Finding the perfect gift for any occasion is so delightful.  It is so much fun to shop for your best friend, but when you're shopping for 100, or 1000, it can be a bit tricky to find that "perfect" gift.  If you're overwhelmed with the thousands of corporate gift options, establishing a few parameters up front can help focus your search.  Once you determine the budget/person, desired message, target audience (women/men/execs) you're ready to browse.  

A great source for inspiration:  your nearest Five-Star hotel gift shop.  Fine hotels employ buyers whose sole responsibility is to find the very best items that are worthy for their logos to appear on.  From jackets, to ladies spa robes, to tote bags the better hotels will have fine products.  And you can see how they have placed the logo - does it look tacky or does logo placement work with that product?  If you see something you like, simply write down the brand and begin your search for the supplier.  We found the best robes and sun block at the Pebble Beach Pro-Shop.   The next two years this Yahoo! sun block was the most requested item at the golf tournaments and beach parties.  Who knew? 

For speaker gifts, companies like Tiffany's, Baccarat, and Coach are all to eager to sell to corporations or groups at a reduced rate.  If you happen to have a very large gift budget these companies can even create a custom piece for you - like they do for the NFL and Pepsi.

Before ordering any gift it's smart to request a sample.  If it's clothing, wash it a few times.  If it's a pen, test it for a few weeks.  No matter how a product looks, if the quality doesn't hold up we can't expect guests to use the gift, and afterall, we want them to show off this branded item. 

Got a great client gift to share? Please add to the blog. Happy Gifting.