Big brands and sports brands are onto a trend: Developing high-end merch for a hyper-discerning audience. Robb Report has a cool breakdown of some of the drippiest merch happening in the NFL, and over at The Times, they ask the question: “Do Football Fans Really Want to Be Fashionable?” (TLDR: Yes).
The editors of the backpack are big fans of Notion, it’s what we use to write this newsletter! So, we were thrilled when Notion launched a campaign around Notion Faces and did so by partnering with Funny Face Bakery to deliver their campaign to influencers in custom cookie boxes. What was the campaign? Custom avatars of each influencer’s face! Backpacker approved!
This is a fascinating glimpse into where merch is trending. Linus Tech Tips has 16 million YouTube subscribers. In a recent episode on Colin and Samir, Linus breaks down how the insanely popular show makes money. Merch takeaway: Their merch and the products on their store are now 6x what their ad sense revenue was in 2020. But Linus warned in this two-minute clip, “We don’t just slap our logo on things, we develop products from the ground, up engineer things, design things, bring them to market.” They’ve become so successful at it they had to create their own biz to handle it (Creator Warehouse). Linus warns, “We’re not a merch company anymore,” suggesting that "merch" is logo-slapping, but what they do is build intentional products (er, um, merch, actually). Why is this important? Elevated intentionality with merch is a 2025 trend: less (QTY); more (quality).
Skip the deets, here’s the link! 😉 For those that are new: What is skucamp? skucamp is a mini-bootcamp for your business: Whether you're scaling up, crafting a killer customer experience, or building a team, skucamp is where the inspo happens! skucamp always sells out but if you pre-register, that will give you early access to purchase your ticket 24 hours before tickets go on sale to the public, plus, you’ll save $100 off your ticket purchase if you buy during the pre-sale! Lock it in -- we'll see you in sunny Scottsdale!
Join us for an inspiring and tactical webinar with Michael Wolaver, Founder and Captain of Magellan Promotions. Michael has flipped the script by implementing a 4-day work week while achieving over 20% growth in just one year! Michael’s passion for innovation and continuous improvement has positioned Magellan Promotions as a leader in branded merchandise for higher education, and he’s joining us to give you the scoop. Register for our webinar convo with Michael here!
Monty Mims is one of the many folks leading SanMar’s Decorator & Tech Solutions division, he’s brilliant at both helping distributors work better with their decorators, but also helping decorators navigate the landscape of trends, equipment, and supply chain. We talk with Monty about how ePOs with SanMar’s PSST program dramatically amplifies your speed and radically reduces errors, plus tips on sourcing and working with decorators, hit the link to tune in!
Canada’s first WNBA team just dropped a line of retro-inspired sports merch that celebrates Toronto's rich athletic history with vintage-style designs and classic colors. The collection features throwback jerseys, caps, and more that pay homage to iconic moments in Toronto sports with brands like Roots and Peace Collective. Backpack faves? This Peace Collective Varsity jacket, Pride fleece sweatshirt, and Playa Society Tee.
From Cotton:On to Claire V’s Je T’aime to Fanatics, many brands are creating merch to support the California wildfire relief efforts. A few of our faves are Dojo Cat’s Beautiful California merch in partnership with the American Red Cross, Sundae School’s Venice B*itch Fleece, and Kingsland Edition’s NY Loves LA T-shirt (Kingsland is a screen print and publishing studio based in Brooklyn). While our hearts are with the many who have been affected by this horrific tragedy, we're also learning how to better support causes like this through better merch experiences, for example, here's how the word ‘strong’ became the unofficial brand of disaster recovery.”
SNL’s broadcast home is NBC, but despite NBC’s really lame merch shop, there are at least some brands who are giving the iconic cultural-keepers-of-irony their due, namely (and surprisingly) Saks. Smartly, the retail giant dropped a fresh page celebrating all things SNL with some really killer collabs featuring merch like this SNL fleece (love the logo-placement), Le Labo candle, Spartan tote, and uber-classic opening sequence tee. But srsly, NBC: No cowbell?
🎯 WTH is happening in the world of merch when your giveaways become retail worthy? Poppi’s merch is so popular Target decided to carry it in their store.
👾 Mr. Beast proposes in merch. Reddit roasts.
🍔 In celebration of their 75th, Whataburger drops an old school Gold 1950 cap (maybe a bit much?), a drip patch hat, and a classic foam front. But our fave anniversary item might just be this simple 1950 cream tee with their OG sign. And this is a little cray-cray: Wrangler and Whataburger released a 24-piece merch capsule for the National Finals Rodeo and it’s dope.
👀 “Holding space” merch, IYKYK
💘 Luke “The Nuke” Littler’s merch sold out. Who’s “The Nuke?” World Darts champ and TikTok sensation.
👋 The Goodyear Blimp celebrates its 100th birthday with slogan, “Blimps are cool, buy merch.”
💙 Awwww, thank you PPAI and ASI for the great stories about skucon! PPAI: skucon Inspires Promo Pros Ahead Of The PPAI Expo 2025; ASI: 'Accidental Creative' Author Shares Strategies for On-Demand Brilliance at skucon 2025. Miss skucon? No worries: We'll see you at skucamp Scottsdale! 😎