Event Marketer's Toolbox
Each episode, host Chris Dunn teams up with a leading event professional to explore the tools, tactics, and trends that drive real results.
Event Marketer’s Toolbox is the definitive playbook for corporate event professionals and trade show marketers.
From first-time marketers to seasoned planners, this show delivers practical solutions to make your events memorable and impactful.
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Event Marketer's Toolbox
EMT #18 with Jennifer O'Hare - Unwrapping Purpose: What Smart Gifting Really Looks Like
In this episode of Event Marketer's Toolbox, hosts Chris Dunn and Dana Esposito sit down with Jennifer O'Hare, CEO and founder of Belle Box Co., a luxury corporate gifting company.
They dive deep into the evolving world of strategic gifting for events — from personalized on-site experiences to thoughtful brand storytelling through gifts.
Jennifer shares her expertise from her background in corporate retail at TJX and how she’s reshaping gifting strategies to drive deeper connections, enhance attendee experiences, and deliver lasting impressions.
Whether you're planning a trade show booth or a full-scale corporate event, this conversation will change how you think about swag, ROI, and the emotional impact of thoughtful gifting.
🔹 Strategic Gifting Is About Storytelling, Not Just Products
Jennifer emphasizes the importance of starting every gifting strategy with a story: What should the gift say about the brand? How should it make the recipient feel? The best gifting strategies weave a consistent narrative throughout the event experience.
🔹 Personalization and Experience Create Lasting Impact
On-site personalization—like hand-stamped leather goods or color-selection activities—turns a simple gift into an interactive, memorable moment that reinforces the event’s theme and brand connection.
🔹 Eco-Friendly and Subtle Branding Matter More Than Ever
Subtle, tone-on-tone branding and sustainability are top priorities. Gifts that don't scream corporate branding are more likely to be used and cherished, aligning with modern values around sustainability and authenticity.
🔹 Budget Smarter, Not Harder
Instead of buying low-cost items for every attendee, Jennifer recommends allocating budgets differently: Invest in higher-end, meaningful gifts for key touchpoints while creating interactive experiences for broader audiences.
🔹 Start Early to Maximize Strategy and Impact
Waiting until a month before an event limits creativity and options. Jennifer encourages event marketers to engage gifting partners 4–6 months out to design fully integrated, strategic campaigns that align with event goals and attendee expectations.
Jennifer O’Hare reminds us that truly impactful events aren't just about flashy booths or catchy slogans—they're about emotional connection.
A well-thought-out gift, designed with purpose and delivered with care, can transform an attendee’s experience and extend the life of your brand long after the event ends.
👉🏼 Join us for more insightful discussions like this by tuning into 'Event Marketer's Toolbox,' where industry leaders share the tools, tactics, and trends driving success in the event world.
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Chris Dunn: Hey guys, how's it going? I'm Chris Dunn. I'm with BlueHive Exhibits and welcome to the Event Marketers Toolbox. You know, this is the first time that I've actually had an in-office guest. We are having a little technical difficulty here. Who the heck are you? Right?
Dana Esposito: So I'm Dana Esposito. I work with Chris here at BlueHive.
Dana Esposito: I'm their EVP of strategy.
Chris Dunn: There you go. Awesome. Hey, we also have a guest, not just this person who's sitting in my office with me, but we have Jen of Bell Box and, uh, we're really excited in, uh, to have her in the studio today and to talk a little bit about corporate gifting and all the wonderful things that kind of go along with that.
Chris Dunn: So, Jen, tell everybody a little bit about yourself.
Jennifer O'Hare: Hi, thank you so much for having me on this lovely Friday. I am. Definitely looking forward to this conversation. So, um, yeah, I can tell everybody a little bit about me. So I am Jennifer O'Hare, as you had said. I'm the CEO and founder of Bell Box Co. Uh, bell [00:01:00] Co is a, is a high end corporate gifting company, and we are really focused on creating meaningful connections through thoughtful and customized gifting experiences.
Jennifer O'Hare: Um. My background, I, you know, I was in corporate retail. I spent many years at the TJX organization. I was a senior merchant there, and for any of you who know, TJX and their amazing stores, um, they are actually a $50 billion leader in the off price space with over 2,400 stores across the us. So. My role there as a senior.
Jennifer O'Hare: Yes. It's quite, it's quite big. Um, so my role there, yeah, very sizable, uh, was, was all about strategic buying, right? So negotiate to what a lot of people in events do, right? Negotiating best costs with suppliers and vendors, and, um, designing and finding unique product assortments. Um. [00:02:00] Making smart merchandising decisions that created kind of like this.
Jennifer O'Hare: Treasure hunt experience. So again, similar to kind of event marketers like your, what's behind the, what's behind the curtain? Kind of like, ooh, what fun activation is over here. So we were doing that, just doing that with, with product, right? In a store and, and trying to actually, um, fill 2,400 stores. So you can imagine doing that with an opportunistic model.
Jennifer O'Hare: You're constantly on your toes and you're constantly uncovering what those special items are and how they're going to resonate with like, um, customers within different markets. So it was the most amazing job and it's really afforded me to do what I do today in the world of corporate gifting.
Chris Dunn: Yeah.
Chris Dunn: That's, that's super cool. So when was it that you, uh, kind of left that cushy corporate job and struck out on your own and hung your own shingle out there and said, I'm gonna make things happen [00:03:00] for me?
Jennifer O'Hare: Yeah, yeah. That's a, that is a great question. Um, it was, oh my goodness. Three, a little over three and a half years ago that I started Bell Box, and that's like, I basically left corporate in June and started Bell Box right after.
Jennifer O'Hare: Um, I am a very busy mom of three little kids. And as much as, uh, you know, spending 14 years at TJX, um, afforded me, you know, conversations across the table with principals of companies and, uh, I traveled the world. It was amazing. Three little kids and that much travel. It just, it, those two didn't blend very well.
Jennifer O'Hare: So, um. It was about three and a half years ago that I had left and, and started this and went out on my own and decided to take that blend of expertise and experience and, uh, put it into, into this industry and, and, you know, hopefully disrupt this [00:04:00] industry a little bit with, with the approach that we take, um, which is a little bit different than I would say, other promo, either promotional product distributors or gifting companies.
Dana Esposito: Right. I like the idea of disruptiveness, the creative side of me likes that a lot. Um, and in the world of creative, what are some of the trends and innovation, um, in event gifting these days?
Jennifer O'Hare: Yeah, so, um, the biggest piece in that I would love to say about like trending, whether it's product categories or.
Jennifer O'Hare: Um, different elements of the gifting experience. You've heard me talk a lot already about just kind of like creating that experience, um, is, is really walking into it with intentionality and kind of, you know, having an understanding about the audience. Um, the lifestyle that they lead, um, what's going on within that event.
Jennifer O'Hare: So if there's any type of certain, um, timing that you have to [00:05:00] adhere to, or logistics that you would have to adhere, adhere to, and making sure that you are really creating some sort of, um, experience that's going to resonate where they're interacting maybe with the product. Um, so a big, a big way to do that is onsite gifting experiences and, and what that looks like could be.
Jennifer O'Hare: There's so many variables, right? There could be an element of, um, personalization that's going on, on site, on an actual product, right? So whether that's like my biggest, the biggest one that I use all the time, because I am, I, I had told Chris early on, I'm obsessed with, uh, Jen Weather products is, you know, taking some sort of, uh, genuine leather product, whether it's like a travel do kit or, um, a tech.
Jennifer O'Hare: Tech, you know, a tech organizer, um, or, uh, even type, any type of, like a laptop sleeve, right? Something that might be, that might resonate with the audience that, um, is either traveling a lot [00:06:00] or they are, you know, it's executives from a leadership team, right? And, uh, adding some sort of like, element of selection.
Jennifer O'Hare: It could be like, oh, I want the, you know, the camel color. Um, DOPP kit versus the black. And so maybe they're having some sort of selection at this actual gifting, uh, onsite gifting experience. And then, you know, then they're, they're personalizing it, right? And so the way they're personalizing it is, you know, someone is there with like a hand stamping machine and they get to pick, you know, gold foil or they get to pick whether or not it's gonna be tonal.
Jennifer O'Hare: And on that there's already, it's already been branded and it's been branded in a way that's probably a little bit more subtle and quiet. Um, but so you're walking away with a branded element right in, in your gifting piece that they're going to remember, wow, I got this really cool item from this awesome brand that created this entire experience for me.
Jennifer O'Hare: They're walking away with a memory. Right, that, that's imprinted [00:07:00] in there. If you're having these types of interactions, um, with the actual product and they're walking away with something like beautiful, luxury functional, um, that really resonates. 'cause, you know, I would also advise that it really needs to kind of like, tie back into the thread or the theme of, of the actual event.
Jennifer O'Hare: So I'm all about creating experiences. Um. In terms of product categories, what's trending? Uh, anytime you can introduce any, any new tech gadget, right? Like, so whether that is, um, uh, I'm trying to think of like the most recent ones that I've seen. It could be, um, any of the beauty and wellness, kind of like facial.
Jennifer O'Hare: Uh, masks that they, you know, the, the red light therapies that they're putting out there, those types of things are always trending when you're blending tech and beauty and wellness. That is a hot, that is hot all because beauty and wellness has been trending for a long time. [00:08:00]
Chris Dunn: What I said, it's, those are all the things that everybody wants a little piece of.
Chris Dunn: Right.
Jennifer O'Hare: All the things.
Chris Dunn: All the things. Perfect.
Jennifer O'Hare: Oh my gosh. All the things.
Chris Dunn: Yeah.
Jennifer O'Hare: Um, I would say also in terms of. Uh, you know, trending categories. Anything that, like, anything that can be personalized, anything in the wellness space, sustainability and eco-friendly, which we could get into. Mm-hmm. Um, and whether that is, you know, the, the, uh, actual item itself is eco-friendly and sustainable, or the packaging is eco-friendly and sustainable, or how you're delivering it blends itself to that.
Jennifer O'Hare: Um, you know, leather products, designer goods, but like. In a way that you can customize or personalize, I think is always, um, exciting for the luxury gift space. Um, yeah, so those, those types of things I think are, are really trending and make the, make corporate gifting still hot in terms of like, why should we be doing [00:09:00] this?
Jennifer O'Hare: Right? Like, why, what, what is the ROI here there? There's definitely ways to push forward and kind of elevate and innovate in your gifting experiences. Yeah,
Dana Esposito: it's nice to, when you're talking about sustainability and personalization experience, even when we're talking about the logo, however, it's branded being done more thoughtfully, like tone on tone.
Dana Esposito: Or just more subtle. It's still branded, but it's done in a more elegant fashion. It feels more thoughtful, and to me, although it's not like screaming your face sustainable, to me, that feels more sustainable because it's more likely that that person will keep it and use it, right? If it's not like branded in a really loud, obnoxious way.
Dana Esposito: You know,
Chris Dunn: just take it home and throw it in the right, throw in the trash in the airport on, on the way out. So, coincidentally enough, I mean, we were having these great conversations prior to, uh, to recording here, uh, or jumping into the, the real conversation. Um, Dana and I were just at a, uh, at a trade show, exhibitor live, uh, blue hive at a space there.
Chris Dunn: And we [00:10:00] had not only the benefit of having a really well. Designed, themed kind of, uh, storytelling experience that Dana and her creative team thought up for us. We get to see a lot of other exhibitors who are in our field, you know, reaching out and telling their stories. Um, and there were in fact, uh, a number of, of groups that were kind of doing that onsite.
Chris Dunn: Creation of that gift, literally, you know, right there, creating experience, whether it was the, the stamping of the, the hats mm-hmm. Um, or the, the, the quick silk silk screening of the, of the t-shirts and so forth. Um, but I wanted to kind of tie it back to, so Dana, if you, if you can kind of surmise our little storytelling.
Chris Dunn: Piece. There was, uh, a totally, um, uh, en uh, engagement that basically you, I put my head into this thing and I got this imer immersive experience, and I came down and I, I heard a little bit more, and at the end of the day, we had, uh, or you had envisioned basically the feather in your cap, right? So the whole idea [00:11:00] was as an event marketer, um, you've got all these different skill sets and we are here to kind of help you level up.
Chris Dunn: Uh, identify those skill sets and put more feathers in your cap. And, uh, at the end of the day, um, there was, uh, everybody who registered could win this wonderful hat. I. Uh, at the, at the, at at the end of the day. Literally. Yeah. We did a drawing at the end of the day. Um, so tell us a little bit about kind of what your vision was Yeah.
Chris Dunn: And how that all tied together. Because I think what Jen is talking about, being strategic and, and having, um, you know, a, a specific goal, knowing the audience and all of that stuff. Like that all kind of pulls together and creates that story.
Dana Esposito: Mm-hmm. Well, like what Jen was telling us earlier, it's really important for her when she's talking to people she's working with is be strategic and have it be purposeful.
Dana Esposito: So that's literally what we had done. We, we had four different types of digital in the, in the exhibit, which we came up with and mm-hmm. Did it [00:12:00] ourselves, including the exhibit itself. And the first part was very curiosity provoking. You literally see someone cut. Step up a couple steps and put their head inside of this hexagon that's hanging there in space.
Dana Esposito: And there was a digital element there. Yep. Um, and there, you know, your, if someone's, uh, your si sense of sight, sense of sound, sense of touch, right. So to Jen's point, that's helpful with the experience part.
Jennifer O'Hare: Right.
Dana Esposito: When they come down from that ladder, there's a call, immediate call to action. And like she was saying, they, they have to make a choice, right?
Dana Esposito: They're selecting something. And it was one of six different color, actual real feathers that were. Were pens. They weren't branded. They were literally a gift. Um, but that feather pen say you chose the blue one because your strength was, you're really good at budget management. When you came down, say you were about to talk to Chris, Chris would be like, oh, I recognize blue means budget management.
Dana Esposito: That's your strength. That's great. Let's talk about that over here to take the second stop on the journey. The second stop of the journey was another digital [00:13:00] engagement with these three dimens feathers that they pick up and they put into this hole and it comes to life and it's bright and um, I. Then it goes into, well, of these six strengths, which one do you think you're the least strong at?
Dana Esposito: And then we would literally deliver a QR code, and they would have tools that they would get downloaded to their phone that they get to keep, because we knew, to Jen's point, the audience at that show were there to work on their CTSM or learn more information or trends, or it was just really all about them.
Dana Esposito: So. Our, our sort of subtle theme was all about them. And then after we talked all about them, right, it was like, well, this is all stuff that we can do to support you. And so the next step on the journey, they got these little wooden laser cut pens that had kind of like little snarky sayings, like, you know, um, getting shit done or, uh, you know, um, let's see.
Dana Esposito: Uh, what if, just all these little things so they could wear a little wooden pe, a little feather. And so they basically two giveaways that were lower [00:14:00] price point, but made a lot of sense with who they are and the theme and the feather and the cap. The expensive, yeah. Custom, like burned in sort of flat brim hats.
Dana Esposito: San Antonio and Feather in Your Hat Tie in, um, was for, you know, just the, the sort of four winners, but the whole thing did tie in together. That's, that's.
Chris Dunn: Yeah, it was, it was cool. Cool. To see all that come together. And I, and I know that you lean into, you know, into that, you know, strategic element and making it all make sense, right?
Chris Dunn: It's not just a giveaway for giveaway's sake. It's, it's something or a gift for giveaways, for gift's sake, but it's something that, that's meaningful that they're gonna keep and use.
Dana Esposito: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And the, the audience at that particular show, yes. Although women, it's, it's mostly women, so this sort of tying in the colors had a little to that as well.
Jennifer O'Hare: Yes, you definitely have to know who you're speaking to, and that's a big piece of, you know, starting with that strategy. Um, I can give, uh, an [00:15:00] example of one that was not necessarily interactive, but again, when you're talking about, um, kind of like weaving that thread all the way through. Right. So, uh, and tying it back to kind of the story, like a big piece of.
Jennifer O'Hare: You know, what I would love to talk about is these certain like, um, elements that make up a good gifting strategy. And part of that, like if you just ask yourself the question, like, what story are you trying to tell? What message are you trying to get across? And weave that through every single piece of the gift, whether that is the interaction part of it or the actual products or how it's dis so, um.
Jennifer O'Hare: One example of this with, with physical products was, um, I was working, I was actually working with the host of a trade show and they were welcoming in, um, 50 VIPs, 50 VIP buyers that consistently come to the show. I. Um, they really wanted to elevate the overall experience from start to finish. And part of that they [00:16:00] designated and allocated some budget towards, um, really purposeful gifting.
Jennifer O'Hare: And they had done things in the past, you know, uh, you know, a printed on, um, canvas tote bag with, you know, a few of the essentials and, you know, a Starbucks gift card in there for. You know, for the break. Um, but they really wanted to take it a step further. And so they brought me on as a strategic thought partner as well as a creative thought partner there.
Jennifer O'Hare: The me, the overall message that they were trying to send, um, was back to basics. Right. So thinking of, um, the basic fundamentals of strategic purchasing and buying and what that really means. And so we ended up, uh, creating this concept that was, um, it's the vessel of the concept. We knew that these were pe, they were, uh, buyers coming in from all over the country, right?
Jennifer O'Hare: So they need to be able to travel home with us. And so the vessel of the concept was actually this packable, um. [00:17:00] Shopper tote that they could kind of like wheel around and instead of putting, you know, their arms killing them, they have all the pamphlets in there and every single tote that every, every single booth is given away, they actually are rolling around these packable shipper shipping, shopping totes that they can actually then pack up into their suitcase.
Jennifer O'Hare: So that was the vessel of the gift, which was awesome 'cause it was like. Are you kidding me? Nobody's, nobody else is doing this, right? So, um, so they could wheel those around, and then inside they had some back to basics things. Even though everybody's coming with their laptops and they have their spreadsheets, right?
Jennifer O'Hare: Like, if you're thinking about, uh, you know, the days of the fundamentals, it was like a green grid paper, right? And you're, you're writing down every single product that you're buying and you're ting it all up. So there was a calculator in there and there, you know, there was. Um, a nice branded pen. And so it was like kind of sending this message that just, you know, you're gonna [00:18:00] be fine.
Jennifer O'Hare: Just go back to the basics. Right? And so then obviously we had all the marketing inserts, um, and creative in there to kind of point back to that messaging, so. Um, but it really did create something fun and people were like, like there was that nostalgia feeling. And so again, it's like weaving in stories that you want them and messages that you want that recipient to walk away with.
Jennifer O'Hare: And I think you guys did a, sounds like you did a beautiful job, um, with all the different elements at your, at your latest show. So.
Dana Esposito: Jen, can you think of like, what would you tell us is some of the most unusual or the strangest unique or most expensive? I don't know what, what was, what's the, because you do this all the time, you have the expert in it.
Dana Esposito: Is there anything that just really stood out with you?
Jennifer O'Hare: Oh, really stood out. That's a good one. Um, 'cause again, we get like super creative, you know? Um. I dunno if anything's really stood out. I [00:19:00] love, actually, yes, I did. Uh, I did a, uh, event, uh, uh, I did a gift concept in the fall, um, alongside the Red Sox. Uh, they were actually doing, um, they for, I don't know if anybody knows the Wasabi Bowl.
Jennifer O'Hare: But, um, they put on this event every year in conjunction with, um, wasabi Technologies. Yeah. Yeah. So with Wasabi Technologies, they're the sponsor and they put on the, the Wasabi Bowl, and it's around, it's like three, it's like two days after Christmas. So it's, um, it's an interesting time and these, uh, you know, two teams will come in and it's all, all of these events leading up to the, to the actual date of the, the Wasabi Bowl, which is on.
Jennifer O'Hare: You know, they play on Fenway Park in Fenway Park. So, um, part of the programming was actually hosting a [00:20:00] movie event, like a movie showing at, um, a downtown movie theater, uh, for some of the children that had to come in on Christmas Day basically to attend this event two days later. Um, and. The events team came to me and they were kind of creating this entire experience and they really wanted to do something around, uh, the movie that they were showing, which was Elf.
Jennifer O'Hare: And so we collaboratively created a Elf spaghetti kit with local like. Um, we had, um, fluff, you know, things like, um, fluff that was, that's made in Somerville and then, and we were able to kind of like create this New England themed local elf kit and it was amazing. And, you know, a hundred kids that showed up got these elf kits to kind of take away with and it.
Jennifer O'Hare: You know, it, it lends itself nicely to, um, to obviously the theme of [00:21:00] the event. We had a beautiful card in there explaining where all, all the products were from and why they were so special to New England. Um, and then we actually did, um, an entire promotion on top of that, uh, where we did, um, a quick limited edition.
Jennifer O'Hare: Um. You know, uh, I think it was like 30 kits were, uh, on sale on my website for like two days. And it was, you know, purchase this kit for $25 and we're actually going to donate it to, uh, children at, um, at Boston Children's patients at Boston Children's. So on top of that, doing this with the Boston Red Sox in conjunction and then being able to kind of like have that, uh, tieback that give back, um, to Boston Children's was just.
Jennifer O'Hare: It was, it was maybe not super unique, but very special.
Chris Dunn: Yeah. Yeah, that, that sounds awesome. And we all know buddy, the office, big fan of sugar, all the four food groups covered,
Jennifer O'Hare: right? [00:22:00]
Chris Dunn: Yeah. You know, earlier budget
Jennifer O'Hare: there we in there.
Chris Dunn: Syrup. Lots of syrup. Syrup. Um, I got a question, I'm gonna pivot a little bit and it, so many things are kind of bouncing around in my head earlier.
Chris Dunn: Dana, I think you actually used the word budget allocation, right? That was kind of part of our activation. But one thing I wanted to, you know, ask you, we, we hit on it a little bit earlier, but let's say, um, somebody who's going into an event, they've got a, maybe a robust healthy budget, $10,000 or whatever that might be, and in their head they're thinking, well, if there's 4,000 attendees, I basically got, you know, $2 50 cents per person or something like that, right?
Chris Dunn: So they're thinking big picture. How do I take my budget and, and create something, a low dollar? A low dollar piece that everybody can have, but some of the things that you were talking about earlier, and again, it ties back to the whole, you know, let's be more strategic and have a plan and, and really ask ourselves good questions in the start is, is maybe looking at that [00:23:00] budget differently and carving it up so that you're able to carve out some really some nice high-end stuff.
Chris Dunn: And then what are some other takeaways that we could do at a lower price point?
Jennifer O'Hare: Yeah, exactly. So I think that's like one of the biggest misconceptions, right, that I see. I think especially when it comes to the trade shows or those really large scale events where honestly, sometimes they're promising an attendee rate of X, right?
Jennifer O'Hare: But in traffic, but you're not, you're not actually. Quite sure when you are, how many people will actually be there, stop by your booth, engage with you, right? So it's this idea and I think, um, I think people think that they have to have something for everybody. And, uh, that, that often leads to the mass ordering and often leads to, um, this kind of like buyer's remorse to be quite honest.
Jennifer O'Hare: Where. They're like, I just spent all this money and it was, you know, I had to do it. I had to make the decision so [00:24:00] quickly because it was more of an afterthought. And I didn't start planning this when I first signed up or registered to be an exhibitor at this event. Um, and so again, it, it, it comes full circle, right?
Jennifer O'Hare: Because it, it all leads to, you know, why, why that type of intention or strategy. Um, or lack thereof would lead to things not being super equal friendly or sustainable. Um, but it's this idea that you're starting early, right? It's the idea that you are slowing down. To, to speed up and to be more impactful.
Jennifer O'Hare: And so taking maybe your $10,000 budget and partnering with somebody who's in the space like, like us, and I'm not just throwing, there's other people that do it, right? I'm not just throwing us out there, but who can help you strategically look at it from a top down and a bottoms up approach. And by that I mean top down, we understand your budget bottoms up.
Jennifer O'Hare: Who are the suppliers that make sense? What's the strategy? How are we reaching people? What is the, what's the element of [00:25:00] surprise? What story are we trying to tell? And then bottoming that up into some, into a, a creative concept and the concept. Can be equal parts, or it can be one third product, two thirds interaction, um, one third, two thirds product, one third digital component, right?
Jennifer O'Hare: So that you can get that, that tracking piece, um, or being able to gather like email addresses and whatnot. So it's understanding that it's a, it's a. It's a full scope, comprehensive concept, which is why when we are discussing or taking consultation calls, I'm like, it's a strategic, creative concept. It is not just the gift.
Jennifer O'Hare: It's what else are we doing with the gift? How is it meant to show up? How are you distributing them? Believe it or not, like I think people. Um, and like the timeliness of it, I think people don't quite understand that that can make [00:26:00] or break a gifting strategy. Like when I think about like, um, you know, gifting, multi-day incentive trips where we've done like gifting throughout.
Jennifer O'Hare: Right. It's like, yes, of course. The, the immediate welcome gift. Um, that's kind of on point. And it's, you know, as they kind of approach and they're all kind of registering into the hotel and whether or not you give that in the actual welcome reception or if it's located in their rooms. Um, and, and that, that all matters.
Jennifer O'Hare: But then it's like, okay, well what about all these room drops? Like when are they coming? What, what's the point of the room drop? Like right is, is the room drop just to. Say like, oh, we're delivering a local juice and you know, the, and cookies to you in the morning, or is it like they're going to their wellness activities and you're now have an opportunity to show up with a.
Jennifer O'Hare: Branded yoga bag, you know what I mean? Like, and um, branded exercise bands where now you are resonating with the, the [00:27:00] timeliness of what's going on in the rest of the event. So that matters as well is, is the timing and the logistics and, and when and how you're showing up. So it's all these different elements and I feel like your budget could go much further.
Jennifer O'Hare: If you stop, you slow down, you put some intentionality into it, take strategic partners along, along with you, um, to make sure that you're really driving that ROI and that impact.
Chris Dunn: Yeah, that, that makes a ton of sense. What are you, like in an ideal world, you've got somebody who's got an event that's six months out and, and they're probably gonna call you mm-hmm.
Chris Dunn: With about a month left. But in an ideal world mm-hmm. Are they talking to you right from the get, like, that's part of the strategic, you know. Creation of, of the overall plan of that event. Um, do you oftentimes need a few months to pull things together? I mean, are there things that just take longer to produce or to, to, you know, import or whatever the case may be?
Jennifer O'Hare: Yeah, absolutely. It's [00:28:00] never too early. I always like to say that, um, I have people that reach out, especially for like holiday, right? I have people that reach out in, in January for the, for the following holiday. And they're like, I wanna get started on this. Right. So those are my favorite.
Chris Dunn: We have people who will reach out in January, February.
Jennifer O'Hare: Yes, yes. Those are my favorite people because we can get that conversation started. I mean, I go to, I personally go to trade shows all the time, so I'm picking up and discovering new brands and suppliers and capabilities, and I'm having conversations with vendors. Constantly and talking about new capabilities and, and honestly like bringing and creative, uh, brainstorming alongside those vendors if they're not already thinking about certain capabilities and customizations that I would like them to have to be able to offer to my right.
Jennifer O'Hare: So the, this is just a continuation. I'm doing this all year round. Um, and so when people reach [00:29:00] out really early, it's no. Oh, will, will they get a presentation immediately? Probably not, but we're gonna have those strategic conversations. I'm gonna make sure they have all the information that I am going to need in order to make the most impact.
Jennifer O'Hare: I do, do I. Um, I do just like workshop and strategy sessions with people. If that is something where they're like, I don't even know where to start. I don't even know where to start. I can give you kind of like the buckets and, and the information that I'm looking to gather. And if you, if, if you wanna, you know, you already have, you already have some thought process behind it, then you can easily just give me that information and then I can present you with a design presentation that aligns.
Jennifer O'Hare: But if you're like. Jen, I like, I, I have no idea where to even go with this. I don't know how to understand my, the segments or pull the segments that I wanna give to. I don't know what touch points I want to create. Like we offer that strategy session at the [00:30:00] beginning too. Um, so, so yeah, it, it is really difficult.
Jennifer O'Hare: I would say. Um, we usually say it takes anywhere from four to eight weeks. That is like, and four is, is can be really tough. It depends on the complexity of the project.
Chris Dunn: Yeah, we're we, we feel that yes, we do. We feel that dramatically. So, yeah. Hey, here at the, uh, at the, at the toolbox, um, we try to keep our, our sessions, uh, manageable, bite-sized pieces, right around a half an hour or so.
Chris Dunn: So, uh, despite the fact that we could probably talk for hours and hours about all these wonderful things, we're gonna start our wrap up process here. So, so Dana, how do we like to wrap things up?
Dana Esposito: We'd like to ask our guests what are their three most, um, important takeaways they wanna lead the audience with.
Jennifer O'Hare: Yes. So I don't know that they're like three takeaways, but they are definitely three questions. I think everybody should always ask when they're trying to, um, or they're, [00:31:00] uh, thinking about a gifting strategy. Okay. Um, and then the three most important questions, if you can start to nail these down, um, and then, you know, reach out to somebody like us if you're gonna be in a much better spot than you ever were, um, beforehand when you're kind of picking off of a catalog two weeks out from your event.
Jennifer O'Hare: Right? So, um, if you're thinking about a gifting strategy, I always like to, to start with these basics. What, what should this gift say about my brand, my or, or my organization? Like how. How are you going to story tell through physical products and packaging? Um, the other one I would say is, uh, how should the recipient, how should this make the recipient feel?
Jennifer O'Hare: What do you want them to walk away with? How do you want them to, to feel after receiving this gift or this moment or this, or interact with, um, with whatever gift or product you're, you're giving away and. The other one would be just how does this en enhance the overall experience of the [00:32:00] event? So that's another way where it's like timeliness comes into play.
Jennifer O'Hare: Um, really having an understanding around like the audience or the recipient you're trying to reach, their lifestyle, their preferences. Doing, and again, it depends on how personalized you're gonna get. If you're, if you are truly gifting 4,000 people, you have to go with what majority rules, right? But you're gonna do, you're gonna do yourself a lot more justice and your gift will resonate a lot more.
Jennifer O'Hare: If you can understand the majority of what your audience likes, their preferences, the, you know, the logistics of the trip or the theme of the event and what would really resonate there.
Dana Esposito: People won't always remember what you say, but they'll always remember how you made them feel.
Jennifer O'Hare: I love that is like my
Dana Esposito: favorite
Jennifer O'Hare: quote, my drop moment right there.
Dana Esposito: So true. So true.
Chris Dunn: Yeah. Awesome. Well this has been great. We really appreciate your time here. Um, how can people get a hold of you again? Thank you.
Jennifer O'Hare: Yeah, great question. [00:33:00] Um, I hang out on LinkedIn all the time. Chris, you know, um, I, I post a lot on there. I have a lot to say. I have a lot of, uh, unique perspectives when it comes to corporate gifting.
Jennifer O'Hare: So like, please follow along and you can, you can DM me right there at, um, Jennifer, I think in, we were talking about this earlier, I think it's Jennifer O'Hare slash Boston. There might be a lot more Jennifer O'Hare than you think there are in the world. Um, but I'm sure you'll put the, the links in the show notes and then, um, just.
Jennifer O'Hare: www.bellboxco.com and uh, you can even reach me by email jennifer@bellboxco.com.
Chris Dunn: There you go. Fantastic. Dana, how do people get ahold of you?
Dana Esposito: LinkedIn. LinkedIn. All you can read both of the Blue High website.
Chris Dunn: Fantastic. Awesome. Well, we're gonna sign off here again. I'm Chris Dunn, I'm with Blue Hive Exhibits.
Chris Dunn: We're a custom exhibit house, uh, east Coast, west Coast. Plain to fancy. Uh, we do it all. And uh, this has been a fantastic chat, so appreciate Jen, you coming by and spending some time with us. [00:34:00] Dana, thanks for coming down to my office.
Dana Esposito: Thanks. It was awkwardly, awkwardly close here, but um, thank you so much, Chad.
Dana Esposito: We're way
Chris Dunn: better friends than we were before now.
Dana Esposito: Thank you.
Chris Dunn: Awesome. Take care everybody. Thanks for coming. See ya.
Jennifer O'Hare: Thank you.
