Tell Him I Want This…

I was chatting to some work colleagues over lunch the other week, trading stories about ‘bad’ Xmas/birthday/Valentine’s gifts received from boyfriends/husbands. The main gist of it was this – women, by and large, are incredibly fussy and some can be VERY hard to buy for. Personally, I don’t think I fall into either of those categories *ahem* but even if I did, Jim has sensibly worked out a fail-safe way of ensuring I am happy with my gifts – he asks my best friends for tips.

Now to me this is the perfect solution – I don’t talk to Jim about that beautiful pair of shoes I saw in Grazia that I SIMPLY MUST HAVE. Or the delicate Hannah de Bruyn ruby earrings I’ve been lusting over for months. It’s not particularly interesting to him and will not provide me with the the satisfying ‘Oh I KNOW they are DIVINE!’ type exchange I seek.

But not all men ‘phone a friend’. Some because they feel confident in their gift choices (we know you exist, smug wives and girlfriends of men who ‘get it right, every time’, we just choose to ignore you), others because they might not be as close to their partner’s friends, others because it just doesn’t occur to them or they feel it might make them look like a rubbish boyfriend/husband/whatever.

But – and there is a but – the men who fly 100% solo and get it right every time are few and far between. We all know friends who have said ‘thanks but it’s too small/the wrong colour/hideous/not really me’. I know friends who just pick what they want and then get the cash from their fella to go out and buy it – it works for some.

But what if there were a way to give a gentle prod in the right direction? A helping hand from a kind stranger?

That was the premise under which we launched ‘Tell Him I Want This‘ – a new online service that proposes using social media to help woman get what they want and take the pain and hassle out of gift buying for our lovely blokes.

Here’s the blurb:

Ever wish there was an easy way to tell your other half what you want for your birthday, Valentine’s Day, Christmas or Anniversary? Ladies – you aren’t alone.

Born out of a conversation over lunch, ‘Tell Him I Want This’ is a project dreamt up by the girls at integrated marketing agency Doco London. Put simply – we want to help you tell him what you want.

No more ill-fitting underwear, no more bad perfume, no more ugly jewellery – we’re here to help bridge that awkward gap between what you want and what you actually get. Be it a beautiful underwear set, some limited edition perfume, a ‘How To Enjoy Your Body’ class at the School of Life or a Tiffany yellow diamond solitaire (we can dream) every girl has her eye on something special!

Share any links or images on our wall and we’ll drop your other half a Facebook message with a convenient link to buy. All you need to do is email us with any details (such as size, colour etc) at tellhimiwantthis@docolondon.com, include your significant other’s Facebook page URL (or email if he isn’t on FB)  and we’ll pass the message on for you via a simple ‘click to buy’ link. Simple!

Now some of you may think this takes the romance out of gift buying – and that element of surprise – but come on, we women are a pragmatic bunch. And the more links you share on the Tell Him page the more chance you’ll get a surprise – after all, you never know which of the amazing suggestions he’ll choose do you? ;)

So far our friends have come up with some genius gift suggestions ranging from an Audi to a Mickey Mouse Kettle, jewellery to a puppy, a fancy digital camera to Ultimo lingerie. It’s a real mixed bag. We’re keeping track of ‘what women want’ over on Pinterest and it’s great to see such a diverse range of stuff.

The other bonus for me personally is that I can use this campaign as a live case study for work. It’ll be very interesting to see just how well a multi-platform social media campaign can work with little or no budget behind it, simply by word of mouth. Put simply – just how influential can one person with a simple idea, be? Obviously this will only work if people think it’s a good idea (and we’ve had some great feedback so far) but still – is it good enough to engage with, share with your followers on Twitter or your friends on Facebook? That, my friends, is the million dollar question ;)

Anyway – if you want to get involved you can do so here:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tellhimiwant
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/tellhimiwant
Google+:www.plus.google.com/112637258396395972180

I’d love to hear your stories of the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to gifts received from your other half. What’s been the best gift you ever received? The worst? And does the mythical man who knows your bra size truly exist??

;)

MrsL xxx