Ten years ago, coming into the branded merchandise industry after a career with brands like Converse, Reebok and Vans, I carried many of the same assumptions that outsiders still have today.
Branded merchandise was swag, giveaways and tchotchkes. Poor quality, disposable and landfill bound. Something ordered at the last minute because there was a budget left to spend or an event coming up. I viewed it as a tactical purchase rather than a strategic marketing investment.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
What I’ve learned over the last decade as we’re living in a brand economy is that people care deeply about the brands they invest energy and money in and choose to affiliate with. Couple this with the fact that more than ever, consumers are craving genuine connection. They desire authentic, tangible and relevant experiences.
Powering Lasting Connections
As marketers, we’re all competing for attention in an increasingly digital world, yet one of the most effective ways to create a lasting impression and real connection is through something people can wear or use and incorporate into their lives.
The data reinforces what many of us see every day. According to PPAI Research, 76% of consumers are more likely to do business with a brand that provides branded merchandise, 78% view a brand more favorably after receiving a promotional product and 78% keep promotional products because they find them useful. Branded merch continues to deliver thousands of impressions over its lifetime at a fraction of a cent per impression.
While those numbers are impressive, what inspires me most is the role merchandise can play in creating genuine human connection and furthering sustainable brand engagement.
Andrea Stoll
Chief Marketing Officer, Boundless
One of the most meaningful programs I’ve been involved with celebrated military veterans working at Coca-Cola. Instead of handing out a standard piece of branded apparel, the company invested in personalized jackets featuring each veteran’s name and military designation. The jackets were made from recycled materials and assembled in the United States, creating a program that honored both the recipients and the company’s values.
The response was something no metric could fully capture. Veterans wrote personal notes to company leadership expressing their appreciation. They felt recognized. They felt valued. They felt that someone had taken the time to create something specifically for them.
That experience reinforced a lesson I continue to believe strongly: merchandise has the greatest impact when it’s intentional, and we have the opportunity and responsibility to build value into every client’s program.
Merch Agency Rather Than Vendor
Intentional sourcing means thinking beyond price. It means considering the recipient, product, decoration type, distribution method and unboxing experience. It means asking whether the product aligns with the brand, supports business objectives and provides enough utility that someone will keep and use it for years rather than it end up as “brandfill.”
When we approach merchandise strategically, we create value for the recipient, value for the brand and often a lower environmental impact because products remain in use longer and generate more impressions over their lifetime. Research continues to show that consumers place increasing importance on sustainable, responsibly sourced products and view brands more favorably when those values are reflected in the merchandise they receive.
This is why our industry is at an inflection point.
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The future belongs to organizations that embrace the role of a merch agency rather than a merch vendor. Brands don’t build digital marketing programs without agency expertise. They don’t create television campaigns without media experts. Merchandise deserves the same level of strategic planning and campaign execution.
We are the experts in this medium. We understand products, decoration methods, sourcing strategies, inventory realities, logistics, compliance and brand standards. We know how to balance creativity, budgets, timelines and business goals. Most importantly, we know how to help brands create meaningful experiences that strengthen relationships with employees, customers and communities.
The opportunity in front of our industry is compelling. Consumers want authenticity. Brands want engagement. Companies are looking for partners who can help them build stronger connections while being more intentional about the impact of their decisions.
Our responsibility is to lead that conversation.
This is our merch moment. The companies and sales professionals who elevate the discussion from products to outcomes, from transactions to strategy, and from price to value will be the ones who define the next chapter of our industry.
Let’s do this.
Stoll is chief marketing officer at Boundless, PPAI 100’s No. 21 distributor.
