Corporate Gifting Is a Form of Communication
Corporate gifting is an interesting subject.
I remember during my early days in this industry, I often dealt with a department known as Corporate Communications in many of the companies I worked with.
At the time, the word communications actually baffled me.
What exactly do they communicate? And why does a large company need an entire department just to do it?
Slowly but surely, after attending more events and working with more corporate clients, I began to understand the importance of their role.
A company doesn’t only communicate internally with its employees. It also needs to speak to the outside world — its customers, business partners, industry associates, government agencies, the media and sometimes, the public at large.
It needs to tell people what it stands for, where it is heading and what it hopes to achieve.
Very often, these messages are delivered through announcements, launches and corporate events.
And this was where I started noticing something interesting.
When the speeches end
I vividly remember some of the larger events I attended over the years.
On certain occasions, you could have representatives from almost every background imaginable in the same room — members of the royal household, government officials, media friends, business partners and industry leaders.
The event would usually begin with speeches.
There might be an announcement of a future expansion, an important company milestone, a new partnership or a major decision that would shape the company’s next chapter.
And once the important business of the day was completed, very often there would be one final ceremony:
The exchange of gifts.
Initially, it may look like nothing more than a formality.
A handshake. A photograph. A gift changes hands.
But after spending almost two decades in the gifting industry, I have come to see that moment very differently.
Because sometimes, the gift is actually the final message of the event.
A gift can speak without words
Over the years, I have seen all kinds of corporate gifts.
Sometimes it is a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
Sometimes it is a piece from our very own Malaysian pride, Royal Selangor.
Sometimes a company chooses to present its own hero product because that product represents its history, its achievements and its identity.
And sometimes, the meaning is hidden within the object itself.
One of my favourite examples is the Wall Street bull.
On the surface, it is simply a sculpture of a bull.
But in the business world, the bull immediately carries another meaning — optimism, growth and a prosperous market.
Present one to a business partner at the beginning of a new collaboration and you may actually be saying:
May our partnership prosper. May we grow together.
Nobody needs to write those words on the gift.
The object communicates them for you.
That was when I began to understand that choosing the right corporate gift isn’t merely about finding something expensive or impressive.
It is about finding an object capable of carrying your message.
Even nations communicate through gifts
Take a step further back and we can see the same thing happening at the highest levels.
When leaders meet, gifts have long formed part of diplomatic exchanges. The object chosen can carry elements of culture, friendship, respect and identity.
During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Malaysia in 2025, Transport Minister Anthony Loke personally presented him with a Malaysian-made Royal Selangor plaque featuring a dragon motif.
The significance wasn’t simply that it was a beautiful plaque.
The dragon was chosen to represent strength, wisdom and friendship.
To an ordinary observer, it may have looked like a gift exchanged during an important visit.
To someone like me who has spent almost two decades in this line, I saw something else.
I saw a message being placed inside an object.
And unlike a speech that ends when the microphone is switched off, an object can remain.
Perhaps on a desk.
Perhaps in an office.
Perhaps in a display cabinet.
Years later, it can still remind its recipient of the occasion, the people involved and what that moment represented.
That is the power of a meaningful gift.
But corporate communication doesn’t belong only to corporations
After all these years, however, I think there is one misconception worth addressing.
When we hear the words corporate communications or corporate gifting, we tend to imagine multinational companies, government agencies, CEOs and large formal events.
But communication through gifting happens at every level of business.
You could be running a multinational corporation.
You could be selling eggs in the market.
You could be a hawker selling drinks behind a counter.
Eventually, there will probably be someone you want to thank.
It could be a supplier who supported you through difficult years.
It could be a customer who has been buying from you since the beginning.
It could be a business associate who opened a door for you when nobody else would.
You may not have an annual gala dinner.
There may be no media, no stage and no photographers waiting for the gift exchange.
But the message can be exactly the same:
Thank you.
I appreciate you.
Thank you for walking this journey with me.
And sometimes, a simple gift communicates those words better than we can say them ourselves.
Communicate your kindness
Perhaps that is the biggest lesson the gifting industry has taught me.
Communication isn’t only about announcing something important.
Sometimes, we should also communicate our gratitude.
Our appreciation.
Our friendship.
Our hopes for a relationship that continues for many more years.
The value of a gift doesn’t always lie in how much was paid for it.
Its real value can lie in what you are trying to say through it.
So the next time you are choosing a gift for a customer, supplier, colleague or business partner, perhaps don’t begin by asking:
“What should I buy?”
Instead, ask yourself:
“What am I trying to say?”
Once you know the answer to that question, choosing the gift becomes much easier.
And if that meaning is conveyed sincerely, you may never know just how deeply your gesture touches the person receiving it.
Because sometimes, what looks like a simple gift becomes something much more.
It becomes a moment of remembrance.
by Daniel Lim - 02
