Promotional gifts in Iraq: a practical purchasing brief

Separate the requirement from the preferred idea

A requirement describes what the gift must achieve. A preference describes one possible solution. For example, a workshop organiser may require something participants can write in, but prefer a dark notebook. Record those statements separately. If the preferred colour is unavailable, the supplier can propose an alternative without changing the useful function. Do the same for materials, packaging and personalisation: identify which details are essential and which can be reviewed.

Give the brief an owner and a revision date. Purchasing should know whose approval settles a product substitution, while the supplier should know which version replaces earlier messages. Keep an inspiration image as a reference attachment, not as the entire specification. If it contains several objects, label the components you want and state whether comparable catalogue products are acceptable. A photograph does not confirm contents, dimensions or price.

Copy these fields into the request

Use the following fields as a working template. Write “to confirm” where a decision is genuinely open; an empty field can look like permission to choose. Separate the requested arrival date from the event date so the team can discuss inspection and distribution time. Do not turn an internal target into a supplier commitment before receiving confirmation.

• Purpose and recipients: who receives the gift and what they should use it for.
• Contents per set: one notebook, one pen, or another clearly named combination.
• Quantity: complete sets, additional loose items and any approved reserve.
• Product references: selected catalogue codes and acceptable substitution criteria.
• Branding: approved logo file, proposed location, languages and personal names if needed.
• Packaging: box or bag, insert, card and whether assembly is included.
• Delivery: city, receiving address, contact person and required handover arrangement.
• Commercial scope: currency, included charges, outstanding costs and quotation validity.
• Approval: responsible reviewer, sample requirement and written change process.

Test the brief with a simple quantity example

Imagine a company planning 100 identical notebook-and-pen sets: 60 for Baghdad and 40 for Erbil. This is a hypothetical purchasing example, not a Brandkom offer. The basic contents are 100 notebooks and 100 pens, plus the agreed packaging for 100 sets. The city split changes the packing and delivery instructions; it does not create 200 gift sets. List any reserve separately instead of silently increasing every line.

If the Erbil recipients need a different message card, create two card versions with their own quantities while retaining the common product references. Ask for costs by component and for any difference caused by the two versions or delivery arrangements. This makes it possible to compare quotations without assuming every supplier included the same work. Unpriced printing, assembly or delivery remains pending, rather than becoming a zero-cost line.

Use one presentation as the visual companion

Brandkom’s catalogue can establish actual product references, and the free gift design studio can organise those choices into a client-facing presentation. Show the selected products, packaging direction and quantities alongside the purchasing brief. For image-led requests, review the proposed catalogue alternatives before choosing them. A similar-looking option should retain its own name and reference so the next reviewer knows exactly what is being discussed.

Before sending the request for quotation, compare the brief with the saved presentation. Check that the contents, quantity and requested branding agree. Keep the current PDF or shared preview with the revision record, and identify the next decision: product selection, sample approval or final commercial confirmation. This small check prevents a polished presentation and a different spreadsheet from becoming competing instructions for the same order.