By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Based on The Little Engine That Could—This is the glow-up story of forgotten merch. 🚂 “I think I can… I think I can…” Once upon a time, there was a lonely piece of branded merch. It was… an ugly logo mousepad from 2014. It tried […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Let’s get one thing straight: Your branded merch shouldn’t whisper. It should roar. It should feel like a T-shirt cannon at a pep rally—Not like, “Hey, we made you a pen.”Not like, “Here’s a stress ball you’ll lose in your bag.” We’re talking: 𝐓-𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭. 𝐆𝐮𝐧. […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert As a business owner, your number one job is simple (but not easy): Stay top of mind. But in reality, you’re not just competing with other brands. You’re up against: So how do you break through the noise? Make Your Branded Merch Unmissable If you’re […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert When people ask me about my favorite productivity tools, they expect me to name some cutting-edge app, a pricey CRM platform, or the latest AI plugin. But the best free tool I use daily?Keyboard text replacements. Not fancy. Not flashy. Just powerful. If you’ve ever […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert “Guess how much I hate this mug,” said the employee.“This much,” her coworker replied, pointing to the office sink—overflowing with sad, unused company swag. It was cheap.It was ugly.The logo was off-center. And worst of all?It was completely forgettable. Why Bad Swag Hurts Your Brand […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert I don’t believe in separating who you are from what you do—especially when it comes to building a brand. In the world of branded merch and swag, authenticity is your secret weapon. Real connection creates real results—and that starts with being honest about the human […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Just like owning a treadmill doesn’t automatically make you fit, owning a box of branded merch doesn’t magically build your brand. Yes, swag can be fun. But branded merchandise without strategy? That’s just stuff in a sad box. To actually drive ROI, grow brand awareness, […]

By: Molly Kunth In one of the most energizing and idea-packed episodes of The Found Podcast to date, I welcomed back Amanda Hofman of Go To Market Studio — and this time, we got tactical. If you remember Amanda from her first appearance back in Episode 157, we dove into her journey from her very first startup in NYC to founding […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert If you’ve ever felt like your week is just one long merch request after another—you’re not alone. Inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar, this is the story of every brand manager buried under endless swag demands. It starts innocently enough… but quickly turns into full-blown […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert New Yorkers aren’t rude—we’re just efficient. (If you were hoping for small talk, you should’ve flown to Ohio.) That’s the kind of unapologetic attitude that defines great branding and Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream gets it. This beloved NYC ice cream shop has never offered samples. […]