By Jane Friedmann
I recently had the opportunity to see my favourite stand-up comedian live. It was a great show and I wanted to commemorate it with some custom merch. Except there was nothing there worth buying. It was all your standard tote bags, t-shirts,mugs, with nothing but a name or lame slogan printed at the center in a simple black font. Items one would buy, take home and immediately forget existed. Definitely not the feeling you want to elicit from your target audience or fans. As a brand, you want to make merch that sells; merch that impresses customers enough they want to show it off. So how do you create merch people actually want to use or wear?
Make your merch with first-rate materials
Have you ever bought a tote bag made of such light fabric that you felt your items would fall right through it? Or a t-shirt made of threads so stiff it was uncomfortable to wear? When designing custom merchandise, think about the everyday experience that people will get out of using your products. Excellent quality raw materials will always make better merchandise. Instead of that one-time purchase someone made to show support; now, it's the shirt you wear for your morning run every other day and a tote bag you take shopping. Making merch people use often will generate the best exposure for your brand.
Put a little creativity into your custom merch design
It's one thing to have your logo slapped onto the front of a hoodie, cap or mug. It's another to have a design that gets people taking a second look - or better yet, wanting to buy it too. When you're trying to draw more attention to your small but still growing brand, the latter approach should be your thought process when designing your custom merch. Because I wantedto show that my brand is unique and a little cheeky, I made a little peekaboo desingthat looks like I’m peeking out of your pockert. It was difficult to my a print shop that would print on the seem but in the end the effort was worth it for the result.
Another stratey to avoice ye ‘ole name in an average font, is to find an artist to help you incorporate a unique illustration to go with your logo or brand name. The more exceptional the art, the more likely it is to be a conversation starter that drives people back to your brand. One of my favourite pieces of merch is this beautiful white T-shirt with an elaborate skull design, and the brand's logo drawn within the illustration. It always gets me compliments and questions about where I bought it. The more exceptional the art, the more likely it is to be a conversation starter that drives people back to your brand.
At first glance can you even tell the shirt is brandded merchandise?
Carve a niche for yourself with one-of-a-kind custom merch
Hoodies, shirts and caps are standard choices for merch. They're the go-to options for many brands but that doesn't need to be the case for you. As a business owner, you have the opportunity to make unique merch your customers want. Understand your audience well, and you're likely to strike gold. Plushies or chew toys are merch items for pet brands for example. I once got a jar opener with a logo on it and now it lives in my kitchen. Useful merch is good merch.
Try harder with custom merch, even when others aren't
It's easy to go with the standard designs for custom merchandise when starting out as a business. But here's why you should probably put a bit more thought into it before you're stuck with stock that doesn't move. Well-made products will always bring back return customers and will have people talking about your brand more. You're probably up against competition within the same industry, against organizations vying for the attention of the same target audience. Here's what good quality custom merch does for your growing business, that standard merch won't.
I saw the founder of Be Lagacy wearing this cap and instantly fell in love, he went right out to his truck and got me one!
BC Legacy Baseball Cap
People will want to keep using good custom merch
The point of this post was to talk about making merchandise that people will actually want to use. Not something they will add to the pile and forget about. Remember that well-made shirt that you will always want to wear? Or that tote bag you always carry with you. When you make good merch, the people who buy it will want to continue using it because they like its quality. The more they do so, the more they keep buying from you, and like that, you will establish a steadily growing customer base.
People want to keep well-designed merchandise
I never considered myself a business card collector until my friend Carla Mooking gave me hers. The illustration was so beautiful I asked for her other design variations - I now have 5 business cards for the same brand! As an artist, her business card reflects her unique style, and the design is easily adaptable to additional mediums like stickers and fridge magnets. You know you succeeded when people ask for multiples of your merch.
Unique custom merchandise is always a conversation starter
You want people talking because it means they are curious, and curiosity brings engagement with your brand. Social media influencer Belle Delphine, made headlines for selling out bottles of her own bath water back in 2019. People will remember Belle Delphine because of the extreme nature of her merch, and people will remember the unique design choices you make for your brand’s promotional merchandise.
When making campaign t-shirts for Canadian Member of Parliament candidate Michelle Corfield we went with a bold design choice. It paid off - even her teenage son wanted to wear one! Others adapted the shirts to their individual personalities with custom edits using sharpies. Political merch should strive to encourage engagement because here, it means more votes.
Potitical campaign t-shirts for Canadian Liberal Member of Parliament candidate Michelle Corfield
Before you start making your own custom merch, think of the kind of impression you want your brand to leave for your target audience. Consider how useful it could be for everyday use, or if it is unique enough to encourage people to engage with you. If you aren't sure where to start, check out some of our merch design projects. We can help you put together the kind of unique merch that drives business growth for years to come.
