{"id":456,"date":"2025-07-01T14:58:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T18:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/?p=456"},"modified":"2025-07-01T14:58:48","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T18:58:48","slug":"what-a-love-poem-to-smoked-fish-teaches-us-about-great-branded-merch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/what-a-love-poem-to-smoked-fish-teaches-us-about-great-branded-merch\/","title":{"rendered":"What a Love Poem to Smoked Fish Teaches Us About Great Branded Merch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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


What does a love poem to smoked fish<\/strong> \ud83d\udc1f have to do with swag?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything – if you\u2019re Zabar\u2019s<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

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

To celebrate their 75th anniversary, the iconic Manhattan grocery store dropped a limited-edition branded tee. And it didn\u2019t just feature a logo\u2014it came with a perfect<\/em> poem: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\n

\ud835\ude08\ud835\ude24\ud835\ude2e\ud835\ude26 \ud835\ude22\ud835\ude2f\ud835\ude25 \ud835\ude21\ud835\ude22\ud835\ude23\ud835\ude22\ud835\ude33\u2019\ud835\ude34
\ud835\ude1a\ud835\ude2a\ud835\ude35\ud835\ude35\ud835\ude2a\ud835\ude2f\ud835\ude28 \ud835\ude2a\ud835\ude2f \ud835\ude22 \ud835\ude35\ud835\ude33\ud835\ude26\ud835\ude26
\ud835\ude1a-\ud835\ude14-\ud835\ude16-\ud835\ude12-\ud835\ude10-\ud835\ude15-\ud835\ude0e
\ud835\ude0d\ud835\ude2a\ud835\ude33\ud835\ude34\ud835\ude35 \ud835\ude24\ud835\ude30\ud835\ude2e\ud835\ude26\ud835\ude34 \ud835\ude27\ud835\ude2a\ud835\ude34\ud835\ude29,
\ud835\ude1b\ud835\ude29\ud835\ude26\ud835\ude2f \ud835\ude24\ud835\ude30\ud835\ude2e\ud835\ude26\ud835\ude34 \ud835\ude23\ud835\ude22\ud835\ude28\ud835\ude26\ud835\ude2d\ud835\ude34,
\ud835\ude1b\ud835\ude29\ud835\ude26\ud835\ude2f \ud835\ude24\ud835\ude30\ud835\ude2e\ud835\ude26\ud835\ude34 75 \ud835\ude3a\ud835\ude26\ud835\ude22\ud835\ude33\ud835\ude34 \ud835\ude22\ud835\ude35 \ud835\ude35\ud835\ude29\ud835\ude26 \ud835\ude35\ud835\ude30\ud835\ude31 \ud835\ude30\ud835\ude27 \ud835\ude15\ud835\ude20 \ud835\ude35\ud835\ude22\ud835\ude23\ud835\ude2d\ud835\ude26\ud835\ude34<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This isn’t just any grocery store tee.
It\u2019s wearable nostalgia<\/strong>, a New York cultural flex, and a prime example of what great custom swag<\/strong> can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The Best Swag Aligns With Identity\u2014Not Just Branding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This limited-edition Zabar\u2019s shirt works because it speaks to more than the brand\u2014it speaks to identity<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udd6f \u201cI know where the good bagels are.\u201d
\ud83d\uddfd \u201cI\u2019m an actual New Yorker.\u201d
\ud83d\udcac \u201cThis shirt will get people talking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Branded merch<\/strong> at its best doesn\u2019t scream look at me<\/em>\u2014it says this is who I am<\/em>. It\u2019s not just a promotional product\u2014it\u2019s a story, a memory, a conversation starter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

From Grocery Store to Cult Brand: What Zabar\u2019s Got Right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s why this worked so well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Limited-edition swag<\/strong> builds urgency and exclusivity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • It\u2019s deeply local and culturally relevant<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • It hits both nostalgia<\/strong> and modern design sensibilities<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The merch becomes a badge of taste and belonging<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Whether you\u2019re a local deli or a fast-scaling startup, the lesson is the same:
    Merch should do more than promote. It should resonate.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

    Want Your Brand\u2019s Swag to Feel This Good?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Your branded merch can be more than just a logo tee. It can be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2728 A flex
    \u2728 A souvenir
    \u2728 A shared wink between fans of your brand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When we create custom branded merchandise<\/strong> for our clients, we\u2019re thinking about more than giveaways\u2014we\u2019re thinking about what people will actually wear, keep, and connect with<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

    \ud83d\udc1f Would you wear a grocery store tee? Why or why not?<\/strong>
    Drop your hot takes below\u2014I\u2019m collecting the best of brand-aligned swag wins (and misses).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert What does a love poem to smoked fish \ud83d\udc1f have to do with swag? Everything – if you\u2019re Zabar\u2019s. To celebrate their 75th anniversary, the iconic Manhattan grocery store dropped a limited-edition branded tee. And it didn\u2019t just feature a logo\u2014it came with a perfect […]<\/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-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456","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=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions\/458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotomarket.studio\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}