My Next Guest Merch Needs No Introduction… Find out how one small branded merch distributor helped transform fan demand into a major fundraising win as The Late Show With Stephen Colbert came to an end. Compiled by John Corrigan Leading up to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’s final episode in May, Colbert’s team commemorated the occasion by launching a fundraising campaign centered on branded merchandise. The campaign, which began in March, featured a T-shirt with the program’s traditional logo changed to “The Last Show With Stephen Colbert.” All T-shirt proceeds went to World Central Kitchen, restaurateur José Andrés’s nonprofit providing meals to communities impacted by natural disasters and humanitarian crises. With more than 66,000 T-shirts sold, the campaign raised roughly $2.5 million. “It’s a great honor to be part of this amazing cause,” said Niloo Amiri, president of Marina Del Ray, Californiabased distributor Tower One Promotions, which handled production and fulfillment. “It makes you want to get up in the morning and continue. The amount of money that’s been donated to charity is phenomenal.” A 25-plus-year veteran of the branded merch industry, Amiri has worked on both the supplier and distributor side. In 2016, she founded Tower One Promotions, which worked with The Late Show With Stephen Colbert for the past decade. As with all her clients, Amiri says, she began her relationship with the show based on referrals. “Being a small distributor allows for a lot of flexibility when it comes to making exceptions and decisions, specifically, not having to go through layers of management,” Amiri says. “That’s something my clients have always appreciated.” Although designing merch is usually a collaboration with the client, Amiri credits Colbert’s team for presenting the changed logo for this campaign. “We made very quick pre-production samples, providing a product that was better quality than standard – something that people would like to wear and keep.” Image courtesy of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert/Paramount “It makes you want to get up in the morning and continue. The amount of money that’s been donated to charity is phenomenal.” - NILOO AMIRI, TOWER ONE PROMOTIONS 96 • SEPTEMBER 2026 • Community | Buzzworthy
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