PPB April 2017

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| APRIL 2017 | 25
INNOVATE
Brittany Walterscheid said that
RIGHTSLEEVE, “came in with
big ideas and a big vision of
how they pictured their brand
through apparel.”
To achieve something
extraordinary, collaborators
must sense a larger vision, and
they can only do this when we
share details of our vision. Twyla
Tharp, the celebrated dance
choreographer, in her book The
Collaborative Habit , wrote that
“a clearly stated and consciously
shared purpose is the foundation
of great collaborations.”
And it’s more than just
product. We should never just
spec an item with our partners
when we’re building significant
campaigns; we should share
the vision of how we want the
product to drive the emotional
experience. Tharp phrased it this
way, “Everything and everyone
matters. There are no ‘details.’”
Because of this, T-Shirt Tycoon
was able to help shape the design
decision while respecting the
vision and consciously sharing
the purpose. “By collaborating
with RIGHTSLEEVE and
understanding what
commonsku’s ultimate goals
were, we used up every part of
that shirt … and it was great to
see the end user celebrate the
product,” Walterscheid adds.
Beyond the t-shirt, we felt it
was crucial to carry this idea of
differentiating by design and
evoking emotion through to
every product we produced for
the conference. Rather than just
dropping the commonsku logo
on items, we saw each product
as a blank canvas and that every
promotional item had a purpose.
We created custom “no pair is
the same” mitts fromRedwood
Classics, and unique, custom
socks with BamBams. When
attendees arrived, we wanted
them to connect with their ‘tribe’
so we designed trendy patches
through EMT featuring a variety of
roles that attendees would identify
with (operations, entrepreneur,
creative, sales, marketing). So
many of our customers say
they are fans and they love to
collect skubot gear (items with
the skucon logo), so we created
limited-edition items like our
plush skubot throughHit, skubot
powerbanks through iClick, SIGG
bottles, and on our stylish bags
fromRuMe Brandsuite, we printed
the custom icons of each of our
supplier partners’ logos. To top
it all off, we had treats for body
and soul: delectable goodies from
Maple Ridge Farms, skubrew
(the official beer of skucon) from
A+Wine Designs, and essential
oils fromSnugZ USA. For each
of our partners, we also created
custom logos with skubot that
celebrated the uniqueness of each
of their lines.
Product plus good design
communicates emotion (whimsy,
fun, excitement, relief, joy). By
treating each product as a blank
canvas and crafting the design
on every product, we mirrored
the purpose (inspiration) and
sparked a strong emotional
bond with the recipient.
PPAI’s Get In Touch! campaign
emphasizes that promotional
products are “advertising that lives
on.”The play on the language is
perfect: “Advertising that lives on”
expresses both the longevity of the
message as well as the emotional
response by the recipient:
they cherish the items they
receive which then become the
advertising that (literally) lives on
as buyers adopt the gear as their
favorite hoodie or water bottle.
The campaign also emphasizes
that the products we sell are
the vehicle through which
an emotional connection
occurs as we “touch the hearts
of consumers.”
This means it’s about much
more than just a product. If
emotional connection is the value
proposition in a commodity like
coffee, then surely the customized
experiences that we craft together
(that generate surprise and
delight to our audiences) are
enough to encourage buyers
to allocate a larger share of
their marketing dollars to
promotional products.
Design and purpose
determines product selection
and heightens the emotional
experience of every campaign we
create. When we see a product
as just a product, rather than a
vehicle through which magic can
happen, then “stuff we all get” is
noise; “swag we love” is the signal.
The result? Pure inspiration.
Bobby Lehew, CAS, is chief
content officer at commonsku.
Reach him at bobby@
Product plus
good design
communicates
emotion (whimsy,
fun, excitement,
relief, joy). By
treating each
product as a
blank canvas and
crafting the design
on every product,
we mirrored
the purpose
(inspiration) and
sparked a strong
emotional bond
with the recipient.