What Are Gift Bags: Can They Give Your Brand Reputation an Upgrade?

Last Updated on December 11, 2023 by Packoi Team

Imagine if you received a gift. Whether from a baby shower, a birthday party, or a corporate event, it makes you feel good. It makes you feel appreciative of the sender. Suddenly, the sender is someone excellent and generous in your eyes.

If your brand is the sender of that gift, that’s how customers, business partners, and even your employees will feel. They’ll all feel appreciative of your brand.

This is why you shouldn’t underestimate the power of a well-designed gift bag. When done right, it can give your brand’s reputation an upgrade.

In this article, you’ll learn more about gift bags and how to use them to improve your brand’s reputation.

What Are the Features of a Gift Bag?

Why should you choose a gift bag if you want to give someone a gift? Other options include a plain paper bag, a tote bag, and even a gift box. All these can be used to secure your gift.

How do you make gift bags stand out? Why should you choose it over the other alternatives to packaging your gift?

There’s no rule about what type of packaging you’ll use for gifts. You’re free to choose a box or a tote bag. But you have to remember one thing.

If you want the gift-giving experience to upgrade your brand reputation, you must consider how the recipient will open the gift. That means choosing suitable packaging, gift tags, and even tissue paper. All these should be aligned with the purpose of the gift. It should all be put together to create the best experience for the recipient.

Considering the following features, you’ll know if an impressive gift bag is the right option.

1. It’s Meant for Freebies

Gift bags aren’t used to package products bought in a retail store. It’s not used to carry groceries around.

As the name suggests, a gift bag is primarily used for products that are given away for free. It could be a specially selected product that the recipient can use. Or the freebies could be product samples that you want people to try out.

The bottom line is the recipient doesn’t have to specifically pay for whatever’s inside the bag.

This is why there’s usually a unique bag given away at trade shows with products and catalogs inside. Or if you’re attending a party like a bridal shower or a corporate event, the organizers have a bag ready with free items inside to thank people for coming.

Make sure you design your bag so people will know that they can get it for free.

2. It Should Promote Your Brand

Giving gifts and complimentary items is a common business practice. While it’s very generous, this is a well-calculated marketing strategy.

Distributing gift bags is meant to aid in the growth of the company. So if you’re designing your gift bag, make sure people know who it’s from.

Make gift bags and gift boxes to promote your brand. Even if the products in it aren’t from your own company, don’t make people forget who the sender is.

Incorporate your brand logo and name into the bag design. Of course, you must put the branding somewhere that fits the overall design. But it has to be in a visible place so people won’t miss it.

Remember, one of the goals of the gift is to make people associate a positive feeling with your brand. Your bag should give them that connection.

3. It’s Easy to Carry

Gift boxes are great. It exudes luxury and elegance—or fun, depending on the design. But imagine giving gift boxes at a trade fair. People will have difficulty carrying it around as they go from one booth to another.

This is why gift bags are better options if you want convenience. If you want the recipient to be able to carry the gift around comfortably, use a gift bag. The handles aren’t too bulky, so it’ll allow people to carry multiple items at the same time.

4. It Looks Visually Appealing

Looking at a gift bag should make the recipient feel excitement, happiness, and appreciation. That’s how it can help upgrade your brand’s reputation.

So if you’re designing gift bags, make sure they’re visually appealing. You won’t use gift wrapping paper like you would with a box. But if you use suitable materials, you can make a bag look like it’s been wrapped in the most creative wrapping paper.

Of course, the print design isn’t the only thing you should consider. There are add-ons to gift bags that can make it look even more exciting to open.

Add a gift tag or tissue paper. Put some shredded paper at the bottom of the bag before you put the gift or products you want to give away. Then, add the tissue paper so it peeks from the top of the bag.

The recipient will surely appreciate the fact that you’ve carefully put together the gift for them.

5 Ways Decorative Gift Bags Improve Your Brand Reputation

It’s important to choose how you want your gift bag to look. The physical appearance of the bag will set the tone of how the recipient will feel about it. Whether they’ll be impressed or appreciative, the design of the gift bag, the gift tag, and even the tissue paper you use will affect how it’ll be received.

To come up with the right design, you must think about the gift bags’ purpose. How can it improve your brand’s reputation?

Here are five ways gift bags can elevate how people perceive your brand.

1. It Paints a Picture of Generosity

Giving gifts is a generous gesture. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are when you give gifts. If it’s to thank a person for attending a baby shower, birthday party, or even a bridal shower, giving a gift bag will always be received as something positive.

But in business, generosity paints a different picture. A generous business model shows that the company is financially stable. It demonstrates the brand’s success because you can afford to buy gift bags. It means the brand is being managed well enough that it can give free items to clients and customers.

2. It Markets Your Product

If you have products you want to push or launch to the public, use gift bags to distribute them.

This will increase the chance that people will try out your product. You can give this away during corporate events. Or you can include the products in your annual Christmas gift bag.

Include slow-moving products as a gift inside the bag so people will be encouraged to try them out. Make it look presentable by adding fillers and tissue paper. Add other branded items that can help customers use the product more conveniently.

If people like the product, they might buy it regularly.

3. It Gives Room for Customization

Gift bags are incredibly versatile. It gives you a lot of room for customization. That means you can manipulate how the gift bag will represent your brand.

If you want a gift bag to look luxurious, you can add elements and choose colors to show that. Use black tissue paper to exude elegance. Make your gift bags reflect that if you want to appeal to a fun and quirky market. Get inspiration from the creative prints on wrapping paper.

Of course, the gift’s purpose will also come into play. If you’re giving a gift for Christmas or a baby shower, the bag design should have that theme.

4. It Promotes Sustainability

Your gift bags can also be used to promote your brand’s advocacies, like eco-friendly initiatives. If you’ve changed your packaging to be more environmentally friendly, your gift bag design should follow.

Using paper gift bags will gain the approval of an eco-conscious customer base; in effect, they’ll learn to respect your brand. A paper gift bag is made of raw materials that come from a renewable resource. If you source paper bags from responsibly managed forests, you can claim that your gift bag is sustainable.

But that’s not the only way you can use eco-friendly packaging to promote sustainability. If you make the paper bag reusable, it can have a more positive impact on the environment.

5. It Provides Long-Lasting Exposure

Making your gift bags durable enough for reuse can be a powerful marketing tool that will increase exposure for your brand.

Of course, you’ll have to ensure your branding is visible in the gift bag design. Put your brand logo and name on party favor bags or event giveaways.

That way, people will know who gave it to them. But beyond that, the recipient can give you free advertising when they reuse and carry the bag.

When Is the Best Time to Use a Gift Bag?

For some people, a gift bag is just like any paper or tote bag. It’s used to carry things. It can be branded at times, or it could be plain and simple.

The design of the gift bag will depend on where you plan to give it away. You can send them to the recipient individually. Or you can distribute it as party favors at an event.

Different occasions will allow you to use these gift bags to promote and improve your brand reputation.

Here are some of your options.

1. During Trade Shows

It’s the norm to give gift bags at trade shows. Some companies put their products on tote bags so it’s more durable. The cloth allows people to carry it around without worrying about breaking the bag.

People can even use your bag to store other products. But this will work in your favor because the branding on the gift bag will give you more exposure as people move around the trade fair.

Make sure you take advantage of this by putting your brand name in a visible place.

2. During Product Launches

Gift bags are also distributed during product launches as party favor bags. Usually, it contains the product being launched. But it can include other items that’ll help the customer use the new product well.

For instance, you’re launching new sports equipment. Include a water bottle and face towel with your brand in it. That way, people can use it together with the product.

The thoughtfulness of the extra items will make the recipient feel more appreciative of your gift bag.

3. During Corporate Events

If your brand is hosting a corporate event, you can also use gift bags to build your brand reputation. Choose the products that you’ll put in the party favor bag.

It could be a mixture of your products and essential items that the recipients can use. You can add pens, notebooks, water bottles, etc. Make sure your branding is printed on these party favors so it gives you free advertising in return.

4. During the Holidays

Use gift bags to share blessings during the holidays. Christmas is a great time to show generosity and build your brand reputation.

There are many ways to do this.

You can add a gift bag with every purchase of your product. That way, customers wishing to give you products as a holiday gift won’t have to buy gift-wrapping paper. They can add a tag or ribbon and send it to their loved ones.

You can also use the gift bags for your employees. They’ll appreciate being given a gift from the company.

The same is true for your business partners and suppliers. Send them gift bags to show your appreciation for their support.

If your bags are branded, that’s another way to get free advertising for your business.

5. During Special Occasions

Do you know of clients, business partners, or employees who are celebrating special occasions or milestones?

Give them gift bags as well. It’s not just about the gift that you’ll send. The fact that you were able to remember the personal milestones they are going through will make your gift bag unique.

For instance, if you find out a client is having a baby shower,. Or one of your employees will have a baby shower. You can sponsor gift bags so they can give them away as party favors.

Even if you send one gift bag instead of a lot of birthday party favor bags, it’ll still make the recipient feel special.

This will be rewarded with loyalty. They know that you care about them enough to go out of your way to send them a gift.

What Does It Take to Create Branded Gift Bags? Packoi Printing Is Here to Guide You through the Process.

Branded gift bags are one of the best ways to improve your brand’s reputation. Choose a suitable material and design so you can get the proper reaction from the recipients.

If you can make this memorable, they’ll always associate the positive experience with your brand. It’s easier to make them feel more loyal to you.

Do you need help in designing the best gift bag for your brand? Packoi Printing is here to help. We have a lot of options for you to choose from.

Call us so we can discuss your ideas. We’ll get back to you with a fair quote in no time.