It’s the season for giving, and central Ohio companies are showing their appreciation to their best clients.
Usually, these gifts are about what you’d expect: baked goods, poinsettias, themed baskets, that sort of thing. But some companies like to think outside the (gift-wrapped) box with their tokens of appreciation.
Central Ohio farm-fresh food monolith Bob Evans Restaurants traditionally rings in the holiday season by sharing gift baskets of Bob Evans’ refrigerated sides and sausages. This way, the company can show its gratitude to clients through what Bob Evans does best.
“We have an opportunity during the holidays to thank (clients) for their hard work all year,” says Thyme Hill, Bob Evans vice president of marketing. “So we send out a little something that represents our brand.”
The holidays are the perfect time to send out gifts to clients, particularly gifts of food, Hill says, because it unloads a bit of the stress for clients who have family meals to contend with.
“Our partners work all year long to help (Bob Evans) succeed, and we know that recognizing hard work is important,” Hill says. “The holidays give us a special chance to send a small gift as an additional token of our gratitude. … No matter what, we hear from a lot of people that the gifts are not only thoughtful, but also useful.”
While it makes sense that a food company like Bob Evans would give food to its clients for the holiday season, central Ohio public relations firm Hinson Ltd has been giving gifts to clients that also help those in need.
Founder and President Lisa Hinson says that, for the past three years, Hinson Ltd has been giving the Columbus Foundations’ charitable gift cards to clients as tokens of appreciation.
Each card comes with a a dollar amount that the recipient can give to a charitable organization of his or her choice.
“Before we started giving (charitable) gift cards, we’d try to match up our clients with causes they cared about and make one gift to the organization in honor of the particular clients and the people with whom we work there,” Hinson says. “It always seemed appreciated by our clients, but I wasn’t sure it was the most impactful way to say thanks. By giving our clients the freedom to select the cause or the organization they wanted to support, it became an active versus (a) passive gift.”
Emily Real is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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