Contact

How to Pitch Merch: Convince Your Team (or Your Client) That Branded Gear Works

Jun 4, 2025

Educational

Introduction

Know Your Audience: What Matters to Them?

Your merch pitch needs to do more than showcase cool products and ideas, it needs to align with goals. Here's how to tailor your approach depending on who’s in the room:

The CFO wants efficiency, ROI, and cost-per-impact. Show them how branded merch outlasts digital ads, keeps delivering impressions, and can be measured.
The CMO focuses on brand visibility, reach, and engagement. Emphasize how promo products drive impressions, boost brand awareness, and can be part of a larger campaign story.
The HR Director cares about employee experience, culture, and retention. Show merch as a way to welcome new hires, celebrate wins, and reinforce team identity.
The Client wants to look smart and put together. Help them see how the right merch can make their campaign memorable and make them look like a genius to their boss.

Lead With Results: What the Data Says

Sometimes stats say it best:

Promotional products generate high impressions per item.
Recipients keep branded items for an average of 8+ months.
31% of people say they’re more likely to do business with a brand after receiving a promotional product (PPAI).

Compare that to digital ad CPMs, where the average cost for 1,000 impressions is often $5–$15. Branded merch has staying power and drives results beyond the click.

Tell the Story: How to Share Real-Life Merch Wins

Your pitch gets stronger when it’s not just hypothetical. Sharing real success stories will make the value of merch feel tangible. Here’s how to craft an example that hits:

Focus on the “Before and After” - Set up the challenge first (low engagement, forgettable launch, flat team morale), then show the merch solution and the measurable impact it had.
Include Internal Wins Too - Merch isn’t just external. Talk about how custom onboarding kits, holiday drops, or employee gifts can build culture and increase retention.
Keep It Short, Specific, and Outcome-Driven - Good stories don’t have to be long. Stick to key points: What was the problem? What merch was used? What changed as a result?

Don’t have your own case study yet? Borrow credibility from your merch agency, like us at Brand+Aid®, to share anonymized client examples that match the pitch context.

Offer Scalable Options

Not every pitch needs to be expensive. Ease your team/client in with:

A basic uniform program to make your team look put together.
An onboarding kit for new hires or partners.
One hero product that’s smart, useful, and branded perfectly, such as a portable phone charger or a high-quality water bottle.

These simple steps help build momentum and can help convince your team to purchase.

Common Objections, and How to Handle Them

“Merch is expensive. - Compared to what? Branded merch has one of the lowest cost-per-impression rates of any marketing tool.
“People don’t care about branded stuff. - People do care when it’s designed well, useful, and authentic to the brand. It’s not about slapping a logo on junk.
“We don’t have time for this.” - That’s what Brand+Aid® is here for. Partnering with a merchandising agency means we handle the logistics, design, sourcing, and delivery. You get all the credit, without all of the stress.

Finish Strong: Your Merch Pitch Toolkit

Ready to pitch your merch concepts with confidence? We’ve got your back. Check out our services page to learn more about what we can do for you!

Conclusion

Let’s Make Your Pitch Land

Need help building the perfect merch pitch? We’ve helped hundreds of brands sell merch ideas internally and to their clients. Let’s do the same for you.