VIP client gifts: premium ideas with discreet marking

A gift to a major account is not an advertising medium, it is a sign of consideration. It is judged on three criteria: the perceived quality of the product, its relevance to the person and the way it is handed over. A very expensive product with no connection to the recipient’s daily life impresses less than a well-chosen one.

Before choosing, ask yourself a simple question: would this client use this product in front of their own employees or their own clients? If the answer is yes, the gift works for you long after it has been handed over. If the product looks like what is handed out on a stand, it leaves the office within the week. Also beware of gadgets that are too high-tech: they quickly go out of fashion, whereas a fine product in leather, wood or metal lasts for years.

There is no shortage of occasions outside the end of the year: the signing of a major contract, the anniversary of a partnership, the joint launch of a project, a visit to your premises. A gift received at a time when nobody else is giving one gets noticed more.

On a VIP gift, the logo must not shout. High-end retail products carry their maker’s brand in small lettering, in a chosen spot: that is the code to reproduce.

• Laser engraving marks metal, wood or glass directly. With no added colour, it gives an understated and permanent result, ideal on a metal pen, an insulated bottle or a wooden box. Our laser engraving page explains how it works.
• Tone-on-tone embroidery, on a thick textile or a piece of luggage, hints at the logo rather than displaying it.
• The position counts as much as the technique: under the base, on the back, inside a flap. Each product page shows the possible marking areas with their dimensions.

Also reduce the size of the logo and prefer a single colour, or even just your brand’s monogram when there is one.

The desk of an executive or a buyer is a showcase: the products on it are seen by all their visitors.

• A leather goods item: document holder, tablet sleeve or card holder. The material develops a patina over time and the product follows its owner from meeting to meeting. Explore our custom leather goods family.
• A writing set: engraved metal pen in its case, possibly with a hardback notebook. It is a classic because it works. See our writing sets.
• A desk accessory in wood or metal: charging stand, organiser, desk pad. Understated and durable, it finds its place without cluttering.

A tip for this profile: find out what the client has already received in previous years, from you as well as from other partners. A second writing set in the same drawer loses all its effect, whereas a leather item that complements what they already use will be adopted. Your sales reps, who visit these offices, are the most reliable source for avoiding duplicates.

Decision-makers at major accounts spend a large part of their time travelling. Gifts that make these journeys easier are used immediately and often for a long time.

• A weekend bag or a travel pouch, in a fine material, discreetly embroidered on one side.
• A well-made laptop backpack, taken to meetings as well as on the plane.
• An engraved insulated bottle, which accompanies days full of appointments.
• A power bank with a refined design, always appreciated on long journeys.

For this type of gift, a neutral colour, black, charcoal grey, midnight blue, will be adopted more readily than a product in the bright colours of your brand guidelines.

Some gifts deliberately step outside the professional setting to enter the client’s home. They are often the most memorable, because they associate your brand with a personal moment.

• Wine accessories: sommelier set, corkscrew, tasting accessories. Explore the wine and bar family, bearing in mind that some clients do not drink alcohol.
• Exceptional tea and coffee, presented in a marked box, for a more universal gesture.
• A scented candle or a throw, in understated tones, for the living room rather than the office.
• An engraved wooden serving board, brought out when entertaining.

Knowing your client a little helps a lot here: your sales reps often know who cooks, who travels, who collects.

Two or three matching products, brought together in careful packaging, create an effect that a single product does not. On the Create my pack page, you combine several products with the same discreet marking. The container is part of the gift: a gift bag or a box marked in your colours extends the experience when it is opened. These gifts are often ordered in small runs: the minimum quantity for each product is shown on its page, so check it before finalising your choice.

Finally, the hand-over itself: a VIP gift is handed over in person by the client’s usual contact, or comes with a signed handwritten card. It is this note, more than the product, that turns a present into a personal mark of attention. And always approve the mock-up carefully: on a premium gift, a badly centred logo is noticed immediately.