What happens when UPS, a 115-year-old logistics company, decides to drop a limited edition clothing line at New York Fashion Week (NYFW)?
Deliverable magic.
UPS debuted its first-ever limited-edition apparel and merchandise collection at New York Fashion Week (NYFW), complete with an online shop, (beunstoppableshop), an onsite experience, and more.
I have been on the e-commerce side of the branded merch business for over 20 years. I helped create shops for the largest private banks, the largest energy companies, and Fortune 100 Best Places to Work companies. What UPS built is a perfect playbook for us to learn from as we create our own customers’ shops experiences. Granted, not every customer needs this level of TLC, but there are insights from the UPS shop that you can apply to any customer.
At commonsku (as many of you know), we build the technology that powers a sleek and easy e-commerce engine for promotional products, called shops. And the lessons I’ll unpack here are lessons anyone can apply, no technical experience is required to create a truly magical shop experience for your customers, it only takes fresh eyes to newly imagine the possibilities! Here are 8 key takeaways from the UPS shop that we can all learn from:
8 Take-Aways from the UPS Unstoppable Shop
UPS launched with a mission. UPS didn’t create a shop because everyone else was doing it, no parroting or mimicry here, they were inspired to create a shop that honored the hard work of SMBs (their target market: small-medium sized businesses), and to celebrate the creativity of black designers and creatives. Take-away: Determining your why helps you unlock the most creative steps to how.
UPS incorporated a give-back to foster community: All proceeds from the Be Unstoppable gear and an additional $50K in grants, go to IN THE BLK, a non-profit dedicated to helping Black designers build solidarity and economic independence in the global fashion industry. Key: A give-back inspires (empowers!) your customers to contribute to the cause and share in a communal experience, while at the same time celebrating the brand.
UPS outsourced the creative: UPS tapped photographer Christian Cody to shoot the collection and stylist Ugo Mozie to create the looks, with merch designs from notable Black fashion brands such as House of Aama, Third Crown, and more. Ugo Mozie is an LA-based activist and designer. He has held lectures on Cultural Diversity and the Business of Fashion at Oxford University, Harvard University, and Columbia University. Key: You might not have in-house design and fashion expertise; neither did UPS. Outsourcing to designers, photographers, and stylists can help showcase their talents, amplify your shop experience, and magnify everyone’s work.
UPS dropped a limited-edition capsule: Most customers, when launching a shop, want to start with too many products; they want to answer everyone's needs at once (which is impossible). The UPS shop is an elegant experience because they tastefully focused on an initial offering of only 14 pieces (with promises of more drops to come). Key: A limited-edition drop allows you to create scarcity, exclusivity, and anticipation.
UPS every piece of merch matters: Every piece was designed with intent. Meaning, because they limited their initial drop, they could take their time with each piece to ensure they matched the product with the right design. Key: A limited-edition drop allows you to focus your creative energies on a select group of products, products that will be the first impression for your future shop experiences.
UPS created a mix of custom merch & high-profile brands: Yeti and MiiR products make an appearance on their shop and sprinkled in, a few custom bags as well. But note that their apparel was a rather simple (but elegant) approach to design. Key: Create a blend of stock items that are set apart by their design, and combine this with a few high-profile products and (fewer) custom pieces. Taken together, the merch montage creates a visual experience that elevates the entire collection.
UPS embraced an aesthetic fit for fashion: Everything about the design, from the shop’s branding to each apparel piece, was created in a streetwear style: the layout, the copy, each decision reflected an audacious but subtle expression with clear bold lines. One big mistake many of us make with clients is that we don’t treat each piece as its own work of art. Key: Every blank bag, every t-shirt, every mug, is a canvas for brand expression.
UPS created an on-site experience: On-site at NYFW, UPS created a pop-up shop where attendees could buy exclusive apparel. They also featured the icon of their brand, their ubiquitous UPS truck, and gave it a makeover, completely wrapping it in the new “unstoppable” design to match their custom boxes (made for the campaign). The truck created a photo-op moment for fans and also featured a QR code that took you to the shop to buy your gear. Key: Merch is a tangible medium. Your shop shouldn’t stop online, often, that’s where the best shop experiences simply begin.
The biggest lesson? Never, ever underestimate what you can build on behalf of your clients.
No one would ever match NYFW and UPS as brands that could partner together in a way that would make sense. But it makes perfect sense to Ugo Mozie, the celebrated designer:
“Streetwear is the fundamental of fashion. When it comes to trends and style there is nowhere more inspiring than the street itself. We’re seeing a rise of small businesses that are able to make an impact because people aren’t looking out for the typical high fashion brands, they’re looking for what’s new, what’s edgy, and what’s fresh. And that’s where UPS plays an amazing role because not only are [they] adding to the streetwear but [they’re] also providing support for the designers and the brands.”
So the next time you see that big brown truck cruising the streets, I hope it reminds you that the real answer to creative brand expression is not, “what’s new” but rather, “what’s newly imagined.”
