Avoiding Brandfill: How to Design Promotional Products for Long-Term Impact
BY CASSIE GREEN
There’s a common perception that promotional products, whether hard goods or apparel, are “cheap.” Images of low-quality pens that don’t work, tchotchkes that break, and scratchy T-shirts with a peeling left-chest logo are the stuff of branded merch nightmares.
Unfortunately, all too often that perception is reality. Brands that are looking to save a few bucks or are in a rush often opt for the lowest cost promo item that can be manufactured and printed in bulk, then distributed at the fastest pace.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s a growing number of consumers that are starting to pay attention — they want branded merch that they’re proud to wear and stands the test of time. Those customers that are looking to build branding campaigns that are impactful, sustainable, and align with a belief system are also taking notice.
What makes an end-user hang on to a promotional product? What makes them wear a branded quarter-zip for years? What prevents someone from tossing it and creating brandfill — branded items, often low-quality, that end up in the landfill?
In other words, how do you as the promotional products supplier create and design merch packages that people use and wear for years to come?
The Brandfill Mentality
Despite growing efforts around sustainability, there is still a common theme that promotional products are all cheap knick-knacks that wind up in landfills. Whether it’s because a company is looking to save some money or they waited until the last minute to order merch, it’s a trend that still persists.
“If not thought out, promo can easily become short-lived ‘brandfill,” explains Joe Richards, vice president of marketing at Koozie Group. “Items that don’t align with the brand, solve a need, or feel relevant are more likely to be discarded.”
Mark Litos, co-founder of Refried Apparel, uses a charity golf event as an example. He says a swag-bag might contain a cheap visor that no one would ever wear and gimmicky key chain mixed in with the golf balls. Unfortunately, he says, most of that stuff will get tossed because it’s not useful.
This old way of thinking largely grew from both consumer behavior as well as the supplier side of the conversation. “Something designed for a single conference, such as a lanyard, could be perceived as more disposable than, say, good quality apparel with perceived re-wear value,” says Marissa Garcia, director, Responsible Business at Next Level Apparel. “The myth of thinking this way comes down to how the supplier promotes its products as beyond single-use, as well as general education for the industry on how most, if not all, promo products are not single-use.”
A Movement Toward Better Merch
"People will be more likely to keep an apparel or soft good product if they feel like it is made well." Marissa Garcia, Next Level Apparel. | Credit: Next Level Apparel
It’s the efforts to better educate the use of a promotional product, alongside growing consumer demand for sustainability, that are helping change the rhetoric. As previously mentioned, there is a growing movement toward creating better merch, and real change is already happening.
A Note on Greenwashing
Marissa Garcia, Next Level Apparel
For hard goods, the sustainability of a product’s physical make-up is the hardest aspect to convey. In the era of greenwashing, there are a lot of claims being made about how ethically or sustainably a product is made. Certifications or claims ultimately mean nothing when their claims are not clearly understood by the target audience or if there is no substantiation of claims.
Tackling this issue requires communication and a dedicated resource for ongoing training, as new materials that can be used in products become scalable for the size of our industry.
When it comes to apparel and soft goods, physical make-up, meaning is it made of organic, recycled polyester, and so on, is the most significant quality in making those pieces sustainable.
The problem here is related to education on green claims. For example, there are many “Made in America” claims that only apply to finished goods and not to the blank product itself. This feels like a misnomer because the perception of “Made in America” insinuates that every aspect of the product is sourced from the U.S. This is very applicable to “organic cotton,” “recycled polyester,” and other product-level claims many organizations in soft goods feel will help their brand image. If these claims are not backed up by third-party evaluation criteria, this falls into the “greenwashing” category of sustainability communication.
The key here is education. The appropriate questions cannot be asked if green claims are not understood. Suppliers of blanks also need to be as transparent as possible on their websites and reports, so that ultimately, end-users can better evaluate the claims based on any publicly available information.
Litos points to the expanding availability of high-end products. “The misconception to put all of the swag promotional items in that sort of cheap, gimmicky category is wrong, because there's a lot of good stuff that's usable,” he says. For example, items like utility knives and flashlights are something people will keep because they have high functionality.
“In terms of functionality, people need to feel like a product can be integrated into their everyday lives in order to prevent it from being sent to a landfill,” Garcia points out. “For product design, the idea behind a product’s longevity is something people can see as fitting into their everyday lives outside of the event from which they obtain the product.”
Richards notes that it’s all about taking the right viewpoint. This applies to both the brand and the promotional supplier creating the merch. “At Koozie Group, we view promo through a very different lens: We produce thoughtful, engaging products that strengthen relationships and create lasting impressions between brands and those they serve,” he explains. “Our KG Factor is built around exactly that idea — identifying products with a high likelihood of being kept or gifted because they are useful, functional, durable, and attractive. In other words, the more thoughtfully a product is chosen and designed, the less it behaves like disposable swag, and the more it behaves like an everyday brand asset.”
That thoughtful approach is what Litos encourages the industry to utilize. “Look [at] the old adage: You get what you pay for,” he says. “Value is really important. Does [a product] have value? Is it going to give me a favorable experience?” Digging into the details of why a certain product is selected as part of a merch package helps prevent items from getting tossed.
Avoid Brandfill with Thoughtful Designs
As consumers continue to drive the trend toward better promotional products, one thing is clear: The product itself along with the design and decoration must be equally thought-out in order to avoid the brandfill. “Design is one of the things I’ve seen elevate the product into something seen as multi-use,” Garcia explains. “I know I have promo items from decades ago because I felt like they were well-designed and continuously served their purpose because of it.”
“A promotional product earns its place when the item and the decoration work together,” Richards believes. “The product has to be useful enough to keep; the decoration has to feel intentional enough to show. When both are right, the item becomes part of someone's routine, and that's where brand impressions compound quietly over time, long after the event, campaign, and original investment.”
Not only does it become part of the end-user’s routine, but it also positively reflects on the brand. For example, if a bank decides to give out low-end keychains to its VIP customers, it’s going to make the bank look bad. “Something that's poorly done is not going to help [the] brand at all,” Litos says. “It makes the brand looks cheap.”
It’s also about being in tune with your specific clients as a supplier. “A promo product for a construction safety program should look nothing like one for a technology buyer, client, or prospect,” Richards says. “When the product, the decoration, and the audience are all aligned, the brand doesn't need to announce itself. It just keeps showing up.”
This applies whether you’re printing and designing soft or hard goods. The entire process, from sourcing to design to printing, and final delivery to the customer all must work together for any promo product to have lasting impact. Litos suggests sourcing products that are made locally by companies that have clear, impactful goals, and then making sure you design in line with those principles.
“If I'm going to buy a T-shirt, it's not going to be something that you see 1,000 of them in some touristy shop with a swordfish on it from Florida, right?” he says. “I want something that's cool, maybe that even has a message on it that means something to me. Design is so important.”
In that sense, he says not to be afraid to get creative and push boundaries as long as everything aligns with the message your customer is trying to portray with their brand. “Know your customer,” Litos emphasizes. “Follow trends, be creative with designs, and keep messaging in mind.”
Richards has a few specific suggestions when it comes to creating merch that will be used year after year. “Clean branding, tasteful color use, retail-inspired graphics, subtle tone-on-tone applications, and personalization can all extend the perceived life of a product,” he says. “The goal is to make the brand memorable without making the product feel disposable.”
