Posts Tagged ‘gift giving’

Gift exchange research is informative

Our passion is finding ways to share gifts with family and friends in white elephant gift exchanges. Most of our efforts focus on white elephant gift ideas and the party games used to pass out the presents. Our recreation specialists use the science of game-play as a way to engage groups in a social gift giving event.

Today we would like to share some research from major universities to better understand the practice of gift giving. We thank Emma Waight for this information.

The Art of Gift Giving

Gift giving is something of a ritual. Birthdays, Christmas, Valentines Day, anniversaries, house warmings, leaving presents, graduation presents, thank you for looking after the goldfish gifts, the list goes on. There is always an occasion for a gift, even a ‘just because’ gift. Chocolates ‘just because’ I love you. But who gains more from the gift giving ritual? The giver or the receiver?

Extensive research has been carried out on this very subject. Sociologists, anthropologists, marketers and psychologists are all interested in the science of gift giving. All agree that gift giving is a sign of something greater than a simple act. It can be used to manipulate, display love, it is a strategic act. We tend to expect gift giving to be a two way process but if a gift isn’t reciprocated what does that mean for a relationship? Does it make the giver superior to the receiver?

What Make’s a Good Gift?

I was once told that a good present is something that the receiver would not buy for themselves. Of course this is a bit ambiguous; it doesn’t mean choosing something that the other person will hate. Instead, it means buying something that the other person will love but that they haven’t the money or time to buy it themselves. We all know the romantic adage of traveling across the country to track down the first edition of your lover’s favourite book, or pretending to go out for a phone call but actually running back to the shop where your wife cooed over a diamond necklace.

What though, if you really don’t know what the other person likes? Well, new research shows that it is perfectly acceptable to ask. Researchers at Stanford and Harvard have found that the majority of people would just rather you ask them what you want. Romance is dead. They used three studies to come to this conclusion, one of them being to ask respondents to recall a wedding gift they had received. Those that had received a gift that they requested were much more appreciative than for the gifts they hadn’t asked for. I personally am quite uncomfortable with the wedding list concept anyway.

Perhaps offering a gift that the receiver has asked for shows a greater love? A ‘I will give you anything you want’ kind of love? I don’t think it can detract from the perfect surprise gift though. Maybe we just live in a society where there is so much choice and so many different tastes so that knowing what someone wants is unrealistic.

Ulterior motives?

Some say that gift giving benefits the giver more than the receiver. It’s a route to increased social capital, it makes an impression. It also means that the receiver ‘owes’ the giver, an implicit but accepted reality. Gift giving is a key part of building relationships, acting as a symbol of care and thoughtfulness.

With the recent economic crisis, many families might have restricted gift giving over the holiday season. How many people have you heard say ‘we’re not doing gifts this year’? A Harvard psychology professor says that this could be damaging our relationships. People who have shunned gift giving rituals are missing out on nurturing important connections with family and friends. Of course it doesn’t have to be a monetary gift, a homemade present could be just as affective. Gift giving is complex! And you thought it was ‘just’ flowers.

 

Emma Waight is a freelance fashion writer for www.clothes.org.uk. Follow Clothes fashion blog for style advice and fashion news.

 

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PartyWeDo
We are passionate about white elephant gifts and white elephant gift exchange parties. We will do all that we can to make your experience with AlbinoPhant better than you can imagine.

Banish the dull white elephant gift party

Every great white elephant gift boosts the level of fun when it provides a way to ignite great banter. This exercise video that “Banishes Fat” will always get a conversation started in a group of friends or family members.

I found this white elephant gift idea in the AlbinoPhant $15 dollar marketplace the other day and I could really see this gift ratcheting up the fun in your next exchange.

When a Fat Burning video is displayed in one of our family’s online white elephant parties, someone would share an image of a overweight image, or show a video clip from “People of Wal-mart”.

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MamaC
Head Recreationalist for PartyWeDo

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There is a great deal of hoopla in small business marketing to attract and retain customers. One such trick is to convince prospects and customers that the spirit of Christmas springs up again magically in July, by using some Christmas in July promotions.

I am OK with this practice, because I realize that it is just another way to have a SALE. But July might also be a great time to have business owners begin thinking about gift giving.

I was reading a story in a lawn care site that was suggesting that Christmas in July would be a great way to promote landscaping services. But, the important take-away from this article was the suggestion that business gift giving might be very effective at times other than just the Holidays. Frances Cole Jones discusses this topic regularly in her blog and wrote about it in her book the WOW Factor.

Businesses use gift giving for various reasons, but most use the gesture as a way of saying “Thank You” for the positive relationship with customers. In fact an American Express 2009 survey found that 82% of gifts where for thank you, 38% just to celebrate the season and 25% used a gift to stand out from competitors.

The survey pegged the average gift-spend at $455 per business, with most companies budgeting to send the gifts out in the third quarter of the year.

A review of US census statistics shows that there are over 25 million small businesses operating in the US, and the Amex survey found that 47% of these business people will give gifts during the year. What this means is that over 11-million businesses will spend around $455 on customer gifts this year, or a total of $5.3 billion dollars!

When you consider the extra expenses incurred from personal deliveries or UPS shipments, there is some serious money changing hands, just to show appreciation to customers.

As you know, we focus on gift giving in our company and we are looking for ways to make the process more entertaining and engaging. We like party games, but there are probably many other ideas.

So if you are thinking of Christmas time this July, we suggest that it doesn’t take much extra effort to make your business gift giving a bit more fun and exciting this year. After all, we are all attempting to stand out from the crowd…

What are your gift giving plans for your company?

Your organization might find a white elephant gift exchange a great way to build a fun personal connection amoung the staff. White elephant gifts are the perfect way to get the conversation started.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Share Take a moment and imagine how Target could dominate the U.S. gift market and move ahead of Wal-Mart in the all important gift segment. They could add extra value to the gift shopping and gift distribution process by offering to host the party.

Retailers work very hard to capture and keep customers who are shopping for gifts. They know that they will be back several times a year in an effort to support their family and friends in birthdays, weddings, baby births, holidays and much more. Many stores have started gift registry systems where they give a scanner gun to build a wish list. These computerized registries are used for the convenience of family and friends during the gift selection process. This service is part the of the extra value gift retailers use to keep sales within their store.

What would happen if Target took the gift support business to the next level and attached a complete event center onto every store in their chain? Not only would they provide the gift registry service but they would also provide a place to gather for the party. Both services are extra values provided to capture most of the gift sales to support the millions of family events that happen all year long. They could then throw in some party planning assistance, help with the invitations and provide the games needed to make the party a success…

Do you think that consumers would see the value in shopping for gifts at Target if they received all these extras?

Now imaging that Amazon had the same thought… But instead of getting dressed and driving to the Target store, you shopped and partied right from your home, on the computer. In addition, all of your family and friends could do the same, without having to travel. Amazon would shrink the distance that separates us and would allow everyone to attend these important parties. View the slide show and see if you agree…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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We were never Helicopter Parents, but we always stayed close to the landing pad.

Our home was the take-off strip and the landing zone at the beginning and at the end of many great adventures. We viewed our job as part air traffic control, part runway maintenance, and part TSA or emergency response team. The job took most of 30 years and we loved every arrival and each departure…

It was four years ago that our youngest left and we began searching for a way to maintain connections and still provide worthwhile ground support to the crew.

Like millions of other Boomers, Sarah and I have an empty concourse and gates that go mostly unused.

Today, most of the adventures happen thousands of miles away, making hovering impossible.

Regardless, there were two traditions that we desired to maintain for our dispersed family, as we moved forward with life… Game play and gift giving. We did a lot of both of these activities in our family room over the years, and we didn’t want to stop.

We decided to build a temporary landing strip on the internet, were everyone could touchdown for a short refuel of family connection between their individual adventures… We started a virtual family party, mimicking the birthday, holiday and wedding gatherings of our past.

We tested our family game for three years to make sure that it would fly and then we rolled it out for others to use. It is a gift to our children and to our friends who also find themselves hovering outside of new landing zones.

This game will not turn back time, or refill our home with the traffic of the past. But for a few days there are landings on every runway, and we can experience the excitement and renewed connection of every arrival and each departure.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

White elephant eCommerce on Facebook

There is a growing feeling that Facebook and other social properties will begin to join forces with online retailers to sell real products on their networks.
In fact when Catharine Taylor asked thought leaders to consider what is ahead for 2010, John Dudley, an editor at Hampden-Sydney College suggested that “At least one major retailer will develop an e-commerce Facebook app that will replace its entire “traditional” e-commerce Web site.

What does this really mean?
Can it mean that retailers will just increase their efforts by beefing up their fan page or throwing up some additional advertising on the walls?

No.. Mr Dudley is suggesting that e-commerce will move an actual sales channel into Facebook. This effort would require that a retailer build a storefront on the Facebook super highway. With a social network based store, users could stop and shop without leaving the Facebook system. They could use their regular profile, their recognized PayPal account and have UPS deliver the goods to their door. They would find shopping and sharing with distant family and friends a seamless experience.

What type of retailer would take that risk?
We suggest that gift merchants are the perfect group for the move toward an e-commerce/Facebook partnership, and here is why:

* Gift giving among family and friends sends about $115 Billion dollars into cash registers every year, in just the US alone.

* The concept of sharing gifts (virtual, at least) in Facebook is not a new concept, so selling real gifts through this space is not a giant leap.

* Facebook users have demonstrated that they want to stay connected and supportive to even the most distant contacts.

* Established affiliate sales systems provide the framework to track and administer the sales efforts.

Adding to this concept of e-commerce on social networks, a year end discussion on advertising trends suggest that; “Social media will provide a new sales channel for establishing product awareness and commercializing brands to better support traditional advertising or text-based ads”.
The keyword in this statement is the mention of a new sales channel, supported by advertising and other internet based tools. The integration of retail sales and online tools will provide the wise e-commerce pioneers with a head start into this emerging opportunity.

Which e-commerce retailer could take advantage of this emerging trend?
Amazon should be on the list, and so should Ebay. But Wal-Mart or Target could make a big move with this effort as well. Then there is Buy.com, Overstock.com and other 2nd tier online retailers, who might be looking for some differentiation from the big dogs in e-commerce.

It might be interesting to explore the possibility that an e-commerce retailer could use an engaging Facebook application to assist in gathering family and friends together to purchase gifts and share with each other.

We really like this idea…!!!

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists