The Ins and Outs of Targeted Gifting

Something we talk about a lot on this blog (not to mention in our office on a day-to-day basis) is how to cut through the clutter of the current advertising environment. The most valuable thing to any ad agency is engagement.

All the messaging in the world is for nothing if we’re not actually being heard.

Sending out emails, writing blog posts, cold calling prospects, all of these methods have the same goal – we want to start a dialogue.

The question is, what’s the best way to do that?

One of the ways we approach this is targeted gifting.

Sometimes, a well thought out gift can be the glue that you need to stick in your target audience’s mind.

We’ve been testing this theory out in office recently. In an effort to reach new business, we’ve combined two tactics: video content and targeted gifting. Because both of these methods of communication are surging in popularity, it only made sense to combine them.

With the help of video business cards, we send out a simple message – we’re not here to waste your time. You have a problem, we can solve it, end of story.

This video message is accompanied by a watch, which not only ties back to our central message, but gives them a reason to remember us. It’s nice to feel appreciated, even if there’s a bit of a sales pitch that goes along with it.

Whether we realize it or not, a lot of our decisions are made based on emotion – even in a business context. What products we buy, what companies we engage with, who we hire and more all play off of emotional connection. By establishing that early on in our sales funnel, we’re already one step ahead of the competition.

So, does targeted gifting work?

Like most marketing tactics, there’s no clear answer here.

Yes, you just have to revise how you use this tactic. Just like every other method we employ, you have to make sure that it applies to your audience, and stays on message.