Swag Rules: What does swag stand for?
Swag stands for “stuff we all get.”
I didn’t know what swag actually stood for until this week 🫢.
This is a little counter to the Swag Rules philosophy…Swag isn’t a thing, it’s a strategy.
I think swag is more like SWAW, stuff we all want.
That goes for the physical “stuff” we get but also the brand benefits we all want like awareness, resonance and growth.
The brand benefits are why making the business case for swag is critical.
Here are some ways to make that case:
· 85% of people who receive a promotional product can recall the advertiser’s name.
· 63% of people keep quality promotional products for more than a year This prolonged exposure to your brand fosters a deeper connection and sense of loyalty, which increases repeat business and referrals.
· 59% of respondents to a survey by Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) had a more favorable opinion of a company after receiving swag.
This last stat is key because we often think of swag as something you give out at an event to prospects or as a “door opener” and those may be use cases that make sense for your company.
BUT.
Swag is powerful for your employer brand and your client base, not just prospects. Great swag builds positive currency which is especially important when times get rough. As one of my colleagues said recently, “I make a choice to bring the Nymbus brand into my home, it’s more than stuff.”
An intentional swag strategy can move people from acquisition to advocacy.
A great example of this is Salesforce.
Besides using swag to fortify its spot as a great place to work, Salesforce has also created a swag narrative with their characters (called mascots) and this strategy personifies (or animalifies?) the Swag Rules:
Swag Rules 1: Alignment — your swag strategy is an extension of your mission, vision and values (not your logo).
The Salesforce mascots have published “traits” that represent the company’s values and ways of working.
Swag Rules 2: Approach — an impactful swag strategy means taking a relationship approach (think holiday gifting for your close family) instead of company-first.
By creating personalities for the mascots and having them represent different areas of the business (like marketing, engineering and partnerships), Salesforce employees can see (and celebrate) themselves through swag.
Meet Astro, the Tanuki
Astro has been the most popular Salesforce mascot to date. He/She’s YOUR GUIDE to Salesforce. He/She represents that Salesforce persona who helps others to learn Salesforce.
He/she’s featured in pretty much every presentation by Salesforce today.
He’s been dressed up in just about every costume imaginable: as an astronaut, a scientist, a doctor, and so on. Every year or so, he gets a new Halloween costume.
Swag Rules 3: Consistency — if you ideate about content weekly, ideate about swag weekly. The point is that swag deserves as much time, care and cadence as anything else you do.
Salesforce shines here — the mascots are everywhere, on the stage at their big conferences, as stuffed animals, on t-shirts, in the product. This consistency makes the mascot strategy more than a give-a-way; they literally and figuratively stick around and build on each other, creating a positive version of FOMO.
Call-to-Action
Here are three things to try as you build the case for a swag strategy:
- Use data. Don’t just send pictures of what you want to order. Build the case every single chance you can.
- Connect-the-dots. Swag doesn’t have to be one-off sends, make a program.
- Be consistent. Swag is a strategy so it should be part of your business plans and updates.
Outro
And now for a swag joke:
What did the custom sticker say when it was given away as swag?
“Stick with me, and we’ll go places!”
