Merch Mistakes You're Probably Making | The Do’s and Don’ts of Branded Merch
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Many think of merchandise as just a fun extra—but for Victoria, that perspective changed when she realized how low-quality merch can actually cheapen your brand. Picture attending an event and getting a trucker hat that perfectly reflects a brand’s vibe. You wear it everywhere—not because you have to, but because it fits your style and values. That’s the power of intentional, well-designed branded merchandise.
In this episode, Victoria shares her journey from underestimating merch to embracing it as a powerful branding tool. She breaks down how high-quality promotional products that align with your audience’s lifestyle can strengthen brand recognition and build emotional connection.
Victoria also tackles the all-too-common issue of cheap branded items—like flimsy tote bags or boxy t-shirts—that end up in the junk drawer. Instead, she offers smart strategies for creating practical, visually appealing merchandise that reflects your brand identity and keeps you top of mind.
Whether you're an entrepreneur or small business owner, this episode delivers actionable tips to elevate your brand through thoughtful merchandise. Tune in and learn how to make your merch as bold and intentional as your brand.
Merch is a Walking Representation of Your Company
Most people view merch as a fun extra for their brand, and honestly, that was Victoria’s mindset early on as well! Now her mindset surrounding brand merchandise has shifted because it really is another chance to build connection and to build your brand recognition. When someone proudly wears or uses your merch, they are showing the world that they connect with your brand. They want to be affiliated with your brand and that’s powerful – but it’s only powerful if what you give them is something they’ll actually use. If it ends up shoved in the back of a drawer, or even worse, it goes straight into the garbage, then it’s not merch – it’s clutter, and clutter doesn’t help you grow your brand.
What Makes Merch Good?
Victoria’s golden rule is: “Does this fit my audience’s lifestyle?”
Take for example, trucker hats. These hats are really popular these days – Victoria likes to wear one with a blazer to jump on meetings! It’s a style that feels aligned to her and her personality, but it also aligns with BrandWell. A lot of BrandWell’s target audience are moms with young children, who’s always talking about how there isn’t enough time in the day to wash their hair every day so an easy solution to this is to throw on a good hat. Insert BrandWell’s high-quality, embroidered, trucker hat. It’s a win-win situation to make a bad hair day feel like a good outfit day all while promoting her business.
Another example involves the popular BrandWell silicone and plastic iced coffee cups. BrandWell serves a demographic of latte loving ladies so it’s no surprise that people loved these cups! They’re cute, photogenic, and they’re super functional with a lid and a straw! This cup met a need for Victoria’s audience! It wasn’t just another coffee mug that would get shoved to the back of their cabinet, but instead it became a go-to cup for any sort of iced drink. Every time someone reached for that cup, or shared a photo of it online, it brought attention to BrandWell.
If you invest in merch that fits seamlessly into someone’s daily life, they’re going to reach for it more, it’s going to keep your brand at the top of their mind, and it’s going to keep your brand in front of anyone that they’re coming into contact with while using that merch.
Another tip when creating good branded merch is to spark curiosity. For example, Victoria recently got new sweatshirts with BrandWell’s logo on the front and a quote on the back that says “Designing brands as bold as our espresso”. This is not only cute and fun, but it also sparks curiosity about what BrandWell does. Two things spark curiosity: great design that’s different from what everybody else is doing, and then a slogan or a tagline that gives people more to go off of. This phrase suggests that BrandWell is a brand design company, but not your typical Vistaprint brand designers. They are in the business of designing bold brands for their clients. The fonts of this phrase are feminine, which suggests that BrandWell serves primarily women. The phrase also suggests that they’re young, modern, and relatable and can relate to the average espresso drinking gal who runs her own business.
Let’s Talk About Bad Merch
Some merch ideas are overdone, rarely used, or just kinda dumb. (yeah, we said it.) This kind of merch isn’t going to work in the way that you’re hoping for, so here’s a list of items that you can avoid.
Stress balls – unless you are a therapist or your service specifically intends to relieve stress for your clients don’t do these. It’s outdated and overdone.
Lanyards – unless you are the host of a conference, don’t make these. No one is going to wear your lanyard if you’re not actively at a conference.
Pens – if you’re going to order pens with your logo on it, make sure they’re at least the good pens. In general, the ones that you can order for 20 cents on Vistaprint, nobody is saving them, nobody’s reaching for them, and they’re a waste of your money.
Low-Quality Tote Bags – These are most likely ending up in the donate pile or the trash can. A good-quality tote is great, but if it’s a flimsy and ugly drawstring, skip it.
T-Shirts – poor quality t-shirts made with bad fits or itchy fabric is a no-go. Nobody wants to wear your tight fitting women’s t-shirt no matter how cute your logo is.
Overall, just because you can slap your logo on something doesn’t mean that you should. Once you put your logo on something, it’s a direct representation of your brand– so if you’re a high-quality brand, make sure that merch matches accordingly.
4 Things to Keep in Mind When Creating Merch for Your Brand
Quality matters more than quantity. Spend more per item to get something that people will actually want to use or wear.
Think lifestyle, not just branding. How well does this fit into your audience’s daily life?
Be Different. Don’t just copy what you’ve seen before. Creating something different is a great way to spark curiosity. What works for somebody else’s brand might not work for yours. Your merch should make sense for your brand identity and for your target audience.
If you wouldn’t use it, don’t expect anyone else to either.
The next time you’re thinking of creating merch for your brand, ask yourself if you’re going to do it right. If not, then don’t do it yet. Wait until you’re ready to do it with intention and purpose.
Victoria’s Go-To Vendors
Below you will find a list of merch that Victoria has purchased over the years along with the links to where you can purchase them too, if they align with your brand and audience’s lifestyle. None of the links are affiliate links, just great companies that make high-quality merchandise! Images of the merch are below that coincide with moving down the list as you view the images left to right.
Comfort Colors Crewneck Sweatshirt
Branded Tissue Paper (Image not shown)
Key Quotes
“If you invest in merch that fits seamlessly into somebody's daily life, they're going to reach for it more, which is going to keep your brand top of mind for them.”
Victoria Marcouillier
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