Issue #6: Scarcity, Surprise, and Stuff. The Underrated Power of Physical Product

We’ve reached peak swipe.  Everything is digitized. Especially loyalty programs.   Points in → points out → discount applied. Consumers are saving, sure. But are they feeling anything? Surprise? Pride? A sense of being seen? Probably not.

“Personalization” was supposed to fix that, yet most of it boils down to smarter discounting. More data. Same emotionless outcome.

Surprisingly, what still works in this digital age? The tangible: physical merchandise.  And not enough brands are using it as part of their consumer strategy. 

Ask yourself these questions:

If you answered “the first” every time, congratulations — you’re still human.

Physical products are harder to execute and scale, but that’s precisely why they matter. As Brett Marz of BAMKO told me, “premium merchandise doesn’t have to replace traditional rewards  but it can absolutely complement them.”

For more advice on this subject (and for what items should be banned forever), check out my interview with Brett Marz, co-founder of BAMKO, one of the world’s leading merchandise producers who have worked with just about every major brand.  

And do you have other examples of brands standing out with product that drives loyalty? Share them in the comments.

BAMKO is now a publicly traded global company and ranks in the top 10 in the world out of 23,000 companies in the merchandise and promotional item space.  What started 25 years back in a dorm room is now a company working with over 4,400 brands around the world.  They have been lucky enough to support some of the most incredible brands over the years in retail (Walmart, Costco, Bloomingdales, Nike), CPG (Nestle, Mars), Restaurants (Dunkin, Taco Bell, McDonalds), Travel (Marriott, AA, Royal Carribean), and more (PayPal, Uber, Tesla) just to name a few. Check them out at Bamko.net.

#1 SMP: Most brands are all about digital engagement and digital benefits. Why do you think tangible products still have an emotional pull for consumers?

Brett: Digital engagement is powerful, but it’s also fleeting — a scroll, a swipe, a view. People continue to unsubscribe and block digital engagements at incredibly high rates.  Tangible products, on the other hand, create real emotional impact because they exist in the physical world where people live, work, and connect. They engage all the senses, turning a brand message into something you can feel and remember.  We all have some special physical item that we are attached to.  Sadly, for most it’s the phone. 

We believe branded merchandise isn’t just a giveaway — it’s a moment of truth between a brand and its audience. When someone wears, uses, or displays a product, it transforms from marketing material into a personal connection. That’s why tangible products still matter: they give brands staying power in an increasingly digital landscape by making emotion visible, memorable, and lasting. 

#2 SMP: What separates merchandise that drives real emotional loyalty from the kind that ends up in the junk drawer (beyond the obvious, which is quality)?

Brett: We always talk about the suitcase test.  Does it actually pass the test of something you will want to take home from a trip or event.  If the answer is yes, it’s the start in the right direction.  The challenge is people want less stuff, but they want stuff that is meaningful and useful in their lives.  Brands for decades have believed that giving the same product/gift to everyone is the route you should take.  When in reality, that is a recipe for disaster.  If I took a room of 10 people shopping, not one person would walk into the same store and buy the same thing.  We are different and brands have to remember that.  So, the emotional connection/loyalty comes from putting real thought into these items and giving your audience a choice of what they want.  So many brands are continuing to use choice, so why don’t brands understand its equally important in gifting.

#3 SMP: Do you think premium branded merchandise can replace traditional loyalty rewards or should it complement them?  One of the most challenging aspects of merchandise is scaling.

Brett: I don’t think it can replace traditional awards, but it definitely can compliment them.  If someone is a loyal member of Starbucks, the idea of only getting Starbucks branded merchandise would be a miss.  Some people live for their free coffee, free muffin, etc.  However, there are plenty of people that would prefer something that lasts, something of quality that they can use everyday that won’t be consumed in an hour or minutes.  With Sephora, many people want to use their points in different ways, same with airlines and hotel miles/points.   So many brands are giving you options for how you can use your “points” and that’s the key to success here.  You have to let people choose what they want.  Depending on the time of year, depending on their mood, it’s going to change.  While it’s challenging to scale merchandise, it’s still incredibly powerful.  Someone getting a free coffee isn’t going to market that to anyone but themselves.  Someone that gets a nice branded coffee mug just became your walking billboard for the next year of their life.  That’s a huge difference to a brand. 

#4 SMP: Can you share examples of brands that nailed it —where a product giveaway or custom item truly deepened customer love or advocacy?

Brett: I actually think Peloton did the most incredible job of creating loyal customers.  While that brand has been through hell and back it’s still one I continue to respect and love.  Peloton used to give you a t-shirt for free when you hit 100 rides. When people didn’t get their t-shirt, they lost their mind.  When they didn’t get the right size or if that shirt had any type of defect, it was a big deal.  And when they turned the free t-shirt program off it was nearly the end of the world.  I think taking away people’s toilet paper would have been a better move.  But Peloton didn’t stop at that free shirt.  They would send flowers to members, gifts to members when they had issues, posted tough times in their personal lives…it was endless and a lot of that still is continuing at the brand.  We called it the recovery program and it’s still alive today.  All physical gifts with hand written cards and notes from the brand to its members. 

#5 SMP: Is scarcity where it’s at with merchandise?   How should a brand approach quality vs. quantity in distribution? 

Brett: I would argue that branded gifts needs to be thoughtful and tasteful and often doesn’t need to even be on the gift at all.    Delta gave away some amazing shoes this year for their 360 members.  Once in a lifetime, nobody got those unless they were a 360 member, and they didn’t make enough for everyone.  There is something special about running out of a product.  When we ran the website with the DunKings outfits during the Superbowl ad with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, those sold out.  There were not enough for everyone that came to the website, and within hours, you could find them on E-bay for 2-10X what people were buying them for.  When we did a Disney princess mirror with Sephora/Kendo back in the day we made a very limited amount and they sold out in minutes and people went crazy looking for them.  But at the end of the day we need quality, we don’t need more stuff.  We need things that are thoughtful and useful

SMP Bonus Question: Fun one… If you had to ban one overused merchandise item from existence forever, what would it be? 

Brett: Pens and notebooks…They are everywhere you go at every trade show, at every conference and they are overused.  While they may be nice and thoughtful at times, they are completely overused.  I am not sure if I would ban them forever but I would give them a break for a year or so.  That is unless you are doing a notebook that is beyond thoughtful and unique.  I got a bucket list notebook recently and that was amazing.  Not just your ordinary notebook, but one that you actually work on your bucket list for.