corporate gifting and promotional giveaways are not only purposeful and impactful, but also innovative and cutting-edge. Now the question is, what will be your conscious decision when it comes to corporate gifting? Will you choose to make a difference in the lives of those in need?

??COMMUNITY IMPACT: Supporting vulnerable families & communities can be a great cause to contribute. Enter Ocean Bottle, a B certified organization that offers premium quality reusable drinkware with a powerful story of plastic reduction and community support. Through partnerships with Plastic Bank, Repurpose, and Plastics for Change, Ocean Bottle is able to make a real difference in the lives of plastic collectors and their families. They contribute towards their needs such as salary, education and healthcare access, they have benefited 4000+ families as per their 2021 impact report. This product line also serves you as a solution for luxury corporate gift requirements.

??PLASTIC IMPACT: “Plastic waste is entering the ocean at a rate of about 11 million metric tons a year, where it is harming marine life and damaging habitats” says The Pew Charitable Trusts website. TONTOTON website says: In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, for example, floating communities often can’t even see the water due to mismanaged waste, much of it plastic. “When the water rises, it is full of bacteria and disease because it’s so dirty,” said a woman from Sihanoukville. “It makes our kids poorly.”

Each purchase of an Ocean Bottle funds the collection of 1000 plastic bottles, keeping them out of the ocean and turning them into new products. It's then recycled locally and turned into pellets, ready to re-enter the global manufacturing supply chain. At this point, it's sold on to corporations and businesses and finally gets turned into new products. Some of it even comes back to Ocean Bottle and goes into making their products. So far, they have announced collection of 7.9+ Million KGS of Ocean Bound plastic. The Ocean bottle is made of recycled stainless steel, BPA-free plastic, silicone rubber and ocean-bound plastic, all materials are fully recyclable.

The next time you plan for a gifting or rewarding campaign, consider plastic-free products like Ocean Bottle. Not only will you be reducing plastic waste and its harmful impact on the environment, but you'll also be making a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable families and communities.

There are plenty of ways a gifting campaign can add a social purpose to it. Instead of just giving a gift, companies can use the opportunity to make a difference in the world. Strategies in a pointwise summary:

• WATER IMPACT, GIVING: CHANGE Collection (mug, bottle, polo shirt, power bank, laptop bag, backpack, pouch, wireless charger & more) contributes 3% to water.org for safe water access to individuals. IMPACT Collection (caps, notebooks, laptop cases, laptop backpacks, Tech kits, Wash Bags, Duffle Bags, Messenger bags & more) contributes 2% to water.org.
• WATER IMPACT, SAVING: eco-neutral? GRS Certified tote bags, water saving products from CHANGE Collection & IMPACT Collection.
• COMMUNITY IMPACT: Ocean Bottles (Product Details) funds communities for plastic collection.
• PLASTIC IMPACT: Ocean Bottles (1 bottle funds collection of 1000 plastic bottles, i.e. 11+KG of plastic), CHANGE & IMPACT Collection (variety of products made from Recycled plastic, RPET).
• FOREST IMPACT, FSC: Moleskine (known for its high-quality notebooks and journals that are perfect for professionals and creatives. The company has a Forest Stewardship Council (FCS) certification for its sustainable paper sourcing, CHANGE (FSC-certified bamboo products), IMPACT (notebooks with FSC recycled paper).

More purpose driven product strategies:

• Choose GRS certified recycled cotton tote bags instead of normal tote bags. A study by the Plastic Pollution Coalition found that 91% of plastic produced is not recycled and that items such as tote bags have a single-use lifespan of just 12 minutes.
• Replace the regular pencils with eco-neutral Bamboo Long Lasting Pencil. Traditional wooden pencils write around 200 metres, but could write up to around 20,000 metres using a graphite tip. Does not require any sharpening too.
• Choose wood or bamboo USB flash drives instead of plastic. A survey by the British Promotional Merchandise Association found that 53% of USB drives are thrown away after just one use.
• Replace your mass giveaway plastic pens with RPET UMA pens, made in Germany, from a carbon neutral factory.
• Replace your mass giveaway plastic keyrings to ECO keyrings made from metal waste. A survey by the Advertising Specialty Institute found that only 17% of recipients kept keychains for more than a year.
• Recycled Hammam towel – 50% recycled material used, saves up to 17,000 liters of water. Handmade with recycled fabrics in a small Turkish village by local women.
• Recycled leather products including laptop sleeves, passport holder, notebooks, cardholder etc.
• Socks, kids beach toys, frisbee, umbrella, saddle cover, scarves from recycled plastic bottles.

(I will try to update this list with new product strategies)

By incorporating authenticity and social responsibility into the corporate gifting process, companies can increase consumer trust and loyalty, differentiate themselves from competitors, and ultimately drive business growth. Marketing teams could consider co-branding with key socially responsible brands can increase the impact of corporate gifts, thus increasing their ROI. One way to do this is by incorporating the socially responsible brand's values and mission into the marketing campaigns for the corporate gifts. This helps to align the company's brand image with the socially responsible brand and create a positive association in the minds of consumers. Marketing professionals can also use co-branding to create a cause-related marketing campaign. This type of campaign aligns the company's brand with a social cause and promotes corporate gifts as a way to support the cause. This type of campaign can be highly effective in generating positive brand sentiment and increasing consumer engagement.

Sustainability or CSR teams could consider corporate gifts or similar campaigns to the company's commitment to sustainability and mindfulness. By sourcing gifts from socially and environmentally responsible brands, companies can demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and help reduce the environmental impact. HR teams could consider employee rewards, welcome kits, uniforms, other office consumables to be selected from socially responsible brands. While showing appreciation and strengthening relationships with employees, by sourcing gifts from socially responsible brands, companies can align with employee's values and create a positive work culture.

Procurement teams can also be instrumental in this process by supporting all departments to source products from socially responsible brands and ensuring that the company's supply chain is aligned with its values and mission. This can include looking at factors such as the brand's environmental impact, labor practices, and social responsibility initiatives.

In conclusion, authenticity in corporate gifting has become an essential aspect of business today. A survey conducted by the Global Sustainability Group found that 89% of consumers said they would switch to a brand associated with a good cause, given similar price and quality. Therefore, adding a purpose and co-branding with global brands that align with the company's values is the key to ensuring authenticity in corporate gifting. If you would like to discuss this further or consult me with regards to corporate gifting in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Oman, I am available at +97152-1495070 via call or WhatsApp.

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