Intro (00:00):

Welcome to the Taylor 10, a fast-paced, 10-minute deep dive into the minds of those shaking up the marketing world, bringing you the sharpest insights, boldest ideas, and breakthrough trends driving the industry forward. So tune in, get inspired, and stay ahead.

‍

Hailey (00:18):

Hello, I'm Hailey Compton, and welcome to the Taylor Ten. I'm here with Peter McCutcheon, SVP of Sales and Revenue Strategy at Harper + Scott to learn as much as I can about how brands can use creative gifting, not only to get noticed, but to truly stand out. Thanks so much for being here, Peter. I have to admit I'm a huge fan of unboxing videos, so this feels like a very on- brand conversation for me to have. But I'll get started with my questions here. So my first question is, creative gifting has become such a powerful tool for brands from product launches to influencer engagement to internal culture moments. From your perspective, why is gifting still such a strong lever in today's marketing landscape?

‍

Peter (00:55):

I would say first and foremost, everybody loves free stuff. It doesn't matter if you're a kid going to a sporting event, you're an adult at a bar, even a movie star at the Oscars. There's just something about getting free stuff that is so powerful. And we obviously build our whole business around that connection. But at its core, I think gifting is powerful because it creates a physical brand moment in a world that has become increasingly digital. So think about your daily life. We're inundated with ads and emails all day long, content. And so when something physical actually shows up at your door and it's thoughtful and beautifully designed and actually relevant, it cuts through the noise in a completely different way. And then on the brand side, gifting also sits at this interesting intersection of experience, there's storytelling and shareability. And so when executed well, a mailer or gifting campaign doesn't just deliver a product, it really creates a moment that people want to remember, share, talk about, and really extend the life of that actual moment itself.

‍

Hailey (02:23):

So how have you seen gifting evolve over the last couple of years? And what are the ways that you've seen most brands approach gifting now compared to five years ago?

‍

Peter (02:32):

I would say there's been a big shift to quality over quantity. Five years ago, gifting was definitely more about scale and the spectacle of it all. So there were bigger boxes and way more product inside the boxes, lots of packaging because the goal at that point was really just to get noticed. But today I would say it's definitely more strategic. The gifting is more intentional and brands are actually thinking through who's actually receiving it, what story are we trying to tell? How will this actually translate? How will it be perceived by the people who see this post? And that's an interesting shift, but in my opinion, it's all a good thing as this category has grown and evolved.

‍

Hailey (03:26):

So when a brand does come to you and say, we just want to send something really cool, how do you then help them translate that into something more strategic and outcome-driven like you were talking about?

‍

Peter (03:37):

Like any good marketing agency, we go through discovery and we do research. We try to think about or find out who the recipients are going to be, what the brand's target consumer is, what they've done in the past, all of that before we start any product ideation, even looking at what's been done in the industry and elsewhere. So thankfully at Harper and Scott, we do a ton of work in this category, so we know what to avoid. We know what we're currently working on that hasn't been released yet. And I mean, of course, we always have a bunch of ideas that have been left on the cutting room floor, and sometimes there are some really cool boundary pushing ideas that we have a lot of love for that we're just dying to find the right opportunity to bring to life. So it's not like we're just handing our clients a product catalog and asking them what they want.

‍

(04:32):

We really need to do that upfront part so that our amazing creative and production teams can work together and be like, okay, we really understand what we're trying to do here. Let's make one of one and bring it to life.

‍

Hailey (04:46):

How should brands be thinking about ROI when it comes to gifting and what are the metrics that actually matter?

‍

Peter (04:52):

Yeah, I think brands should really think about gifting less as a direct conversion tool and more as a vehicle to build relationships and influence revenue. So this is especially true in B2B where a lot of gifting plays an important role in demand generation and moving prospects through the funnel over time. But also in B2C, which is mostly what we work on together, when you're building and maintaining a relationship with critical consumers who are also influential, that can have a massive impact. So looking at metrics, we're looking at a mixture of qualitative and quantitative things. So earned media value is obviously big, quality of the content that's created, audience engagement, and also these downstream behaviors. Like I mentioned earlier, the creators choosing to wear your product organically, influencers becoming genuine brand advocates. So it's not always obvious immediately. Sometimes it does take some time, but if you are committed to this and you treat it as a longer-term ecosystem, I think that's where you see the most value.

‍

Hailey (06:20):

If we fast-forward to two years, I know we now have already talked about what's already feeling outdated from switching to the giant boxes with just more, more, more, and now to where we are, what do you think is going to be outdated in the world of creative giftings and what's going to define that next era?

‍

Peter (06:37):

Yeah, I mean, I think over production still is probably what I would say. I mean, there are still huge elaborate mailers that feel really excessive and maybe sometimes disconnected from the brand. I'm sure you've seen there's been things like giving out vending machines and even some of those have gotten a decent amount of public backlash about the excess involvement those. But

‍

(07:09):

There's these Taco Bell commercials with Devonte Adams, who's an NFL player, and it's a joke about how they built a Taco Bell in his house and he walks downstairs and there's a counter and the guy that is the employee in the store. And it almost feels like we're not too far off from that in the real world in a lot of ways. So I come from an experiential background, that's what I did before Harper and Scott. I love that piece of it, but I think it needs to be done right. So we've done a bunch of fun campaigns where we'll show up at an influencer or celebrity's house and sometimes we'll have fresh product. So we've done hot food from restaurants. We've done ice cream that's obviously frozen and donuts that are fresh to create an experience, but the key is then we leave afterwards and we don't leave behind the ice cream cart or the food truck.

‍

(08:03):

We don't need to leave behind everything. And so I think it's all about just deeper creator partnerships looking forward is going to be a key there. Products that are designed to live beyond the mailer moment, but within reason. And I think just realizing that authenticity usually goes further than just sheer spectacle.

‍

Hailey (08:29):

This is something I'd love to hear your thoughts on, because I think about this a lot with our different mailers we work on, and that is, does personalization actually move the needle for giftings?

‍

Peter (08:41):

Yeah, I mean, we've made some really great personalized products over the years. One of my favorite projects of all time was a project we did for Twitter where we made a thousand duffel bags for one of their sales offsites, and every single one had their Twitter handle embroidered on the side.

‍

Peter (08:58):

Of the bag. And so when they picked it up, when they arrived, it was specifically made for them. We obviously had to go through the logistics on the backend to get the handles in advance. We've done initials on bags, we've done vanity mirrors and mailers. So I think it's not like every single component needs to have that, but there definitely are those areas where it can really make a more common product much more special.

‍

Hailey (09:24):

This was really great. I'm so excited to have chatted with you and learn more as we're all in the world of mailers and standing out. So this was really great to get your opinion and expertise on that. So thanks again for joining us.

‍

Peter (09:35):

Yeah, anytime. Thanks for having me, Hailey.

‍

Hailey (09:37):

Thanks.