In the early days of corporate swag, there were presumably two representative garments: the impossibly thin (and very cozy-looking) hoodies adorning Facebook and Google employees in Silicon Valley, and the now-ubiquitous fleece banker vests which peppered Wall Street. While these bits of employee swag still very much exist, their presence has been diluted by the simple fact that seemingly every company in the world has their own swag. Whether it’s t-shirts for a tech startup at the gym or tote bags for a millennial health insurance provider on the street, corporate swag can now be spotted just about everywhere.
This critical mass of company swag has created a new challenge: how can a company stand out amidst a sea of employee swag? That’s where we come in! Real Thread makes it easy to create company swag that stands out—and that employees actually want to wear—with online visualization tools, and 20-item order minimums can accommodate even the start-up-iest of start-ups. Plus, with hundreds of high-quality product options you can deviate from the same t-shirt blanks that pretty much every other company is using. Your team is different from the rest, so their swag should be too!
Below are some more tried-and-true tips for creating employee swag guaranteed to stand out and be worn by your team with pride.
T-Shirts (Done Right)
What’s not to love about t-shirts? They’re versatile, comfortable, flattering, and can be a walking status update (if you’re into that.) While we could go on for ages professing our love for the humble t-shirt, that’s probably best saved for another time. For now, we’ll just say that t-shirts are an incredible piece of clothing that—when done right—make for some of the best corporate swag out there. So, how do you do a t-shirt the right way? Start with soft, great-fitting t-shirts (like the ones sourced by Real Thread,) and double-down on the details. Custom hem tags, vintage-inspired tonal graphics, and even company-branded collar-tags are surefire ways to ensure your corporate swag sees the light of day outside of laundry day.
Tote Bags Worth Toting Around
In a way, it feels as though branded tote bags have replaced graphic t-shirts in the last five years or so. No, people aren’t wearing tote bags, but rather more and more are relying on tote bags to tell the world that they listen to NPR, or read the New Yorker (even if just for the cartoons,) or—in this case—work for your super cool company! For those that wear their interests on their sleeves and/or shoulders, tote bags make for some of the best employee swag. Striking a millennial-perfect balance between fashionable and functional, tote bags have the added bonus of being extremely useful: making for some of the smartest corporate swag out there.
Masks You Can Smile Behind
Many companies, in the search for company swag ideas, have begun dipping their toes into the custom face mask pool to rep their brand while keeping their employees safe. While there are certainly some examples of great promotional masks, many of them just scream “This was the only mask I had in my car and I forgot I needed one to run into Target.” For employee swag masks that don’t undoubtedly have frowns behind them, you’ve got to think outside the box. While companies should have branded corporate swag, a mask that is all logo will likely be banished to the glove compartment. However, a mask with playful messaging on it is guaranteed to make the varsity mask roster—and maybe even spark up a conversation or two.
The Perfect Hoodie
When it comes to creating perfect employee swag, using an impossibly soft, Goldilocks-inspired hoodie for your gear is almost cheating. This cozy garment which harkens back to the early days of corporate swag has stood the test of time for a reason: your employees will never want to part ways with them. Whether you’re helping make WFH a little bit cozier for your team or giving employees a go-to garment for casual Fridays, the perfect hoodie is a master class in corporate swag.
Corporate Swag Made Easy
Need some more swag ideas? The experts at Real Thread have virtual Ph.D.’s in corporate swag, and are more than happy to guide you toward your quest for the perfect gear. From t-shirts, to tote bags, to the perfect hoodie, and beyond, Real Thread is your destination for employee swag guaranteed to stand out. With a wide range of products, sustainable inks, and easy-to-use design tools, creating the perfect employee swag for your business has never been easier. Oh, and a quick tip: be sure to make some extras—your team will most definitely be asking for more.
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