If you haven’t done so yet, we invite you to check out our Online Pop-Up Store where we were offering an SWFL Marketing Group Hat to wear at the November 18th 2021 BNI Zoom Meeting! Even though the store in now closed, you can check out a sample store here!
Why were we giving away a hat? Here is why: when we consult with our customer about what promotional products would work best in a campaign we base our recommendations on their objectives, their audience and what they would appreciate, and their budget as considerations among several others. Our customers almost always ask what is new when thinking what to include in their branded merchandise order. We feel that what their audience will use and when it is being used it is noticed by others should also be a consideration. One category often not thought of that should be part of a discussion when planning a new campaign is headwear. It is the fourth largest category of promotional items sold after t-shirts, drinkware, and bags at 7.6% of sales in our industry and when worn will be easily noticed by anyone that interacts with the wearer. Headwear as a category is a great value for the marketing spend, generally is one size fits most and the corporate brand on the hat will be noticed by the recipient and others they encounter.
Just to give you an idea on who could benefit from an online store like the one you tested, here are some examples of stores we have done and would like to set up:
- Gulf Coast Humane Society – we open stores for them at various times of the year and they sell logoed merchandise to staff, volunteers, donors and folks on their Facebook and email lists who use them for their own use and for gifts. Every time we open the store they get a substantial check and do not need to handle inventory sizing distribution or collection.
Check it out here! - Freedom Waters Foundation – Thank you Kevin Walsh (past BNI member for this connection) we set up a store to sell logoed shirts stainless tumblers and even a few items they had in physical inventory already. This was run during the holiday season in 2020 and folks got the items and they got a check.
- National Court Reporters Association – Thank you Lori Bundi for that referral. We opened a holiday store including tumblers, blankets, apparel and even Christmas ornaments and it was a nationwide audience which those that participated all got the goods delivered without the staff touching any merchandise or handling any collections.
- SWFL Marketing Group – During the height of COVID in the summer of 2020 SWFL Marketing Group set up our own store and raised over $3000 for various local organizations by selling a limited-edition Hero t-shirt to those that our sponsor organizations invited to the store. All the buyers got a shirt with the right size and color and the individual organizations that brought buyers to the site, or the nonprofit all go a check.
Watch the Presentation here:
Our next store we would love to set up would be to for profit or nonprofit local organizations that would love to offer their team members a chance to select a gift online during the holiday season or even to celebrate a special corporate or individual milestone coming up in 2022. The store would be set up with curated logoed merchandise and visitors could use a code to redeem for a gift or gifts up to a certain value and the shipping could be directly to them or to a celebration event.
The hat, which Martin hopes you love, is for you to use show off and wear as you wish!
Thank you for your time, and we invite you to browse our collections of other blogs and videos on assorted other topics! Our team welcomes your questions, input, and referrals, so please do not hesitate to reach out and ask any questions you may have!
We are available to our customers by phone, email, or at our physical location!
