{"id":3121,"date":"2026-04-29T16:16:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T20:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/?p=3121"},"modified":"2026-11-04T15:04:58","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T20:04:58","slug":"merch-that-gives-us-the-ick-common-branded-swag-mistakes-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/merch-that-gives-us-the-ick-common-branded-swag-mistakes-to-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"Merch That Gives Us the Ick: Common Branded Swag Mistakes to Avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Takeaways<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The ick is what happens when your swag program quietly goes off the rails and everyone feels it  but no one says it. It usually comes from treating merch like an afterthought. A reset looks like: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Intentional quantities, not panic ordering <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Clear ownership and expertise <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Audience-first product selection <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Opt-in distribution, not forced \u201cgifting\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What Is \u201cthe Ick\u201d in Branded Merch?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s talk about the side of branded merch and swag nobody wants to admit\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ick<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know exactly what we\u2019re talking about. The moments where your company swag program quietly goes off the rails\u2014and everyone feels it, but no one says it out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some of the biggest red flags we see in branded merchandise programs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udea9 Ordering 500 units because someone said \u201cround up just in case\u201d
\ud83d\udea9 A Slack thread begging people to take one
\ud83d\udea9 The intern being told to \u201cjust figure out the merch situation\u201d
\ud83d\udea9 A box labeled \u201cassorted sizes\u201d that is 94% Small
\ud83d\udea9 Reordering the same exact thing for the third year in a row because nobody wants to have the conversation
\ud83d\udea9 Sending merch to people who never asked for it and calling it a gift
\ud83d\udea9 A suspicious pile of tees that\u2019s been there so long it has tenure
\ud83d\udea9 A Google Sheet titled \u201cMERCH PLAN FINAL FINAL v7\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If any of these feel familiar\u2026 yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why These Swag Mistakes Happen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most of these issues don\u2019t come from bad intentions\u2014they come from treating branded merch like an afterthought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No clear strategy.
No ownership.
No real understanding of what people actually want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So decisions get made based on convenience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Order too much \u201cjust in case\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Repeat what you did last year<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Assign it to whoever has bandwidth (hi, intern \ud83d\udc4b)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Hope people take it off your hands<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The result? Overstock, underwhelming swag, and zero brand impact.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Hidden Cost of Bad Branded Merchandise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    When your swag program falls into these patterns, it costs more than just money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You lose:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Storage space<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Budget on unused inventory<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Opportunities to create meaningful brand moments<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Employee and customer excitement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      And worst of all? Your merch becomes forgettable\u2014or worse, unwanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What Good Branded Merch Looks Like Instead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      A strong branded merchandise strategy flips the script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Instead of guessing, it focuses on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Intentional quantities (not panic ordering)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Clear ownership and expertise<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Audience-first product selection<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Fresh, evolving designs\u2014not repeats on autopilot<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Opt-in distribution, not forced \u201cgifting\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Because the goal of great swag isn\u2019t just to distribute items\u2014it\u2019s to create something people actually want<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The Litmus Test for Your Swag Program<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Ask yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Are people excited to receive your merch\u2014or avoiding eye contact in Slack?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Are you creating demand\u2014or trying to offload inventory?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Is your merch program strategic\u2014or reactive?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          If your answer leans toward the red flags above\u2026 it might be time for a reset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Let\u2019s Fix the Ick<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          Branded merch should feel like a win\u2014not a warehouse problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          It should spark interest, build connection, and actually reflect your brand\u2014not sit in a box collecting dust (and tenure).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          So\u2026 what did we miss?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          And if this list felt a little too close to home, you already know what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          FAQ <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          What do bad swag programs cost you besides money? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Storage space, budget on unused inventory, opportunities to create meaningful brand moments,  and employee and customer excitement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Is sending merch to people who never asked for it a gift? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Sending merch to people who never asked for it and calling it a gift is one of the red flags. Opt-in  distribution is the better way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Key Takeaways The ick is what happens when your swag program quietly goes off the rails and everyone feels it  but no one says it. It usually comes from treating merch like an afterthought. A reset looks like: \u2022 Intentional quantities, not panic ordering  \u2022 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hide_page_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3121"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5012,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3121\/revisions\/5012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}