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Strategy June 07, 2023

3 Fun Merch Trends From Apple’s WWDC Swag Bag

The branded items from the tech giant’s annual developer’s conference, being held this week, have cool cachet in the tech world.

By  Christopher Ruvo

Some of the tech world’s most sought-after event swag of the year has arrived.

Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference 2023 (WWDC) is running this week, and the technology giant has been gifting attendees merch that includes a branded tote bag, drinkware tumbler, enamel pins and a hat.

For many, the merch items are more than just fun collectibles. They carry a cool cachet – they’re a way of showing you attended the annual conference in which Apple showcases new software and technology to developers.

When attendee Paul Hudson posted about the WWDC swag on Twitter, positive comments about the swag poured in. “Very jealous,” wrote one commenter. “Love that mug!” wrote another. “Super jealous of the pins, those look great!” still another commented.

From a promo pro’s perspective, it should be heartening to consider that even at a conference focused on pioneering digital technology, tangible promotional products remain valuable, coveted vehicles for brand enhancement, community-building and saying thanks.

What’s more, there are also some potential trend takeaways to consider. Here are three quick ones.

1. Use conference merch to reinforce and build the brand.

The pins are custom-made in the shape of elements closely associated with and widely recognized as emblems of the Apple brand. They include the Apple logo, the “face holding back tears” emoji, an iPhone 3G, the Finder app icon, the Apple Park spaceship and more. Sure, your clients likely lack the brand recognition of Apple, but it’s worth considering what some of the strongest, most appealing components of a customer’s brand are and then basing products, graphics and messaging for their conference (or other) merch on that. This helps convey the essential story the brand wants to tell target audiences – and can lead to unique, standout swag.

2. Subtle can say a lot.

The WWDC hat is black with the conference logo in tone-on-tone embroidery in a simple font. The tote is black with the logo in oversized yet simply designed white lettering. The drinkware? Yep, also black with the Apple “apple” logo beside “WWDC23” in gray lettering. It all amounts to a coordinated subtle look for this year’s conference swag that, ironically, makes a fairly bold statement through its understatement.

Admittedly, if your client’s brand isn’t about subtlety, then this approach may not work. But there are a lot of businesses that could potentially benefit from a simple, clean approach in their merch branding, be it for trade shows/conference or other initiatives.

3. Include caps among show merch.

“Is that a hat? I would have loved to get hats…” wrote one Twitter user on Paul Hudson’s conference swag post. The commenter was lamenting that he didn’t receive a branded cap when he attended a past WWDC. The poster was not alone in his desire for hip conference headwear.

The category – ball caps in particular – may not rank with tote bags, pens, lanyards and lip balm when it comes to first-thought trade show/conference merch, but perhaps a reconsideration is in order. Especially for trade show organizers, appealing headwear can be an effective brand-booster long after the event itself has ended. After all, attendees are spending time and money to be at the show/conference and are thus likely vested in the industry to which the event pertains. Many could be happy to share that fact in the form of attractive headwear.

Of course, ensure the cap in question suits the audience. An agricultural-related trade show? Consider a structured mid-profile cap with a broad bill that curves slightly. An event focused on equipment and apparel used in the world of “extreme” sports like snowboarding and surfing? Maybe an unstructured five-panel flat bill is the way to go.