The best merch isn’t always the flashiest or the most expensive. It’s not always a name brand.

The best merch is thoughtful, useful, and makes life a little better!

Travel is ready to make a comeback and keeping PPE related items, cleaners and sanitizers together and organized is going to be a priority.

After 28 years helping clients build their brands, we know that promotional products work.

🎸🔥I wanna rock and roll all nite (and cornhole every day)! 🌽 🤘

COUNTDOWN: What’s the #4 Trend in the Branded Merch Space for 2023?
 
Since our team recently went to our industry’s largest tradeshow, I have some answers!
 
The #4 trend we noticed is: the continued popularity of Retail Brands
 
Retail brands create an instant connection, delivering a unique combination of on-trend style, premium performance, and quality that people trust.

Event planners: Looking for the perfect universal gift?

I suspect you usually don’t specifically know your audience at the tradeshows, conferences, and other offsite events you plan:

Men? Women?
Older? Younger?
Job title? Level within their organization?

80% of people would write WHAT if they were asked to try out a new pen

Their NAME!

It’s true…When the Printable team sits in a pen supplier presentation we are asked to test out new pens.

As I look around the table, most of the team is writing their names!

Pens are one of those “try ‘em before you buy ‘em” pieces of branded merch.

Marketing and event peeps: Did you know that drinkware is the 2nd most-sold product category in the branded merch space?

Drinkware accounted for 9.7% of merch sales in 2021 (the latest year of data from the Advertising Specialty Institute's State of Industry report).

It’s 5:00 pm somewhere!

It’s not just Jimmy Buffet fans that like to celebrate when the workday is over!

Experiential gifts like this Happy Hour Kit complete with customized cork coasters have been popular with our clients who conduct remote events and want the group to celebrate together “on camera”.

Hey, Event Planners and Marketers: T-shirts are #1!

And that's not just something you might see printed on a tee for sale on the beaches of Miami, FL...but a reality in our industry for decades now!

Even in 2020, t-shirts remained the top category we sell here at Printable despite other, more fleeting products eating into its market share (Hello: masks and sanitizers).

You know how people bake cookies when they go to sell their house?

The reason? The positive feelings associated with the smell of warm baked goods!

How can you get your gift recipients to have the same positive feelings associated with your brand?

The answer is simple — give them a baking experience they simply cannot forget.

Quick Quiz: Which room do most people congregate in at a party?

Answer: The Kitchen.

This is Nacho your average promo gift…your recipients will congregate around some chips and salsa and queso in a custom box we send them for you!

What’s reusable, warm and glows?

No, it’s not one of my patented Dad jokes, but rather words that describe the characteristics of the items in this super cool “Let’s Get Cozy” kit I recently received from my partners over at Hit Promotional Products.

A reusable travel tumbler, some hot chocolate and a scented candle!

It's my job to stay in tune with branded merchandise trends.

One of the biggest trends I am seeing from my clients is a gravitation toward co-branding with premium products and retail brands.

People are LOST without their earbuds and headphones. Well, 87% of us, anyway!

Listening to music, podcasts, & audiobooks or taking a phone call. At their desk, out for a jog, chilling on the couch. They’re practically glued to our ears!

When you’re sending a welcome kit to a remote employee, the right merch can send a very powerful message.

Products in the kit should be on-brand for your organization AND things your new team member will be excited to receive (and post about!)

Recognition programs used to be 100% paperweights, plaques, watches, and a clock if you stayed until you retired. Things are a little different now!

Awards ≠ trophies.

Yes, there are still some monumental successes that deserve to be commemorated with an object, one that will be a permanent physical reminder we can display. And these are taking a more modern form now, often being custom-designed with materials to match your brand. The sky’s the limit to what we can help you create!

Remote workers can feel disconnected and alone. Incorporating merch in your team-building efforts brings a physical element into a digital relationship.

Here are my top 3 tips for keeping remote teams engaged with branded merch

Savory charcuterie food gifts? Custom branded cutting boards? Really?

I've been helping clients tell their brand stories and build emotional brand connections for 25 years now. But in all those years, I've never seen the popularity of savory food gifts accented with custom-etched cutting boards as high as it is right now.

“One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong.”

Can you spot which item in each picture was placed using augmented reality?