• by Ari Rosenberg , Op-Ed Contributor, February 28, 2005

Client entertaining encompasses a wide array of events, social occasions, meals, and gifts that require a submitted expense report to obtain reimbursement.

This is where media sales reps really get creative. Coming up with just the right client name to cover a lunch with someone other than that client is an art form. As expense report crimes go, however, these instances are misdemeanors often overlooked by those signing off on the submitted report.

Expense report felonies that are red flagged often involve "thank you gifts" that go beyond acceptable business conduct.

For example, a salesperson on my team once rewarded a media supervisor with a $300 Prada bag for a $30,000 campaign. When I read this on her subsequent expense report, I read her manager the riot act.

The gift itself was excessive. Worse, it had no connection to the editorial property we represented. Had we worked at Vogue, the connection would be more apparent, but we wrote about video games, which rarely, if ever, featured high fashion handbags. I am sure the sales rep and the media supervisor felt weird about their exchange for a fleeting moment. Therein lies rule No. 1 as it relates to giving and receiving gifts. If it feels wrong, it usually is.

Secondly, gifts should be extensions of the brand represented. At Tennis Magazine, I would give tennis racquets as gifts and while at IGN.com, I gladly signed off on video game consoles as gifts. Both examples sync up with their respective editorial products. Once, while waiting for a client to enter a conference room, a former boss of mine put on his sunglasses and pretended to pull out his checkbook. He turned to me and said, "How much is it gonna take for three spreads?"

He was kidding, of course, but this is no joking manner. Before a media sales rep puts his or her corporate card down for a client gift, they need to ask themselves how this gift extends or enhances the brand. If they cannot make the connection in the time it takes to swipe a credit card, it's time to rethink the purchase.

Ari Rosenberg is a media sales consultant with experience in media buying. He can be reached at: ari@performancepricing.com.