PHOTO: COURTESY

RBR

As Ramadan concluded at the end of last month, beckoning the arrival of Eid festivities, there was a lot of buzz on social media regarding “Eid gifts”.

Eid gifts, not the same as “salami”, from your loved ones are always bundles of happiness wrapped in love. However, when such gifts arrive from your business contacts, it can be a delightful surprise as well.

Corporate houses usually send festival goody bags, gifts, and even meals to their priority clients as a gesture of goodwill and token of appreciation to preserve connections within their business networks.

For me, it all started maybe a decade ago, when a prominent institution started giving out large fruit tree saplings to promote greenscaping in the city. It came as a part of your grocery shopping from certain superstores. The reason that I remember this is because I still cherish my pink guava tree that I received from such an unexpected source.

Nowadays, sharing corporate gifts has become a well-thought-out process, and the trend has opened up a new business opportunity -- corporate gift planners, whose entire job is to make a customised gift box branded with the logo and cards, telling the story of the respective company who has commissioned them.

“Corporate gifts impact the brand image rather than immediate sales. The idea has emerged as a strategy for fostering business relationships and enhancing brand visibility, which is highly valued during special occasions. Initially, the corporate gifts were very simple such as branded mugs, T-shirts, diaries, calendars, etc. This trend has become so popular that there are now online and offline businesses dedicated to offering different types of creative ideas for bulk orders. There are boxes with a range of items depending on the occasion. It’s no longer limited to expensive corporate gifts, but rather focused on the most creative, new innovative ideas because receivers happily post on social media, creating a different kind of hype,” says Tanziral Dilshad Ditan, corporate brand marketing expert and founder of KrayonMag.

Long gone are the days when banks, government offices, and media houses received plastic bags full of dates for the month of Ramadan.

As the corporate gifting fad grew in the city, it evolved, and creativity took centre stage. The packaging became a point of concern and prestige, and a subtle competitiveness was marked in ideation, as to whose gift was the best of the season.

From Baishakhi narus and muralis, to Shab-e-Barat gift bags of sugar, cardamoms, and ghee; these gifts grew to become lavish in order to spoil the ones receiving them.

This year’s Ramadan also saw a flurry of gift boxes being delivered to special clients by public relations department of big corporations.

“For many of us, we didn’t need to go grocery shopping. I have secretly started to wait for these unexpected gifts and yummy delights,” says an anonymous homemaker jokingly.

She, however, also pointed out one shortcoming she observed in the “iftar boxes” that came her way.

“Most iftar boxes came from five-star hotels, catering to corporate offices. Amid all the fancy iftar menus, I noticed what was missing was our local sweets. Gurer Sandesh, Chhana, Balushai were replaced with pistachio Baklava, rolled date cookies, Kanafeh, Basboosa, which are typically Middle Eastern desserts,” she pointed out.

All these huge iftar boxes carried similar menus, with zero variation in presentation or taste, she said, adding that regardless of what was in the box, such corporate gift boxes are still fun to receive and are well appreciated.

“Companies and marketers have long relied on the power of gifting to secure better relationships with potential and existing clients to show appreciation for their businesses. Due to the importance of the corporate gift culture, a whole new industry has emerged in Bangladesh, offering different designs and customised gift options,” Ditan quips.