Corporations turn to gifts with a story to tell
GIFT giving in corporate circles has rapidly evolved from a mere marketing tactic to a tool for developing a solid emotional connection with customers, partners and other stakeholders.
As such, companies on the lookout for corporate gifts have become partial to products that are not just useful but also have a moving story to tell.
“What clients nowwant are gifts given to (their target market) with a sense of care, rather than items given just to advertise (their brand),” World Expos & Concepts, Inc. (WorldExco) General Manager Racquel Romero said in a recent briefing in Makati City.
Social enterprises that are about profit, people and product are natural sources of these products.
“A lot of our clients want giveaways that go with a card bearing the name of the makers and their story. They feel they are giving back to society while at the same time, achieving their marketing goal,” said Gifts and Graces Fair Trade Foundation Product Designer Marge Obligacion.
Gifts and Graces is a social enterprise that markets gift items handcrafted by various partner communities, such as urban and rural poor, indigenous people, former prisoners and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Among its top-selling products are brass accessories carefully crafted by members of the T’boli tribe of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.
Known for their intricate crafts, T’boli artists manually engrave in every dinner bell, necklace, bell charm and necklace their unique identity.
Since the business promotes caring for the environment, recycling has been an effective way to sustain production.
Only melted junk metals are used in crafting the products, for example.
According to Obligacion, de- mand is highest for the T’boli bell charm, which is traditionally used to drive away evil spirits. It can be bought for as low as P855 each.
Aside from its pro-poor advocacy, the foundation also abides by the principles of fair trade.
This means that producers are paid right and are not exploited.
“Although we add a (10 percent) markup to each product in order (for the business) to survive, we give them the freedom to set prices for the products they produce. Sometimes, however, they price their products too low, so we give them advice on how the business can be run,” she said.
Usually, communities use raw materials that are readily available to them, be it fabric or food. The design and packaging, on the other hand, are shouldered by the foundation.
To keep the locals competent and their livelihood programs afloat, seminars and workshops are conducted on ground by the foundation through volunteer-experts.
Since the establishment of Gifts and Graces in 2006, it has been providing sustainable livelihood to some 15 active partner-communities.
Among the marginalized groups supported by Gifts and Graces are the women’s cooperative “Hardin ng Kalikasan” in Quezon with over 30 mothers and grandmothers handcrafting paper products; livelihood foundation “Isla sa Kaunlaran,” which houses urban poor families that produce bags from recycled synthetic waste, and “Pag-asa sa Paglaya Multipurpose Cooperative,” which groups some 40 families of ex-prisoners engaged in candle-making, among others.
Like Gifts and Graces, Purple Tag Inc. has to constantly innovate to remain relevant to the market.
“Ordinary gifts like bags and umbrellas are fine, but they must be designed well (to fit the recipient). Suppliers must find more and more ways to follow trends (to survive in the industry),” said WorldExco Marketing Services Manager Bogee Romero.
Purple Tag strives to stay relevant by delivering products that clients actually need, such as its “Grab bag.” The bag is an easyto-carry backpack that contains essential items such as flashlight, whistle, face mask, rope and first-aid materials to help people deal with calamities.
“These bags that we made were given by the administration of the Malampaya project to its workers as gifts, and the workers appreciated them very much because they felt the company cared for their safety and welfare at work,” said Purple Tag General Manager Alvin Bailon.
Gifts and Graces and Purple Tag were among the hundred exhibitors that participated in the 29th Corporate Giveaways Buyers’ Show, the country’s longest-running corporate gifts show in the Philippines.