The Difference Between Branded Merch People Love vs. Hate

The best branded merch RESONATES.Β Β The worst merch is just crappy corporate logo wear.

Yesterday Vin Matano posted that he’s “never seen one B2B company have good swag” and the post has over 300 comments. It’s clearly ruffling some feathers, in his words.

π–π‘πšπ­ 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 π›π«πšπ§ππžπ 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐑 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞?

πŸ”‘ It communicates the vibe or energy of the brand
πŸ”‘ It highlights the identity of people who use it
πŸ”‘ It feels like a good memory of the brand
πŸ”‘ It makes you feel “in the know”

I call this the IYKYK (if you know you know) touch. If your merch resonates with people who know your brand, you’ve nailed it.

π‡πžπ«πž 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐑𝐞 𝐑𝐚π₯π₯𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐀𝐬 𝐨𝐟 “𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 π₯𝐨𝐠𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫”:
πŸ‘Ž It looks like a yawn
πŸ‘Ž It inspires no thought or feeling at all
πŸ‘Ž You forget what it looks like the moment you look away

I’m tired just thinking about those.

So what do you think, do you agree with Vin?Β Have you ever seen a B2B company have good swag?Β What are your favorites?

I’ll highlight the work we did for Breakaway Bookkeeping & Advising with Shea Keats and Michelle LΓΆpez as some inspiring B2B merch!