The Backpack: Issue #37

Return of the statement tee: I Told Ya

Swooning over Zendaya’s “I Told Ya” t-shirt. The t-shirt’s creation is the work of designer Jonathan Anderson & director Luca Guadagnino. It’s a nod to JFK Jr. whose style influenced the design of the costumes for the film “Challengers.” Why does it belong in a merch convo? Statement tees have long been a part of merch history. Granted, this particular tee will cost you a cool $330 (and it’s a one-color screen front and embroidery on the nape of the neck) but why couldn’t you mimic this concept with a client? Is there a slogan or phrase your client uses that might be a cool way to do “more than a logo drop” and capture part of a subcultural trend that is bound to play all summer long?

Now that YouTube surpassed Netflix...

...in the streaming wars, indie creators are a formidable force in the battle for attention as proven by the recent Nielsen stats which showed that YouTube was the most-watched streaming option over the past twelve months. Creators who actively build a community with their followers have a greater chance of successfully selling merch. To wit: The Publish Press featured the segment “Building a Creator-Led Merch Brand” to help creators do just that. Anytime “outsiders” talk about our industry, we listen because we learn something. For example, they talk about “consumables vs. collectibles,” and use phrases like “community-based apparel” but we prob love their biggest tip: “Find a 3rd party partner who can help you with it [merch]”. (Pat your back. That’s us, backpackers).

Dos Hombres Spring merch drop is dizzy good

We’ve written about Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul’s mezcal brand Dos Hombres before but we had to spin it up again cause their spring drop is so damn good. The colors yellow and also blue (particularly pale blue), are trending this year and someone at Dos Hombres is hot on trends. Check out those cool blue options in their new Spring Drop, with this blue hoodie or this t-shirt or crewneck. 100% of the profits from merch goes back to the village of San Luis de Rui where the best agaves in the world are cultivated and harvested to produce Dos Hombres. Backpacker approved!

Storm Creek's Trailblazing Vision

Storm Creek is truly a unique story and perhaps the ultimate OG in the promo space. Founded in 1995, they designed and created their first eco jacket in 2012! Long before “sustainability” had become common coinage in our industry. What’s more, they’ve given over $2.3 million to charity and plan to give $5 mil by 2030. Check out our chat with legendary leaders Doug Jackson (President) and Teresa Fudenberg (CEO), the ultimate “seekers of better.”

commonsku University + YOU!

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

Harry Styles’ “Pleasing" Austin Pop-Up

We are weak over this one: Harry Styles' beauty brand (Pleasings) just created the pop-up to end all pop-ups by taking over the South Congress Hotel in Austin with a saloon-style storefront and some killer merch. What’s cool about it? Everything, from their event landing page to their on-site experience, even the old-school ads and copy, absolutely brilliant. “The pop-up shop will keep its saloon doors open until May 19, giving you plenty of time to ‘find your pleasing.’”

Brilliant DIY merch kit by Scotiabank + The Leafs

While others are charging exorbitant fees for fan merch, Scotiabank had a brilliant idea: make merch accessible for all Leafs fans without breaking the bank 😂. Sure, it didn’t really help the Leafs win, but it’s a pretty clever way to build a more accessible fan kit for all and a great example of a budget-friendly use of merch in a unique way. Backpacker approved!

Which Seltzer has the best merch?

SNL spoofed the rise of the Seltzer but that didn’t stop the madness, everybody’s got one now: Smirnoff, Topo, Corona, even Michelob. But, like we say here at the backpack, “yeah, but … how’s their merch game?” So, for our own lil’ battle of the merch brands, here’s a throwdown: Truly (Originals) Seltzer? Truly not. We haven’t seen merch this bad since Ace Hardware’s 100th. Another marginal merch collection is spindrift’s (are we even trying?) but thankfully, there’s Ranch Water who gets it. From their leather can cooler to their sticker pack and even wooden paddle board set, they match brand ethos with bespoke merch and audience, like this Coleman cooler.

🎉 Michael Bungay Stanier brought down the house at skucon 2023, and MBS (as we call him), has a crazy-good deal, if you buy a copy of his brilliant book The Coaching Habit (10-out-of-10 recommend), you’ll get invited to three live webinars with him in June (includes teaching and live coaching!) plus the chance to get personally coached by MBS himself. Go here to buy your copy and a chance to win but do it TODAY, offer ends Mon, May 20!

👀 Bodegas are the new home of hyper-local branded merch, like this one in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

🍖 Our friends at Harper + Scott drop a cool merch collection for Longhorn Steakhouse. FTW: Socks wrapped in butcher paper .

🍎 Now that we’re all kinda over being mad at Apple for that ad that crushed creatives everywhere, is there anyone in the promo community netraged about Apple also crushing a pile of stress balls? Prob not.

👊 More nearshoring news about manufacturing in Mexico.

😎 Meta’s Ray-Ban sunglasses are seriously under the radar (review here), how long before we see logo’d AI sunglasses?

🎬 Fan of A24’s Civil War? You might want this.

📚 Have you seen our short-and-easy commonsku onboarding ebook?

🤘 Comedians are the new rock stars and Tim Robinson proves it by celebrating the end of his tour with “I Think You Should Leave” merch.

🔗 Supply chain news: A major shift in trade policy might be afoot, or, as Noah Smith writes, “The Big Tariffs are here” but what does this mean for promo, if anything? Scroll to Noah’s insightful analysis to the section, “What does this mean for trade policy going forward?”