Fall-ing for the Swag Rules
The Swag Rules Framework in Action
This week we introduced our second seasonal logo, an outdoor badge-inspired take on the Nymbus “origami.”
And, to go along with it, a new Fall set that includes:
· Travel Blanket
· Mix-tape (more on that here)
· Field Guide Notebook
· Camp Mug
· Camp Pennant
Here’s the Story
With each set, we try and follow the Swag Rules.
Foster creativity/Develop the right mindset/Start small/Support the story
Fostering creativity
Fostering creativity is something we do well as a company and a team — it’s also a personal commitment. Here’s an example…earlier in the month I was at a meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah (the first time I had been) and decided to stay an extra afternoon to explore*.
What struck me was all the badging on jackets, hats, even dog harnesses and it got me thinking about our journey so far — the heights we’ve reached and also the badges of honor and challenge we’ve picked up along the way.
This was the inspiration for the Fall logo that became real through the skill of Cassie LeBlanc, Sarah Schaper, Matthew Bacon and Alexis Tellez.
And I wouldn’t have had that opportunity for creativity without the support of my boss, my partner and my team.
Develop the right mindset
In my first Swag Rules post, I talk about a mindset of gratitude when it comes to building momentum through swag. Swag isn’t about how you can mobilize a bunch of things to be mailed. I think about swag as showing gratitude. How can I show gratitude to this person or group for what they mean to me and to the company?
In our Fall set, our mindset was to give folks some of their Nymbus favorites rather than indulging our marketer natures to do ALL NEW THINGS ALL THE TIME. So, these items, minus the pennant that we snuck in, are all repeats — including the mix-tape.
Start small
Even though the types of items were repeats (of sorts), we still started small — looking for items with low to no minimums or that can be done on demand.
This keeps the cost and the swag store management effort lower — no one wants to manage inventory, especially your CFO. This is also why we ended up with a shorter list of items even though some of them were SO cool — we have to start (and stay) small when it comes to swag.
And, we dedicate a lot of time to the smallest item of all — the card. We have a tradition of puns thanks to a certain VP of Marketing and a message that hits what we’re experiencing as a company head-on — like you would a greeting card.
Support the story
This connects to the approach on the card — talking about what’s going on in the business instead of a 50K foot generic message. And, it also means recognizing that whatever is going on in the business is happening in an actual world, with seasons and traditions and feelings that supersede things like “strategic planning season” (not a real season) or “budget season” (also not a real season).
Call to Action
Take the best of the real-world season and connect that to how your brand shows up for the next few months…start small!
And for those of you following along (or reading this far), yes, we are totally open to a Swag Swap on our Fall gear…DM me.
