OnFulfillment Blog | Corporate Gifting

A large part of OnFulfillment’s business is producing corporate-branded promotional products for our customers. Whether these products are high-volume, cost-effective merchandise used as event giveaways or high-end brand name items given as gifts to customers or employees, corporate branded materials play a key role in establishing a business’s identity and reputation.

But wanting branded corporate merchandise is one thing. Knowing where to get it is another. There are scores of vendors out there who claim they can handle all your material needs. The truth is they often provide access to only a small part of the potential market—say the low-end, high-volume portion—requiring you to go elsewhere for brand-name items. And as anyone knows, managing multiple vendors adds complexity to any project.

A successful branded merchandise strategy means understanding what you’re looking for today—and what you might need in the future—and then finding a vendor that can satisfy all those needs. This blog will help define the various benefits of corporate branded materials and provide a roadmap for finding just the right provider.

Gifting programs are among the most popular services OnFulfillment offers. Our clients find they are extremely useful for recognizing, rewarding, and welcoming new and existing customers, partners and employees.

These programs can take many forms, including gift cards, coupon codes, discount codes, redemption codes, rewards points, and first-time user gifts. While these are all different mechanisms used for providing discounts or incentives to recipients, many people assume they are all basically the same and are unsure which programs are best for their specific goals.

Summer is over. Fall has just begun. The days are getting shorter, and the temps are dropping off—well, a little bit at least. We all know what that means: it’s time to start thinking about the holidays.

Before you say it’s still too early—Halloween is still a month away, after all—it’s important to point out the benefits of getting an early start. This is especially true for businesses looking to order corporate-branded holidays gifts for their customers and employees.

As we all know, the holidays are synonymous with inventory shortages and inconsistent quality. The closer we get to December, the harder it will be to guarantee targeted items will be available, at least in the quantities required. Replenishments will be available—eventually—but likely not until sometime in the new year due to growing demand. Popular brands and “must have” products will be even harder to come by if not ordered early.

Every year, the most popular trends in fulfillment and merchandise seem to skew ever younger. Or, more accurately, the generation driving trends remains constant, while the rest of us grow older and farther away from what is currently “hip.”

This year, as one might expect, popular trends are being largely determined by social media influencers and the millennial/Gen Z lifestyle. For these consumers, products must look good enough—and be socially conscious enough—to be included as part of their story. For the companies who understand the process, these postings become free advertising to the most coveted demographic.

So what are the trends to look for in 2024? What issues are making these influencers sit up and pay attention while making them feel good about their purchases?

This April, OnFulfillment is celebrating 25 years of meeting the marketing and event fulfillment needs of customers around the world.

To mark this Silver Anniversary, we’re looking back at how the company has evolved over the years. We started with a general overview of the past 25 years (provide link) and are following that with a deeper dive into the various services that have made us an indispensable partner for our customers. (Last week) we covered printing. Today, we’re taking a closer look at how OnFulfillment began offering branded merchandise and other promotional items.