Hi merch mamas,

DRIP DROP is growing fast, which has us thinking about merch with fast turnarounds. Whether you’ve signed up to a conference last minute, or you want to capitalise on a sudden opportunity, there’s always a “we need merch, now” scenario just around the corner.

While we always advocate for thoughtful merch that’s planned in advance, shit happens. Two under-considered categories of merch is digital and printed merch. You still need design time, but production is much faster.

Personality quizzes are easier than ever to make with vibe coding or tools like OOOPEN Lab, and a shareable, socials-friendly asset at the end can get you all the same good will and content of a physical product.

For a physical activation, Netflix hosted a “which show should you watch next” quiz which then gave participants a printed card at the end to keep.

More ideas for you:

Kayla note: my intro to OOOPEN Lab was their cake resume quiz, very cute and shows you which personalities you’re most compatible with as work friends, which makes you want to get your friends and colleagues to do it too!

Is art “art” if it’s got a logo on it? CJ Hendry, the photo-realistic artist turned brand with huge fanbase, hosted the first Flower Market event in Sydney (it’s run a few times in NYC) in partnership with Pandora. I lined up for it on day one (of three) from 9:30am, got in at 11:30, and the exclusive items had sold out in the first 30 minutes of it being open. What I wasn’t expecting was the level of branded merch on offer.

In line we were given canned water (pictured, top right), and there was free flower-shaped fairy bread you could grab whenever you want. On entry you were given a clear plastic tote bag (bottom right) to use as your shopping basket which you could also choose to buy for $10, and then there were the actual main star of the show, the flowers.

First flower free and each additional flower was $5, there were scalpers with empty suitcases lined up just absolutely clearing the place out. What I didn’t know until the next day was there was a bunch of additional merch available for sale that you had to ask for at the cash register!

CJ doesn’t come without controversy, but definitely has a die-hard fanbase who showed up in force, toting multiple Jujus, shirts from previous events, and proudly walking around with HUGE bouquets.

The little touches on this event are super nice, especially the custom (free) bag you got if you didn’t buy the plastic tote (pictured on the left.) Think about how you can go extra on cups, coasters, or bags - just not a basic tote for the love of god.

First of all, I noticed a few typos and repeated/missed phrasing in my piece last week on NZ companies with sick merch. My apologies, I’ve had a bad back/nerve ailment and writing from an unnatural position, so some bad grammar entered the fray! Flawed, but not slop at the very least 😎

This week, I decided to have a bit of a deeper dive: taking a lil’ look at a few fav companies - drip-wise - then run an honest assessment of their current merch game, and advocate for doing better if not up to scratch!

Be Afraid, or Be A Good Drip™

Spotlighting:

Rating: 24/24

A24 have gone hard for a very long time now on the merch for their respective releases, and aren’t afraid to mix it up when creating new types of merch for collectors. How does this relate to companies creating merch for customers/partners etc? Think more elaborate than t-shirt, tote, cap, keyring etc.

(L-R)

No notes on A24 to take on, they have great taste. For any Aus brands taking inspo, go do something fun with Pana organic chocolate. Quality, and sure to be remembered as a gift.

Rating: bee minus

C’mon beehiiv. I think there is a big opportunity here for more people to rep the brand…if the merch was better / more options. So many writers growing on the platform - this is even documented on your State of Newsletters in 2026 Report - and I would dare say a decent majority would cop and would wear good garb, without it needing to be via a giveaway. Bit more design focus, this feels a tad underloved and quickly whipped up.

(L-R)

The exact opposite of writing newsletters? Getting outside and getting some exercise! I like the “Be The Ball” phrase from Caddyshack, so how about riffing on that?

Make a basketball (bee-ball) via a preferred quality manufacturer, print email logo patterns and beehiiv logo on it, and the phrasing “Bee The Mail.” Simple and subtle, and plenty of people would keep this in their home office for their Zoom background. It’s good. (Here’s a quickly-whipped-up prototype for ya):

Rating: 9 trees out of 10

I like Unyoked’s merch game. It’s consistent in colour palette, and I really enjoy they have some branded collabs with Stanley. Quality goods, and what I also like about it is that in my mind, Unyoked is both a brand that would be easy to purchase for myself and easy to gift to someone also: both can be true. Awesome move making the cassette available for purchase too.

(L-R)

Instead of insinuating that Unyoked create more products, Im making a recommendation that if you’re in partnerships or a high volume of sales where a $500-$1000 gifted experience is a negligible cost to you (or might guarantee higher length of customer retention) then gift an Unyoked getaway rather than some bottle of booze which gets stashed and eventually ‘rented.’

Promotes a healthy getaway and some time out of the grind (non-paid shout-out for Unyoked there, I just like them)

Rating: 2000/2010

Every startup nerd in Sydneys’ favourite cafe does great merch. Not overdone by any degree - and there could definitely be more on offer online - but a staple of a much loved cafe is that they have much-loved merch also for purchase. So if people will happily rep their cafe, why wouldn’t they rep a brand they enjoy also?

Well, in the startup sense, that can be attributable to low efforts on design appreciation, especially for merchandise output. So, try a bit harder… Look at the Reuben Sandwich t-shirt for christs sake. LOOK AT IT.

(L-R)

There would be a mountain of startup related stories involving Reuben Hills. How many deals or investments have transpired over a cuppa joe near that back roller door? So, go do a collab with them! Create some branded coffee sachets, use them as personalised gifts for partners/customers/team, and go rep your hood if Surry Hills is where HQ is.

For example, I put together a prototype: “Find Your Neighbour”  - The Surry Hills Tech Blend collab with Reuben Hills.

No less than 12 technology focused companies based in Surry Hills are in this word finder (some are VCs).

Which company will own the collab idea?

I. Don’t. Know.

I’m not your dedicated brand person, you figure it out!

Check out the DRIP DROP Sublime for more merch inspo