'Tis the (Oscar) Season of Gifting
Feb. 23, 2006 — -- In the countdown to the 78th annual Academy Awards on March 5, what's to be revealed in the envelope is not the only source of high anticipation.
Speculation also abounds as to what Tinseltown treasures will be spilling out of the awards ceremony gift bag this year. The gift bag is that high-end "thank you" celebrity presenters and winners get at the end of an extraordinary evening. Last year's Oscar gift bag was worth around $100,000.
These days the gift bag or basket can grab as much press as Nicole Kidman's designer dress or George Clooney's date. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences controls the gifting process by having it handled by an in-house company. The contents are a carefully guarded secret until a few days before the ceremony.
Star-studded product proximity can mean money in the bank to retailers and service providers chosen for a place among any of the important awards' season freebies.
"By associating their product with a celebrity, it typically equates to a great marketing opportunity for them," said Karen Woods, whose company, Backstage Creations, is in the top tier of this niche market and produced celebrity gifting for this year's Screen Actors Guild awards. "Ultimately, that is the end result they are looking for."
Woods and other producers of the "gifting experience" have expanded the concept beyond the confines of a bag or basket -- referred to as swag. Celebrity participants at the SAG awards were ushered from rehearsal or the ceremony to a "gift retreat" behind the stage for a proper thank you.
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