Despite what my postman (shout out to Nicholas) might think, I’m technically not an influencer. However, I do receive a lot of PR kits and boxes because of what I do for a living. From Sephora’s advent calendar and Aura Bora twelve packs to AriZona Hard Green Tea and General Mills’ mini cereal, I’ve had my fair share of kits end up on my doorstep.
While I’m extremely grateful that I have the opportunity to try new products, taste new snacks, and drink new beverages (as is my fiance), there comes a point where you wonder why some brands aren’t doing things differently. And as someone who isn’t an actual influencer, I can’t even imagine what people who get PR boxes for a living think.
Sure, there’s chatter about how wasteful these PR boxes can be, but I have yet to find anything about how brands can improve them; I’ve only seen critical articles about them. A piece on AdAge ran last year talked about how wasteful influencer gifting can be, but it doesn’t offer any advice on improving or doing better. If you’re going to critique, at least add some element of constructive criticism.
The AriZona Hard Iced Green Tea package I mentioned above was—get this—a cement block with an (obnoxiously heavy) hammer and crammed with packing peanuts. Inside the cement block was the can of the boozy iced tea. The purpose? To smash the block and reveal the can. I think the whole point is to lean into the “hard” aspect of the brand’s new iced tea in every possible way. It’s hard to open; cement is hard; the beverage is hard. You’re literally “cracking open” a cold one, etc.
When I opened the box, the only thing I thought about was, “How much did this shipping cost?”
To be fair, I did post this on Dieline’s socials. The comments proved I shouldn’t have to save the brand some PR trouble. “When ideas fail despite a good budget. A ridiculous amount of effort for packaging, with a ho-hum-yawn effect,” said one comment. Others read, “This is so bad on so many levels,” and “Styrofoam peanuts in 2023 is insane.”
The point is that just because something sounds like a fun idea in a meeting doesn’t mean it will translate well in a gift box. For someone who receives hundreds of kits a week, the last thing they want to do besides clean up packing peanuts is to clean up broken cement. I also didn’t want or need a pink hammer, but to throw it away felt like a waste, and now I have a pink hammer collecting dust. Incidentally, if anyone needs a pink AriZona branded hammer, I will send it to you, but I won’t pay for the shipping costs (it’s heavy). Reply to this email and let me know if you want it, seriously.
An article on Marketing Brew also discussed how sending gifts and promo items without speaking to the influencer first can lead to frustration and a lot of trash. “Emily Brown, senior manager of strategy at influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy, told us that overall, influencer gifting has ‘gotten less popular, but more intentional,’ which could end up being a good thing for everyone,” notes the article. Of course, no one is talking about what intentional gifting looks like. The answer might go back to the shelf life I wrote on merch with Matt Cruz, co-founder of Single and Fat.
“Merchandise helped us build our brand equity. The name was intentionally meant to grab attention and break through the sea of sameness we saw from our peers in the category,” shared Cruz. “We wanted to create things that brought the brand out of the kitchen and into a person’s day-to-day life.” If merch can bring the brand out of the kitchen and into a consumer’s everyday life, I think gifting can, too. Who’s to say that a brand gift can’t be something practical, useful, and calculated?
I’d have difficulty telling you the top ten packages I’ve received because very few of them are worth remembering. Ghia is a brand that does this well—and consistently.
“We try to optimize our strategy as much as possible to mitigate any waste, meaning we always ask before we send something, and when we do send gifts that aren’t consumable, we make sure they’re super tailored. For instance, we are only sending 60 bundles featuring non-consumable products (like a picnic blanket and basket) for our upcoming launch,”says Melanie Masarin, Founder and CEO of Ghia.
“We keep it super tight and avoid doing large influencer gifting pushes when the products can’t be consumed—we want people to use everything we send them multiple times (or enjoy drinking them!). Gifts like t-shirts or merch are never sent unless specifically requested. We love spoiling our community with Ghia beverages because they appreciate the quality, ingredients, and design.”
Another brand that created a mailer worth writing about was Monte’s Sauce. I mentioned the brand’s merch previously, but within the package were the brand’s sauces, pasta, a wooden spoon, a spoon holder, and a high-quality branded bag to hold all the items.
And that’s what I’m getting at here—the best gifts include practical items. When those align with the brand’s products and are of high quality, that’s a recipe for success. I think where many brands miss the mark is creating kits for the sake of making them, which are produced at the last minute, leading to a subpar package. You can’t rush these types of things.
No creator wants more branded canvas tote bags, t-shirts, or boring hats. It’s what most brands do; it’s low-hanging fruit, and only some influencers care enough about your brand to wear your logo (or even show it on their social platforms, for that matter). If you’re going to create something, do it with a sense of purpose.
It’s also important to remember that sending creators PR boxes isn’t the only marketing method. There are other ways to create a social wave.
Emily Sundberg spoke about this in her FeedMe newsletter. She noted how the Liquid Death casket cooler might be more effective and less wasteful than sending a few hundred influencers cardboard boxes of “paper collateral and useless t-shirts.” If you haven’t seen the casket cooler, it’s exactly what it sounds like, and Liquid Death is auctioning it off to the highest bidder. At the time of writing this, it’s going for $68,200 with 810 total bids.
While gifting might be a fun way to hope your brand shows up on social channels, it’s critical to be mindful of the process and the objective behind them. If you’re a brand wondering what other brands are doing for their kits, look no further than TikTok; there are thousands of unboxing videos worth studying. I’m linking a few below.
If you want to know where to start and what not to do, avoid packing peanuts and shredded paper at all costs.
Otherwise, think about your product from a consumer’s point of view and what might pair well with it from a practical standpoint. An oversized popcorn bowl would be so cute if you’re a popcorn brand. If you’re a dog food brand, a customized collar for the creator’s dog would be over-the-top amazing. If you’re a beverage brand, send a nugget ice maker. Budgets matter, but in my head, it makes more sense to give fewer but nicer gifts to the right people instead of a million meaningless ones.
Stay Fresh!
Chloe
