Nuggets & Donuts: Merch Pioneers.

A post we probably never thought we would write, but McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts are just two big brands who are re-defining what it means to build brand merchandise.

DunKings Sweatpants sell out in minutes while a 3-foot Travis Scott X McDonalds Chicken McNugget Pillow retails at almost $200 (and re-sells on StockX for much more than that).

This is all about brand leverage and harnessing Instagram, TikTok and a Gen-Z X social world which has flipped the script on traditional brand merchandise. Gone are the days when you would have to beg your customer-base to wear a hoodie with your logo on, or a bag of swag shoved into your hand at a trade fair mad it’s way to the bin the minute you got home. Now consumers seek it out. And it’s your big chance to get creative and to really think more about connection, and the big reason is because people want to rep themselves too. This means they want to showcase (literally wear) products that are not just unique but ones that communicate their own identity to the world.

Now this is nothing new really. The Budweiser Tees and Nirvana Hoodies have been around for a long time. What’s new is the opportunity to share ideas, and to produce products that ignite and excite. People have long been ready to wear their personality on the outside, and how we tap into that psychology is our job in our companies. You are more than just what you do.

The game is to think how you would create a store for your brand. You might be a a vodka business. You might be a window cleaner. The ideas are the same. What would be in your store? What would people want? What would stand out? If it’s clothing would they wear it? If it’s an accessory would they use and keep it? Just the process of going through these questions gets you into the space where you are prioritising how you approach merchandise, and that’s 90% there.

So this ties up with item one of our merchandise philosophy - Be Brand Brave. Your merchandise isn’t just a commodity. Don’t settle for logo left chest (we mean don’t be uniform). People WANT to rep the brands they love. And to love the brand in the first place they need to connect. And to connect (we say “connect” a lot) you need to bring your brand to the people in a real way. And to bring straight to the people you need merchandise done right.