How To Create the Best Corporate Swag with SwagUp

Corporate gift bundles have really taken off in recent years, and with good reason. For one, it’s a fantastic way to show your employees or clients how much you value them. It also takes away the stress of organizing so that you can focus on what matters most: your business!

Custom swag pack company SwagUp is one of the foremost players in the industry right now. They have shared some pearls of wisdom with us on how to put together a gift bundle which will really wow your customers!

1. Knowing your audience

“We work with nearly 500 companies from all different industries and from all around the world.” Says SwagUp’s founder Michael Martocci. “The companies we work with range from small start-ups with 10 employees, to the hottest blockchain companies, to Fortune 500’s like Comcast, Facebook, and Google.”

There are a large number of brands fighting for recognition in an increasingly crowded eCommerce market. If your corporate bundles are going to stand out from the rest, you need to know exactly who it is you are targeting. Is there a specific age range, price level or corporate interest that you are catering to? A gift selection either too niche or too generic is unlikely to attract a much attention. This makes striking a balance crucial.

SwagUp has built its brand off understanding what businesses want most; a streamlined and effortless solution to the minefield of corporate gift-giving. By offering a curated selection of high-quality, customizable products, they can tailor their packages to a wide variety of businesses.

“It’s really exciting coming to work each day, because you never know what’s going to come our way.“ Says Michael. “One day CNN wants to put a welcome box together for their interns. The next you’re working on swag bags for a live activation for a movie launch. On Friday, you might be putting together welcome kits for one of the largest study abroad programs.”

In other words, being successful is all about bringing something different to the table!

2. Choosing your product selection

“We like to stay far away from what people have come to know from typical promotional product companies. We really don’t think of ourselves as a promotional product company. The reason being that the majority of them are all pushing the same garbage giveaways.”

Anybody can cobble together a gift box filled with cheap junk; your client isn’t paying you for a bunch of products they could buy down the road at the dollar store! What they want is for you to offer them a selection which they would struggle to find on their own. This is what will give you a point of difference from the promotional products which crowd the Amazons and Ali Expresses of the eCommerce world.

“We are constantly looking for new products that are high quality, trendy, and that will make our clients look and feel great. Because of this, we prioritize our item selection over scalability. This means we never sacrifice amazing items in favor of items that are easier for us to work with, or from suppliers that are better to deal with.”

So, the key question to ask is this: Are these products that you and your staff would use and enjoy? If not, why offer them to your clients? The integrity of your brand is vital to building trust and loyalty in your customer base. If your offerings don’t meet their expectations, they’re not going to use your service again or recommend you to anyone else! For this reason, SwagUp makes that sure every potential product is one that they themselves can get behind:

“We’re constantly on the hunt for new and interesting items from suppliers with great service and quick turnarounds. When we find something we like, we order them for ourselves first to make sure that we would use them and they last. If an item is on the SwagUp site, it’s on there for a reason and you can trust that people will love it.”

3. Creating a great unboxing

“Opening up a package is a really fun experience that brings you back to those days as a child on Christmas morning, and that uncertainty of what’s inside the box. We hope that our packs evoke that same sense of excitement, and try to make sure that excitement continues as they open the pack and check out the items, and eventually use them.”

Making your swag pack more than the sum of its parts comes down to great presentation. As SwagUp say, we all remember the anticipation of Christmas day growing up. It’s a residual feeling that all of us share when faced with an object of desire, especially an unknown one!

According to Dotcom Distribution, ‘unboxing’ videos in 2015 had been seen by 35.3% of respondents, whilst in 2017 this had increased to 36.8%. More than anything, the popularity of ‘unboxing’ shows that it really is that first impression that counts. This is because the dramatism and flair of a great unboxing adds hugely to its perceived value; it’s a tangible demonstration of how much you care about the recipient! This is something that SwagUp keep in mind in how they approach their swag packs:

“Ensuring that we create this sort of emotional reaction for recipients starts with great design, attention to detail (especially when packing the boxes), and only using the highest quality items. If the items themselves aren’t up to par with the unboxing experience itself, our packs won’t have the impact we and our clients are hoping for. That’s why we help design all of the packs and stay far away from low-quality items.”

Once again, it’s a good idea to put yourself in the position of being on the receiving end of your own swag pack. What feelings is it that want to provoke in your customers? Is this how you feel upon opening your pack? Is the experience memorable, or forgettable? This will help you to channel the emotions that you want your bundle to inspire.

“Ultimately, we want the person who’s receiving the swag pack to feel that the organization that gifted it actually cares about them, whether they are an employee, customer, or partner.”

4. Personalizing your offering

“The little things really do matter. I think that’s one of the guiding beliefs of SwagUp from the beginning. The products that we provide are nothing new; companies have done them before. But it’s our belief that the experience of receiving the swag is just as important as the swag itself. That has set us apart and allowed us to grow so quickly.”

As Michael says, standing out from the crowd comes down to more than your product selection. It’s almost possible in this day and age to put together a product selection which is truly ‘original’. The secret lies within making your customers feel as though you have tailored your offering exactly to them, and with only them in mind. This is where your packaging inserts can play a really influential role in showcasing your attention to detail. It’s those small touches which have the biggest impact, and this heavily influences how SwagUp design their boxes:

“Custom boxes that open up to a fun design on the inside cover, hand-written welcome notes, inserts that hold each of the items in place, custom tape on the shipping boxes, wrapping the items up in custom tissue paper, labels with each employees name on the boxes, folding each of the shirts... All of these things allow us to create an experience that recipients will never forget. Ultimately, this creates that feeling of appreciation and connection that our clients are striving for.”

The Wrap up:

Creating corporate swag with a difference comes down to two main considerations; product and presentation. Just like bread and butter, you can't really have one without the other!