Unlocking the Power of Promotional Merchandise

(or what really happens when you stick a logo on it and what I learned in my role at the BPMA).

I spent around four years up to my ears in every type of merchandise you can imagine. From branded mugs to apparel to water bottles, everything you can imagine branding – even the humble cupcake can be treated to a brand look you can sink your teeth into. In this article, I share my views on finding the right products, who should be selling them to you and why we all need to be more curious about this powerful medium.

I was lucky enough to be appointed as CEO to the trade association, BPMA, which looks after this important part of ‘UK plc’, the promotional merchandise industry in early 2020. Intending originally to stay in this part-time role only for a few months but as we know, the pandemic happened. The work the Association was doing proved to be very important for every business they represented, so I stayed and got to know this incredible industry better and importantly, really understand the unique place merchandise has in the world of communications.

Qualified by experience?

It’s fair to say that I’ve procured, chosen and purchased a lot of branded items in my years as a marketer – in the millions probably and have some memorable successes (and fails too!) on the merch which made their mark. Always heavily engaged in the promotional marketing and experiential space, I thought I had a pretty good grasp of what this industry sold and how they operated. Testing the metal at my initial interview with the BPMA Board some years ago, I would recount a story to provide a viewpoint of where I felt the industry needed to do more.

Before going to the interview, I’d put a brief out to around 10 different companies who had either sold me merchandise before or I’d seen online. Every company selected were BPMA members and they were also all Charter members (members where a deep dive into every aspect of their credentials is undertaken). I provided a (hopefully) decent brief and asked for solutions. Only a few came back to ask me the key questions I was expecting as most assumed I knew what I wanted.

In this insight there was the golden egg: ask more questions, expand the sale parameters, have a happier customer who feels listened to and has found the right product to complete their activity. Easier said than done of course.

Merchandise is compelling

On the job front, I’d worked in a similar trade body before (The IPM), so I knew what was involved plus I had the advantage of working with the BPMA Board and the previous CEOs over the years so I had a good view of where the industry was. But really, this was an area of industry I knew little about but used frequently in my day-to-day work – and as I was soon to discover, there was a whole lot to explore with these incredibly entrepreneurial businesses I had the pleasure of working with. Add into this mix a superb team, Board, Chair and President to work with and it’s been a blast.  

I discovered innovation, materials and products I’d never seen before and expert businesses delivering amazing work – and addressing the future needs of this much-desired medium.

But why do we love merch so much?

It’s all about the opportunity – and the reward

The opportunity is there to find amazing branded merchandise to suit every possible situation. And we do love this stuff! We order millions of items every year to satisfy our need to connect identity with the physical experience that is merchandise and at its heart, an emotional trigger. Receiving that item that generates a response creates a deep-seated connection we are likely to recall for a long time – sometimes as long as 12 months.

Whilst this doesn’t replace other forms of advertising, it compliments and enhances. Promotional merchandise equally can cut through the clutter to provide an #IRL experience that other forms cannot. Equally, the merchandise we find in our hands would not resonate so strongly if the other mediums weren’t part of the mix as they all lay down the layers of brand association and affiliation in different ways.

What about sustainability?

I’ve been in countless meetings in the last few years with people telling me they have banned all branded goods at events and conferences as their sustainable policy states they will not entertain the superfluous and planet damaging (and quite rightly so), only to find they have ordered masses of branded goods as part of their overall purchasing remit which can involve uniforms, notebooks, lanyards… often with little or no thought to the sustainable profile of these items as in their minds, this is ‘not merchandise’ in the traditional sense. It’s something else altogether. Equally, what the promotional merchandise industry calls merchandise and what their buyers call it may be different (merch, swag, premiums, gifts, goodie bags…) but it all does the same job – it conveys your brand in a physical space.

This is an industry that has taken enormous steps to address sustainability – and has the innovation and products to demonstrate how the reality is very different from the perception many of us have. Whilst it’s true this industry, like many others, has a long way to go, the standard of information and steps forward are worth exploring to ensure we can continue to use this effective medium in the years to come – and have the experts on hand to advise.

Explore and ask more questions…

As with all buying in areas where we aren’t the specialists, it is good to know there are scores of accredited, expert businesses with very clever people out there who can show you exactly how you can use this very effective medium in our marketing, promotions and day to day business – and the options which are possible.

The reality is we need the know-how of promotional merchandise professionals to buy well, buy better and buy sustainably. We also need to explore the vast array of options we never knew were even there, which takes me back to the earlier tale of the assumption that those I was briefing thought I knew exactly what I wanted. There are so many exciting and inspiring products out there so get discovering!

Getting the brief right – talking is good!

So how do we address the curiosity I’m advocating here when in reality, the transaction between buyers and those in the business of distributing to our market is online, on email and less and less in ‘in person’? Anyone in any business or account role will tell you just how hard it is to get hold of people on the phone – and that is even if they have a phone number you can access these days.

The next time you decide to include something branded for a promotion, for your business, your campaign, event, conference whatever it is, find a BPMA member and talk to them before you assume you can do it all online and still discover everything you need to know or are likely to be shown. If you don’t get curious and ask some questions, you’ll likely miss out. Believe me, it will be worth the time.

What I learned about promotional merchandise

1. The innovation in this sector is incredible and as marketers, we still need to discover what is possible – get curious people!

2. The approach to sustainability and addressing Scope 3 is progressive and active far more than we realise as marketers

3. Get creative and ask questions when you brief – you can’t google everything!

4. Put your brand in your customer’s hands, they will thank you – promotional merchandise works brilliantly when you have the right product, situation and appropriate branding

5. We (often) don’t allow enough time to get a great result – get your briefs in early to ensure what you want to order is possible

   
   

What I learned about the companies that sell it

1. Look for BPMA members when dealing with a UK-based company – being a BPMA member means they have been credit checked, referenced and have a strict Code of Conduct that is enforced to keep the standards in this industry high

2. They eat, sleep and breathe this medium – and know a lot more than you do! Ask the experts questions about the best solutions and importantly what works

3. Give them a real brief, budget and timeline to work with especially if you are considering purchasing large volumes so they can advise you – and if you really only want to buy online, do your homework and then ask questions if you need to know more

4. Sustainability is as high on their agenda as it is yours so help them to help you – tell them what matters to the brand, the business and the audience

5. Talk to them about what can happen to what you plan to purchase once it’s reached the end of its useful life – as it’s all part of the reduce, reuse, recycle path this industry is on

Originally published in April 2024.