| The right corporate gift adds that personal touch | | | | water bottles, to coasters, to sweatshirts. |
| that no other medium, whether owned by Rupert | | | | Corporations are buying these gifts to give to clients |
| Murdock or Ted Turner can do. It is an item, | | | | and future clients. The difference is, the cartoon is |
| generally a calendar, a coffee mug, or some item | | | | not only of the topic of your company (or the |
| that not only offers this personal touch but is | | | | company to which you are purveying the gift), but |
| something your client (or potential clients) views daily. | | | | London only charges $2.00 to engrave the gift with |
| It becomes a part of their psyche and they feel a | | | | your company's name and web address. Most gifts |
| kinship towards you and your company. Traditional | | | | are under $20. |
| media can never do this, and that is why corporate | | | | So how does this benefit you, and/or your firm? |
| gift-giving, once considered "on the fringe of | | | | In a multitude of ways. |
| advertising" has become more mainstream than what | | | | Now you have a corporate gift that people don't |
| once was traditional advertising. | | | | toss in the closet. They keep it out to display |
| Maybe you have hesitated giving corporate gifts | | | | because it has a funny cartoon (the same reasons |
| because you have your own huge inventory in your | | | | newspapers devote a full non-revenue producing |
| home of fridge magnets, calendars, tee shirts, | | | | page to silly pictures. People save them, hence usually |
| chocolates, etc. and no place to put them all (except | | | | the newspaper and pass it around for others to see. |
| in a far space of a closet you rarely enter). | | | | For years newspaper publishers have devoted an |
| Something new has emerged in the world of | | | | entire page to a totally non-revenue producing page |
| corporate business, and you know about it if you've | | | | called the comics page. Ever wonder why? They |
| been reading Forbes, Wall St. Journal, or other | | | | even have to pay a syndicate for the comics? |
| business publications. Humor. | | | | LOYALTY. They have known for centuries that |
| Humor in the workplace, once considered, water | | | | humor and goodwill brings loyalty, and let's face it, |
| fountain and coffee room talk (along with gossip) is | | | | news, especially these days is not necessarily loaded |
| now being taken seriously for both the emotional and | | | | with "humor and goodwill". But you can easily put a |
| financial health of the corporation. Humor consultants | | | | bit of it into someone's life, where they see it daily, |
| are being brought into such companies as IBM, | | | | look forward to seeing it, and your name and www |
| Dupont, and many other Fortune 500 groups? | | | | right there with it (for only $2). There aren't many |
| So what does this have to do with corporate gifts? | | | | true business bargains out there like that these days. |
| Londons Times Cartoons, the largest private | | | | Starting to get the picture? A picture tells a thousand |
| inventory of licensed images on the Internet has | | | | words, and can be seen by thousands of people who |
| done something very interesting with their work. | | | | not only will buy from you but think of you in a |
| They opened a store of gift items from gourmet | | | | positive way for bringing a smile to their face. |
| coffee gift baskets (with mugs and coasters) to | | | | |