Where a home drinks brand could fit in gift-giving

The question

People choose differently when they buy for someone else, and a home drinks business wanted its products to earn a place among the gifts people give.

A gift has its own occasions, its own alternatives and its own idea of what makes a good choice, and the person buying it isn’t the one who will drink it. The business wanted a clear view of that space, and a strategy for where its innovation should play in it.

Our approach

We began with what was already known, bringing trends, category data and existing research on gifting together, including the codes and cues of packaging in the category.

Ideas built from that first stage then went into moderated online research, where tasks explored gifting from each person’s point of view, good and bad gifts in other categories, ideal gifts for different occasions, and reactions to the ideas.

Looking at gifts well beyond the category meant the strategy could rest on how people give, and let us explore how each of the company’s own brands might fit.

What the team came away with

The business received a report on the online research, read against the review of gifting in and around the category, and a gifting strategy.

The strategy set out where the business could play in gifting and how, giving its innovation teams a shared starting point for gift ideas and a common language for discussing them.

With gifting seen through givers’ eyes across many categories, the team could judge any later gift idea by the standard a giver would apply, from the first look at the pack to the moment it is handed over.