Remember the days when birthday gifts were just about knitted jumpers, bottles of beer, or, god forbid, store tokens? The wave of disappointment that sweeps over you when ripping the wrapping paper off an oversized box only to discover that a coffee table or something equally practical lies beneath is familiar for many. Even more prestigious gifts such as aftershave, CD’s or computer games are predictably run of the mill, things you could have just brought yourself on any high street. Some years back the ‘red letter day’ was pioneered, a voucher for an experience rather than a tangible product, it was intended for alternative birthday or Christmas gifts and it enjoyed a great level of success initially, taking off like a rocket.
Typical gift bundles comprised of Ferrari driving days where the lucky recipient would be granted the opportunity to go crazy in a selection of the scarlet machines within the relatively safe confines of a race circuit, or extreme sports experiences such as zorbing or snowboarding, both thought of as great gifts for him. Gifts or her on the other hand revolved around slightly more tranquil pursuits such as spa days, makeovers and dicing lessons. As these kind of gifts became more and more popular the market grew to the point of saturation, many different companies were offering the same products and the red letter day almost became a clich?, a Ferrari driving experience was no longer a surprise for the guy that had everything.
Innovation was needed, and it came! The gift experience market had to diversify in order to stay ahead of the game and attract new consumers as well as offering variety to lotal customers. Many specialist businesses began to offer a product range akin to that of a retail outlet, as well as the traditional driving and ‘days out’ gifts all manner of outlandish goodies were added such as spy training days, wilderness survival courses and dolphin watching. Imagine the look on the face of your loved ones when they receive one of those on Christmas morning! This year think outside the box, instead of playing it safe with cufflinks, send them hurtling down the side of the mountain in a huge inflatable ball!