Early this week one of our members posted a thread entitled Edible spam about chocolate received from Receipt Bank. In Receipt Bank’s defence, Michael Wood said, “I love cake and all kinds of chocolates. When I started RB I wanted to make this part of our culture... Therefore I asked our team to think of ways to get the attention of firms so that we can assist them, but ways that reflect RB and its culture - hence the KitKats!”.
I'm sure many of you have received some strange things through the post. Outside of chocolate, what's the weirdest thing you've given or received as a company gift?
Replies (10)
Please login or register to join the discussion.
Pizza Box
The contents were relatively mundane (a classic computer game I bought on eBay), but I once received a parcel where the seller had decided that a pizza box was a much better choice than any more conventional packaging.
EDIT : Question was changed to specify company gifts instead of just posted oddities, in case anyone had thought I'd gone mad.
Apple
At a previous company I worked for, we received and apple (I think it was a Golden Delicious or a Granny Smith) from a marketing company. It came in box, approx. 3.5" cubed, the cardboard was only as thick as a greetings card yet the apple was in good condition - although I don't think anyone ate it!
Confused clients
Early 90's a firm I worked for engaged a PR company to organise a rebrand.
To announce the firm's new name. 2 letters followed by a number. For obvious reason i wont say what it was, though defunct you never know if I offend someone.
They came up with the idea of sending the sort of brasses you put on a door or gate mounted on card. But individually over several weeks thought the post.
When clients were informed after this exciting announcement, the most often reply was what the billyo was that all about. Not a single one so far as I know twigged it had anything to do with us.
They probably thought they were being spammed by a new hardware store in the area.
Starburst
Earlier this year I made enquiries to Qdos Contractor about their IR35 review service. Received some literature in the post along with a packet of Starbust (there'll always be Opal Fruits to me!)
Egg Timer
A company sent me an egg timer inviting me to take a 20 minute paid for survey or questionnaire this week.
I had never heard of them and it had found its way to me having gone to the old address of a client.
Weird. No idea what they are selling.
Kitkat
Also got a thoroughly hammered and melted kit kat through this week from receiptbank.
It came in an envelope that looked like one of my granny's christmas cards with a plain piece of paper. It seemed really unprofessional.
A slab of smoked salmon
As a journalist you get a lot of weird things (like the ironmongery perpetual mentioned), and after a while I have to confess to becoming a bit blase about them all.
But I do remember the time we got a whole fillet of smoked salmon through the post. That certainly got our attention but after a week or so became a bit of a mixed blessing. There are only so may ways you can come up with to eat that amount of salmon.
An archive file box
A large archive file box was delivered by Yodel last week. It contained a couple of sheets of paper and a post it note from our local Admiral Document Storage place.
The contents are ideal recycling material; useful box though.
Hamster wheel
I received a hamster wheel in the post from one software supplier a few years ago, followed by a letter a couple of days later that had a cheesy strapline about "going round in circles".