Gifting etiquette in PR

Media and Influencer gifting is one of my favorite PR tactics. I find that it’s easier for people to talk about a product and all its fabulous features when they have first hand experience of how it works. This is a great way to create buzz on social media as well as secure in depth features for the brands you represent. This kind of PR activity particularly works well for clients in the fashion, beauty, tech, automobile, travel and F&B industry.

Gifting an editor or an influencer beauty products or a trip to a resort can potentially generate an impressive ROI for your client. It also sounds like a pretty straightforward and easy thing to do right? All you have to do is send that Editor a new phone and BAM! a three page review for your client.

Sadly, things aren’t so straightforward in real life. There are a few ethical road blocks that you might encounter depending on which country you live in. Be aware that you are threading a fine line between gift and bribe.There is also the issue of managing client’s expectations.

After working in public relations for the last five years, I have made a lot of mistakes and learned from them, here are few tips to help you achieve the best result from your media and influencer gifting activities.

• Research : Research the journalist and their beat and make sure whatever you are gifting them is relevant to the topics they cover, if not you won’t get any coverage. Same thing applies to influencers, check their instagram, blog , twitter etc. For example if you are gifting an acne range, check if this person writes about skincare, do they know what Hyaluronic Acid is? do they even have acne?
• Information : Make their lives easier by providing them with information about the brand and product you are gifting them with. Either send the info with the gift in the form of a print out or in a USB drive or email it to them before or after sending the gift. This definitely increases your chance of coverage.
• Don’t be stingy : I’ve been guilty of this in the past but I blame this on the client haha. Go big or go home especially in Dubai where editors and influencers are spoilt, do what you can to make your gift stand out. Sadly, one tube of eye cream isn’t going to cut it most of the time.
• Do not chase for coverage : This is where it gets tricky. It’s a gift! You cannot chase for coverage on gifts unless the influencer or editor reached out to you with the intention of covering it. Coverage isn’t guaranteed on gifting, so unless you have a great relationship with the editor or influencer, I would advice not to chase on coverage to avoid their wrath.
• Pitch smartly : While coverage isn’t guaranteed, if you pitch your client a few days or a week after the editor has been sent a sample in a nice and helpful way. There is a high chance that your client will be featured. Do not tell the journalist what you want the coverage to look like unless you are besties.
• Push back on your client : I know it’s hard but please advice your clients on good practices. Do not send offensive or questionable gifts to journalists and influencers, no matter how convincing your client is.