In recent years, you may have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of stores that offer gift cards. For the longest time, stores would make gift certificates available for purchase, but gift cards offer many advantages. For example, instead of giving the cash difference if the entirety of the face value of a gift certificate is not used, a gift card can carry a balance, ensuring that the entire amount will be spent at the store (eventually).

You may have received a few of these gift cards over the holiday season and you may already be preparing to spend them during the shopping frenzy known as Boxing Day. Yes, they work on Boxing Day. Because there are so many companies and stores that sell gift cards these days, many have started to working to brand their gift cards in such a way as to differentiate from the rest of the cards being sold by competitors. This could be as simple as a name change or it could be by offering additional benefits to gift card usage.

From a marketing perspective, is it any easier convincing a potential customer to buy a TimCard rather than a Tim Horton’s Gift Card? Over at Starbucks, they sell Starbucks Cards, not Starbucks Gift Cards. In marketing and advertising, you don’t want your company to blend into the crowd, because that’s not how you can attract potential customers. At the same time, some potential customers may be put off by the self-serving aspects of “branding” a gift card. Whether it’s called a TimCard, a Starbucks Card, or any other kind of card, it’s still a Gift Card.

What are your thoughts on this matter? Does it bother you when companies brand and market their gift cards almost as something completely different from regular gift cards, or do you take it all in stride and understand why they would want to brand their cards in such a way?