So, you want to start a branded merch and apparel program?
POV: Your business is growing, you are hiring more team members, and people LOVE your product and/or service. Life is good. People love your company so much that they are asking you for stickers, patches or apparel emblazoned with your branding so they can share their affinity with the world. All they need is some branded merch. But wait. You don’t have any? Or maybe you only have those tired branded hats and t-shirts with your old logo? What is one to do?
Whether you are just starting a branded merch, apparel or point of purchase (POP) material program, if you are inheriting an existing one, or just looking to refresh your offerings, we know firsthand how daunting of a task it can be. Which items do my customers want? What vendor(s) do I need to work with to source these items? What information do I need to provide to said vendor(s)? How many and what sizes should I order? How should I price these items? How do I get the word out about these items?
In this blogpost, we will go into the details of what it takes to start a branded merch and apparel program, what “point of purchase” materials are, and how you can set yourself and your team up for success. Don’t worry, we know there is A LOT more to managing an apparel, merch or POP program than what we are covering here, so we will be dedicating future blog posts to topics like how to design better merch, how to order and price your merch and apparel, how to build an effective merch and apparel retail space, and more!
1. Do your homework.
With literally THOUSANDS of branded merch and apparel companies out there, how do you pick just one (or a handful) to work with? We recommend starting with your industry peers. Identify a handful of industry peers whose branding and merch/apparel that you respect and admire, and then follow them on social media, or better yet, reach out to them to pick their brains about who they are working with. That peer will be flattered that you think their branding and merch are beautiful, and you will have a valuable contact that can help you narrow down your search. No need to reinvent the wheel everytime you want to order items that are up to date with the latest trends. See what other people are doing and follow suit.
2. Keep it simple.
It can be easy and even fun to work with multiple vendors for different projects, but that can snowball if not kept in check. Rather than juggling multiple vendor relationships, we recommend finding one or a small handful of vendors to help you with your merch and apparel. This will reduce the amount of time and resources needed to order/reorder items, and as your relationship grows with these vendors, they will also learn what your business needs are, what your brand voice/aesthetic is and how to best work with you. You know firsthand just how valuable your time is, so by working with one or a handful or vendors, you can invest that time into other critical aspects of your job and business. We recommend working with a vendor that can tackle multiple projects and items to help keep things tidy and “under one roof” so to speak. Instead of working with one vendor for your apparel, another for your POP needs and another for your promotional items, try finding one that can cover more than one area. Bonus points if that vendor can also manage your inventory, handle order fulfillment or even host your online webstore. **Shameless Plug**: Shore Up Supply can do all of those things!
3. Come prepared.
Once you identify your vendor(s), you’ll need to supply them with as much relevant information as possible. What item(s) are you looking for? If you don’t have a good answer here, ask for some recommendations. Do you have high-res vector art files of your logo and branding materials available? PDF, AI or EPS files are a designer’s best friend! While they may look pretty, avoid JPG and PNG files as these are not usually editable. What is your brand aesthetic? Is your brand loud and the life of the party, or more soft and understated? This can help designers create something that is more “on-brand” and that will resonate with you and your customers. When do you need these items by? If you have a big anniversary party, product launch, etc. coming up, be sure to let your vendor(s) know so they can plan accordingly on their end to ensure you have your beautiful new merch and apparel ready when the big day arrives. How much of each item are you looking for? This is a helpful piece of information to convey as you can often take advantage of bulk purchasing discounts at certain order quantities. Related to this, having an overall budget or desired cost/unit will also help your vendor filter the available options to fit your budget and price point.
4. Start small.
You are stoked about your company and want to sport every possible wearable, water bottle, backpack, e-bike, etc. with your logo on it. We get it! That being said, we recommend keeping your offerings simple and straightforward, to start at least. Instead of offering the kitchen sink, try a handful of shirts, a few hats, some sweatshirts, pins/patches/sticker packs, and maybe a couple of items that are unique to your business and your fans. Are you a craft brewery geared towards exploring the great outdoors? Maybe branded bandanas, sunglass straps or hiking socks make a lot of sense for you and your fans. Perhaps you are a crossfit gym that likes to work out outside as much as inside? It might be worth looking at branded wind breakers/rain jackets, moisture-wicking tech jerseys, or tank tops. Do your customers and your team love to play disc golf? We’d recommend looking into branded discs, disc bags or disc towels. Once you start seeing some sell-through and your branded merch and apparel program starts to take off, feel free to add more offerings, color schemes, materials, etc., but only if it makes sense to do so with your audience.
5. Keep seasonality in mind.
It may sound like a no-brainer, but always remember that certain merch and apparel items will sell better at different times of the year. Sure, some items will be evergreen and sell pretty much year round (we’re looking at you, t-shirts, baseball hats, stickers, etc.), but we’re talking about items that are geared for a specific season. Beanies, flannels and sweatshirts will likely sell better in cooler months. Conversely, tank tops, dog water bowls and sun/lifeguard hats will probably sell more during warmer seasons. So if your fleece-lined hoodies are not selling particularly well in July, it may pay to wait until fall comes around to start pushing those, or you can run a sale on those items to help make space for different and more weather-appropriate items.
6. Ask for input from outside sources.
Sure, you might think a branded fedora or a branded set of dinner plates is DOPE, but will your customers or your team actually wear or use them? While it may be more time-consuming, your customers, your team, your retailers and your distributors would likely LOVE to give you their feedback and opinions on what merch and apparel you should invest in. You can rest easy knowing that the apparel and merch you selected will actually be used by the people you want to buy it, and those individuals will be that much more likely to be excited about the merch and apparel and promote it with their networks and your customers. Now, we don’t recommend asking absolutely everyone and their mother for feedback because everyone tends to have that one thing they are obsessed with (we’ll pass on the branded glass candy bowl, but thank you for the suggestion, Great Aunt Karen), but there is certainly value in getting some input from key members of your team, your distributors, your retailers/customers.
7. What in the sam heck is a “point of purchase” material?
Point of Purchase (AKA- “POP”) materials are branding and messaging items that can be put on display at a retailer location that will help promote and sell your brands with consumers. POP ranges from everything including (but not limited to): retailer posters, shelf talkers, cooler static clings, display pieces/racks, LED signs, aluminum signs/“tackers”, banners, instant redeemable coupons, table tents and more. Why are these important? In a sea of other brands and competitors, making your brand stick out at the retail level has become all the more important, and POP materials can be valuable tools to help you do just that. POP materials can catch the eyes of customers, help educate customers and retailers, boost sales and help retailers achieve specific aesthetics. Having a portfolio of POP materials to choose from will give you a BIG leg up with retailers and distributors alike because they know they have some polished marketing assets to back up the placements you/your distributor just sold in. Now, if you are a small business with your storefront as your sole means of selling your products/services, then POP may not be as important, but there is still value in investing in the right materials. Banners, posters, shelf talkers, etc. can all be leveraged to help your customers make purchasing decisions!
We’ll leave it there for now, but we hope you found this blog post insightful and that you were able to take away some action items on how to approach your apparel, merch and POP programs. Stay tuned for more helpful tips and advice in our next blog post, and please feel free to share and subscribe to our newsletter for all of the latest and greatest news from Shore Up Supply!
