Somewhere along the way, someone convinced you that branding was about visibility. Bigger logo. Brighter colors. More impressions. So you put your logo on everything. Pens. Mugs. Tote bags. Water bottles. (and God help me: Stress balls.) And you handed them out, confident that every time someone saw your name, they'd think of you. But they didn't. Because the problem was never that your logo was too small. The problem was that the thing carrying your logo had no reason to exist in someone's life. Nobody keeps a stress ball because the logo looks good. They keep it — IF they keep it — because maybe it's the only thing on their desk and it didn't yet make its way to the junk drawer. Nobody remembers a pen because your name is on it. They remember it because it's the one that writes on glossy paper, or fits in their pocket, or has a stylus on the other end when they need it. And it's the right kind of pen. (Not the kind you get 1000 of them for a few cents that might leak and ruin your shirt!) 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙤 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙤 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜. Start with what your client actually needs. - What would they reach for? - What would they keep? - What would they show someone else? The logo goes on last. The usefulness goes first. If you want to figure out what your clients would actually keep on their desk — and how to get it made — that's what we do inside Get Your Merch Made, my free community. Join me.