Gift buying can be a headache. Advances in the way people shop online and ensuing technical developments have helped. One of the most successful of these developments has been the transparency of buyer behaviour and similar product suggestions.
iTUNES and Amazon.com have built this functionality into their very webpage/UIF via the use of a “filmstrip” ad which showcases other products similar to the one you’re currently viewing. i.e. ‘Customers which purchased Neil Young’s album Harvest also bought the Crowded House Very Best Of‘.
This type of innovation goes a long way to alleviating the gift-purchase-headache, allowing the consumer to make a ‘safe’ gift selection. However, there are times when something special is required, something unique, something personalised. There will be times when considering something ‘safe’ just isn’t going to cut it. Here are some playful online options to consider:
Just Toilet Paper
Toilet Paper: everyone needs it and everyone sees it. JustToiletPaper.com allows you to print anything you like onto a standard roll from quotes and photos to artwork or poetry. The only limit is your imagination. Great for parties, friends you’d like to wind-up or perhaps that significant Corporate someone who never has time to read your pitch or take your call so the only way you can get through is on the loo!
Also take time to check out their standard collection including barbed wire and dollar bill rolls.
My M&M’s
As the world’s expanding waistlines already know, the partnership of candy and chocolate is a runaway success and the pathway to many-a-girl’s heart. M&M’s are one of the most iconic brands in the confectionary markeplace and our exposure to their signature product has primarily been as a small shell with the letters ‘M&M’ embossed on the surface. However the company have recently introduced a new commercial initiative – the ability to customise your own M&M’s.
You can order a bag of a certain colour e.g. red or green (useful for those that handle rock Divas like David Lee Roth who upturn a changing room if faced with rogue brown M&M), choose a few simple words or upload a photo. ‘My M&M’s’ is a brilliant way to make an iconic candy your own.
Custom Bobbleheads
Ever wondered what you’d look like plastic? You don’t have to be an aspiring D-List reality star to find out. Custom Bobblehead dolls are a humorous way to celebrate yourself or someone special.
Choose the level of customisation from standard bodies (e.g. Superman, Lab Coat etc…) and just add the head, or personalise from top to toe. All you need submit is a photo – they can even do pets!
Customised gifts are a novel way to make a great impression with the certainty that they’ll be unique as the consumer controls the design. In an age when most products come off a production line in numbers that would populate a small country, it is nice to know there are options out there to create something truly special.
