The Backpack: Issue #36

Pop-ups are (still) spicy HOT 

Did you hear about KFC’s pop-up dispensary? Yep, that kind of dispensary. Located in LA’s posh Abbot Kinney area, the campaign was a massive hit thanks in part to a cool pre-event influencer kit. Merch included this “higher form of nugget tee” and more. A physical pop-up is a great way to compliment your commonsku Pop-Up Shop too! And srsly, KFC’s doing some fun collabs, check out their recently released collection with Life is Good. That Colonel T is camp!

Love Lies Bleeding merch is insane 

Let’s pause and remember how damn good A24’s merch game is: For "Love Lies Bleeding," they created these killer socks, this glass ashtray, and what’s more, they built a cool bundle option (an idea you should def steal for your next shop). The entire film is an 80s fever dream and Kristen Stewart might single handedly bring back the muscle tank. Keep an eye on 80s trends, friends.

Fast-Track Your Sustainable Future!

Pop! Promos removed 36,000 pounds of plastic from their supply chain in a year, they expanded their organic, recycled, and sustainable materials, and achieved a bronze designation from EcoVadis, the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. And it all began with a small group of volunteers from within the organization. Cool story — check out our chat with Sterling here!

commonsku University + YOU!

Through‌out May, we’re hosting a very special specialized 🤗 series of webinars for commonsku customers aimed at helping the key roles in a distributor’s business master the platform. Want a webinar just for managers? Got you. How about for sales folks? Yep. Production? Here. And Finance? Of course! Not sure which to send to your team? Send ‘em this link and let them choose!

PIXEL MERCH is a whole (80s) vibe

Prob the sickest merch drop we’ve seen from a coffee shop (Perc Coffee). It’s a small drop but clever as hell, an 80’s retro vibe, 8-bit collection that features a contest: the first 50 people to order a travel mug received a signed (by the owner) 1985 Nintendo NES. We love how the pixel shirt features an image of the founder!

A D&D merch (live stream) fashion show?

A Dungeons & Dragons game started in 2012 between a few friends … fast forward: The game (now called "Critical Role") has over 2 million YouTube subscribers. The CR Show is so popular they went from selling a single t-shirt to housing six warehouses of merch and recently live-streamed a “first of its kind” fashion show featuring creators like Rosanna Pansino, Style Theorists, and more. Most popular? Catchphrase merch, the “How Do You Want This?” hoodie.

Poppi pops off with a limited edition birthday suit 

Nope, not that kinda birthday suit, this kind: a neon sweatsuit that immediately sold out. But what’s really cool? Check out their packaging, simple but smart: a pink packing cube. TikTok promotion was cool too. The promotion was a campaign with influencer Alix Earle and included a cameo promotion by Bachelorette star Joey Graziadei. Backpacker approved!

Need some heart-warming college campus news?

Farmlink is an amazing project started and operated by students from college campuses that connects farms (with surplus food) to food banks that need it, all while reducing CO2e emissions. They fight to combat food waste, help the hungry, and save the planet?! And they’re known to deploy some stealthy merch tactics to get their movement noticed, like the time they dropped some merch on a few famous folks in LA having dinner, resulting in this cool photo op. A beautiful story about student activism, check their merch game. Chocolate trucker hat!

🏳️‍🌈 Pride month is around the corner and for some inspo, check out commonsku customer Super Deluxe and their shops-built Pride Shop. 

🏆 What do you think of the Lays + Lionel Messi merch collab? Brand hit or miss?

👜 Love this tote from The New Yorker featuring the work of designer Miguel Porlan.

👕 Herr’s Chips was founded in 1946 but needed to attract younger snackers to their chip line. Their strategy? Merch. They dropped a cool collection with artists South Fellini and Dirty Hands Studio. 

🍟 McDonald’s launches a billboard campaign in the Netherlands featuring -no logo- but their signature scent: fries.

👀 Keep an A-eye (AI, get it?) on this one: Former Apple creative Jony Ive partners with OpenAI’s Sam Altman on some kind of “hardware device.” Oh, and another wearable AI just dropped. Things about to get weirder.

🖥️ Packify is a new AI tool for packaging design.

🐶 Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy released a merch collection featuring his dog Miss Peaches and all proceeds will be donated to dog rescues and yes, it’s as cute as it sounds.

🌸 Size inclusivity always wins, friends. Here are 11 fashion brands doing body positivity right.

 💌 Marketing email tip: Mother’s Day is approaching, do you know about the new empathy-led marketing initiatives known as thoughtful marketing?

⚽ Want to create high-key exclusivity? San Fran’s new women’s soccer team creates a ton of FOMO with this slick letterman jacket.