By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

Delta Just Dropped the Most Elite Swag in the Sky

And no, it’s not another toiletry kit or sleep mask.

We’re talking personalized metal luggage tags —
Chic, free, and absolutely dripping with status. ✨

Exclusively for Medallion Members, these tags come with:

🛫 Your name
🛫 Your Million Miler milestone
🛫 Your original join year
🛫 A custom metal finish based on your tier (yes, it’s color-coded 👀)

This isn’t just airline merch — it’s a varsity jacket for frequent flyers.

This Isn’t About Function. It’s About Identity.

Let’s be real: nobody needs a metal bag tag.

But everyone loves a status symbol — something that tells the world who they are, without saying a word.

Delta nailed it.

This is branded merch at its best:
Not about utility. About belonging.

It creates an elite club moment — tangible, personalized, and share-worthy.

Embedding Your Brand Into Someone’s Identity Is a Privilege

Most merch tries to slap on a logo and call it a day.

But great branded merchandise does more than promote. It celebrates, validates, and aligns with identity.

When done right, custom swag can say:

💼 “You earned this.”
💼 “You belong here.”
💼 “This is who you are now.”

That’s not just merch. That’s emotional branding.

What’s the Takeaway for Your Brand?

You don’t need a million-mile loyalty program to create meaningful swag.

But you do need to think bigger than pens and keychains.

Design your merch to:

✅ Recognize milestones
✅ Reflect personal achievement
✅ Feel exclusive and elevated
✅ Tell a story of who your audience is becoming

That’s how you build swag that makes people proud — and makes your brand unforgettable.

So Tell Me…

🧳 Metal luggage tags as a status flex: Chic or cringe?
I say: Chic. Now who’s getting us Diamond Medallion status?

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

Hot Take: Most Branded Merch Feels Like Advertising

And let’s be honest — no one’s lining up to become a walking billboard.

That crewneck with your oversized logo splashed across the chest?
It might mean something to you, but to your customers, it’s just… noise.

Because the truth is, people don’t want to wear your brand.
They want to wear something that feels like them.

Your Merch Should Say “This Is Me” — Not “Buy From Me”

Great branded merch isn’t about your logo.
It’s about your people’s identity.

When you design swag that reflects who your audience is — not just what your business does — you create connection, not clutter.

Here’s how to flip the script:

🚫 Not “This is our company.”
✅ But “This is why you love us.”

🚫 Not “Buy from us.”
✅ But “This is me.”

Identity-Driven Swag Builds Brand Love

The most shareable, wearable, loved custom merch?
It taps into what your community already believes about themselves:

🖤 “I’m someone who shows up.”
🧡 “I’m building something meaningful.”
💬 “I speak boldly, live loudly, and love what I do.”

When your swag makes someone feel seen, they’ll wear it proudly — and organically spread your message without being asked.

Don’t ask your fans to carry your logo. Let them wear their identity.

Rethink the Role of Branded Merchandise

At Go To Market Studio, we help businesses and creators design identity-first branded merch — apparel and products that make people feel connected, empowered, and proud to represent your brand.

Your swag can still rep your company.
But when it centers your audience, it converts.

Because the best kind of promo merch doesn’t say “look at us” — it says “you belong here.”

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

Let’s Clear Something Up About Branded Merch

There’s a common misconception I hear all the time:

I’ll sell merch for passive income.

Hard truth?
Merch is not passive income for most businesses. 🙅🏻‍♀️

And honestly? Most things in life aren’t really passive income.
(That Etsy shop, that digital download, that affiliate link? Still needs effort.)

But here’s the good news:
Even if it’s not passive, branded merchandise is one of the most powerful sales and marketing tools you’ve got.

Great Merch Does What Ads, Content, and Funnels Try to Do

Let’s break it down. Strategic swag can:

🔥 Grab attention in a sea of sameness
🔥 Build trust with your community and fans
🔥 Spark conversations that content alone can’t
🔥 Keep your brand top of mind, without ongoing spend

A clever tee, stylish tote, or comfy crewneck becomes a walking billboard you didn’t have to boost, promote, or run ad spend against.

It shows up in Zoom calls, on social, at the grocery store, and in your favorite local coffee shop.

Swag That Supports Sales

No, your merch store might not outsell your core offer.

But when branded merch is designed with intention — and paired with your message, voice, and vibe — it becomes a multiplier:

🛍️ Builds emotional buy-in
📸 Shows up in user-generated content
💬 Gets people talking about your brand
📈 Nudges new buyers down the path to purchase

That’s not passive.
That’s powerful.

Make Merch That Works for You

At Go To Market Studio, we help brands create high-converting, high-impact swag that looks amazing and pulls its weight.

Want your branded merchandise to do more than sit on a shelf?
We’ll help you turn it into a real, working part of your growth strategy — not a side hustle pipe dream.

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

Let’s Get One Thing Straight: I Normally Hate Branded Pens.

They’re forgettable.
They’re generic.
And nine times out of ten, they do absolutely nothing for your brand.

But last week?
A single photo in my inbox made me pause and — dare I say — smile.

“Saw This and Thought of You!”

A friend was at a conference in Tulsa and sent me a pic of a pen.

That’s right. A pen.
But this one broke all my rules:

🖊️ It was cheeky.
🖊️ It was self-aware.
🖊️ It made someone laugh.
🖊️ And it made them think of me — enough to snap a pic and send it.

That’s memorable branded merch.
And that’s exactly what your giveaways should do.

When Merch Sparks Emotion, It Sticks

This wasn’t just a pen — it was a conversation starter.

It had a personality.
It earned its place in someone’s bag — and probably their desk drawer too.

It gave someone a reason to smile, and that’s the kind of brand interaction that lasts.

This pen didn’t try to be everything.
It just tried to be clever, relevant, and worth keeping.

And that’s what makes it great.

If You Must Make a Pen… Make One Like This

Don’t waste money on forgettable freebies.

If you’re creating branded swag — even something as small as a promotional pen — make sure it aligns with your brand voice, your sense of humor, and the emotional experience you want people to have.

At Go To Market Studio, we help businesses create small but mighty branded giveaways that stick. From witty copy to thoughtful packaging, we design merch that makes your brand impossible to ignore.

Even when it’s a pen.
(Especially when it’s a pen.)

So Tell Me…

🖊️ What’s one freebie you’ll always take home from an event?

Whether it’s a quirky pin, a tiny notebook, or yes — a clever pen — I want to hear what stands out to you.

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

I’ve Seen Grown Adults Lose It Over a T-Shirt

Not because it was the perfect fit.
Not because it was sustainably sourced or printed with glow-in-the-dark ink.
Not even because they picked it out themselves.

But because it was launched from a cannon. 💣

Let that sink in.

Swag Hype Is Real — And It’s Available to You

Listen up, because this matters for your business:

T-shirt gun energy is real.
Branded merch creates brand hype. 📣📣📣

The moment that t-shirt hit the air, people lost their minds.
And here’s the thing: they didn’t even know what was on the shirt.

It didn’t matter.
It was merch.
It was fun.
It was a moment.

And your brand can create that exact moment — no stadium cannon required.

Branded Merch Is Your T-Shirt Gun 🎯

You’ve got an audience.
Clients, customers, community members, fans.
People who already love what you do.

So give them a way to rep it, wear it, and feel part of it.

Whether you fire it at them from center stage or place it gently in their hands, the effect is the same:

Emotional connection. Brand loyalty. Instant excitement.

That’s the power of well-designed, intentional branded merchandise.

Want to Create Your Own Brand Hype?

You don’t need pyrotechnics.
You just need swag that makes people feel something.

At Go To Market Studio, we help brands create branded apparel and promotional merch that brings the same energy as a t-shirt cannon — minus the flying cotton and safety liability.

From custom t-shirts and crewnecks to launch kits and pop-up shops, we help you turn swag into strategy.

So Tell Me…

When’s the last time you lost it over a t-shirt gun?

Let’s bring that hype to your brand — without launching a single tee into the rafters.

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

Not All Merch Deserves a Spot in Your Bag

But this little guy?
He’s definitely coming on the road trip.

Last weekend, I stumbled into a Rivian showroom at the mall — and was instantly pulled in like a moth to a headlamp.

Not by a car.
Not by a flashy display.
But by a plushy adventure buddy staring up at me with button eyes and irresistible energy.

This Is How You Do Memorable Swag

Let’s be real — most branded merchandise doesn’t exactly earn a place in your suitcase.

But this?
This furry little security sidekick you can bring hiking, camping, or road-tripping under the stars?
💥 Adorable
💥 On-brand
💥 Totally obsession-worthy

This is creative swag that tells a story — one of safety, exploration, and loyalty.
The kind of custom merch that sparks a feeling, not just a fleeting glance.

Why Story-Driven Swag Wins (Every Time)

A plush toy isn’t just a toy — it’s a travel companion.
It’s a conversation starter.
It’s a brand symbol that connects emotionally with your audience, especially in spaces like adventure travel, tech, and lifestyle.

And let’s be honest…

This little fluffball will end up in way more social media posts than a branded mug ever could.

Because when swag is meaningful, word about it travels — literally and figuratively.

What Should Rivian Name Their Plushy Protector?

Here’s the only problem with this brilliant branded item:
It doesn’t have a name yet.

We can fix that. 🧠✨

Let’s give this iconic piece of Rivian swag the identity it deserves.

Vote below or pitch your own idea:

🧸 Riv
🧸 Scout
🧸 Wattson
🧸 Bolt

Want to Create Merch That Travels?

At Go To Market Studio, we specialize in branded merchandise that earns loyalty, tells your story, and ends up in backpacks, not garbage bins. If you’re ready to launch swag that stands out — and maybe even gets its own name — we’re here to help.

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

Conferences: Where Sustainability Goals Go to Die ☠️

Let’s talk about the dark side of branded merch.
A Reddit thread recently lit up with complaints about conference giveaways — and if you’ve ever walked out of an expo with a tote bag full of junk, you already know what they were talking about.

One user in r/Anticonsumption posted about being buried in branded swag at an event:
💥 Cheap plastic trinkets
💥 Useless promotional giveaways
💥 More tote bags than any human could possibly carry or care about

And then the comments came pouring in.

💬 What People Are Really Saying About Your Swag

“I guarantee 95% of this stuff is going into the trash.”
“Convention swag is just birthday party favor bags for adults.”
“We talk about being zero waste, then mail boxes of branded clutter.”
“I don’t use tote bags. Why would I need 20 from companies I don’t care about?”

And the real kicker?
It’s not about one notebook or one reusable bottle.
It’s about 100,000 of them — mass-produced, uninspired, and destined for the dump.

Quantity ≠ Quality

When it comes to branded merchandise for conferences, the volume is often the villain.

If your company is ordering tens of thousands of generic products that will sit in hotel trash cans, you’re not building brand love — you’re building waste.

At Go To Market Studio, we believe eco-conscious swag can still be exciting, useful, and unforgettable. The kind people want to keep, use, and even post about.

Because great branded merch doesn’t scream your logo —
It tells your story, shares your values, and makes people feel like insiders.

Ask This Before You Print a Single Unit:

✨ Is it carry-on worthy?
✨ Is it actually useful?
✨ Is it beautiful enough that someone would buy it in a store?
✨ Does it align with your brand’s sustainability commitments?

If the answer is no to any of these…
Put the tote bag down.

Ready to Reimagine Your Conference Giveaways?

We’re here to help you create intentional, sustainable, and standout branded merchandise that people don’t just take home — they treasure.

Let’s end the era of disposable swag and create something worth carrying.

Now, your turn — what TV show are you binging lately?
I’m watching Gilmore Girls for the first time with my 13-year-old daughter, and yes… I’m completely charmed. ☕💬

Want help building better, smarter conference merch?
Let’s chat.

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

I’m not just in the business of designing custom swag.
I’m in the business of becoming a full-blown fangirl for my clients.

Not out of obligation.
Out of obsession.
Because when I believe in a founder’s mission, I really believe.

Not performatively — passionately.

When Branded Merch Sparks Loyalty

🔥 We created custom merchandise for a personal trainer…
Now I’ve trained with her every single week for two years. 💪🏻

🔥 A new tea brand is about to launch their e-commerce shop with our swag studio…
I tried one sample — now I’m on their monthly subscription. 😳

This is the kind of loyalty branded merch can ignite — not just with your customers, but with your creative partners, your team, and your community.

Branded Swag That Builds Connection

At Go To Market Studio, we don’t slap logos on water bottles and call it a day.

We create strategic branded merchandise that people actually want to wear, sip, carry, and talk about.

We’ve helped coaches, consultants, educators, authors, trainers, and product-based brands launch their own swag lines — not just to build awareness, but to create emotional buy-in.

Because when people admire your brand, they want to be part of it.

Loud, Loyal, and Low-Key Obsessed

When I fall in love with a client’s brand, it’s game over.

I get loyal.
I get loud.
And I get a little low-key obsessed.

Just ask some of the incredible founders we’ve supported with custom merch and shop launches:
🦬 Joseph Cope, M. Ed. – The Empathy Guy
📕 Julie Ciardi
💡 Carlyn Bushman
☕ Ashley Carlson
🧡 Courtney Shaughnessy, Amy Davis, Olivia Radcliffe, Shea Keats, Liz Coffey, Lesley Stern, Meagan Allers, Danny O’Malley, Sandra A., Ruthie Berber, Shanna Hocking, Melissa Armstrong, CPA… and more!

You’ve all turned me into a walking billboard for your mission — and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ready to Build a Brand People Brag About?

Whether you’re launching your first line of custom branded swag, or expanding your merchandising strategy, we’d love to help you create something meaningful — something your superfans (like me) can’t shut up about.

Drop your favorite client’s name below. 👇 If they turned you into a raving fan, I want to know them.

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

What does a love poem to smoked fish 🐟 have to do with swag?

Everything – if you’re Zabar’s.

To celebrate their 75th anniversary, the iconic Manhattan grocery store dropped a limited-edition branded tee. And it didn’t just feature a logo—it came with a perfect poem:

𝘈𝘤𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘡𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘳’𝘴
𝘚𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦
𝘚-𝘔-𝘖-𝘒-𝘐-𝘕-𝘎
𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩,
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴,
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 75 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘠 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴

This isn’t just any grocery store tee.
It’s wearable nostalgia, a New York cultural flex, and a prime example of what great custom swag can be.

The Best Swag Aligns With Identity—Not Just Branding

This limited-edition Zabar’s shirt works because it speaks to more than the brand—it speaks to identity:

🥯 “I know where the good bagels are.”
🗽 “I’m an actual New Yorker.”
💬 “This shirt will get people talking.”

Branded merch at its best doesn’t scream look at me—it says this is who I am. It’s not just a promotional product—it’s a story, a memory, a conversation starter.

From Grocery Store to Cult Brand: What Zabar’s Got Right

Here’s why this worked so well:

• Limited-edition swag builds urgency and exclusivity
• It’s deeply local and culturally relevant
• It hits both nostalgia and modern design sensibilities
• The merch becomes a badge of taste and belonging

Whether you’re a local deli or a fast-scaling startup, the lesson is the same:
Merch should do more than promote. It should resonate.

Want Your Brand’s Swag to Feel This Good?

Your branded merch can be more than just a logo tee. It can be:

✨ A flex
✨ A souvenir
✨ A shared wink between fans of your brand

When we create custom branded merchandise for our clients, we’re thinking about more than giveaways—we’re thinking about what people will actually wear, keep, and connect with.

🐟 Would you wear a grocery store tee? Why or why not?
Drop your hot takes below—I’m collecting the best of brand-aligned swag wins (and misses).

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert

My love language?

Getting texts about bad merch.

And wow, do people deliver.

🖊️ Sad piles of broken conference pens
🥏 Branded frisbees melting at field day
😂 “hashtag#badmerch” pics straight from the group chat

Because let’s be honest: ugly swag is universal.

It fills tables, clutters closets, and ends up in landfills.
It doesn’t spark joy.
It doesn’t start conversations.
And worst of all—it doesn’t do anything for your brand.

Branded Swag Should Never Be an Afterthought

If you’re investing in custom merchandise, your swag should work for you. It should show off your brand personality, start meaningful conversations, and make people actually want to keep it (and use it).

But most corporate giveaways miss the mark.
They’re generic. Cheap. Forgettable.
The kind of stuff that screams “FREE” pile at a garage sale.

And if your branded merch isn’t making a strong, memorable impression—it’s not doing its job.

What Great Swag Actually Looks Like

Smart branded merch is:

✅ Useful
✅ On-brand
✅ Conversation-starting
✅ Designed for real humans (not just your marketing checklist)

Whether you’re prepping for a product launch, a trade show, or your next team retreat—your merch should represent your brand at its absolute best.

Because when swag is good, it’s not just something you hand out—it’s something people talk about.

Seen Some Cringe-Worthy Swag Lately?

I’m building a collection.

Send me your worst: the swag fails, the tragic tote bags, the “who-approved-this?” pens.
I want it all.

Because fixing bad merch?
That’s my favorite kind of love story.

Need help turning your swag from skip to standout?
Let’s talk. Because your brand deserves better.