How To Get Your Marketing Campaign To Go Viral Using Swag

Ever scroll through your Instagram feed and watch a bunch of unboxing videos? We’ve all been there and we all wonder “how can I do that for my brand?” Yes, it helps to be a celebrity, but there are plenty of non-celebrities using swag to help their brand go viral. You might also think that they have crazy budgets and an amazing design team to make this all happen. All of which can be true, but there are also tricks to making this happen. We will break down how to get started, along with some swag ideas that just have to be shared online, hence going viral! 

How to Get Started

What Is Your Viral Swag Campaign About? 

As with any good project, you have to start with your why. Why are you wanting to create a viral swag campaign? Is it to promote the rebrand, the launch of a new product, or to hit a certain milestone? This part is important because you don’t want to waste this campaign if you have nothing to really promote. I mean think about it — you spend all this time and money to get your swag shared with no message attached to it — it’s going to fall flat. You are also missing out on the opportunity to get your message out there. The idea of doing viral swag is to leverage others’ audiences to promote your brand. Make sure you have something meaningful to promote so that your brand can get the maximum benefit! 

Create Your Hit List 

Who you send your swag to is just as important as the swag you get. In order for your swag to go viral, it means sending to people with large audiences. Your list can be composed of clients, employees, and influencers you know will get the swag posted everywhere and reshared! It doesn’t even have to be people you personally know. Trust us, just message people on Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn that you have a special gift you want to send them and see how fast they send you their address. People will never say no to receiving some nice swag! 

Partner With Another Company 

Another way to help make your swag marketing campaign go viral is to partner with other companies. This not only helps keep the cost low, but you have dual efforts from both sides to really amplify your brand. It’s a great trick to leverage audiences. This works especially well if you both share or target the same type of audience, or if you are trying to break into an audience in which you are not very well known. Take advantage and partner up!  

Swag Has to Be Impressive 

If you're going to send swag, make it nice! This is your moment to have your brand shine. The worst thing you can do is send swag that is cheap, poorly designed, and unmemorable. If you are going to make the investment, make it big. Make sure your swag hits the following sweet spots: 

Nice Design 

 This part is the top priority. You can have something really simple like a hat but if that hat says something cool or has a fun design, you won’t believe how many people will go nuts just to have it. Design matters! Make sure it’s catchy and someone will wear it without knowing much about your brand. 

High Quality 

The items you send out are a reflection of your brand. If it’s noticeably cheap or looks like it’s going to break, it’s probably not the best swag item to select. Stick to high-quality items to really set your swag apart. 

Premium Item 

 People love a good brand-name swag item. If you really want to make an impression, the swag brands you send matter. It’s just human nature. I’m sure you can find a nice t-shirt anywhere, but a nice t-shirt from favorite brands like Cuts or LuluLemon… now you have a different reaction. Sprinkling some brand names in your swag campaign doesn’t hurt. 

💡Check out some of the top swag on the internet 

Unique Swag 

If you’re not going the premium route, at least make the swag interesting. If you want to stand out, sending something out of the ordinary is definitely a good way to do this! Think about what your campaign is about and try to find something that complements it. 

Viral Swag Campaign Examples

Party Round & Shrug Capital Company Launch 

The Launch of Party Round they sent to influencers on twitter, founders and investors a one of a kind custom monopoly kit! 

💡 Check out Party Round & Shrug Capital in our Best Swag of The Internet 

OuterIsle New Product Launch 

OuterIsle celebrated National Pizza Day with their top customers for the launch of their new gluten-free pizza crust! 

Like what you see? Our SwagUp Team worked on this launch! Learn more about it here!

Public Customer Rewards 

You may have seen Public’s “Invest” swag hat around social media, well you have to earn that hat! We must say this campaign has created a sense of fomo for anyone without that custom hat! 

Ready to create your own viral swag marketing campaign? 

Speak with our Swag Expert to get started! 🚀

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