This week, I’m talking about H-E-B’s wild heavy-metal T-shirt collab with designer Connor Dwyer. What started as a fun grocery-store-meets-metal-band mashup turned into one of the most viral merch drops of the year. Here’s what’s happened: A fan design turned into an official partnership A charity angle raised $35,000 for Austin musicians A tech fail that left fans frustrated What small brands can learn about handling hype and demand Hype is great—but make sure your system can take the hit

‪@Chomps‬ the meat snack brand, pulled off one of the smartest pop-up activations of the year. They took over an old gas station in Austin for a back-to-school event: they cleaned out parents’ cars, handed out free snacks and branded merch, and turned everyday stress into a shareable experience. Experiential marketing like this works. It builds lasting brand equity. Small brands can learn from it. --- Equipment we're using: Sony ZV-1 (affiliate link) - https://amzn.to/36LK8e2 Sony ZV-1 Vlo

When is “ask forgiveness, not permission” a good idea? Baggu found out the hard way. At their new San Francisco store opening, the sustainable bag brand gave away BART-branded water bottles, hats, and stickers — without permission from Bay Area Rapid Transit. It wasn't really BART merch, Baggu thought it was OK to knock off the BART logo and make it their own. Not good! The stunt went viral, drew backlash, and pushed Baggu into crisis-control talks with BART about a legitimate merch partnersh

King's Hawaiian just used branded merch to market a logo refresh at Chicago O’Hare Airport. Their team set up a booth with private changing rooms, and travelers swapped the clothes they were wearing for a free “soft-wear” sweatsuit. King's also gave out snacks, plus a travel pillow and eye mask. All traded clothing went to a Chicago charity. Simple execution that people remembered. https://kingshawaiian.com/products/merchandise/?limit=100 Want help planning a merch swap? We help business owne

Spam's Musubi Maui fundraiser offers items like Musubi-shaped ottomans, mixing fun with philanthropy. McDonald's and the US Open use collectible cups to increase customer engagement and sales. Aldi and Trader Joe's go head to head on cooler bags. I look at L.L.Bean's tote bag rivalry with Lands End. Gorton's is updating its image with retro-style merchandise for younger consumers. Takeaways: Try limited edition merch to support causes and generate interest in our brand Consider collectible

Cheez-Its has rolled out an impressive line of merch, from Hawaiian shirts to nail polish, perfect for fans of the cheesy snack. They even took over a diner to provide a cheezy distraction to travelers. Ore-Ida celebrates the 20th anniversary of Napoleon Dynamite with tot-protecting pants - supposedly they're 'crush proof' Dunkin Donuts partnered with Scrub Daddy for unique donut-shaped scrubbers - and Scrub Daddy's merch game is on point! The new wearable Dispicable Me 4 Popcorn Bucket is ju