There are so many logos and brand messages, all aiming to make a lasting impression. It's becoming increasingly difficult to avoid going unnoticed in the sheer tide. Among the countless examples, there are a few outstanding campaigns that clearly stand out from the crowd with creativity and marketing expertise, serving as visionary beacons for marketing directors and campaign managers.
Smart marketers have long known that selling products isn't just about printing a logo on a T-shirt. It's about telling a brand's story, building genuine connections, and turning customers into passionate supporters.
Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris @joshrh19, via Unsplash
The best merchandise campaigns don't just give things away; they give people a piece of the brand's soul, a shared experience, or a badge of belonging. Let's take a look at seven extremely successful campaigns that brilliantly utilized merchandise. We'll examine the elements that made them successful and how creativity played a crucial role.
01 Coca-Cola: “Share a Coke”
Share a Coke is a multinational marketing campaign by Coca-Cola. As an alternative to the standard logo, Coca-Cola bottles and cans were personalized with names, nicknames, and short slogans. On one side of the bottle, the Coca-Cola logo was replaced with the phrase "Share a Coke with," followed by a person's name.
This campaign was a shining example of how to personalize content at scale. Coca-Cola transformed a mass-produced beverage into a personal discovery. Discovering one's own name or that of a friend triggered an immediate emotional connection and a strong urge to immediately share the experience across various social media platforms.
Simply put, it was suddenly more than just a drink; it was also a gift, a conversation starter, and a memory.
The importance of creativity cannot be overstated. The ingenuity didn't lie in the creation of a brand-new product; rather, it consisted in modifying the label of an existing product, which was both simple and groundbreaking. This innovative approach to personalization served as the driving force of the entire campaign, transforming an everyday object into an experience that was highly desired and eagerly shared by others.
The technical possibilities for printing glass bottles have evolved rapidly in recent years. In addition to traditional labels, cutting-edge processes such as digital printing are now being used on glass bottles. This technology offers the highest levels of flexibility, precision, and color variety.
Companies like Pepper Decor support their B2B customers in developing customized concepts for printing glass bottles, packaging that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also functionally tailored to the market's requirements.
02 Glossier: “Pink Pouch”
This product is a chic, reusable pink zip-top pouch and a sheet of playful, minimalist stickers, included with every order. Later, the range was expanded to include branded hoodies, headbands, and mirrors.
Glossier understood that their target audience (primarily Gen Z and Millennial women) valued aesthetics, community, and an "insider" feel . The pink pouch instantly became a cult item—a practical makeup bag that also served as a distinctive symbol of a Glossier fan.
The stickers encouraged personalization and further interaction with the brand. It was a subtle yet powerful way to transform packaging into covetable lifestyle accessories that loudly "I'm part of the Glossier gang" .
The creativity lay in elevating mundane packaging elements into highly desirable, Instagram-worthy status symbols. Glossier recognized that for their audience, the experience and aesthetics were just as essential as the product itself.
03 Red Bull: Extreme Event Swag
Red Bull's merchandise focuses on high-quality clothing, hats, and gear. These are distributed to sponsored athletes and event participants and are often sold at extreme sports events, with the Red Bull logo prominently displayed.
Red Bull is no longer just an energy drink; it's synonymous with pushing boundaries, extreme sports, and high performance. Its merchandise becomes a symbol of the wearer's own ambition. When people wear Red Bull clothing, they identify with courage, adventure, and living life on the edge. The quality and authenticity of the merchandise reflect the brand's commitment to high performance.
The creativity lay in Red Bull's groundbreaking approach to event marketing and content creation (e.g. the stratospheric jump of the now deceased Felix Baumgartner, the sponsorship of extreme sports athletes).
04 Spotify: “Wrapped” gifts for superfans
Based on their so-called "Wrapped" data (a kind of personalized year-end review from the streaming provider), Spotify gave away exclusive, limited-edition gifts (such as custom-printed T-shirts, posters, or accessories) to top listeners, influencers, and artists. These gifts can include a variety of customization options.
By leveraging Spotify's vast amount of user data, the company was able to create products that were both highly personalized and unexpected. Selected recipients might receive a hoodie with a graphic representing their favorite genre or a poster featuring their most-streamed artist.
This exclusivity, combined with the "surprise" factor of receiving a tangible gift in the context of a digital event, generated tremendous goodwill and attention on social media. Data was thereby transformed into a tangible and emotional reward.
Spotify's concept of transforming a digital year-end review into a specific, tangible gift is a highly imaginative bridge between the digital and the physical.
05 Innocent Drinks: “Big Knit Hats”
The Big Knit Hats from smoothie manufacturer Innocent consist of tiny wool hats in various colors that are carefully placed on the smoothie bottles.
This food advertising campaign is a shining example of how to successfully combine a company's personality with promoting social benefits. The cute hats are the focus of "The Big Knit ," an annual event that raises funds for nonprofit organizations serving seniors.
Knowing that their purchase is for a good cause makes customers feel good. Many even knit the hats themselves, which contributes to the creation of a thriving community around the brand. These hats not only stand out on the shelf, but also perfectly embody the playful and ethical brand voice that Innocent delivers.
The creative aspect of this campaign lies in the ability to transform a simple component of the packaging, namely the bottle cap, into a small craft, a community initiative, and a vehicle for charitable donations. It's a highly imaginative strategy that engages customers in a way that goes beyond the purchase and allows them to participate in a tangible way.
06 Starbucks: seasonal reusable cups
The coffee chain's reusable cups are released at different times of the year or during holidays. We believe one explanation for why this promotional campaign was so successful lies in Starbucks' use of anticipation, collectibility, and social signaling to its advantage.
Photo by quan le @quanle2819, via Unsplash
The reusable cups they sell throughout the seasons become a symbol of this or that festive season. In addition to serving as a trendy accessory, they also address the need for environmentally conscious practices. Numerous customers collect a variety of samples and proudly display them, transforming each cup into a small advertising board and conversation starter. Due to their limited availability, there's a palpable sense of urgency and value.
It's the design and timing of the cups that are the source of creativity. The idea of a reusable cup isn't new; yet the strategic aesthetic appeal, seasonal release, and limited edition of these cups elevates them from mere functional items to covetable and collectible fashion statements.
07 Google: “I’m Feeling Lucky” button
Despite being less of a direct merchandising campaign and more of an iconic feature, the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button a subtle piece of branded merchandise. It appeared on T-shirts, mugs, and stickers, and although it was often unauthorized, the brand loved it.
The button symbolizes Google Search's early, playful, and optimistic brand attitude. Serendipity, discovery, and a touch of good humor are all important aspects of it. This inconspicuous button wasn't simply a logo when it was printed on merchandise; rather, it was a humorous statement known only to those who belonged to the tech-savvy group and understood the special appeal that Google's products possessed in their early days.
The concept of the button itself was the result of the bubbling and playful creative energy that was particularly prevalent in the search engine giant's pioneering days. It was a silly but charming feature that reflected Google's early mentality.
Creativity is king
What these campaigns clearly demonstrate is that creativity is often the fundamental pillar that forms the framework for successful product marketing.
Taking something as mundane as a bottle label, a plastic bag, or a bottle cap and turning it into a brand ambassador is the goal vision of every major merchandising campaign.
By evoking emotions such as joy, belonging, ambition or purpose, merchandising serves as a catalyst for conversation, giving people a reason to discuss, share and engage with the brand.
A cornerstone to ensure that the product is not just any item, but rather a perfect extension of what the brand stands for, lies in reflecting the soul of the brand.
Merchandise that goes beyond a simple promotional gift thanks to a good dose of creative energy becomes a strong and lasting tribute.
Owner and Managing Director of Kunstplaza. Journalist, editor, and passionate blogger in the field of art, design, and creativity since 2011. Successful completion of a degree in web design as part of a university study (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expressive painting, and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.
