6 Steps to Creating Event Merchandise That Your Attendees Actually Want

Events and merchandising have long gone hand-in-hand! Think of that concert tee you bought at a gig, the long sleeve garment you bought at your local 10k marathon, or the free T-shirt you get during the registration at an event, merchandising has become a classic technique to create more action and earnings for any event you go to.
Merchandising serves as a powerful marketing and promotional tool for event planners as it acts like an engagement booster and source of revenue – all in one! Just follow the below given practises for any type of event merchandising which you can adapt to the specifics of your event.

1. FOCUS ON THE DESIGN OF THE EVENT MERCHANDISE
For events, we advise you to create event-specific t-shirt design that features the title, year and serves the event purpose and doesn’t focus too much on the text. Unless you’re working for a well-known company, updating your designs a bit could work for you. Incorporating these things makes it easier for event planners and event managers to boost sales and create awareness about the specific event.

2. OFFER FREEDOM OF CHOICE
Merchandise is a spontaneous buying decision at any event. Simply offering more choices for your attendees can motivate immense demand. For any event, two or more designs along with multiple colour choices should be the ideal alternative available for the attendees. Allow the attendees the freedom to select designs according to their will and wish.

3. MAKE SURE MERCH BOOTH IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE
Selecting the right booth totally depends on the nature of the event, where it is located & how you have set up the entire layout of the event. But the bottom line remains the same, i.e., carefully place the booth as it heavily impacts your sales. A poorly placed merchandise booth can result not in lesser sales but bad guest satisfaction and bids in terms of fundraising events.

4. CREATE EARLY ACCESS PERKS
Use early access perks to directly increase engagements with your merchandise. The motive is to give free or discounted merchandise to the early entrants. Not only will it increase sales but amplify the visibility of your event and magnify engagements with your tee-shirts. This is a reliable strategy because everyone loves a good deal! Get creative and arbitrate the best ways to offer early access perks.

5. ASK FOR USER-GENERATED CONTENT
User-generated content has been the staple of many large-scale events because it generates authentic engagement on the digital platform. Attendees can directly share images, posts or reviews & submissions. Many companies have realised the potential user-generated content has! Hence, urging the attendees to create/ post content on their Facebook and Instagram pages. There are two particular ways to create attendee engagement with merch:
1. Ask for T-shirt design submissions ahead of your event, then either choose a winner or allow members to vote on their favourite submission & then print and offer for sale.
2. Ask guests to submit pictures of themselves wearing your merchandise using your event hashtag, then feature their photos on a scrolling display at the event venue.
Use these user-generated content strategies to increase revenue & boost awareness. Focus on designing creative strategies in your promotional messaging for maximum impact.

6. OFFER INTUITIVE BUYING OPTIONS
Make sure you offer plenty of intuitive buying options for the consumers to buy merch throughout the event process. Create ticketing packages or easy merch add-ons or an online store for the attendees to buy the merchandise prior to the event. Remember one thing, attendees buy merchandise on impulse so make sure you give them more purchase options. Ensure that each method is up to date for easy access to buy your product.

Creating merchandise can be a huge hassle since it’s a pretty big investment both in terms of cost and time. What if you make all this merchandise and nobody buys it? With the right kind of steps and tips, you’ll surely generate guest satisfaction and revenue streaming. So, elevate the impact of your event by following simple tricks and best practises!