The holidays are a time for family, friends, and reflection. But, unfortunately, it’s also the time of the year when supply chain issues continue to rear their ugly head. In a world where “Supply Chain Issues” is a “four-letter word, you’re not the only one who’s sick of hearing about it. We’re sick of talking about it, and even Santa’s sick of dealing with it.
But with fewer than 90 days until the holidays, client and employee gifting won’t be a walk in a Winter Wonderland anytime soon.
The pandemic shifted the world in many ways, and the supply chain was one of them.
Unfortunately, supply chains continue to buckle under the strain of production demands. On average, global shipping rates have more than quadrupled since 2019, and schedule delays have risen. With labor and equipment shortages and continual shipping bottlenecks, many of the disruptive factors that existed in 2021 remain in play this year.
Q4 is already the busiest time of the year for multiple industries, but throw in rising material costs, inventory problems, and increased demand, and you’ve got the perfect grinch cocktail for stock scarcity and order fulfillment delays.
So how do you ensure your client and employee gifts are ready for Santa to deliver them in time for the holidays?
We’ve found creative ways to pivot away from supply chain issues so you can still give all your clients and employees on the nice list a holiday they won’t forget—no items destined for the dusty corners of desks and closets here.
How? With experiential gifts.
What are Experiential Gifts?
Most experiential gifts are not impacted by the whirlwind of supply chain issues, and they’re a gift that creates a memorable “wow” moment. Here are some examples of impactful experiences:
Food
Stay top of mind with your clients with food gifts! The smell of baking cookies can magically transport us back to our childhoods, while a bite of our favorite dish takes us on a trip down memory lane.
Food memories are some of the most impactful memories because they involve all five senses. So, whether it’s a fresh ready-to-devour charcuterie board, virtual cooking lessons, meal kits, or freshly baked goodies, food gifts are delicious, beautiful, and functional. If you’re looking for a gift that will make an impression, go for something that will tantalize all the senses. (We dedicated a whole category in our holiday catalog to them)
Activities
This one is fun! Who doesn’t love a good activity? It doesn’t have to be skydiving or rock climbing…unless you and your team love the thrill of an adventure. It could be a movie night gift box to help your team members or clients unwind with their families. Think a cozy blanket, couch snacks, and a gift card to a viewing subscription service. (More on this later.)
Digital
Take a modern twist on events by making them virtual and connecting your entire team for a few fun-filled hours. These bonding experiences will give them something to talk about for months. Some great virtual gift options are escape rooms, scavenger hunts, wine tasting, trivia happy hour, and online concerts.
Experiential gifts can be:
1. Completely customizable with endless options
Say goodbye to the soulless virtual holiday card and a few extra dollars in your employee’s paycheck. Want your virtual wine tasting to be a specific wine you know your clients or employees enjoy? Easy. Want that wine bottle to be etched with your brand? Done. Wish all your remote employees could have a different cozy experience personalized? The options are endless.
2. Tailored to specific occasions
We’re gearing up for the holidays right now, but experiential gifts don’t just have to be something that helps you deck the halls with holiday cheer.
You can tailor experiences to specific occasions. Have a new employee you want to welcome in a cool way? Give a Coffee Break Kit complete with high-quality coffee beans, a desk mug warmer, and a branded box with dunkable delights (seriously, that’s a thing).
3. Multi-sensory and Engaging
Experiential gifts lead to greater memory retention, accuracy in recall, and memory retrieval. For example, a cooking kit complete with ingredients and an invitation to join a virtual cooking class with a professional chef combines an unboxing moment with a tangible gift, followed by a related immersive activity. Because it’s a multi-sensory experience, the moment is encoded in multiple areas of the brain, keeping the gift and your company front of mind for longer.
💡 Fun Fact: A field study that compared experiential gifts with cash bonuses for employees showed that salespersons who were given experiential rewards brought 2.66 times greater sales.
4. Easy to personalize and let individuals choose
Combine the power of choice with a pop-up shop. No more dealing with multiple vendors, multiple websites, and problems. We’ll set up a secure, private, company-branded website that simplifies gifting for everyone in your organization.
You can give your employees the option to choose the experience that’s right for them. Select multiple options that you know your clients or employees would enjoy, and we’ll create an online shop with:
- Separate logins for different recipients
- Correct gifting budget for each individual
- Tracking and reporting on gifts
- Encourage client upsell, repeat business, testimonials, and referrals
5. Part of a kit with something tangible
Regarding product shelf life, the longer your product is used or showcased, the more brand exposure your company receives. When an experiential memory is attached to a branded good, the chance of it getting tossed in the junk drawer or thrown in the dumpster drops drastically. When a good memory is associated with a product, it’ll also be connected to your brand.
Level up your virtual gifts by adding a branded, high-quality complimentary product. For example, if your event is a virtual escape room, color coordinate the separate teams with branded T-shirts, or take the festive spirit up a notch with team ugly Christmas sweaters.
Bring the movies to your recipient with a keepsake gift box filled with concession goodies, branded popcorn popper, and a movie gift card.
It’s a trifecta gift…food, family bonding, and high-quality reusable branded merch!
The best part about many of these physical gifts is that they can be sourced domestically—no need to fret about issues with the…(let’s just stop there).
Don’t risk a holiday meltdown or a Grinch experience – check out our holiday catalog for ready-to-go experiences and products to get ahead of the rush here.
