If you are thinking of incorporating merchandise into your company, you may be wondering what options there are on offer. While many different businesses use merchandise as a marketing tool, it can be difficult to think of new and innovative ideas you can use.
Indeed, while merchandise can be a powerful way of creating a connection between your brand and your target market and creating broader brand recognition, it is no secret that merchandise can look unoriginal if you don’t put some thought into it. Unfortunately, this can have the opposite effect than you intended, damaging your brand image and making your company look like it hasn’t put any time or effort into its marketing campaigns.
Therefore, it is crucial that you at least consider a range of more thoughtful and surprising merchandise options that are usable right out of the box.
Here are five out of the box merchandise ideas:
Offer branded versions of recognizable fashion products
One of the most memorable merchandise ideas is customizable fashion. Of course, you would want to wear this recognizable apparel anyway, made by iconic brands but modified to have your company logo placed on it.
This type of merchandise works on multiple levels. Firstly, unlike a lot of more conventional merchandise, this is actually useful (and in some cases, even desirable). For example, you could sell custom converse to your customers or have your staff wear them during a trade show. This added detail can make all the difference when it comes to marketing your brand.
You could offer a free plant or sapling
Given the world’s increasing focus on environmental matters, selling novelty items can seem out of touch, especially if a lot of non-reusable plastic is being used.
Instead, you could do the world some good by offering free plants or tree saplings if you are at a trade event or even offer them as complimentary merchandise to your most loyal customers.
Notebooks or diaries
The real power of merchandise is that it acts as a daily touchstone in your target audience’s lives.
For example, they might use a branded keyring for their car or pen to note ideas down with. This keeps your brand at the forefront of their minds, and it will become a familiar name, which will increase the likelihood of them buying from you.
To this end, you could take things one step further by offering branded notebooks or diaries. Given that these are deeply personal items, which are only used to note down important or private information, having your brand on the front of it every time they open the book will create a deep connection between the recipients and your brand.
Umbrellas or raincoats
Branded umbrellas or raincoats are another innovative merchandise idea that would serve as genuinely useful items to your customers.
Umbrellas and raincoats are rarely items that you would go out specifically to buy (unless you were caught in the rain). Therefore, your customers would likely use these every time it rains, guaranteeing your brand lots of exposure.
Travel mugs
They might be commonly used as merchandise, but there is no escaping the fact that branded travel mugs are a fantastic option. While many everyday items can seem embarrassing if they have a company logo on them, travel mugs are not one of them.
Furthermore, like the tree and sapling idea, travel mugs are environmentally friendly, which reflects well on your brand and is doubly useful for your customers.