By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Branded merch should make people excited to rep your brand—not quietly shove the item into the back of a closet. Yet too often, branded merchandise misses the mark because too many stakeholders weigh in and no one owns the outcome. Great branded merch is thoughtful, […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert If your branded merch strategy is sitting on the back burner, it’s not simmering. It’s burned. Your calendar is never going to magically clear.It has not once canceled itself to be nice. Your team is not about to stumble into surplus capacity.And you’re still going […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Waiting until you feel “big enough” to invest in branded merch is one of the fastest ways to stall your growth. If you’re worried your company is too small for custom swag, that’s actually your signal that now is the time to launch it. It […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Most podcasters send a gift or branded merch after the episode goes live.That’s backwards. ⏮️ Send it before. If you’re investing time in booking great guests, promoting episodes, and growing your audience, your podcast branded merchandise strategy should work just as hard as your marketing […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert I’m going to tell you something you probably don’t want to hear: Your employees, team members, and fans do not want the same branded merchandise in 2026 that they got from you in 2025. Or 2024.And definitely not 2023. If your swag strategy is on […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Let’s be honest. If your branded merchandise strategy is sitting on the back burner… it’s not warming gently. It’s already burned. ☠️ Because here’s what we know: Your calendar is never going to magically clear.It has not once canceled itself to be nice. Your team […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert If you’ve ever thought… “We’re too small for swag.”“Merch is for bigger companies.”“We’ll do branded merchandise once we grow.” I get it. It feels logical. But here’s the truth: Waiting until you’re “big enough” for merch is exactly how you stay small. The Best Time […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Why Zabar’s Merch Works (Without Even Trying) Zabar’s merch isn’t trying hard.And in this case, that’s exactly why it works. (For my non-NYC friends: Zabar’s is a legendary Upper West Side grocery store where the grannies are fierce, the vibes are intense, and the smoked […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert It’s 2026, and yet somehow a lot of branded merchandise still feels like it was designed, ordered, and distributed in 1994. That’s a problem—because merch hasn’t meaningfully evolved in decades, but the rest of us absolutely have. Today, we can order almost anything we want […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Here’s a rule we stand by when it comes to branded merchandise: If it feels like a uniform, it’s wrong. Great branded merch should feel chosen, not assigned. The moment your swag starts looking like a required outfit instead of a personal favorite, engagement drops. […]