Many organisations send seasonal cards and gifts to clients and business partners at this time of the year to say thank you for doing business with them or for providing a great service. As everything we do reflects our brand, careful thought should be given to the design of cards, the messages delivered and the gifts we decide to give.
You can use Christmas gifts and cards as part of your communications strategy. Without key messages built into your goodwill products, you’re missing an opportunity. These can do much more than just say hello and thank you: you can subtly remind clients, prospects and business partners why your business is so special, promote your products and services, and demonstrate your outstanding customer service ethos. You can even point them towards your website for more information, whilst also wishing them good tidings. In this way, your gifts and cards become part of your PR effort, reinforcing your brand values. Also, you’ll be on the way towards aligning your business and PR strategies more and more.
Avoid selecting easily disposable, low value looking products such as branded pens and note pads; these are much more appropriate for conferences. If you choose imaginatively your gift will be used by the recipient throughout the year. For example, a beautiful moleskin notebook bearing your logo on the cover and a pithy compelling or witty message on the inside is unlikely to sit in a drawer unused.
You can go all out and do something extraordinary that will delight customers; something that demonstrates your commitment to customer care as did the Canadian airline Westjet, which staged a major Christmas PR stunt this year.
Westjet asked passengers at the airport what gift they would like for Christmas. At their destination, low and behold, the gifts the passengers yearned for were delivered to them on the convey belt, beautifully gift wrapped in the airlines corporate colours.
Huffington Post’s news piece shows the happy and amazed passengers. Westjet not only gave away presents, it created an experience that passengers will remember forever, leaving them with a very positive view of the company. This has created fantastic awareness for WestJet, especially as the video has been promoted internationally – by traditional and social media.
While most businesses may not be able to mastermind hugely extravagant gift giving exercises and stunts such as WestJet’s, the point is to think creatively about what will bring a smile to your clients’ faces and make you stand out, whilst also reinforcing your brand values and then create it for clients. Creating a sense of goodwill with your clients, prospects and business partners will leave a lasting positive impression of your organisation.
Not to worry, if you have already sent out the standard Christmas card, branded memory sticks, diaries and calendars they will still appreciate that you thought of them. But why not make a note in your 2014 diary now to start thinking about this next October, so you can approach the next round of cards and gifts more strategically and creatively to support your brand building PR next Christmas.
Tags: brand profile, branding, Christmas campaigns, News, PR strategies
