Lately I’ve been fielding calls for executive gift ideas. Some marketing directors are planning now which is an excellent idea. If you want a quantity of shirts in a popular color, plan on 4 month’s advance notice to be sure you can get the sizes, styles, and colors you want.
What are great gifts for CEO’s and executives?
If it’s not the right gift it will be re-gifted in minutes. During the holidays, I know some company President’s that select one item and then everything else is put into a holiday grab bag for employees.
The older the executive the more creative you need to be. If the CEO is a popular business leader, i.e. involved in the community, surely he or she will have received just about everything you can imagine, including lots of plaques and clocks. It helps to know a lot about your recipient and the best place to get that information is the executive assistant.
I’ve found two items that are still working strong. The first is the tour size Windbrella golf umbrella. Some have already received one, but maybe lost it or loaned one to a friend who didn’t return it. We’re planning a charity golf tournament now that we gave away the golf umbrella four years ago to. The committee was unanimous in getting the same umbrella because most no longer had their original. None broke, they just were lost over time. Everyone agreed it was the best umbrella they ever had and they really missed it. This is what you want- people remembering what a great gift it was, and where it came from!
The second item is a high quality shirt, which you have to give with forethought. By that, I mean you need to find out the shirt size, color, and style preferences in advance. Why buy all solid black shirts if most of them wear colorful or pinstripe shirts? What’s the risk of running out of large and having the wrong size left for someone who comes later to the registration table? Observe what your recipient wears when he’s not in the office. Take notes at the next tournament you play in, or simply look through the post- tournament pictures of what the executives you want to reach were wearing. Lastly, be careful about logo placement. Many won’t wear shirts with logos, unless it’s what I call a ‘badge of honor’ logo, such as Dan Marino’s Celebrity Golf Tournament.
If you must have a logo, then I recommend the Bugatchi polo golf shirt. If you’re willing to pass up the logo, or are OK with a subtle tonal logo on the sleeve, then I recommend the Bugatchi ribbed shirt. It’s the kind of shirt they always remember where it came from, because they love the shirt so much. Every time they wear it, they’ll feel good and associate those good feelings with your tournament or your company.
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