Corporate gifts have gotten a little less lavish in the wake of the U.K. Bribery Act.
Executives are less inclined to gift luxury baskets, cases of wine, or expensive trips, and instead giving clients and prospects upscale pens and items marked with the company logo, according to a recent analyisis published on the International Meetings Review Website.
Darren Leigh, managing director of the U.K. promotional goods company Leighmans.com, told IMR that he believes the anti-bribery legislation that took effect in 2011 has had an impact on corporate gift-giving. Leigh said that his company has witnessed a 35 percent increase of the sales of pens that cost £20 or more during the last two years.
“In the past, executive gifts commonly included fine wines, vintage spirits, and luxury hampers, but compliance issues have seen corporates really tighten up,” Leigh was quoted as saying. “These days they can only give gifts which are deemed to be appropriate and proportional, and this has resulted in a boom for high-quality pens.”
Leigh told the news site that Cross is the best-selling brand, fetching around £25 to £35 per pen. Silver- and gold-plated models costing up to £100 per pen also are popular, Leigh said.
“A pen is seen as a work tool and, as such, a modest gift,” Leigh said. He also pointed to marketing surveys that show gifts like promotional pens have a longer shelf life than something like a bottle of wine.
Corporate event planners also say there has been an effect from the Bribery Act. While it may not have altered events dramatically, companies are mindful of the regulations when planning an event, industry professionals told MarketingWeek recently.
Emma Hill, group head of brand and sponsorship for insurance group Royal London, told the publication that her company must follow industry regulations as well. The company plans to sponsor a series of cricket events this year.
“We are a regulated business, so any activity we host needs to abide by the guidelines set by the Financial Conduct Authority,” Hill told MarketingWeek. “The days of ‘the jolly' are long gone, but if you put some thought behind your events, clients can still have a good time.”
Julian Lloyd-Evans, managing director of advertising at London-based Dennis Publishing, also told MarketingWeek that firms are aware of the hospitality rules in the Bribery Act. “There has been a change since the Act, but we're still getting as much out of corporate hospitality and we produce better events,” he said.
The Bribery Act addresses corporate gift giving and hospitality specifically. The U.K. government quick start guide on the regulation said promotional expenditures and corporate hospitality endeavors that are “proportionate and reasonable” would be unlikely to trigger the Act.
“So you can continue to provide tickets to sporting events, take clients to dinner, offer gifts to clients as a reflection of your good relations, or pay for reasonable travel expenses in order to demonstrate your goods or services to clients if that is reasonable and proportionate for your business,” the guide states.
However, the guide also states that if the hospitality was considered to be “a cover for bribing someone,” then investigators would look at the level of hospitality offered, the way it was provided, and how much influence the recipient had on the business decision in question.
The U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office also has issued guidance on corporate gift-giving.
“Bona fide hospitality or promotional or other legitimate business expenditure is recognised as an established and important part of doing business. It is also the case, however, that bribes are sometimes disguised as legitimate business expenditure,” the SFO wrote.
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