conic Hollywood glamour mixes withmodern sophistication and intuitive ser-vice at The London West Hollywood.Perched in the Hollywood Hills juststeps from the legendary Sunset Stripand Beverly Hills, the hotel embodiesthe vision of a bold team of internation-

al tastemakers, presenting the perfect backdrop forimpeccably staged events. Interiors designed by therenowned David Collins Studio and dining by herald-ed Chef Gordon Ramsay are all enhanced by servicethat is knowledgeable, friendly, and unobtrusive.

A fusion of both its namesake cities, The Lon-don West Hollywood emulates the best of cos-

mopolitan chic and California cool. Exchangevows against an unforgettable background of flow-ering gardens and breathtaking views. Dance thenight away in an elegant ballroom or atop thehotel’s signature rooftop terrace overlooking theHollywood Hills. Toast with friends within a styl-ish private dining salon or spacious suite. Timelessstyle, award-winning food and drink, and exquisiteevent space awaits.

The hotel is known for outdoor event spaces withstunning views of the city skylines and HollywoodHills. The Hampton Court, bordered by white rosesand box hedges, looks out to downtown Los Ange-les, while the rooftop terrace and pool deck offer

panoramic vistas and amazing sunset moments. Allcuisine, from appetizers to desserts, is conceived andprepared by the Gordon Ramsay team under thedirection of executive chef Anthony Keene, whocreates menus infused with local artisan flavors andCalifornia’s abundance of fresh produce andseafood. This level of innovative gourmet within aboutique Los Angeles hotel is wholly unique to TheLondon West Hollywood. In addition, The LondonBreakfast Table—a buffet-style bounty of sweet andsavory morning bites along with specialty coffees, iscomplimentary to all hotel guests.

Learn more at www.thelondonwesthollywood.com.

I

HolidayVenueGuide

This special advertising supplement did not involve the reporting or editing staff of the Los Angeles Business Journal.

November 14, 2011 • An Advertising Supplement to the Los Angeles Business Journal

A Fusion of Two ContinentsTHE LONDON WEST HOLLYWOOD

hhh, listen very carefully. I amgoing to share with you thesecret to giving the perfectgift... Buy something thereceiver would really like.

I know, I know. This is fair-ly obvious (and easy) advice. The trickypart is finding out what the receiverwould really like. To do this, you mustbe a detective. Start to listen to the per-son. What subjects do they talk ofoften? What do they do when they arenot working? Do they have any hob-bies? Are they a fan of a particular sport?Do they have a favorite charity? If theperson does not give you any cluesabout their interests, you must be aninvestigator. Start asking questions:"What did you do this weekend?" "Haveyou gone on vacation recently?" "Whatis your favorite restaurant?"

Giving Gifts to Clients Not all clients are created equal. Fol-

lowing the old rule of thumb, 20% ofyour clients account for 80% of your rev-enues. For a business, it would be fool-hardy, as well as costly, to treat all clientsequally. You have three options: • Send the same gift to all clients • Send gifts reflective of the clients busi-

ness (larger gift to larger clients) • Send cards to all clients and gifts to VIP

clients.

Please remember that a promotionalitem (i.e. something with your compa-ny's name on it) is not so much a gift aspart of a marketing plan.

Giving Gifts in the Office Most offices have guidelines on gift

giving. If you are not familiar with theseguideline, now is the time to investigate.The first place to check is the employeehandbook. If there isnothing listed, ask a fel-low employee what hap-pened last year. Here aresome of the typical rules:

Employees can seegifts to a boss as arequirement. Employersshould make it clear wellbefore December thatsupervisors and superiorsare not allowed to acceptgifts. (The only exception to this rule isbetween a boss and their executive sec-retary. These are two individuals whohave a special relationship as well as asymbiotic career path.)

Small token of esteem from bosses toemployees are always welcome. Butemployees tend to prefer bonuses andadditional time off to a trinket.

Gift swaps can be entertaining. However,when poorly executed can leave bad feel-ings behind. Gift swaps often go bad when

not everyone brings in a gift or when somegifts are tasteless and/or thoughtless. Plus,gift giving among employees can be taxingfor employees and their pocketbooks.

I recommend that for an office in thespirit of holiday giving, to donate to acharity. Employers can fund the contri-bution and allow the employees to decidewhere the fund will be donated. Often-times, employees prefer this charity fund

to another little knick-knack from the company.

My favorite businessappropriate gifts: • Writing paper (such as

Crane’s) • Beautiful pen (such as

Cross or Mont Blanc)• Fruit baskets (such as

Harry & David) • Business card cases –

monogrammed is nice • Business portfolios - leather • Calendars/planners/PDA • Watch/clock/timepiece • Crystal paperweight • Silver picture frame • Tickets to an event (not for December)

Gift Giving Guidelines: • Know the person's preferences and try

to match the gift. • Be aware of cultural, religious or interna-

tional taboos. Also be aware that somecompanies restrict their employees fromaccepting a gift over a certain amount.

• Use your common sense, no matterwhat the salesperson or website saysis appropriate.

• Save the gag gifts for purely social occa-sions, and even then, proceed with caution.

• Save items with your company nameon them for marketing campaigns.

• For business select a gift that reflectsyour business and your image.

• A gift for the client's office can bringgreater good will especially if the staffparticipates in projects for your business.

• Wrap the gift. Half of the thought isthe presentation.

• If you need some gift hints for a client,speak to his/her assistant.

• Start planning in advance. For extra help,contact a professional gift manager.

Some Holiday Q&A’sQ: I am the owner of a very small businessand do not have a budget for sending myclients presents during the holiday season.What can I do?A: A little trick for small business is toonly send out cards during the holidays.Save the gift giving for another time dur-ing the year. This way you can spreadout the cost of the gifts by sending a few

52 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL NOVEMBER 14, 2011

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Business Gift Giving Guidelines for the Holiday SeasonBy ‘MANNERSMITH’

continued on page 53

NOVEMBER 14, 2011 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 53

per month. Plus, a gift that is received allby itself in March is much more memo-rable and has a bigger impact on theclient than one that is found among allthe others in December.

Q: One of my co-workers and I are veryfriendly. We enjoy working together and weget together often out of the office. Everyonein the office knows how close we are, butlast year we got the cold shoulder when weexchanged gifts. Do I have to buy everyonein the office a gift?A: No, you do not need to buy everyone inthe office a gift. But if you are friendlyenough with this co-worker to exchangegifts, you should be friendly enough to plana get together outside of the office to do so.

Q: Should I be sending thank you notes forall the "give-aways" I receive in the officethis time of year?A: No, gifts and promotional items (cal-endars, mouse pads, pen or other itemswith another company’s name on it) aretwo distinctly different categories. Asalways, a thank you note shouldacknowledge all gifts. For promotionalitems, you can thank the person whosent it the next time you see them orspeak with them on the phone.

This information was provided by and iscopyright of Mannersmith.com, the onlineetiquette consultants. Interested parties cansubscribe to Mannersmith’s monthlynewsletter via the subscription form onmannersmith.com.

early eight of 10 (79%)marketing and advertisingexecutives say some formof holiday gift givingoccurs among workers intheir offices, but gifts can

range from thoughtful and appropriateto bizarre and humorous, according to asurvey from The Creative Group.

The most common forms of gift giv-ing are from managers to staff (51%) andamong co-workers (51%). Gifts are leastoften given to managers from employees(39%), the study found.

“Given the current economy, officegift giving may be toned down this year,but there still will be those who want tospread holiday cheer by giving col-leagues tokens of appreciation,” saidMegan Slabinski, executive director ofThe Creative Group. “Although presentsdon’t have to be expensive, they doneed to be thoughtful and appropriateto the work environment. A gift thatworks in one setting may not be wellreceived in another.”

Some gifts given in the office aren’talways appreciated or understood, TheCreative Group said. Among the mostquestionable gifts cited by respondentsin an open-ended question:• A voodoo doll of the boss, given to a

co-worker. • A wrapped six-pack of beer. • Portraits of an employee, given to

other employees. • A case of tuna. • Orange hair extensions. • A fully-stocked 125-pound aquarium. • A plastic pizza with a face on it.

In contrast, respondents said otherpresents showed considerable thought:• A membership to a local art gallery. • A ride on a parade float with Santa Claus. • Ohio State football helmets given to

Ohio State football fans. • Custom-made bobble-head dolls that

were replicas of employees. • A photo collage of someone’s children. • A customized Disney toy.

Among the most humorous gifts:• The Clapper device for turning on and

off lights and electronic devices.

• A punching bag that emits curses when hit. • A radar detector for an employee who

received numerous speeding tickets. Some respondents say those in their

workplaces often opt for charity-based giftsaround the holidays in order to give backto their communities. Such gifts includeda certificate to a charity in an employees’name and an office-wide effort to collectand distribute gifts to needy families.

“This year, especially, many nonprofitscould use the help, whether it’s a gift in anindividual’s name to a cause he or she

believes in, or a group outing to provideassistance to those in need,” Slabinski said.

The national survey was developed byThe Creative Group and conducted byan independent research firm. It is basedon 250 telephone interviews - 125 withadvertising executives randomly selectedfrom the US’s 2,000 largest advertisingagencies and 125 with senior marketingexecutives randomly selected from thenation’s 2,000 largest companies.

Information provided by the Creative Group.

N

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A B R I L L I A N T E V E N T

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f you have decided to have aholiday office party this year,you have to do some planning.And depending on the size ofyour business, you may have tostart planning well in advance.

You can make your holiday officeparty one to remember – provided youknow what is involved in planning theperfect office party.

Here are some tips for your holidayparty planning:

Get Everyone InvolvedDiscuss the party with your employ-

ees and colleagues. Solicit company holi-day party ideas from everyone who isinterested. This helps in forging a senseof unity and avoiding resentment.

Then, consider forming a committee toorganize the party. If your business issmaller, then everyone should be involved.

Holiday Party ThemesDecide on a theme for your holiday

party. Having a holiday party theme helpsin organizing a more entertaining party.

Try to think a bit differently; go forsomething new and exciting. Consider tak-ing the company to play a round of golf,visit historical places, or taking a dinnercruise or going to a fine dining restaurant.

The idea here is to opt for a holidayparty theme that takes you away fromthe mundane office environment.

Pick a Suitable DateDecide on a date that is good for

everyone. Christmas Eve usually isn’tvery good, as most people want to takeoff early to be with their families.

Make sure you inform everybody wellin advance, and that your holiday officeparty date does not clash with a holidayor fall on the date of an important com-pany event.

Ask your employees if they think itshould be held on a weekday or theweekend. This will ensure that everyonewill be able to participate.

Choose the Right LocationThe idea behind a holiday office

party is for everyone to unwind andenjoy themselves.

Choose a location that is festive, com-fortable and beautiful. When you choosethe location, make sure that it is in alocation that is convenient for everyone.

Food and Beverage ConsiderationsNaturally, the people in your office

have different dietary requirements.Some may be vegetarian while othersmay be on a diabetic diet.

Having a menu that caters to every-one is a good idea. It is always better toserve non-alcoholic drinks so that thingsdon’t get out of hand. You can ask youremployees about their dietary restric-tions and preferences.

Make sure that you arrange to havethe right amount of food and drinksavailable.

Decorations to Create That Party FeelingWhile doing your holiday party plan-

ning, pay special attention to the decora-tions. They should match the season andthe holiday.

Games and Activities to EnjoyBe sure to plan games and activities

that help break the ice.For example, you can organize games

and have singing competitions. You canhave prizes for the best-dressed person.Play lively music in the background. Tryto hire a DJ if your budget permits.

Remember, this is your opportunity toshow your employees your appreciation.

Cool Gifts and PrizesAt the party, give gifts and prizes that

are cool, fun and useful. They can be thelatest electronic gadgets, party favors orgift certificates.

Ask all your employees to pitch inwhen it comes to gift ideas – that way,everyone will feel that they have anopportunity to contribute.

Organizing a great holiday officeparty can be fun for everyone. Followthe tips above and make your party oneto remember!

Sydney Chafee is a freelance writer.

Book A Fall/Winter Meeting

* New business only; must be consumed by 12/31/11. Valid for small groups with minimum 25 attendees. May not be combined with any other offer.

54 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL NOVEMBER 14, 2011

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Planning for that Big Holiday Office Party By SYDNEY CHAFEE