The PR Gifting Strategy
Gifting isn’t going away anytime soon. For most product-based brands, gifting should be an essential part of your public relations strategy.
Gifting products or services to influencers and media is often seen as an effective way to connect with potential clients. Gifting gives influencers a chance to become a customer, fall in love with a product or brand and they may feel compelled to share it across their platform, which in turn aids their ability to stay authentic. Gifting allows media to consider a product for an upcoming story or feature, as long as it is relevant to their outlet and beat.
Here are a few ways to consider your public relations gifting strategy:
Set clear expectations: Before sending off your gift, figure out with your public relations consultant what your goal is. Are you looking for brand awareness? Social media content creation? Do you want editorial coverage? Tailor your pitch accordingly. Make sure you figure out how the product will fit into the influencer’s current content strategy or the media’s editorial calendar. Be realistic about your goals.
Personalize it: Personalized messages are much more meaningful and useful in the long run. After you’ve identified your influencers or media, select products to gift that are in line with their personal brand and aesthetic. It is also a great way to demonstrate your commitment to the partnership with a carefully curated gift picked specifically for this individual. Include a handwritten note that shows that you took that extra meaningful step.
Be conscious about your packaging: Although you want to secure coverage and brand exposure for your gift from its presentation upon delivery, you should be mindful of the environment. According to BOF, public relations firms and fashion brands are rethinking their gifting strategies amid a backlash over excessive spending and wasteful materials. Packaging should align with your brand values, so if you are a clean beauty brand, you should never encourage excess waste or include packaging that is harmful to the environment. In some cases, influencers may request zero-waste packaging, so make sure your gift is ready to be photographed upon arrival!
Build a brand ambassador program: Be the gift that keeps on giving by creating a brand ambassador program. You can partner with influencers that align with your brand and gift them over a long time. Repeated partnerships prove to be more credible and authentic, as opposed to one-off partnerships where influencers may not have a lot of time to engage with the gift or product they’ve received. Capitalize on these relationships and maintain the momentum, with a list of go-to ambassadors to get guaranteed coverage from, as you release products year-round.
PR gifting isn’t an easy task, but it can help get your product in front of the right people.
Photo Credit: Sasi