24 Creative Merch Ideas for Brands

Your customers and clients sustain your business. Without them, your brand won’t achieve the renown it now enjoys. It’s only fitting to treat them to nice things from time to time.

That’s something you can do by giving away branded merchandise. Or if you can’t afford giveaways, at least sell your loyal patrons stuff they would find interesting and practical. It wouldn’t hurt if your merch pieces were also affordable, at least compared to the average market value of similar items in a particular product category.

Putting branded merchandise out there is a two-pronged marketing effort. It puts your name in the minds of consumers. Plus, it could give you an additional source of profit, should you decide to put a price tag on your merch pieces.

Whether you’re handing out merch as gifts or selling them as extensions of your primary offers, be conscious of material and aesthetic quality. And get creative, too. To help you get some inspiration, here are 24 merch ideas worth considering.

1. Pajamas/robes

A lot of people work from home these days. And when they’re not expected to appear in a Zoom video call, they probably wear the comfiest outfit they have in their closet. This is where your branded pajamas and robes come in. If they’re made of soft and soothing materials like cotton or silk, your customers will find it difficult to take them off.

2. Water bottles

This might sound pretty basic. But if you give this idea an imaginative twist, its basic-ness will transform into utter coolness. Play around with bottle design. You can opt for an interesting shape that commands attention while serving its purpose of hydrating the body.

3. Hats and bandannas

Time the release of this merch at the end of February. Welcome summer with branded hats and bandannas your loyal patrons can use when there’s enough sun outside to allow picnics and hikes and lazy afternoons in the park. Bright colors are the way to go since they reflect the sun’s heat as opposed to absorbing it. But if those don’t align with your branding, it’s OK to stick with your own colors, too.

4. Wireless earbuds

These are sought-after merch pieces. People often lose teeny-weeny earbuds and not everyone can afford a replacement pronto. This is where your brand comes to the rescue. The only downside is there’s limited marketing real estate, beyond the box that is. But if you have a logo that can fit on the exposed surface of an earbud, you’ll be in people’s ears, literally. And that can be a nice place to be for a brand.

5. Loungewear

Loungewear is the preferred outfit of WFH warriors who refuse the sheer casualness of robes and PJs. With loungewear, there’s still a discernible effort to dress up. Give your patrons something nice to wear on a Monday at work by offering them branded loungewear. As with robes and PJs, the softer the fabric, the better.

6. Shopping totes

This earns you points with Mother Nature. With your shopping totes, you help reduce plastic or paper bag use. Plus, every time your loyal customer goes out to shop, you get free exposure. That’s shooting two birds with one stone. Remember to choose a sturdy material though such as twill, canvas, or denim.

7. Custom mugs

This sounds like another basic idea. But again, you can get creative with it. For instance, your branded mug could be in a playful shape. Or it could glow in the dark. Yes, some people prefer to take their tea or coffee under dim lighting, from a mug that’s shaped like, for instance, a sitting cat.

8. Molded power banks

Customers love practical merch pieces. And you can’t get more practical than power banks. No one wants to suffer from a dead phone battery. So your power bank will always come in handy. If it’s molded, it’ll be eye-catching. People will be asking those privileged enough to be in the possession of your power bank: where’d you get that?

9. Blankets

Keep your loyal patrons warm with a branded blanket. They can take it with them when they travel. Or they can use it as their designated blanket for those days when they stay long hours on the couch bingeing shows on Netflix.

10. Socks

You provided your customers with a blanket. Why not complete the package with a pair of comfy socks?

11. Bluetooth speaker

Even with a small Bluetooth speaker, you have enough marketing real estate to tout your brand. Your recipients will take this merch when they go camping, among other activities they share with friends and loved ones who also love music.

12. Guitar string bracelets

Producing merch from recycled stuff? Now, that’s an excellent idea. One that will earn you points with Greta Thunberg. Think bracelets made from discarded guitar strings. Accessorize them with your brand logo.

13. Fanny packs

Fanny packs AKA belt bags might not be cool for Gen Xers and older millennials. But for younger millennials and the Gen Z crowd, fanny packs are sought after. If those are your target market, this idea’s right up your alley.

14. Snacks

Who doesn’t love snacks? Everyone gets the munchies. Be ready with your branded snacks to satiate those who crave something sweet or crunchy or both.

15. Custom playing cards

With branded playing cards, you have 52 surfaces to maximize as marketing real estate. Plus, there’s the box. Yes, there’s enough opportunity for brand recall, which is one of the goals of brand merch.

16. Notebooks

There’s still a significant portion of the population who journals. Your branded notebooks can serve as the repository for their daily thoughts. If pensive people are not your target market, do not fret. There are moms everywhere and they need clean surfaces to write lists on. The point is notebooks are useful to most, if not all, market segments.

17. Thermal bottles

Once workers go back to the office and students go back to the classrooms, they’ll need thermal bottles to keep their hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold. Take this opportunity to be seen as a brand.

18. Custom puzzles

For this, you may want to explore collaboration. You can work with an up-and-coming artist to design a puzzle for you. Of course, you want your brand logo in the picture.

19. Throw pillows

Remember your branded blanket and socks? Take that whole picture to the next level with branded throw pillows. Your loyal customer will have no reason to leave the couch. They can exhaust Netflix’s catalog and feel comfy while doing so.

20. Plant pots

The pandemic has turned many of us into plant aficionados. Our newly discovered affinity for flora ranges from casual to obsessive. No, you can’t brand leaves. But you can put your name and logo on a plant box. If you could find recycled materials for your plant box, that would be sweet.

21. Patches

With patches, you give your recipient the freedom to decide where to put it. Your branded merch somehow becomes interactive. Branded patches can accentuate pillowcases, bags, and hats, among other things. Make sure that your patches are sewed nicely without loose threads.

22. Stickers

This is an old-school merch idea. But it’s as effective as ever. Stickers can go to all sorts of surfaces. From laptops to notebooks, anything can host your branded stickers. Of course, they need to be pleasing to the eye.

23. Magnets

As long as people use refrigerators, there’ll be a hankering for magnets. This is a fact of life you could use to your advantage. Let people see your brand every time they open the fridge to retrieve a six-pack or frozen pizza. Make sure your magnets do stick, as there’s nothing more annoying than a magnet that can’t keep it together.

24. Phone cases

Ideally, your branded merch gives you as much free exposure as possible. One surefire way to hit that target is to brand phone cases. People don’t go anywhere without their phones. Your phone case always gets to tag along.

In Closing

This list is by no means exhaustive. And as you can see, it’s already packed with possible items you could turn into branded merchandise. Yes, you have a plethora of options. Sure, choosing might prove a little difficult to the uninitiated. Here you go back to your brand.

You know best what your brand is about. You know what you hope to represent and what your goals are. Use that knowledge to anchor your search for and creation of branded merchandise. The goal is to come up with something consistent with your brand, something that will further cement your brand’s identity.

Do not make the mistake of producing branded merch that might confuse your customers. Case in point: an airline releasing miniature toy trains. That, at best, will make your customers laugh then your merch would go viral. At worse, your brand might find itself on the list of epic marketing and merchandising fails.

Alex Pelayo is the Product Manager for Vessell, Inc - an ecommerce solution provider. He has general experience in technical project management and product management.