Energizing the Customer Experience with Branded Merchandise

Branded merchandise is as popular as ever. Customers still love free swag. Now, with the integration of digital channels and emerging strategy, print, and creative capabilities, branded merchandise is more effective than ever. On this episode of The Whole Idea podcast, join host Greg Oberst and DCG ONE branded merchandise experts Breanna Capener and Richard Merz for an in-depth look at this venerable marketing approach and the compelling customer engagement opportunities emerging for marketers.  

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Transcript

Greg: 

What do consumers say is their favorite form of advertising? Hello and welcome to the Whole Idea Podcast by DCG ONE. I'm Greg Oberst. The answer is promotional products or what we often refer to in marketing as branded merchandise.  

In this episode, we'll dive into that very subject—branded merchandise—and think beyond the swag bag. We have in the studio a couple of experts on the subject. Breanna Capener is a DCG ONE client success manager, branded merchandise, and Richard Merz is a creative director and brand extension expert at the Agency at DCG ONE. Good to see you both. Welcome. 

Breanna: 

Hi. Thank you for having us.  

Richard: 

Thanks, Greg. Glad to be here. 

Greg: 

Yeah, a recent ASI Ad Impression study found that promo items or branded merchandise rank as consumer's most preferred form of advertising. Brianna, does that bit of data sync with your data?  

Breanna: 

Yeah. 75% of individuals that receive branded merchandise are more likely to buy your brand again. So there you go, 

Richard: 

Yeah, I think, I think some companies get that and use it as a really great tool. Others are, are maybe less so, but it does seem to be trending, and getting on the minds of more marketers more and more. 

Greg: 

Let's dive a little deeper into why somebody should consider branded merchandise for their company, Breanna. 

Breanna: 

Well, branded merchandise is portable. It's tangible, and it's everywhere you look. You can't go to a park without seeing someone's brand everywhere, and there's a lot of impressions on that on a monthly basis over and over again. You use your water bottle all the time and you put it in your favorite bag and it goes everywhere with you. 

Richard: 

Just to follow up on that, I think one of the things is that it just, it just hits in a different way than other promotions, you know. It comes across when you see people out in the wild using and wearing these, uh, products, it becomes more of a, a testimonial or an advocacy. Uh, I know this person, they're wearing something from this brand. Oh, that's, I connect positive associations with that person in that brand. And then also people can, uh, it can become a point of conversation and, and that becomes a storytelling moment, and now you've got an endorsement.  

Greg: 

It kind of goes back to this idea of giving your customers a way to market for you and be that brand advocate.  

Breanna: 

They're walking billboards, right? And like, uh, Richard said they're talking points. Where did you get that? Oh, that's cool. Especially if there's new features and, you know, we're trending towards a lot of sustainability. 

Richard: 

Yeah. It can create curiosity and just again, come across as a testimonial. 

Greg: 

Is it cost effective Brianna branded merchandise?  

Breanna: 

Yeah, it's very cost effective. On average, one piece gets about 340 impressions per month. So if you buy a thousand piece order, that's 340,000 impressions per month. So you can do the math on a yearly basis of what that looks like. It's over and over again. It's a one-time investment that continues to expand. 

Greg: 

Yeah, it has a long shelf life, I guess you could say in in marketing. Yeah. And so how do you arrive at branded merchandise as a possible marketing solution for companies? 

Breanna: 

So all companies use branded merchandise in one way or another, and we're pretty nifty at finding those opportunities that might have been met, especially when we can get really close to the overall objective of a marketing campaign. And a lot of times we'll just add a little extra touch to it. Maybe it's a follow up piece after a digital campaign and an opt-in or reward of some sort. 

Greg: 

Richard, you have your hand up. 

Richard: 

I think a lot of times, it comes just really naturally, uh, especially in our, in our brand practice where we're, we're creating new brands or, or refreshing brands that are out in the marketplace. When we come towards the end of bringing that to life in, in the public or the customer viewpoint they brands are looking for a way to kind of get it out there to welcome either their internal employee workforce, uh, to the new, to the new branding or, and a way to get customers excited about it. And so they're looking at these, these branded merchandise pieces to do that. 

Breanna: 

I think especially too, if you want to evoke some emotion out of the base or the target, then branded merchandise is, it's a feel-good way. People like it, especially if it's a nicer product, they feel like they're cared for, they feel like they're valuable. And so I think that if that is part of the overall objective of marketing, then brand merchandise. It's a great way to fit in. 

Greg: 

Richard, let's follow up on that thought just a little bit. How does branded merchandise play into brand expression? 

Richard: 

Yeah. Well, it, it follows directly. So, you know, the, when you're thinking about branded merchandise from both a selection of the products that you, you might offer or from the application of the graphics, it's expressing the, the brand's personality and you know, that that can be tuned in really well to the audience, uh, so that it reinforces all the values and the personalities of the brand. 

Greg: 

When you get a new branded merch project, what are some of the initial design considerations that go through your head and that you think about?  

Richard: 

Well, they're, they're all different. And that's one of the, the differences between our, what our company does is we take these on as really custom projects. So we're not, you know, we're not the biggest big box kind of operation where we're just pumping out thousands of pens with logos on them. We're, we're taking a brand first approach and really looking at, uh, what's right for this product, what, what reflects the values and the personality of the brand. Uh, and then we look at how, uh, what, what do we need to do for this project? Is it, is it simple? Are we applying, uh, the, the brand or the logo or the event name or whatever to the item? Or do, do we need to do some custom creative work for this? And we're equipped to take that on with, with our agency workflow. Um, so from the creative standpoint, we can create customized graphics, but we can also take that on in a bigger way and create more of a programmatic approach. 

Richard: 

So if it's, if it's an event, we can, we can look at creating all the touch points for that event, uh, and the graphics that would be needed for it. Beyond that, we can also add a strategy element where we're really coming in and doing a lot of research and understanding the target market, uh, as well as, uh, what are the key positioning elements that, that we need to support that brand merchandise effort. We can also add all of our technology layer, so, uh, online portals for ordering and delivering out to the markets. Uh, we have e-comm websites that we produce, as well as a whole range of fulfillment, uh, services. 

Greg: 

Well, we think about branded merchandise like we would for any other project that comes into DCG one, wrapping our heads around it with whole idea thinking. 

Richard: 

Yeah, that's exactly right. Uh, whether it's a, a social media campaign or a website or a, a promotion in a, in a printed piece, we, we utilize the medium to the best of its ability. So brand merchandise is, is no different. And we're going to look at the products and the way that we could apply the graphics and the branding and, and how we can distribute that. We can go beyond just creating the thing, but we can also orchestrate a really emotional moment, uh, in terms of, uh, how to give that to the customer or an employee, uh, to really highlight the recognition, uh, and make that emotional connection. 

Greg: 

Breanna and Richard, one thing that's giving branded merchandise some juice these days is this idea of integration with other channels into the swag product, if you will, to continue that customer journey beyond the physical piece in my hand. 

Breanna: 

Yeah. That is really trending right now. And, you know, you can go beyond that too and add in augmented reality. You know, you scan it and now you're immersed in a different world, but you get there from a brand merchandise piece. And that really pushes up the talking points too. I mean, can you imagine how many people are going to go show their friends and be like, look at this. Cool. Think about like a pet industry, right? You get a new bandana for your dog and you scan it with your phone, and now you can have like photo filters, you know, interactivity and gamifying and using that brand of merchandise is a great way to do that too.  

Greg: 

So let's follow up on some of the items that you guys have been mentioning. What are the trending and popular items these days in branded merchandise? 

Breanna: 

Well, it's always probably going to be apparel, technology, and drinkware. And there's a reason for that. You know, they're portable, they last a long time. They've got really a lot of usefulness to them, and especially if they kind of have a cool design too. People want to use them, they want to walk around with them, you know, I think that they're, they're the top suppliers or the top products for a reason, and they're always going to be. But we're seeing a lot of the top products also kind of change in, um, usability. So they might have added features, a longer battery life for a, you know, charger or different kinds of pockets for the backpacks and obviously what they're made of, because they're all going to be starting to be made out of recycled materials and have a give backstory behind that. 

Greg: 

So what's the craziest thing you've ever seen branded? 

Breanna: 

<laugh> I don't think it's appropriate <laugh> to, well try me. There have been some really, really odd, I mean, I've had to do some challenging, I think is, is kind of more the better word to, um, the products or the products, right? But how do you pull it off is, is usually the biggest challenge. Um, yeah, there has been some, some pretty bizarre asks. <laugh>, they're creative. <laugh> they're creative for sure. 

Greg: 

Are there any limits to merchandise that can be branded? 

Breanna: 

Not really. A lot of the limits are going to be more in like, the usability space of like, some of the branding, but I think there's almost always a way to brand anything. And if you can't, you can add some sort of packaging around it, you know, that that does the trick. 

Greg: 

Well, let's talk about that for a second. Yeah. That's another layer to the branded merch or the promotional product experience, what we sometimes refer to as the unboxing, and that's where the design comes into play. Yeah. To a great deal. How is the unboxing experience important to the branded merchandise as part of the customer journey?  

Richard: 

Well, it's, it's just like anything. It's creating that connected moment or, or, or an emotional moment, uh, between your customer and your brand. So we do that with everything, and that's just how we kind of take that agency a approach to our work. But like you said, it, it adds a layer. It can, it can add some opening opportunities where there's storytelling layers or storytelling moments. Uh, those can involve connecting to more digital experiences. They could just be personalized, they can be parts of the story of the brand. There. There's a lot of opportunities there. And so when we take on a project like this, we're listening to our customers and understanding what they, what it is they're trying to achieve, uh, with this product. And then we're trying to amplify that connection point to the customer. We have, uh, a whole staff here who, uh, of structural designers who can create custom boxes or custom, uh, three dimensional structures that we can, uh, build in these experiences upon. Uh, we obviously have a ton of digital designers and XR capabilities, so we can range, you know, everywhere from, from custom printed pieces that can be personalized to digital components that bring that expression to life and can dive deeper into pages that give more detail, more storytelling layers. We kind of, we kind of can take this as far as your imagination goes for the experience. 

Breanna: 

And who doesn't like a good gift? I mean, I get excited from little, you know, packaging myself and I'm in this business. One of my suppliers sent me a little baggy the other day and it just had a little wooden tag with my name engraved on it. And I was like, how cool, <laugh>, I love the bag and I love unboxing.  

Greg: 

You know, it becomes a larger experience.  

Breanna: Yeah… 

Greg: 

It's exciting, interactive. 

Breanna: 

Everybody likes to get a, a gift. Sure. They're opening it up and they're feeling good. They feel important. 

Greg: 

And this design and production experience with boxing of branded merchandise, Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> is a capability at DCG one. It's all in-house.  

Breanna: 

Oh yeah. We can do everything in house from design to production, everything in between we're, you know, fully functioning and that's what the whole idea is. We can manage the entire idea, start to finish. 

Richard: 

And, and just jumping back to, uh, your packaging question, we had a project recently where, uh, we did a brand strategy project where a client needed to combine several brands and bring them all under one title. Uh, and at the end of that brand expression process, they, they wanted to reach out and welcome the members from the different brands to the, to the unified brand. And a unique way to do that was to offer a, a branded merchandise gift in a welcome kit. So we did a custom box custom kit, welcoming, uh, these people to the new brand. We got our concepting team together, thinking about how to voice this. We got our, our copywriters working on ways to integrate the idea of the product and the, the welcoming message. And it was a huge hit with our audience. 

Greg: 

So it's not just slapping a logo on a pin. 

Breanna: 

Absolutely not. 

Greg: 

…and pushing it across the table. 

Breanna: 

<laugh>. No… 

Greg: 

It can be, but it can also be much more than that. 

Breanna: 

You know, and that's really transactional. And you know that a lot of the, the larger distributors are kind of like that, you know, it is just a logo on a pen, but, you know, we want to know more about that and we try to dig in like, who's, who's getting the pen and what are they going to do with it, and what do you want to say with that? What's the event? Who's the audience? 

Richard: 

You know, and why, and why are you giving this pen to people? Like, what, what is it you're trying to achieve by giving this, this piece away? So that's, that's what we like to dig into, and then we can amplify again, that experience. 

Breanna: 

Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And we're really good about matching the gift with the idea behind it. 

Richard: 

Yeah. Another, another point, uh, is that, you know, brands really need to walk the talk nowadays. And things like sustainability or other corporate values really need to be reflected in the choices of the products they're making and also how those are, how there's given or shared, uh, with our customers. So we're real sensitive to that and always aligning, uh, the things that we're, we're sourcing with, with those needs and how that would reflect on the brand that's giving it out. 

Breanna: 

I think that things also started to really change during the pandemic when everybody was working from home. And so companies needed a way to stay connected with their, not only their employees, but their audience, their clients. And brand merchandise was huge, a huge way to do that. We would deliver full kits, sending some messaging so the people know that we're still around. They're still around. And so now we're trending more towards like, it's not just giveaways at an event, not just cheap and cheerful. It's meaningful, it's impactful, um, and personal and a much higher retail value now or perceived value. 

Greg: 

Bre, I see you are taking refreshment from a really cool Seattle children's Hospital water bottle. What's the story there? And, and with all the stickers on it?  

Breanna: 

Seattle Children's approached us, um, for about 5,000 stickers and 5,000 patches. And, you know, I had some questions around it. So we got on the phone and, and had some meetings with the client, and it turns out the applications of these were, it was a much larger strategic approach, and it's more like a 15 year, um, leadership plan to set goals within their company, their values and expression of that. So we ended up landing on doing some water bottles with, um, sticker outlines that, you know, because stickers and water bottles are really trending like the parks, and so we designed a water bottle for them that had outlines of stickers that employees will, when they achieve these goals, they'll get a sticker, they'll be able to put it on their water bottle, and it will be an expression of their journey. And the whole overall theme is like the northwest trek. So it had really a lot of local roots, northwest vibe to it. And this is a way for employees to, to visibly state what you know their accomplishments are.  

Richard: 

Yeah. And then I think we took that same theme and applied it to at least some pens and maybe some other products for them as well. Yeah. Uh, using our creative studio here. 

Breanna: 

Well, and that's one of the benefits of using DCG one to do all the sourcing right, is so here's a pen, here's our ideas behind it. Um, we got our creative team involved because I wanted to make sure that all the pieces had some elements and that we're, you know, really aligning them together.  

Greg: 

Richard, what are some of the considerations when searching for a specific item to brand? 

Richard: 

This is one of the places where our agency really separates from some of the big box businesses. Um, we approach every project with a brand first point of view or approach, and, and we dive deep into understanding the brand, the opportunity and the audience so we can really, uh, make sure whatever we're creating, whatever we're selecting and however we're applying the brand, we really get that emotional connection. So the end user is really thinking or feeling what the customer wanted them to. 

Greg: 

Brianna and Richard, it, it really feels like here at DCG one, we're pretty comprehensive in our capabilities when it comes to branded merchandise. 

Breanna: 

Oh, of course we are at DCG one, we have, you know, offset printing, digital large format. We have great structural engineers and the luxury of an in-house agency that provides strategy, creative thinking, visualizations, concepting, uh, we can even do 3D renderings, um, now. And so that's one of our kind of cooler features. Fulfillment, warehousing, you know, the list is pretty long of what we can do in house. 

Greg: 

Breanna, Richard, great stuff. Thanks very much for sharing your branded merchandise knowhow on the Whole Idea podcast. 

Breanna: 

It's been a pleasure. 

Richard: 

Thanks, Greg. 

Greg: 

Greg's key takeaways, branded merchandise remains very popular. Customers will use it or wear it or share it if they feel like it fits with their shared values that they have with a brand.  

Digital channel Integration is giving branded merchandise even more marketing power these days, linking to other brand experiences and extending the customer journey.  

And in that spirit, it's a great time to be thinking out of the box about branded merchandise, whip some whole idea thinking into the giveaway, and see what strategy, technology, and creativity can do to delight customers with more personalized and interactive experiences.  

If you have questions for Bre or Richard or would like to talk to either one about tapping the potential of branded merchandise, write us today at podcast at DCG ONE. Thank you very much for listening, the whole Idea Podcast producers are Mandy DeCesare and Kelcie Brewer.  

I'm Greg Oberst. Watch this channel for our next podcast and more expertise, insight, and inspiration for whole Idea Marketing.  

Take care.