The Pro: Maria Brady, owner of Marakae Marketing (asi/260725)
Idea: Virtual Holiday Parties

“One really creative idea was a Holiday Movie Trivia event. Employees received a gift box stamped with ‘Don’t open until December 1.’ Inside was a snow globe frame with the event invitation inserted explaining all the details. The employee could then remove the invite and replace it with a photo of their own. There was also customized microwave popcorn, a branded bowl and photo props of Grinch characters for added fun.”

The Pro: Steve Gentile, managing partner at Pinpoint Promotions (asi/163341)
Idea: Custom Mailer Boxes

“We’re in the unique position of having in-house production capabilities, enabling us to produce custom mailing boxes branded inside and out and sized to match the contents perfectly. We offer complete soup-to-nuts services, from ideation to design, production and fulfillment/mailing. We’ve had great success with mailings for large executive summits, client appreciation gifts, college commencement mailings and more. Being able to offer these additional services has been a huge asset to our customers, especially schools that typically rely on students to help with fulfillment. Right now, clients are buying a lot of apparel. And while initially everyone wanted face masks, we’re seeing a shift now away from PPE products and a focus more on well-being and stress relief.”

The Pro: Carla Silvestrone, marketing and social media manager at Peter & Paul’s Hospitality Group, parent company of Peter & Paul’s Gifts (asi/294481)
Idea: Virtual Experiences

“We helped our clients with virtual experiences that we’ve created, such as live cooking events with professional chefs, escape rooms, vineyard tours and green-thumb workshops. We wanted to ensure that our customers didn’t have to cancel their holiday parties, just celebrate a little bit differently. We also curated festive menus and designed one-of-a-kind handmade gift baskets that were delivered straight to individual addresses.”

The Pro: Kimble Bosworth, president of On Promos, Powered by Proforma (asi/300094)
Idea: Gala in a Box

“Our favorite virtual event so far was a gala fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs. They wanted to create a special ‘night-in’ for their patrons, so we created a custom-printed Gala in a Box with wine, opener, cheese board, gin, tonic, photo backdrop, selfie stick, silver frame, masks, sanitizer, fresh flowers and can coolies. On the night of the gala, a group of volunteers hand-delivered all the boxes to the surprised guests. Via live video during the event, a chef took them through the cheese selection tour and a mixologist helped them make the event’s signature cocktail. It was a wonderful night and a great way to celebrate their mission. Milestones have been affected by social distancing, for sure. But we’re working hard to create memorable occasions from a distance with gifts that still enhance the experience.”