What Is a Full Service Promotional Merchandise Agency?

If you own a business, you’ve probably already heard of the importance of promotional items and chances are you already have branded merch. Some merch is better than others and this may vary depending on the merch agency.

Not all agencies have full capacity to bring your ideas into fruition, however, a full-service merch agency can help you beyond the printing process and in this article, we will take you through the different services that are possible when you hire a full-service merch agency such as Family Industries.

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5 Reasons Why You Need A Branded Merch

Customer Loyalty

Merch can increase customer loyalty! Giveaways have been proven to be a great tool to excite current customers to actively engage with your social media and therefor cement customer loyalty.

Increased employees’ morale

Employees play a huge role in a company’s success, therefore, looking after their needs should be the priority of the brand. A happy employee makes sure that they meet the company’s objectives and serve them right. Hence, giving away customized water bottles, tees, etc. might be a little gesture, but it surely boosts employees’ morale.

Brand Recognition

Merch is another marketing tool, therefore, it’s helpful to look at it as an investment that will generate more sales. The first thing that every brand is looking for is to create brand awareness and marketers are solely working for the same reason. Unless you grab the attention of your customers, you cannot encourage them to shop from you.

Check Out What’s The Difference Between Brand Awareness and Brand Recognition

Lead Generator

For every business, lead generation is extremely important. Not only is it necessary to gain new customers, but also to retain the old ones. Brand merchandising creates brand awareness that is quite strong and does not let a customer easily forget about your brand. There are hundreds of ways through which you can increase lead generation, but if none of them works for you – you can always trust merchandise branding.

Beat Competitors

Merchandise branding can help businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors. The promotional product will create an engaging, dedicated, and can set yourself apart visually. Not all brands work on branded content, hence, your approach can set you apart from your competition especially when it comes to design and creativity.

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Why Do You Need A Full Service Merch Agency?

You may have a great business model and think that perhaps merch is not for you, however, investing in merch can be the one thing that pushes your brand just a bit further. Each year you should be looking to ways in which you can improve and stay ahead of the curve.

Not only is merch good for marketing, but it can also be a way to establish yourself as a serious brand or simply add to your bottom line.

Learn more How Can Branding Costs Be Capitalized

DESIGN

A full-service merch agency has a team of designers to help assist with the design process. This step is important when considering certain products to print on. Our in-house design team provides a full range of creative services—from branding and fashion forward graphics, to innovative product concepts, and more.

Manufacturing

As a full-service merch agency, we specialize in high-quality garment and merch production using a variety of methods such as screen printing, vinyl, foil, embroidery and more.

Working with a variety of products from apparel to swag such as hats, drinkware, bags, and tech accessories gives clients more freedom and the ability to get more creative.

Fulfillment

As part of a well-rounded merch service agency, offering fulfillment is an integral part of the premium experience. Not only does a full-service merch agency provide the best quality print and finished product, it’s can also be a big time-saver by providing direct fulfillment to your customers or clients.

Read more The Benefits of Merch Fulfillment Services

Events

A full-service merch agency such as Family Industries LIVE can also provide on-site event merch printing such as t-shirts, tote bags, and embroidery on hats, and other apparel items.

Not only does a full-service merch agency provide live printing, but they also provide a full staff that includes brand ambassadors. In an event space with a lot of other brand and vendors, it’s important to have brand ambassadors that can represent your brand in the best way possible.

Our staff at Family Industries takes this job very seriously as we pride ourselves in having the best customer service and our goal is to represent our clients the best way possible.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com, or give us a call at 323.227.1547 and we'd be happy to help.

Our showroom at 2755 Fruitdale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039 is open by appointment only from 10 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday.

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Merch Guide For Musicians & Bands

Whether you’re a successful musician or an up and coming band, having merch to sell at events is critical. There’s a variety of items you can sell as merch to event goers as a way to promote your music. Choosing the right items is key to ensuring sales.

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Why Do Musicians Need Merch?

Grouplove Band Poster

Musician merch has always been important to bands, both as a source of revenue and to help raise awareness of your ‘brand’. Fans love buying merch too - the music we like is closely tied in with our identity, and wearing a band’s t-shirt is a way of showing off that identity to others - adverts for your band, helping promote your band anywhere and everywhere they go.

Having a good range of merchandise not only generates you income but raises your profile as a band and can help get you new fans!

Check Out How To Design A T-Shirt

What Merch Should You Sell?

The real key to getting started with merchandise is to look at how much budget you have to invest. If you have a larger budget it is worth looking at what your fans would like - ask them and develop a small range, but you could also go for plenty of low budget options such as badges, stickers and posters. Your budget will also play a crucial role in determining what your inventory will look like.

Ask Your Fans

You can slap your band logo on just about anything these days, but don’t leave it up to chance. Be direct and ask your fans what they want! Put up a quick poll on your social media, in your email newsletter, or on your music website to get an idea of the kind of merch your fans would actually enjoy.

Research

Check out other band’s merch - Gather merch inspiration from bands that are similar to yours in terms of genre, brand identity, and number of followers.

Check Out Merch Ideas: Band Posters & Art Prints

Cost Effective Merch

When you’re deciding what to get made, cost is always going to be a factor. There are three main things to bear in mind:

• Overall cost of production: Patches, stickers, and keychains are popular because they’re a low-cost items that you can give away as well as selling them. By contrast, hoodies are a more expensive item that will cost more - however, the profit is bigger.

• Minimum runs: All items will have a minimum quantity that you’ll be allowed to order. This will be higher for some types of merch than others.

• Complexity of design: If you’re screen printing items (the most common technique for t-shirts), you’ll be charged a set-up cost for each color in your design - meaning a complex design with 4 colors will be much more expensive to produce than a simple 1 color print.

Find A Designer

Creating the right attention-grabbing artwork is a big part of a successful merch campaign. Hiring a professional graphic designer can save you a lot of headaches when it’s time for the printing process. It’s important to communicate what you are intending to do with the art work as certain designs may not be suitable for screen printing (too detailed or thin lines).

Finding a merch designer that specializes in packaging or has knowledge of apparel printing is a plus! Otherwise, make sure they understand what your intentions are before beginning the designing process.

Check Out How To Design Artwork For Screen Printing With Puff Ink

Custom Merch

Adding an element of customization to music merch item can be a great incentive for event goers. Being able to add initials to a jacket or a hat by using a live embroidery service is a low cost way to customize merch on-site.

If a live event merch customization agency can fit into your marketing budget, do it! Having experts working at your event either embroidering hats or screen printing t-shirts adds an additional element of entertainment to your show which encourages sales.

Selling Merch Online

While not on tour, selling merch online is another way to earn passive income and still promoting your music.

If you’re attracting fans to your website or Instagram profile, it’s a missed opportunity if you’re not offering them stuff to buy once they’re there. Services like BigCartel give you a free shopfront where you can easily add your products and have fans pay by Paypal. You just need to keep track of stock levels, and make sure one band member is in charge of packing and shipping the orders.

Another solution is merch agencies such as Family Industries who offer a variety of merch items that can also be fulfilled on-site and shipped directly to the buyer. Merch manufacturers can often also add additional branding items such as stickers or personalized notes and they guarantee great quality.

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Be Creative!

Selling a t-shirt with your band name and artwork is essential, however, thinking outside the box and offering a vinyl with an art print can elevate your brand and ensure you’re providing quality to your fans. It may also additionally present as a great gift for someone, which automatically takes your merch to the next level.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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Merch Ideas: Band Posters & Art Prints

The process of printmaking is one of the older forms of artistic process based on the principle of transferring images from a matrix onto another surface, most often paper or fabric. As a merch agency, we believe that posters or art prints are great items to sell as band merch.

Band Merch

Band merch can be difficult to sell if you don’t already have a big following. However, making cool merch is a great incentive for people that may not be familiar with your music to make a purchase. Merch can include apparel such as band t-shirts and band hoodies, or it can also include accessories such as water bottles or key chains.

Band posters are a less thought of merch item, but we believe it’s a great option for those looking to keep cost down and create true art prints that have more of a “limited edition” feel.

The History of Band Posters

Selling posters is a way of advertising, after all, printed posters is the original way we used to advertise. They were meant to serve this specific purpose.

No one cared that they’d sit in the rain and get damaged or have pinholes in them. They were solely used as a tool to get crowds to attend live music events. This is very clear when you look at the original letterpress posters from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

60’s and 70’s Music Era

In the 60’s society experienced the psychedelic era, during this time, the true art form of the concert poster began to develop. This new style came largely out of San Francisco, where artists began to create posters for the budding music scene that the decade brought in.

During this time, the intention behind the design remained the same as it had been: to bring people to shows. The posters contained important information such as band name, venue, date, and time. However, it included more clever and eye-catching psychedelic designs.

Later in the 60’s and early 70’s, print designers and makers begin focusing on creating visually ambiguous fonts. In addition to the font, psychedelic concert posters made use of vibrant colors and beautiful imagery that was unique to every individual piece. This led to some people taking up poster collecting as a hobby.

The Punk and New Wave Era

In the late 70’s Punk and New Wave music emerged and these new genres brought a new form of show advertising with them, and DIY flyers became prevalent around cities in which shows were being held. Venues such as CBGB in New York and Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco became known for specifically showcasing bands within these genres.

Punk communities thrived on the concept of doing something yourself, and concert art was no exception. Most punk flyers were designed using a pen and paper, an x-acto knife, and a Xerox machine. They were not created to be works of fine art, but to demand the attention of anyone who saw them.

Punk music flyers and posters became a true form of street art, and those who recognized this saved various flyers that they found on the street as they were often tore down due to people perceiving them as offensive or unattractive.

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Posters as Merch

As advertising became more of a digital medium, the evolution of printmaking continued. Modern collectible concert art is created for a different purpose. Rather than being designed primarily as a promotional tool, posters have become a form of concert merchandise.

Today, artists will design a poster that may be specific to a tour date, an entire tour, or a festival. Often a limited number of copies will be printed. Sometimes there will be variants of the poster, such as foil prints, that are created in even smaller quantities and thus hold more value.

What’s The Value of a Poster?

In order for a print to be valuable, there can only be a certain amount of them. There are people who collect band and festival posters, for collectors, the limited edition tag goes a long way.

Though the above posters have been around a shorter time than some vintage posters, condition is still important! A poster with pinholes, tape marks, or tears will not hold up in value the same way that a pristine piece will. So, if you’re thinking about selling posters at your next gig, make sure you have the appropriate packaging to keep them in good conditions.

Finding a printmaker has become more and more rare in the era where most prints are done by machines.

At Family Industries, we have a print master that creates prints using screen printing as a primary method. These prints are highly regarded as they are all done by hand and the quality is superb when compared to machine printed posters.

On top of that, screen printing produces more vibrant colors. So, if your design has very specific colors or more vibrant colors, screen printing is the best option.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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Promotional Gift Ideas For 2022

As we welcome the new year, you may be thinking of ways to improve your business or step up your game in one way or another. Swag bags or promotional gifts may be a good way for you to maintain engagement or improve your brand visibility.

We will take you through all the promotional merch ideas for 2022.

Key Features

When looking for the best promotional gifts for your business, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Certain criteria may apply better for your type of business, however, overall we believe these features will be helpful.

• Small Items

• Portable Items

• Adaptable for Remote Work

• Easy To Ship

• Sustainable / Eco-friendly

• Home & lifestyle-themed

• Health and wellness-themed

• Unique and on-brand

All the products below can be branded in different ways with a business logo, a graphics design, branded packaging, and more.

Check Out Best Eco-Friendly Merch

Swag Box

A swag box is commonly used as “Thank You” gifts or “Welcome” gifts for agencies or service providers for clients. Swag boxes are unique in the sense that you can pick and choose what type of items to include and the personalization aspect is much more pronounced.

For example, you can put your logo with your company colors on the box itself and include items that also display your logo, company moto, or tag line.

Check Out A Guide To Creating Your Own Merch

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Top Ranking

Promotional Items

Water Bottles

This doesn’t have to be a boring items, you can make it cool by choosing the right bottle. There’s various styles you can customize to incorporate your logo and any other aspects of your branding.

For example, JBL used a MIIR wide mouth bottle and added their logo as well as some artwork they created for this specific merch item. Water bottles are a great promotional item because there’s a lot of surface to play with and because it’s a functional product.

Portable Laptop Stand

This simple yet sleek design is great for remote workers or people that travel for work. Woox laptop stand is the perfect compact yet useful gift for clients old and new. With more people moving towards remote work, this makes a thoughtful gift that can be included in a swag box as it is small and light. It’s also an opportunity to laser cut your logo into and keep the your cost down.

This is also a very simple design that most merch agencies such as Family Industries can produce for you.

Learn more about How To Capitalize From Branding Costs

Personalized Socks

You can never go wrong with socks! Personalizing socks with your company colors and logo is an easy and budget friendly merch item to include in your swag box. You also don’t have to worry about size as much as you would with other apparel items.

You can also include ankle socks if the weather calls for it. Socks are generally a safe gift as it’s a common wearable item that all us use, and because of the size it’s an easy item to ship.

Wireless Power Bank

A wireless phone charger is a great canvas for your logo and it can be used by everyone with a phone. This is a great gift for a client or employees. Again, it’s a small item that can be easily shipped and it’s a highly utilized product.

Pourover Coffee Maker

Corporate gifts don’t have to be boring. A branded pourover insulated coffee maker is the perfect alternative to a coffee mug or a travel mug as this is one step above the traditional gifts. With this pourover coffee maker, you are sure to impress your clients.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

Looking to assemble your own promotional swag kit?

Look no further! Request a quote from us!

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Best Custom Printed Bags

A great way to step up your merch game is to consider bags. And depending on what kind you get and how you customize them, they can be surprisingly more affordable than T-shirts and other items. We will tell you about our top-selling customizable bags we customize, along with some details about each kind that can save you money and help avoid printing issues.

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5 Most Popular Bags

It is good to note that for screen printed designs, it’s recommended to have a relatively big print area. For smaller items such as a fanny pack and wallets, embroidery is preferred or an embroidered patch to add an extra element of design.

Read Why Your Company Should Invest In Promotional Bags

Some bags call for specific events or occasions. This is why it’s important to consider your audience when it comes to promotional bags. The type of event will also dictate which type of bag is the best and what type of other promotional items to provide event-goers with.

Tote Bags

A tote bag hits all the marks: affordably priced, simple construction, durable, lays flat for printing, and comes in a variety of colors and styles. People love tote bags and use them for everything, from carrying groceries to beach supplies, especially with plastic bags going away.

The most affordable tote bag is made of canvas which is easy to print on and you can be sure that people will use them long-term. Avoid plastic tote bags, which can look cheap and people are quick to get rid of. Additionally, plastic is bad for the environment! Tote bags probably provide the most opportunities for customizing out of all the bag types, especially if you go with cotton. They tend to have the largest print area and the widest variety of print methods to choose from.

Check Out 5 Benefits Of A Giveaway Promotional Tote Bag

Drawstring Bags

Drawstring bags are great for big events where people will be walking for long periods of time. Because these bags are generally small and simple, they are great for people looking to hold just a few things while displaying your logo to several thousand people at large events.

Cotton fabric makes the best drawstring bag for screen printing a large order. Especially because you can’t screen print on the synthetic drawstring bags unless you want them to get all mangled and melted under the heat dryers. The other nice thing is that this bag can be washed like regular laundry.

Fanny Packs

Now that the ’90s are back in style, fanny packs are cool again. We generally suggest using embroidery for your logo or design application, as these types of bags are usually made of tougher material, and because of it’s size and shape, screen printing or DTG can be difficult.

Pro Tip: Avoid designs with too many details or thin lines, these types of designs are not good for embroidery.

Check Out 7 Reasons to Use Wearable Promotional Items for Your Business

Duffel Bags

The duffel bag or gym bag is all-purpose, durable, and handy are some of the words used to describe the duffel. Take it to the gym, take it to school, take it camping, take it as a carry-on bag on your trips. Printing on a duffel bag has its’ restrictions that tend to come down to the print area, which can be small depending on the size of the gym bag. So be prepared for that with a logo that can be reduced in size and still look good. Avoid details and multiple colors for the best results.

Once again, we believe that the best way to customize a duffel bag is to use embroidery. This method has a more classic finish look than a simple screen print.

Neck Wallet

This type of bag is not conventional and is mostly used by event-goers and athletes or outdoorsy people to hold phones, IDs, credit cards, keys, and other small flat items.

Because of the size of this bag and the area available for logo placement, it’s recommended to use embroidery or an embroidered patch which can give the bag a cool look.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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Printing on Athletic Apparel

Athletic and athleisure wear has become more and more popular over recent years, not only because of a more health conscious population but because these types of apparel provides more comfort when going through our day-to-day activities. In this article we’ll take you through the advantages of creating athletic merch for your brand and the challenges that come with printing on this type of material.

What is Athletic wear?

Athletic wear refers to clothing that allows for maximum flexibility and comfort when performing a sport or when working out at a gym. Athletic wear is made up of ultra breathable and moisture wicking fibers to help release sweat outwards which evaporates into the atmosphere. It keeps the body cool in heat and warm in cold.

The Benefits of Moisture-Wicking Fabric in Your Workout Clothes

What is Athleisure Wear?

Athleisure wear is a more common type of fashionable casual and comfortable clothing such as tights or leggings and lightweight tops to keep skin cool while doing every-day activities, walking, or non competitive sports. This type of clothing was born out of the necessity to be comfortable while performing daily activities. It lies at the intersection of activewear and traditional sportswear that was meant as recreational wear designed for daytime or leisure activity.

Read more about What is the Difference Between Athletic wear and Athleisure wear?

How is Printing Done on Athletic Wear?

There are a few ways to print on athletic or athleisure wear that depend on the type of fabrics used to make the garments. Some fabric are easier to work with than others but there is always a way.

We’ll recommend the most common ways we recommend to print on athletic wear or athleisure wear with Pros and Cons.

Design

Because of the nature of athletic fabrics, keeping a design simple can be beneficial if you’re looking to have prints such as your logo or letters. Many brand such as Nike have a simple logo that they can print using a heat press and that also keeps the costs down.

Inks

Ink production technology has kept up with the athletic fabric trend, and there are inks out there that are formulated to address the challenges of printing on synthetic jersey fabrics. If you’re looking to screen print your design, look for low-bleed inks that cure at lower temperatures for longer times. These are made specifically to lessen the effects of dye migration.

Consider Flexibility

Most athletic fabrics have a specific amount of stretch that may make screen printing difficult or not as durable as other print methods. Once you have found the garment, check the material it is made with, that information will dictate which print method is best for your apparel.

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Recommended

PRINT METHODS:

DTG or Direct To Garment Printing

DTG printing method uses a printer with textile inks which allows for faster and low cost production. While this option is the more cost-effective, it is also the lowest quality. This type of textile ink is not durable and depending on the material you are printing on it may look dull and cheap. Additionally, printing on dark clothing using this method is not recommended.

PROS

• Low Setup Costs

CONS

• Low Resolution

• Not Durable

• Not Good For Dark Fabrics

Sublimation Printing

Sublimation is one of the most durable methods you can use if you are printing on polyester fabrics. This method requires applying a liquid dye unto the garment until it has solidified, then heat is applied to then evaporate the solid matter leaving the dye perfectly printed into every thread. This is why this method provides long-lasting quality.

PROS

• Durable

• Creative Freedom to Use Wide Range of Colors and Patterns

CONS

• Limited To Polyester Fabrics

Heat Press Printing

Heat press is the type of printing that is most often used in athletic gear for smaller logos and labels. Heat press uses a specific type of paper that is applied directly unto the garment and then it is pressed using a press. This type of printing is used by brand such as Nike and Adidas. This method has a very sharp and clean look to it.

PRO

• Low Setup Cost

• Sharp Print

CONS

• Quality Control - If done incorrectly, print can easily peel off

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CONCLUSION

If you’d like to print your logo or a smaller design unto a breathable material we suggest to go with heat press printing, this method will result in the most clear print with perfect lines and it’s one of the most affordable options.

If you’d like to have the entire garment printed with an intricate design, we suggest to print using the sublimation method. Sublimation is highly durable and gives you freedom when it comes to colors and design, however, you’re limited to polyester fabrics only.

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

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