• NOVEMBER 2026 • 63 Inside PPAI | Community Merch Moves Us: Introducing The Industry’s New, United Message PPAI HAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED Merch Moves Us, a global marketing campaign designed to strengthen the business case for branded merchandise and elevate the medium’s place in the modern marketing mix. At the center of the initiative is MerchMovesUs.org, a new platform built to give marketers more than product inspiration. The site brings together research, case studies, planning guidance and other resources intended to help marketers understand where branded merchandise fits, make a stronger case for its use and approach it more strategically. But the campaign is not designed to succeed through PPAI’s marketing efforts alone. • A major component of the launch is a new member toolkit created to help distributors take the campaign’s research, language and ideas directly into conversations with clients and prospects. • Members are being encouraged not simply to share campaign elements but to use the resources to elevate discussions beyond product and price, connect merchandise recommendations to business goals and help marketing decisionmakers explain the value of branded merchandise within their own organizations. The ambition is to change a familiar conversation from “We need some swag” to “What role could branded merch play in this campaign, experience or business goal?” “Merch Moves Us is about elevating the perception of branded merchandise and helping the broader business community recognize its power as a strategic marketing channel,” says PPAI President & CEO Drew Holmgreen, CAS. “At its core, the campaign celebrates the ability of branded merchandise to move people, strengthen relationships and create lasting connections between brands and the audiences they serve. “As one of the most significant initiatives our industry has ever undertaken, Merch Moves Us represents a unified effort to tell our story on a global scale, reshaping perceptions, expanding opportunities and reinforcing the essential role branded merchandise plays in modern marketing.” Research conducted during campaign development identified ROI clarity, procurement pressure, competition for marketing budgets and outdated perceptions among the most significant barriers preventing merch from earning a larger strategic role in the minds of brand architects. At the same time, the research highlighted qualities such as usefulness, personalization, quality, long-term visibility and emotional connection as some of the medium’s greatest strengths. That led PPAI to focus the campaign not simply on generating awareness but on giving marketers stronger reasons to consider branded merchandise earlier, use it more intentionally and defend the investment internally. The campaign was strategically shaped with guidance from PPAI volunteers – by marketers, for marketers. A marketing task force, formed in 2025, provided essential feedback, and the campaign’s framing was informed by research with brand strategists, marketers, recipients and members. The result is an approach intended to reflect the questions and pressures marketers themselves face rather than simply repeat what the industry already believes about its value. PPAI is also building measurement into Merch Moves Us from the beginning, establishing benchmarks that will allow the Association to determine whether the effort is changing how marketers perceive and use branded merchandise over time. “Taking guidance from volunteers and industry leadership, we recognize the importance of building measurability into Merch Moves Us from the start,” says PPAI CMO Melissa Ralston, CAS. “The campaign establishes clear benchmarks for how marketers perceive, engage with and ultimately adopt branded merchandise as a vital part of their marketing mix. We will track real movement over time and demonstrate whether we’re advancing our goal of elevating branded merchandise as a premier marketing channel.” “Merch Moves Us is about elevating the perception of branded merchandise and helping the broader business community recognize its power as a strategic marketing channel” — DREW HOLMGREEN, CAS PPAI PRESIDENT & CEO
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