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5 Tips for a Memorable Unboxing Experience

|Update on November 5, 2024

A client having a memorable unboxing experience

Regardless of whether your company is giving new hire welcome kits or giving away company swag bags at trade shows, it’s vital you create a memorable unboxing experience. 

When someone opens your gift for the first time, it isn’t just what’s inside that matters: it’s the very experience of unboxing your package. The best experiences delight new employees and customers, introducing them to your company in a fun, engaging way that brings your brand to life. 

That makes creating a memorable unboxing experience an important task for everyone associated with corporate gift-giving. By investing in the unboxing experience, you can help your swag boxes stand out, spark new relationships, and boost brand sentiment. 

What Does an Unboxing Experience Do For Your Brand?

The unboxing experience impacts both the recipient and the brand. The best experiences are even shared on social media, leading to significant benefits for your business. Additional benefits of a memorable unboxing experience include:

Customer Satisfaction

By making a great first impression, companies can ensure customers are satisfied when they receive and open their products. Providing a memorable experience puts the recipient in a positive frame of mind the first time they interact with your products. 

Brand Awareness

Unboxing experiences can contribute to brand awareness, particularly when your customers share their unboxing on their social channels. A great unboxing experience can make recipients feel like a VIP influencer, and you can bet they’ll be keen to share their experiences – contributing to increased visibility for your brand. 

Elevated Brand Perception

Positive unboxing experiences improve people’s perceptions of your brand. A great unboxing demonstrates that your business pays attention to the small details: a quality all businesses should strive to embody. Plus, a great unboxing experience ensures customers know they can consistently expect a positive experience when they work with your business. 

5 Ways to Create a Unique Unboxing Experience

Now that we’ve established the importance of positive unboxing experiences, let’s discuss some actionable strategies you can follow to ensure your own swag boxes feature an unforgettable unboxing experience.

1. Add a Personal Touch

Including a handwritten note or a personalized message goes a long way in creating a memorable unboxing experience for customers. Consider the message you’d like to convey to the recipient and ensure it includes a personalized element, such as their name, a short note from their contact, and a thoughtful greeting and thank you.

2. Encourage Sharing to Social Media

Whether you’re sending swag boxes to customers or a new hire, encourage the recipient to share their experience on social media. When recipients share their unboxing experience on Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms, they spread awareness about your brand. That boosts the visibility of your brand, exposing you to new audiences and allowing you to attract new customers.

3. Include Unique, High-Value Gifts

For a memorable unboxing experience, select gifts that both surprise and delight your recipients. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and include swag items that are custom-branded or even personalized to each recipient. It’s a surefire way to ensure that when your recipients open your swag box, they’ll be wowed. 

4. Tell Your Brand’s Story

Include an insert containing background information about your brand. This is especially important when onboarding new employees at a company and sending gifts for virtual corporate events. By telling your brand’s story in a compelling way, you grab the recipient’s attention as soon as the unboxing begins, providing a branded, educational experience. 

5. Focus on Packaging

Packaging is important when sending corporate gift boxes and other swag boxes. Develop custom swag box packaging templates that help your business stand out from the competition. Get started with our custom swag box packaging templates, designed for sales prospecting, virtual events, employee onboarding, and customer appreciation. However, if you’re ready to start building your templates, consider some best practices for designing a custom swag box.

free swag box design templates

Examples of Great Unboxing Experiences

Some brands excel when it comes to making a great first impression with their packaging. Let’s take a look at three companies that stand out from the rest:

Apple

If you’ve ever bought an Apple product, you’ll know that the unboxing experience is almost as design-led and elegant as the products themselves. Every element of the packaging of an Apple product, from iPhones to Apple Watches, is smooth and intuitive, with sharp branding, user-friendly design, and minimal waste. 

It’s a classy experience that sets the tone for what’s to come the first time you power up your device. The experience always includes clear directions about the steps users need to take to configure their devices, helping customers immediately start getting the most out of their new purchase. 

OwlCrate

OwlCrate provides monthly subscription boxes for book lovers, including young adult books, goodies, and adult fantasy book boxes. The company thrives on creating memorable experiences for its ambassador program, the OwlCrate Collective.

OwlCrate provides extra rewards and gifts to encourage users to share content from their unboxing experience on social media. This reward system works exceptionally well, prompting users to create authentic User Generated Content that the brand then shares across its social platforms.

KetoKrate

This snack box subscription service focuses on keto-friendly foods. A central selling point for their products is the excitement surrounding the unboxing experience for sampler packs and bundles. The company highlights its top influencers on its website and provides extensive information about sharing KetoKrate content to help users get free products and rewards. 

Every element of KetoKrate’s boxes is branded, from the bold orange colorway that’s instantly recognizable on doorsteps to the custom inserts detailing the products included inside. The brand has even taken the experience digital, adding a QR code that takes users to a webpage where they can learn more about the contents of their box. 

Check out our Unboxing Campaign Case Study for CSTA to learn how to create a memorable swag box experience.

Create a Memorable Swag Box Experience for Your Brand 

Unboxing experiences are undeniably important. You only get one chance to make a first impression.

By following the steps above and taking inspiration from the best unboxing experiences that we shared, you’re well-placed to start creating your own swag boxes. But sometimes, you need to see, touch, and feel the products (and the packaging) for yourself. 

If you’re looking for swag box inspiration, request a free swag box from GoDelta today. We’ll send a custom-designed swag box right to your door, giving you all the ideas you need to create a memorable swag box for your own brand.  

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