find the right hat for the occasion. Plus, if a supplier is short on stock, customers can choose from so many options that they might end up with something even better than what they originally had in mind. Trends come and go, but the need for quality, comfort and style endures. To craft a promotional hat people will want to wear, comfort is a must. Quality also matters, because you want a hat that will last. “Your cap has to look good and feel good,” Straub says. “You can’t give out a cap that someone’s just going to throw in the back of their closet.” Aim for fit, function and flair to create a hat that will not only be worn but become a favorite. “We talk about ‘windshield caps’ a lot – that favored cap that person is going to wear every day,” says Straub. “That’s what they throw in their windshield [on the dashboard] so they have it when they’re going to go into the store or head to church or wherever.” Decorate To Differentiate When it comes to style, get creative with decoration to set a basic trucker cap or beanie apart and make it a stylish choice to be worn again and again. “The decorating is almost as important as the cap itself,” says Mike Nakajima, a sales executive with Mega Cap, a California-based supplier. “Retail quality and the right decorating technique are both essential to create a final quality product.” Gone are the days of slapping a logo on the front of a cap or beanie and calling it a day. With so many decoration options, it can be daunting to choose. Consider a new twist on traditional embroidery, like 3D, reverse 3D or sublimation. Patches, also a triedand-true favorite, come in a number of different materials and can be permanently affixed or swapped and supplemented on a cap with hookand-loop patches. Printed seam tape is another decorative option for a fun surprise inside. Outdoor Cap manufactures headwear for retail brands as well as the promo products industry, so they have a sneak peek at what’s coming. Look to the outdoor market, especially surf and skate, for clues about what’s trending, says Ben Roberts, head of marketing for Outdoor Cap. Currently, he sees ropes, perforation (using die cuts or lasers) and generic camouflage patterns as hot embellishments. “Patches are still a red-hot item for any interested customer,” he adds. “They look great, and they are easy to make high-quality and detailed, especially if you use a sublimation technique, so we’re seeing a lot of that. Leather or faux leather patches are also huge.” Roberts also believes that direct embroidery will always be popular as a classic cap decoration. “Caps have this kind of Americana mystique to them, whether it’s the attachment with baseball or something else, but they always have this kind of heritage feel thing going on that embroidery really lends itself to,” he says. Straub adds that clever placement can make all the difference in decorating, because front and center has become just one of many options for branding. “You don’t have to have your brand blaring at the very front of your cap to really know that people believe in what you’re wearing,” she says. “In fact, when we do a cap for my strategic accounts, we definitely suggest to put it off to the side.” The idea, she adds, is to spark curiosity in the viewer to ask the wearer about what’s on the hat: “Because it’s kind of elusive, you don’t see exactly what it is, so people will ask.” Great For Giveaways And Brand Stores “Every brewery that you go into has amerch section. That’s your billboard. Some breweries will sell 50 of themaweek, and it’s a great reorder. I love to suggest that to distributors, because theminute they sell out, they needmore. That’s really huge right now for all kinds of retailers and in the restaurant business. It didn’t stop at Hard Rock Cafe. Theywant to have another revenue stream.” – Jenny Straub, Outdoor Cap | DECEMBER 2022 | 23 INNOVATE
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