By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert 👩🏻‍⚖️ Swag Court is now in session. Today’s case: the infamous drawstring backpack. 🚨 The Crime: Plastic drawstring backpacks featuring logos the size of Nebraska. They crinkle. They creak. They dig into your shoulders like you’ve done something to deserve it. And worst of all? […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert We’ve all seen it and maybe even done it. The bulk keychains. The stress balls. The pens that never write. This is the world of spray-and-pray swag: handing out a bunch of random branded merch and hoping something, anything, resonates. Spoiler alert: clutter isn’t strategy. […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Your booth is buzzing.The energy is high.The conversations? 🔥 But behind the scenes—literally, behind your booth—sit 200 unworn branded T-shirts in a sad, dusty box. You smile through the sting of a burning budget.“This is fine,” you say, channeling the meme… while internally panicking. Let’s […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Let’s face it: confusing branded merch doesn’t just fall flat—it actively works against your brand. You know the kind. Someone pulls a freebie out of a tote and immediately thinks: 👉 What even is this?👉 Where did I get it?👉 Why did I keep it? […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert When you call it merch but it’s really just an excuse to make yourself cool athleisure wear. 🤣 That’s the best kind of branded merchandise anyway. The kind you love enough to wear on repeat.The kind your team posts about unprompted.The kind your customers ask […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Kodak just dropped some of the best branded merch we’ve seen this year—and it’s got everything going for it. Let’s break it down 👇 This isn’t your average retro reprint.It’s nostalgia, refined. The vintage logos? On point.The film-inspired color palette? Delicious.The Super 8 energy? So […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert I will not print 150 tees that say “Suck it, Steve from Ops.”I will not print 150 tees that say “Suck it, Steve from Ops.”I will not print 150 tees that say… (Okay, I might make three—for my BFFs. On-demand, sustainably, and without Principal Skinner-level […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert When your 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 shows up in branded gear that actually looks cool, people stop and notice. Picture this: six teammates in matching crewnecks, gliding through the convention floor like a wave of good taste. Not a stuffy uniform. Not a last-minute promo tee. This […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert I finally put words to something I’ve felt for years about tourist merch. On my trip to Sicily last week, it clicked: Tourist merch follows the opposite rules of everything I teach brands about corporate swag. When I work with companies on branded merch, I […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Tourist merch breaks every merch rule I give brands and it works. When we design corporate swag, I preach:📣 Subtle logo📣 Lead with values📣 Create something people want to wear, not something they feel obligated to But travel merch?Big. Bold. Zero chill. City names in […]