One of Happy Llama’s greatest areas of expertise is helping our customers create merchandise lines for their event or organization. From t-shirts and hats to flashlights and bags, merchandise lines are not only built-in advertising, but also an important revenue opportunity!
What Is A Merchandise Line?
A merchandise line includes a variety of items with a logo or artwork printed on each. Participants are always looking for ways to express their interests with a special t-shirt, proudly brag about attendance to a concert with a poster, or memorialize a fun experience with a hat. Merchandise is essential to any festival, concert, athletic experience or public event.
How many t-shirts or hats do you have in your closet from your favorite event or concert?
How much money are you willing to spend at a merch store?
Merchandise Lines: 5 Key Factors
During a consultation with Happy Llama, customers consider the following 5 factors when creating a unique selection of retail items:
- Demographic – The most important thing to keep in mind when creating a merchandise line is your demographic or target market. Who is it for and who will buy it? In your demographic breakdown, consider:
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- Age
- Gender
- Education
- Income
- Ethnicity
- Interests
Example: Ride the Rockies is an endurance biking event, and the riders take great pride in completing the event every year. Therefore, we always offer the “route shirt” that shows a map of the ride, along with elevation gains, the year, and mileage. Definite bragging rights!
- Theme – A merchandise line should really drive the theme of an event home. What type of event or organization will the items promote? Merchandise lines can be created for:
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- Events
- Teams
- Fundraisers
- Non-profit organizations
- Employee incentive programs
Example: For Pirate Fest, we printed customized bandannas and flasks in a pirate theme that people actually added to their outfits that day. These items wouldn’t fit as well at other events, but Pirate Fest attendees were in costume and very theme driven.
- Budget – As with any business decision, the budget must be taken into account. What is your budget for the merchandise line? What are your revenue goals? Are you accounting for merch as part of your year-round marketing campaign? What type of printing will be the most cost effective for your items?Happy Llama can help you choose items that fit your budget but will also help you decide on sizing breakdowns, 1 color or full color print and retail prices.
Example: Viva Streets Denver was a first year event, so they had a minimal budget for merchandise. We suggested they have a heat press merch program, which gave them the ability to have merchandise with a limited upfront investment.
- Timeline – You want to make sure you have plenty of time to create artwork, approve proofs, receive deliveries, and set up shop. Be aware: Some items i.e., full color custom hats take longer to create and print than others.
Example: Since Cherry Creek Arts Festival uses original artwork, there are several steps that need to happen before we get the go ahead to produce the merchandise. Therefore, we have only been able to get their full color custom hats completed in time two out of the four years that we’ve tried!
- Logo/artwork – Your logo is an opportunity to express who you are and what you do. In order for your artwork to translate onto a banner or t-shirt, etc. we need the proper type of files, i.e. pdf, jpg or vector.
Example: We often print t-shirts that have several sponsor logos on the back. Oftentimes, a logo isn’t clear because we weren’t able to get the proper type of file. Time can run out fast when you’re trying to get files from a third party.
Keeping these five factors in mind, Happy Llama has been creating merchandise lines for more than 15 years. We match our customers to merchandise trends, a variety of price brackets, and endless opportunities to express their mission.
