Events and merchandise have long gone hand in hand. With our comprehensive event merchandise guide, we aim to help you navigate through creating a successful strategy. Think of the last few events you attended and chances are the first thing that comes to your mind is the merchandise you took home like that personalised A5 notebook, that t-shirt printed right in front of you, or your favourite stubby holder that you still proudly use for those coldies.
Creating a successful event merchandise strategy is both a science and an art that requires a careful process that enhances your brand and messaging through interactive designs; visual concepts, creative copy and taglines, product sourcing, development, design and distribution.
1. Custom event merchandise extends your event’s brand value.
Driving brand awareness far beyond the date of the event is number one because your event merchandise gives your brand continued exposure for a long time. Keep in mind that attendees wear and/or use your merchandise, this creates an implicit but powerful endorsement of your brand.
2. Custom merchandise is a valuable way to engage more with your audience.
Event attendees are there because they want to be there. This simply means they have interest and passion that they want to show by attending and by expressing it through the merchandise they receive. This is the perfect opportunity for your brand to engage with a willing audience and provide them with the means to express their support for the event and your brand. It’s a unique chance to commemorate the event long after the date has passed. This solidifies the connection between your brand and your audience. Think ROI of the event way after the event has finished. Brand exposure and brand loyalty. Marketing gold.
3. Merchandise can also be a significant source of extra revenue.
Most of the time event merchandise is given away as a promotional tool to attract customers and to drive brand awareness. However, a well-designed item that is useful and attractive enough to be sold might bring in some cash. The key is to create products that people want, creating an even better experience for attendees. Why not think about personalising your merch at the event for a truly memorable takeaway?
The Process of Creating Merchandise that Rocks
Live events are a fantastic opportunity to boost the emotional connection your brand has and needs with your audience. This in-person kind of engagement is highly valuable and should be addressed through a careful design process.
It doesn’t matter if your brand is B2B or B2C. Recent studies show that both types of customers are looking for the same things when it comes to selecting a brand and making a purchase. The convergence of B2B and B2C sentiments towards brands has created a new B2E (‘E’ for everyone) environment where marketers need to compete and thrive (some also refer to this as H2H- Human to Human).
In 2018, our experts created and launched the Kids Summer of Racing merchandise campaign for that year’s Victoria Summer Racing Event. The items created for the event proved to be an effective branding tool that will continue to be beneficial for a long time. Beyond a 2019 APPA award for the campaign, this case exemplifies that following the process described below will boost your brand reach, awareness and engagement significantly.
Concept
Conceptualisation takes place even before you start developing your event merchandise strategy by strategically selecting what events your brand needs to be a part of. This will help you better structure your budget in order to get the most out of each event, whether it’s just one per year or more throughout the year.
Once the event or events have been chosen, invest the necessary resources into each one, taking into consideration that each different event varies in scope, audience type, theme and maybe even location and other variables. So don’t create a one-size-fits-all plan, instead personalise each event’s plan.
With this in mind, add your brand’s identity, message, values and a generous portion of creativity to design an interactive and engaging event merchandise concept that resonates with your audience and creates a unique experience they will cherish and remember.
Planning
As the conceptualisation part of the process gets its finishing touches, you must start planning the execution of your event merchandising plan. During this phase, your team of experts must consider everything from providers, testing, delivery times, distribution, packaging, presentation, etc.
As much as designing and picking the right items is important, designing how you’re going to hand them to your audience is also crucial. Plan an interactive and engaging experience that goes beyond just handing out goodies to all those that pass by your booth. In other words, make both the merch and the experience attached to it memorable. Plus, make them connected to each other in a synergistic way.
Execution
Once everything is in place, execute your strategy from designing the items and the experience to placing orders, tracking and receiving them, to planning out the day of the event and having a plan B for everything in case anything goes wrong. This is one of the most important reasons for having a team of experts backing you up all the way, so they can ensure everything goes as planned.
Our event merchandise experts are here to help you. We’ll dig deeper to understand your brand in order to create merch that’ll rock your audience’s socks off! Set up a meeting here now.
You’ve just finished celebrating a new client signing with your team. Amazing, right? But what actions do you take between that glorious contract signing and the actual project kickoff?
Many companies neglect a proper client intake system, missing a significant opportunity to boost their reputation and revenue. The optimal way to maximise this period involves a properly branded and customised new Client Welcome Kit.
You stand as an expert in your industry and you will carry out your client’s job well. Now, let our experts guide you in creating a new Client Welcome Kit that’ll distinguish your company from the crowd.
Make the Welcome Kit Informative
Intended to delight your clients and foster happy customers, every Welcome Kit should also serve as a tool to ensure they possess all the necessary information to work with you.
Right after signing a contract or reaching an agreement, send a 2- or 3-page PDF containing crucial information about the work you’ll do for your client. Create a master version that you can swiftly customise for each client and project.
This “brochure” should act as part welcome wagon, part client roadmap, and part FAQ. Keep it simple, easy to read, and engaging so your client feels compelled to respond to it.
Keep It Fun
Once you’ve got the informative part of the Welcome Kit taken care of, it’s time to make sure it’s fun. A Welcome Kit for clients should contain items that are designed, selected and customised to be fun in a way related to their industry, to the project and/or to their company’s style. (check out here some popular options)
Be original, but also be mindful of culture, values and other factors that might touch on different sensibilities. Make them age-appropriate and consider how your client will use it on a daily basis, which takes us to the next point.
Take into consideration everything you know about your client (think about using the buyer persona method) and let’s come up together with items that’ll be present in their everyday life in a useful manner. Something useful covers everything from a daily planner, a pen, and a hat, to more specific items that might be used for work or daily life as a meter of some sort, a light, and so on.
Deliver with Class
Of course, regular carrier delivery works most of the time. But you might want to take things up a notch, depending on what your client would appreciate. A special delivery service, a great looking package that is original and might be useful too, or even just delivering it yourself might make more of an impact and reassure your client they’ve picked the right company.
Benefits of using welcome kits for new clients
Going the extra mile by surprising and delighting your client has plenty of benefits, including:
Reinforcing your client’s decision to work with you.
Managing their expectations.
Easing your client into a new process.
Surprising and delighting your client.
Reinforcing your brand in your client’s mind.
And much more. Now that you see the benefits and understand that a new client intake system is crucial, contact us to let us take care of the entire process for you and make sure the items you include are there to make a difference.
In the realm of B2B and many B2C marketing and branding, in-person events continue to rank among the most effective tactics. Pre-trade show marketing, however, stands as a crucial aspect of this approach.
By focusing on effective branding through merchandise, you can amplify the return on investment and strengthen your brand’s presence throughout the event lifecycle.
Without a clear and concise marketing strategy that takes into consideration pre, during and post-show activities, you’re bound to come home wondering whether your time and money were worth it. Here are 6 tips to boost your pre-trade show marketing strategy.
1. Plan well in Advance
Most times, companies select the trade shows they’ll be attending far in advance, especially when there are registration deadlines. However, too many times they’ll register and then just forget about it until last minute. Others might just do both things last minute, even worse.
Either way, to do trade shows right, it’s imperative to plan as far in advance as possible. Make it part of your overall marketing strategy to carefully select the trade shows that best fit your goals (discussed next) and then plan a marketing campaign that is specific to each trade show.
This will require setting budgets, timeframes, staff, communication channels, and other resources that’ll ensure you get the most out of the experience.
2. Determine Your Goals now
Generating buzz? Raising awareness? Launching a new product or service? Reaching a sales target? Generating leads? Capture contacts? What are you looking to accomplish at the tradeshow?
Whatever your goals are, you have to make sure they contribute to your overall marketing and sales strategies/goals. Why? Because everything you do related to the show should connect back to accomplishing your objectives, both for the event itself and for your brand in general.
Don’t forget to make your goals SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
3. Spread the Word
Start generating buzz as soon as possible. Some of the ways to do this include:
Host a webinar as a countdown to the show
Post on social media
Email your contacts
Publish blog posts
These tactics can cover subjects related to the trade show like:
Speakers not to miss
Sessions to attend
Breakout sessions that employees are leading
What you’re featuring at the show
Other important event info
You can also personally invite prospects and customers to meet you at the event. Give them a good reason to come to your booth and entice them with a pre-show promo product that gives them access to some sort of promotion, free consultation, etc.
4. Develop an Engagement Plan
While good engagement should be part of the event itself by having staff that actively participate, start your engagement before the actual show.
Contests, promotions, giveaways and other creative methods are bound to attract people to the show. But make sure these tactics are more than just marketing gimmicks. Give them careful thought and consideration so they reach the right people with the right item so you can generate legitimate conversations and leads.
5. Set Up Appointments in Advance
Make room for everyone who is important to your company. Don’t just schedule appointments with new leads or prospects. Also, invest some time into keeping in touch with current customers and other people who are influential to your business.
There’s bound to be some downtime during the show. Make the most of it and spend it wisely by scheduling meetings, talks, and other activities during low-traffic hours.
6. Establish a Clear Call to Action
While calls to action during the show are important, design a solid call-to-action strategy for your marketing efforts before the trade show. CTAs will help you track your success, create more buzz, and attract better leads to the actual trade show.
A couple of CTA tactics are:
Set up a landing page to promote your booth and encourage people to visit and download information.
Run a contest and encourage your audience to enter to win.
Create a hashtag for use on social media and encourage people to use it.
Ready to Get to the Show?
Trade shows are one of the best tools to promote your brand and grow your business. You know that. But to get a healthy ROI, you need a well-built strategy. Our experts are eager to help you get the most out of this process, so click here to visit our all-things Trade-show page where you can all the tools, concepts and ideas you’ll need to excel at your next event.
First impressions count. Clients form their opinion about your brand based on their first interaction. A corporate uniform or dress code plays a vital role in these impressions, as it can motivate your team members to connect with your brand’s mission and vision. Designing a company uniform requires strategic planning, considering the brand’s purpose and objectives. Additionally, the uniform should reflect the changing market, inspire confidence, and convey a contemporary feel.
Like any element of brand and marketing, uniform design and implementation need to be well thought out and planned.
Read on to find out everything you need to know in order to create a corporate uniform policy and learn how to design the right corporate uniform for your brand.
Tips to Create a Corporate Uniform Policy
While corporate uniforms might be necessary for your brand’s consistency, for your brand’s consistency, it is crucial to also create a corporate uniform policy that includes everyone at your organisation and ensures compliance and effectivity. To achieve this, consider the following tips to ensure your uniform policy is fair both towards your brand’s identity and mission, and your employees’ need to feel appreciated and comfortable.
First, Why Do You Need a Uniform Policy?
Explain Expectations
To avoid misunderstandings, make it crystal clear what you mean by terms like “formal”, “casual”, etc. Provide clear guidelines about what is acceptable and what isn’t. These expectations should be applied to everyone from employees and senior management to interns and even temps, creating a sense of harmony and belonging for all.
Make it Easy for New Starters and Ensure Safety
Part of your employee onboarding checklist should include a clear uniform policy that helps starters fit in and feel part of the team from day one. Take this worry out of their minds and ensure they’ll keep your brand’s image intact from the get-go. Considere including the policy in welcome packs for new employees. Some jobs require employees to wear certain types of uniforms due to health and safety regulations. Taking this into consideration further ensures safety and makes it easier to control these risk factors.
Ensure Consistency and Get Fewer Complaints
Consistency is key to any brand that wants to transmit an identity consistently to its audience. Corporate uniforms further this message at every level of contact. By having a clear uniform policy, complaints about “inappropriate” dress practices will drop dramatically, and there will be more harmony among all employees. Legal actions from disgruntled employees will also diminish when your uniform policy is clear.
So, How Do You Create a Corporate Uniform Policy?
1. Include All Your Employees
When developing your corporate uniform policy, be as inclusive as possible. Think about each different division or department within your company and consider all their different needs and expectations. To do this, include representation and gather opinions from your entire organisation. This process will help you to not overlook different needs you didn’t think of. It will also make everyone feel part of the process, making them more likely to comply with the policy with pride. Be sure to represent all job types when developing uniforms. Keep in mind that workers who perform a more physical type of job, such as those who operate machinery, for example, will have different needs from those working a desk job or customer service.
2. Communicate Clearly
Make double sure to clearly explain all your decisions and policies to your employees in a way they’ll understand and feel included and appreciated. Regularly ask for their input and allow suggestions to make them feel included and connected to the brand. This also foments constant improvement.
It’s important to also include a discipline system in your policy. This system should be applied fairly and consistently across the entire organisation.
Include a clear outline of what disciplinary options will be applied. These can range from administrative warnings to requiring the employee to go home and change, to more severe actions like termination. All depending on the severity and repetitiveness of the violations.
3. Address Dress-Code Violation Issues Delicately
If you consider an employee has violated the uniform policy, take the time to make sure a violation has actually taken place and gather proof before taking action. Once it has been established that a dress-code violation has taken place, have a manager speak to the employee in a discreet way, maintaining a level of confidentiality and ensuring the employee understands what the violation was.
When applying a warning or disciplinary action, stick to the facts and avoid getting into personal details or judgment calls. It’s important to find out why the employee incurred in the dress-code violation.
As a general rule, when creating a uniform policy, be fair, communicate clearly and often, and include your employees in your decisions. These best practices will create a policy that benefits both your brand and your employees.
Develop the look and feel of your corporate uniforms at the same time you develop your corporate uniform policy to ensure both processes feed off of each other. Keep your brand’s identity and employee appreciation and input working together to get a final product that will satisfy everyone’s needs. Download this Corporate Uniforms Design Guide to help you go through the process smoothly and create a set of uniform items that’ll make your employees look brand-tastic.
Get started with your staff and employees, and get in touch with us to develop a set of uniform items that fit perfectly within your policy, budget, objectives, promotional marketing scope, and employee expectations.
Sometimes marketing agencies trying to select the best out of their catalogue of campaigns can be a bit biased due to emotions, memories, and other nuances that the audience might never be aware of. That’s why we decided to allow our clients and our audiences to decide which ones were our best promotional marketing campaigns of 2018.
We opened up a contest online so our clients could nominate their campaigns. This way our audience and theirs would be able to vote and select a winner. Here are 9 contestants and the winner for the best promotional marketing campaign of 2018. You’ll love them!
1. Welcome Packs
Our friends at Prospa needed to revamp their outdated welcome package for new brokers of the Prospa family. They wanted to communicate Prospa’s modern brand image while reducing the cost and incorporating existing items.
We worked alongside Prospa and came up with an elegantly customized solution. We combined a certificate in a sleek gloss black frame, a premium metal pen, and a professional notebook wrapped in Prospa branded tissue paper and placed into a premium custom made box. New Prospa brokers felt warmly welcomed and enjoyed a more friendly onboarding process.
2. Family Day 2018
Promotional merchandise plays a very important role in nurturing employee loyalty and appreciation. Kennards Hire knows this. That’s why for their annual Family Day 2018 they needed a product that was family-friendly in order to show their employees and their families their appreciation.
Our team developed a few alternatives, and we decided to go with a Picnic Rug & Duffle bag that could be used on the day and afterwards for days out with the family. We included a magnetic photo frame with the brand’s 70th Anniversary artwork for families to use for photos taken on that day.
The brand needed merchandise options that incorporated indigenous artwork suitable for students and education fairs. The designs needed to be high-quality and highlight the APA logo while recognising the artist.
We developed a fantastic digital print on a bottle and backpack that successfully communicated the indigenous design and highlighted both the APA logo and the artist without compromising quality and functionality.
The PR department of the governing body of horse racing in Victoria approached our team to develop the perfect invitation to launch the Festival of Racing period and marketing campaign to the media and the general public.
We developed a line of wicker picnic baskets themed with the Festival’s image and arranged for them to have an additional touch of subtle RV branding through custom luggage. “The kits were so well received that we encountered a number of requests for more baskets, a feat that is very rare from the media!”, said Verity Clough, Racing Victoria Public Relations & Communications Manager.
AIG’s thought leadership conference needed a product for their travel team session on awareness about travel risks that would make the experience memorable for their target audience.
They had an idea for compression socks, so we developed a variety of AIG branded options and samples sourced from local suppliers. They picked one and each person who got a pair was pleasantly surprised.
We chose some of our favourites and personalised them to better suit Hologic’s staff. The move was successful and everybody loved their gifts. It was a great way to start in a new environment.
For the past 25 years, Holden and the PGA have produced Australia’s #1 participated amateur golf event with over 50,000 participants across Australia. Creating a gift for the Championship finals that would be suitable for the occasion and for all golfers, was a great challenge for Red Tomato.
We sourced a series of fun and engaging products that were well received and both the client and sponsors achieved great brand awareness at the event and beyond due to the practicality of the reusable glasses.
The concept of giving kids a free backpack with goodies to engage them in the event had been done in previous years with success. However, for the 2017/18 campaign, we decided to incorporate the “We love animals” concept into the theme in order to further engage kids and families.
All items included in the backpack were branded with the slogan, and the success among kids was tremendous. Mick Sharke from RSN was there with his daughters and no one could have put it better than him:
“The Country Racing Victoria campaign focuses on a simple idea – We Love Animals. Because at the heart of the sport, when the carnivals, prize money announcements, interstate feuds, and mega races are all stripped away, racing exists because its participants and fans love and appreciate the thoroughbred horse. And what better way to explain racing to a child than with this message.”
2018 was Contiki’s 20th anniversary for ROCK, which is their biggest trade incentive. To celebrate, they made ROCK 2018 BIGGER & BETTER: more seats, iconic location, iconic festival, smoking hot merch, and new branding.
This memorable and eye-catching award was something agents could brag about and proudly display, and it also caught the attention of voters for our contest and this rockin’ award took first place.
* * *
For us at Red Tomato, all our clients are winners and all of them deserve a winning campaign. With that mantra in mind, be sure our team will work hard to give you promotional products that are true winners for you and your brand. Get in touch to start working on your next winning campaign!
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Swiss Peak Heritage Rollerball Pen &
Swiss Peak Heritage A5 Notebook
Gildan Softstyle – Adult V-Neck T-Shirt (Available in different colors)
Seattle Scarf and Gloves Set
Let executives work and travel in style. From a scarf and gloves set to luxury pens, they can find everything they need with our executive essentials set.
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Fuel Coffee Mug (Available in different colors)
Stencil United Crew (Available in different colors)
Cordia Cup (Available in different colors)
Powell Pro Foldable Stand
Atlantis Pen (Available in different colors)
Spark creativity with items that merge inspiration with essentials from a crew sweater to keep them comfortable in work sessions to a foldable gadget stand that helps with a creative desk setup.
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Swiss Peak Luzern Pen
Omega Notebook (Available in different colors)
Premium Hood (Available in different colors)
Ritz Bib Apron (Available in different colors)
Metro Cup (Available in different colors)
Blend elegance and simplicity perfect for modern professionals with a premium hood, metro cup, an omega notebook, and more.
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Classic Tee
Carnaby Cotton Tote Bag (Available in different colors)
Himalayan Vacuum Tumbler (Available in white color)
Nirvana Backpack
Curate everyday essentials for millennials on the go with items like our cotton tote, vacuum tumbler, and backpack.
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Swiss Peak TWS Earbuds
Silicone Phone Wallet (Available in different colors)
Vento Double Wall Cup (Available in different colors)
Everest Beanie (Available in different colors)
Berkeley Backpack
Bring the rizz on with gifts your Gen Z employees can enjoy from TWS earbuds to double wall cups for quick coffee runs.
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Adora Aluminium Bottle (Available in black color)
Sonnet Cotton Tote Bag (Available in different colors)
Monza Jute Tote Bag (Available in different colors)
RPET Compact Umbrella (Available in different colors)
Arabica Coffee Mug (Available in different colors)
Show your commitment to going green with a sustainable starter kit with quality and recycled items such as a jute tote bag, RPET compact umbrella, and an aluminum bottle.
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Swiss Peak Vacuum Cup
Gildan Softstyle (Available in different colors)
Bondi Bucket Hat (Available in different colors)
Kingston Notebook (Available in different colors)
Corolla Backpack (Available in different colors)
Welcome your newest hires with branded swag that will make them feel part of the team.
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Swiss Peak Stealth Vacuum Bottle
Stencil Half Zip Crew (Available in different colors)
Swiss Peak Traveller Umbrella
Silicone Phone Wallet (Available in different colors)
Ritz Bib Apron (Available in different colors)
Surprise & delight key clients, partners, or team members with the finer things like our premium bottle of wine, artisanal cheese selection box, and handpicked assorted gourmet chocolates.
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Mirage Glass Bottle (Available in different colors)
Gildan Heavy Cotton (Available in different colors)
Swiss Peak Outdoor Backpack
Everest Beanie (Available in different colors)
Andorra Notebook and Pen Gift Set (Available in different colors)
From practical glass bottles to comfortable beanies, impress new hires with trendy and useful items perfect for the daily grind.
Welcome Pack Inclusions
Swiss Peak TWS Earbuds
Vector Wireless Charger – Square
Omega Notebook (Available in different colors)
Cylon Bluetooth Speaker
The ultimate ensemble for forward-thinking professionals who thrive on creativity and innovation. Each item in this meticulously curated kit enhances both productivity and inspiration.
