The Backpack: Issue #25

All our best, monthly news in one branded pack.

Friday, November 17

• Trends: Upcycling is HOT!

• Top Merch News: Your 2024 Goal Planning

• Vibe Check: Our Merch, Ourselves

• Can't miss content: Fairware’s (awesome) Impact Report

Upcycling Merch is HOT!

Upcycling is becoming a massive trend worldwide, but lux airline, Emirates, is taking it to 50,000 feet. Emirates launched a capsule collection of luggage fashioned from upcycled materials from retrofitted aircraft —- and it’s beautiful. Upcycling has been around a while; case in point, Freitag’s 30-year history of making bags from truck tarps is astounding, but what we're seeing now is a demand from the market for more upcycled ideas. If you want more inspo, listen to our throwback episode with Ben Grossman at SwagCycle, and also, tap into the genius of those who are already ahead of the curve, such as Numo’s upcycling initiative here and Redwood Classic’s Preloved line here!

Are Custom Fonts the Elevated Line Copy You Need?

Check out this new trend, backpackers: custom fonts. First, it was ex-Apple genius Jony Ives, creating LoveFrom Serif, and now the band Wilco creates “Loft Sans,” a new typeface fans can buy for $30 created with the folks at SimpleBits, a font foundry. Custom fonts might be a new trend and something you should consider for your A-list clients; after all, what would be better than bespoke merch and custom line copy? Maybe you should be the first to suggest it to your client next time you’re working on that killer campaign!

Merch Inspo from the Burger Kings

Holidays are here, which means another merch battle in fast-casual land! From Chick-fil-A to Whataburger to Sonic, they’re throwing down the holiday drip, which is a perfect place to peruse what’s hot and trending. But of the three, who’s got the best merch? Sonic’s keeping it core with their collection, but we gotta kinda hand it to them for their Wag Shop for pets, including this dope drive-in doghouse. But our fave Sonic merch for humans might be these yummy tots earrings. Over at Whataburger, who's not cruisin’ around, these best-sellers are flyin’ off the shelves: pajama sets and Christmas sweaters. And Chick-fil-A (editor’s note: not a burger but feigns as one) is “making a list and chicken it twice” with this radly outrageous waffle-fry-themed sweater, but TBH, this shareable bag of cows is the W. Honorable mention? Freddy’s. What say you, backpacker? Forget who's got the best fries, who’s got the best merch?

Planning for 2024? We Got Your 2024 Benchmarks

What growth percentage should you benchmark against when you begin setting your 2024 goals? How do you take overall growth ambitions and turn them into tactical realities? And what’s the one secret benchmark you should be focusing on that leads to sales? Answers here in part one of our two-part series, Promotional Products Distributor Benchmarks: Two Types of Growth!

Behind the Branding: commonsku’s Brand Evolution

Over a decade has passed since the inception of commonsku, and our journey has been nothing short of remarkable. As our company has grown and evolved, so too has our brand, adapting to better represent our mission, values, and the dynamic industry we serve. Today, we're excited to unveil the commonsku brand’s latest chapter, which encapsulates our dedication to staying at the forefront of innovation and technology. Check out our new brand refresh and a glimpse behind the scenes at its creation!

Want to Amp Your Marketing? Prove It!

Sam Brown is one of the few marketing strategists with expertise in the promotional products business. Sam’s been a chief marketing strategist at some of the most notable brands in the industry, including Summit Group and Brandvia, and on the skucast, she breaks down tips from making marketing investments to creating a strategy, execution, and tracking results. Our chat with Sam here!

New on commonsku

Ya know that moment when you are in the middle of half a dozen projects for clients with hot deadlines, and the shipping changed yet again for 2 out of those 6 projects? Well, we just made that easier! Now you can notify your client of any shipping changes directly from commonsku's Production Report while you’re in the app. No more playing bouncy-bounce with emails back and forth with clients. Add a tracking number, or ship date change, and an email is sent from the app to your client! We also just released ePOs for Stormtech, plus a brand new shops theme, a new supplier spend report, and a simple virtual product mockup tool! It’s just a few of the ways we’re constantly making platform improvements to make your work faster and better!

We’re heading into 2024, what's your growth goal?

It’s Q4. Have you set your 2024 goals yet? Do you know what you should be benchmarking towards? Join us for a quick webinar as Bobby Lehew, commonsku’s chief content officer, will walk you through a series of industry benchmarks so that you can set solid goals for sales growth, client growth, margins, profit, team engagement and more! Register here!

Our Merch, Ourselves

The New York Times asks: “What do the bands and brands whose merchandise we buy say about who we are and what we value?” Take five min to read an outsider's opinion on how the impact of merch is changing the way we connect with others; it’s a solid reminder of the fun work we do. Solid quote here about merch: "That’s the type of connection I want to cultivate: the impulse to bond over the things that light me up, that bring me closer to other people.”

Wrexham’s Merch Merch

Regular readers might recall us throwing some shade at Ryan Reynold’s a bit (kindly, of course), but it was over their paltry merch selection on the official Wrexham shop. But we gotta kinda give it to them for their fun take on “merch merch” and it looks like there’s a good reason for it: Sponsorship. Team Rob and Reynolds created a shop featuring merch on merch, which now requires a whole new category for merch: Meta merch! 🤓

Vogue Breaks Down the Best Fan Merch

Which musical artist has the best merch? boygenius? Lana Del Rey? You might not know it, but Vogue regularly highlights the best merch. Why’s it important for backpackers? To get a taste of consumer demand. Fan merch is the ultimate in brand loyalty, and Vogue’s op-ed on the best merch isn’t just a whim for us promo pros; it’s a study! Quick exercise for you: Google your top three artists and see who has the best merch (according to your expert opinion as a merch creator). Flip us back your band fave!

Is Mental Health Merch Taking it Too Far?

Here’s one to be aware of, backpacker: the controversy over mental health merch. Both the New York Times and The Guardian are covering it, and Slate has a strong opinion on it here too. On one hand, you have views like this (NYT) “The goal of raising awarenesss, decreasing stigma and contributing to a culture of shared support is a good thing.” On the other, opinions like this (Slate) “The ‘mental-health washing’ of consumer goods will continue apace. A post on the website RetailWire flagged mental health as the next big thing that brands catering to Gen Z should think about, following trends in goods that signaled values like ‘sustainability’ and ‘political narratives.’ What do you think, backpacker? Is mental health merch taking it too far?

✏️ Now, here’s how to do an Impact Report, from our friends (and commonsku customers!) over at Fairware.

👀 Um, you’d think lululemon and Peloton would have been ahead of this, but it’s a good lesson: do NOT make this mistake they just made with merch, size inclusivity is not an option.

👹 Oh, boy. Here’s another messy merch politics story for ya. And we don’t take sides; we just share what’s happening in the world of merch, but here’s another one from the other side of the aisle: “The Campaign Merch From Hell.”

🌈 Who chooses the world’s “color of the year?” The Hustle answers it here. A cool breakdown of the history, the process, and even a link to the Pantone merch store, which features this cool Viva Magenta mug. Note: Pantone called the color of the year (red) way back in December 2022, and now, red is fashion’s biggest fall trend. Coincidence?

💍 Oh no, Tiffany’s, not again.

🚗 Brilliant and stylish collab in this collection for Mercedes-AMG created with Tokyo-based designer, sacai.