Fair warning: the name is rough. Euronews calls it “pilgra-merch”, and one travel writer counts it among the ugliest new words in years. The trend behind it is a keeper. Skyscanner found 43% of travellers have taken a trip for something they couldn’t buy online, and Gen Z’s proudest find is a limited-run grocery tote. Retail is building for it. Universal goes one better and sells the place itself: Atom Brick sets of its Orlando and Hollywood park entrances are new this season, and Epic Universe has a Spirit Jersey printed with its own entrance gate. Now run through your client list. Each one has a spot worth a souvenir, whether it’s the HQ lobby, the flagship or the booth at the big show. Picture the client’s building as a brick set, or a tote printed with the street address. Give people one piece that only exists there, and they’ll make the trip. Worth the detour? That’s the brief.
Grimace and the Hamburglar are back on duty, this time around your ankles. McDonald’s Australia launched its McHappy Day merch on Oct. 14, led by retro Silly Socks, ahead of the Nov. 14 fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House. All profit from the merch goes to the charity. The socks aren’t a one-off stunt, either. They first joined the fundraiser back in 2015, and the event has raised more than $79 million since 1991. Why do socks keep working? Nobody plans to buy them. They get added at the counter, on a whim, for a good reason, and then they live in a drawer for years. Got a client with a charity partner or a giving day? Pitch a character sock sold at checkout, with the proceeds going to the cause. It’s cheaper to run than a gala and more fun than another charity tee. Our faves? Anything with the Hamburglar on it. Good feet, good deeds.
More than 50 seasons in, Milwaukee finally has a title, and its merch was ahead of the moment. The Brewers beat the Rays in Game 5 for the franchise’s first World Series win, but the sales record came before the trophy. After the pennant, Brewers gear outsold every pennant winner on record in its first 48 hours, all from baseball’s smallest media market. The team president admitted they were scrambling to keep up with inventory. Then came the title, and retail moved overnight. Kohl’s opened 39 Wisconsin stores at 7 a.m. the next morning for championship gear. Miller turned the final play into a collectible with 4,400 “Clinch Cans” of beer brewed during the last out, and the newspaper’s front page became a shirt. Miller had the can art ready before the Brewers had the win. Your clients have their own maybes: a product launch, a record quarter, a big anniversary. Get the art signed off and the blanks reserved while it’s still a maybe. If the moment never comes, you’ve spent a little. If it does, your client is first on the shelf. Milwaukee, raise a can.
Tiana Gamble’s first big promo delivery was 1,000 backpacks for a union hall, and nobody had paid to have the boxes carried inside. So she and her first hire hauled the whole truck in themselves, in a dress and heeled boots. Nine years later, Goodmerch Supply is a Honolulu team of nearly 30, working with clients like Ritz-Carlton and Hawaiian Airlines. Tiana came to promo from fashion, and she still runs Bikinibird, a swimwear boutique chain that keeps her merch eye sharp. On our latest skucast, she walks Bobby through the hotel categories most distributors walk past, from restaurant menus to gifting suites for loyalty members. Her favourite is the humble cork coaster, because it reorders. She also explains why she split sales and design early, and why moving onto commonsku with a team of five beat switching 20 people over later. Plus, Bobby gets a first look at commonsku Payments with the team that built it. Listen to the full episode here.
Holiday orders are piling up, and so is the admin that comes with them. If you’ve been meaning to figure out where AI fits in your workflow, our latest webinar is a good place to start. Chief AI Officer Bobby Lehew and VP of Product Charlie Moscoe walk through the AI shifts landing in promo right now and how market-leading distributors are putting them to work. They back it up with benchmarking data from skucamp. Best of all, you’ll see which admin tasks you can hand off today using what’s already live in commonsku, with no waiting on a roadmap. Missed it live on Oct. 29? Watch it on demand here.
🍿 The Godzilla Minus Zero popcorn bucket sold out on Fandango about a day after pre-orders opened, before the movie even hit theatres. The bucket gets top billing.
🛍️ Trader Joe’s mystery bags are back. Nobody knows what’s inside, and everyone still wants one.
🗽 Snapple made a limited-edition bottle for the Knicks’ championship. When the iced tea gets a victory lap, the whole city is celebrating.
🏈 Target is rolling out about 1,600 new and remodelled Fan Shops with exclusive NFL, NBA and college gear. Big-box is going all in on game day.
⛳ Barcelona handed Tyler, the Creator full creative control of a capsule, and the team wore his GOLF kit in El Clásico. Fashion week, but make it a derby.
🥞 Silly Goose played a free show inside a Georgia Denny’s, with tour merch featuring the singer’s mugshot. A Grand Slam of a gig.
🧭 Ottawa Rapid FC pulled a hometown-landmarks sweater after a fan spotted a park that doesn’t exist and a giant spider short one leg. Proofs exist for a reason.
🥫 Pringles offered one superfan a can-shaped urn, plus chips for the afterlife. Brand loyalty, taken all the way.
🎸 Paul Smith and Fender teamed up on a limited Telecaster and an apparel capsule. Signature stripes, now with six strings.
🤖 Missed our live session on where AI is headed in promo? The Agentic Distributorship is now on demand, with Bobby Lehew and Charlie Moscoe on what’s already live in commonsku.