Product Pairing: The Second Step to Creating Elevated Camp Merch
Elevating Your Brand Through Thoughtful Product Pairing
When it comes to showcasing a brand’s artwork, the garments and products chosen serve as the canvas that brings the vision to life. Selecting the right combination of material, fit, and print placement not only enhances the visual appeal but also ensures that merchandise resonates with campers.
The Impact of Product Selection
A great design on a low-quality shirt creates a frustrating disconnect. Think about rushing to a band’s merch booth, excited to support them, only to find their designs printed on stiff, boxy tees. The purchase still happens—but the shirt rarely gets worn. If it had been comfortable and well-fitted, it would have become a go-to favorite, turning the brand into a regular part of daily life rather than an occasional afterthought.
That’s the difference product selection makes. A cheap tee or water bottle might seem like a smart cost-saving move, but it often means the brand spends more time in a drawer than out in the world. Considering trending fabrics, fit, and products people are already purchasing ensures that branded merch adds value to campers’ lives rather than becoming clutter.
Relevant + On-Brand Is Effective
Campers are constantly inundated with products claiming to improve their lives or solve a problem. Estimates suggest the average person encounters anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 ads daily—many of which are selling physical products. While marketing messages aren’t always true, they shape the way people think about what they buy and what gets left behind.
Most people have learned through trial and error which products actually improve their daily lives and which end up forgotten. Keeping this in mind is key when curating products for a gift shop, web store, or program offerings.
Knowing what succeeds in retail helps in making informed decisions about what will work for a camp store. Some trending products might look appealing but don’t align with a camp’s branding. Others might be a perfect fit but come at a price point campers can’t afford. There might be requests for a specific item, but if the quality doesn’t reflect the camp’s values, it may not be the right choice. These factors help narrow down the best product solutions—ones that will perform well in the store and truly reflect the brand.
Design Meets Physical Products
A design that looks great on an Illustrator artboard doesn’t always translate the same way to a garment, hat, or mug. Item color and decoration method are crucial considerations, even in the design process. Incorporating the product color into the artwork can use negative space effectively, reducing print weight and cost while adding depth to the final piece.
Understanding design for print, embroidery, and physical products takes time, but small adjustments often make a significant impact. Even a slight tweak to an existing design can optimize it for the chosen product, improving the final result.
Bringing It All Together
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to pairing great products with camp branding, but the right choices make all the difference. The best merch isn’t just a keepsake—it’s something campers will actually wear, use, and appreciate long after the summer ends.
Most camps have strong intentions behind their merch but often face limited resources to bring those ideas to life. Whether working with a full design team or starting from scratch, ensuring that artwork is thoughtfully translated onto merchandise is a crucial step. Campers will notice the difference.
Need help refining product and print pairings? Let’s talk.