The Backpack: Issue #22

All our best, monthly news in one branded pack.

Friday, September 1

• Top Merch News: Covetable Merch with Butterfly Cannon

• Vibe Check: Ryan Reynolds Needs Your Help with Merch

• Trends alert: The Return of Event Merch

• Happenings: skuconX!

• Can't miss content: Pokemon + Van Gogh = Uh Oh

Create Covetable Merch with Butterfly Cannon

Readers might recall a recent merch campaign for Johnnie Walker that we hyped here in the Backpack. Not only did we note the incredible use of a “video catalog” for the merch collection, one of the agency's team members, Emma Ralphs, wrote an article, “From Tacky to Trendsetting: How to Create Covetable Brand Merch.” We loved it so much, we invited Emma to join us for a skucast episode to talk about their work with the Johnnie Walker merch as well as her thoughts on what makes merch covetable, tune in to our new favorite Londoner here!

Branded Merch: Amplifier or Igniter?

Food merch is the new band tee. At least, that’s what Eliza Dumais writes for Refinery29. Eliza unpacks the new Tim Horton’s merch shop –Tim Shop– and explains why we now want to “wear what we drink.” And in our latest skucast episode, Mark Graham and Bobby Lehew dig deep into the phenomenon of merch as a social signal and how, under the shade of polarizing political merch, we can both amplify our brands and ignite a firestorm of opinions. We break it down here!

Never Lose an Employee Again with Joey Coleman

Our friend, Joey Coleman, did things for the U.S. Secret Service and the CIA that he can’t talk about publicly, (yes, we’re serious). Throughout his career, he has advised Fortune 500 companies as a business consultant, worked at the White House, and oh, did we mention he’s an experienced promo products pro? The multi-hyphenate thinker loves to help you retain the two most important assets to your company: your clients and your team. Listen to part one of our discussion on employee retention, and to hear part two on client retention, join us at skucon on Jan 14th! 

8 Actionable Ideas Overheard at skucamp

“Burning Man meets Ted Talk, and they have a little promo baby.” Wait... what?! Well, that’s not exactly how we would have described skucamp, but that’s how one attendee summed up our 3-day experience deep in the heart of Texas! If you missed it, here are 8 ideas shared at skucamp that you can put to work right now! And if you’re an “I’m just here for the merch" kind of backpacker (we feel you), check out our skucamp lookbook!

Long Live Microinfluencers

What’s a micro-influencer? An influencer with a follower count range of 10,000-100,000 followers. Though some consider influencer marketing dead, many brands are finding more impact through micro relationships. There’s even a new term: nano-influencer. And get this: There are 15,000 influencer agencies in the world. Why does it matter for merch? Merch is a crucial part of the equation when it comes to influencing, and one of the biggest take-aways from this Marketing Brew breakdown on influencers is that influencers should be treated not like a channel but as a co-creation partner. Are your clients engaging with influencers? If so, are you developing a merch strategy around how to tap into today’s joyconomy through influencers?

Everyone’s Talking About Event Merch.

Um, what's with the flurry of articles about merch + events? To wit: “The Gift of Giving: How Swag Can Create an Impact on Your Attendees” includes a full-blown video of non-industry people talking about merch. And now, even Fast Co asks: Is your business conference merch up to par? The article features 11 tips you already know, but it’s interesting that the pub known for its industry take-down still publishes about the effectiveness of merch. And speaking of trends in merch+conferences: Who started the “let’s sell our merch at our conference trend?” 

Truff: The Vibey Hot Sauce has even Vibier Merch

Truff is not only TikTok’s saucey bestie, but also a rad brand with an even bolder partnership strategy. Covered in Forbes, Vice, and known for their wild co-brand stunts (like this insane Super Marios collab) and their unsecretive partnership with alien life forms, TRUFF is even rad at merch. Limited but bold collection,  you might say their merch is… fire? 🫣

Ryan Reynolds Makes Wrexham FC Merch Go Boom

Um, no. Wrexham’s merch is horrible. But Ryan Reynolds is not. GQ writes, “In this era, good merch can make a menswear brand of an ailing football team.” The Wrexham team owner was out sporting a baseball cap with the Wrexham shield on it, GQ writes, “It's a menswear grail in waiting.” Grail? Allow us to do some backseat driving here: Yep, it’s a cool cap (largely cause it’s Ryan Reynolds underneath its lid), but we gotta throw some shade, could somebody toss some of that FX money at their merch? Some of the merch isn’t even real merch. We think they can do better, don’t you? BTW: Who are the top five football clubs that sell the highest amount of merch? Here’s a solid breakdown of Soccer’s Battle of the Brands.

Kiehl’s x Province of Canada Keeps it Circular

“Each piece is designed and made in Canada.” What’s so special about this collab beyond Made in Canada? Well, Kiehl’s is on a mission, literally dubbed, “mission renewal.” Province of Canada is known for their Canada-only products, and Kiehl’s wants to spotlight their focus on circularity. Their campaign is more than just launching a cool merch collection for funsies (though it is a groovy capsule). Kiehl's is partnering by way of example: reducing the distribution of merch in Canada by producing it in Canada. Kiehl’s is also using this campaign to create buzz around their new "recycle and be rewarded" service. Merch lesson: What sustainability mission is your customer focused on? How can you create a merch collection to help highlight that mission?

skuconX: Get Your Tickets Before They’re Gone!

skucon, the conference that inspired a new generation of innovators, explorers, and dreamers in the branded merch industry, is back! skuconX marks the 10th time the industry’s most innovative thinkers will gather to connect, learn, and re-ignite alongside like-minded pros! (Read skucon's origin story here!) Join Joey Coleman (author of Never Lose a Customer Again) and a few of your closest merch friends as we celebrate our 10th journey together in the only way we know how: by imagining a bolder tomorrow! Grab your team tickets now!

👟 Barack Obama visits Nike HQ and his first question: “So, who’s in charge of my swag?”

🎨 Um. If Pokémon and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam released a collab together, how’d you think it would go? You probably guessed wrong. The museum had to issue an apology for selling out of virtually all the Pikachu merch. Off brand? Maybe not. Van Gogh famously loved Japanese art so…

☀️ A sunny San Fran story: Four guys create a workshop together called The Woodshop. And, of course, they have merch, the Dude! and the Bro!, we love to see people create merch around a shared obsession.

🚲 “Lululemon and Peloton End Their Feud” [WSJ]. Why? Merch.

🍬 Aldi’s is back at it again. Their new fall merch drop is so damn sweet.

🛍️ The official taxonomy of tote bags.

👀 Live Nation announced it will not charge artists merch fees, but it may not be what it seems, some say it’s a move to drive shows to Live Nation-only venues.

🍂 It’s October! Cool weather brings in more than pumpkin-spice-everything, it also reminds buyers that the holidays are just around the corner. For the keeners who want to get a jump on the holiday selling season, here’s a collection just for you