Distributing custom-branded apparel, office supplies, tech accessories, and other company merchandise is an incredibly valuable yet underutilized marketing tactic for businesses of all sizes and industries. But simply slapping your logo onto any old product doesn’t maximize the benefits. Custom company merchandise has to be thoughtfully designed if you want to spark positive brand associations and visibility. Follow these essential tips for creating promotional products and employee swag to catch the eyes and attention.

Focus First on Functional Value

While eye-catching design matters, custom merchandise should provide practical value to recipients and, second, branding. Choose valued items employees or customers will genuinely appreciate, like high-quality T-shirts, reusable water bottles, portable chargers, or tote bags. Useful merchandise gets used often, extending brand impressions.

Front-and-Center Brand Placement

Branding should take an unmistakable front seat on custom merchandise, even as items offer utility. Corporate apparel like polos, jackets, and caps, as well as drinkware, office supplies, and tech accessories, all provide ample real estate for prominent logo placement. Position signatures, slogans, and logos boldly on the front and center rather than the back or sides so they are visible during use.

Strategic Color Choices

Staying on-brand with consistent primary colors is vital for custom merchandise. Using signature shades like vibrant red, tranquil blue, or energetic yellow on all promotional items, regardless of product type, promotes instant recognition. To keep things fresh, complement classic colors with on-trend secondary hues that are popular yearly. Contrasting brights with neutrals also helps designs stand out.

Experiment with Visual Variety

While your primary logo should be prominently featured on merchandise, don’t be afraid to complement it with additional visuals like abstract graphics, lifestyle photography, geometric patterns, or illustrations. Visual variety keeps the best company promotional items exciting and differentiated across your catalog. Change up visual themes from season to season or year over year.

Offer Merchandise Suites

Rather than one-off items, consider branded merchandise collections with coordinated designs across multiple products. For example, an “Office Essentials” suite could feature matching patterns or color schemes on notebooks, pens, tech accessories, and drinkware. Collections with versatile mix-and-match utility keep your brand at the forefront of your mind.

Prioritize Quality Construction

Cheap materials and shoddy manufacturing of custom company merchandise undermine branding efforts. Invest extra in quality textiles, durable ceramics and metals, detailed screen printing and embroidery, and strong yet lightweight bags and cases. Employees and customers alike continue promoting brands longer through merchandise built to last years rather than months.

Simple Yet Striking Concepts Work Best

Visually busy designs overwhelm, while clean, minimalist concepts attract attention quickly. Prioritize one focal branding element like your logo or signature icon, then enhance it with spare complementary graphics or textures. Embrace white space generously so your core message stands out.

Showcase Your Brand Story

Unique origin stories, founding principles, or company values offer great inspiration for branded merchandise designs that resonate. Through timeline motifs, iconography, or messaging, showcase historical brand milestones, special manufacturing processes, or sustainability commitments. Through storytelling merchandise, help people connect more meaningfully with brands.

Limited-Edition Drops Add Excitement

Create anticipation and excitement by releasing special merchandise collections or one-off hero pieces for a short time. These limited-edition drops should feature exceptionally striking designs, premium materials, or collaborations with local artists. They attract collector interest while inspiring increased brand loyalty.

Crowdsource Design Ideas

Your employees and customers have great insights into merchandise items they’d enthusiastically use while also providing branding visibility. Survey them to crowdsource suggestions on in-demand products, features, style preferences, and visual concepts. People take special pride in repping swag they helped co-create.

Choose Flywheel for all your Branding Needs

Creating custom company merchandise with maximum visual impact and versatile utility requires the experience that the promotional design experts at Flywheel Brands Inc. provide. Our team helps craft branded merchandise catalogs that inspire employees to proudly rep your brand all year long, making us one of the best company for promotional products. Get in touch today to explore creative solutions tailored to your business.

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