Everybody loves a present. A birthday present. A Christmas present. A wedding present. Any kind of present! However, as I have gotten older I am now just as thrilled (if not more) by the presentation of the gift, rather than the gift itself.
Nothing quite beats the actual anticipation of receiving a beautifully wrapped gift...wrapping paper, delicate bows, hand tied string, customized gift tags, handpainted boxes, French ticking ribbon.... The most beautiful gifts are the ones you can hardly bare to open so as not to upset the perfectly tied ribbon with matching gift tag!
I think nobody understands this concept better than jewelers. A diamond ring will always get a wow but a diamond ring in a velvet box, tied up with a ribbon, inside another box, wrapped up with tissue paper, inside a bag and tied up with another ribbon will always draw the biggest gasp of breath. Case in point, Tiffany’s Jewellers. There is very few brides who would not be familiar with ‘the little blue box’ and Tiffany’s eggshell blue. I can almost guarantee, long after the initial rush of excitement is over, any woman who receives a ‘little blue box’ from Tiffany’s, will most likely keep that little blue box all tied up with its white ribbon and it matching eggshell blue bag. And for the men who aren’t familiar, you can most likely just ask any woman you know =)
I think the same should be said of wedding albums. There is nothing like the anticipation of a bride as she receives her wedding album. All the build up from the wedding day itself, the first proofs, the initial album design…it all leads up to this very moment. She will most likely never love her wedding album more than at that exact moment. And wouldn’t the anticipation build if the album was came in a beautiful box or wrapped in ribbons and bows? Even if all you present to your clients is a DVD of images, wouldn’t it be better if it came in a deluxe DVD case with a ribbon?
Jorgensen’s have also begun to consider all things ‘gift’ like which is the reason for the introduction of our DVD cases, photo cover boxes and, most recently, our deluxe presentation boxes. Somehow, just the fact that something comes in a box seems to add some perceived value and adds to the anticipation! Our new Komplet albums also come wrapped delicately in protective cloth and ribbon (see pictures below!)
This post is just to get you thinking about presentation and how you can maximize that anticipation and excitement your clients get when they receive their images, with just a bit of effort (and maybe some French ticking ribbon!). Regardless of the price they paid, or the product you present, make each and every sale a gift to the client. I guarantee they will treasure the images even more. They will thank you for it when they tell all their friends about their ‘little blue album box’ moment!
(P.S If you are inspired by this post, check out a few images of beautifully wrapped albums from our Studio Collection from Leela B Photography (
http://www.leelabphotography.co.uk/2010/07/latest-jorgensen-wedding-albums-have-arrived/) Just exquisite wrapping!).
