Branded Merch for Travel Agencies: What Works (& What Doesn’t)

As an independent travel advisor, having your own brand is an exciting part of the job – and it can be tempting to slap your business name and logo on anything and everything. Seasoned advisors have many different approaches to branded merchandise, though; some love it to promote their services far and wide, while others would prefer to use their funds for more personalized client gifts. 

Either way, there are methods of tastefully making branded merchandise work for your business, so we spoke with three travel advisors about their own strategies. Ultimately, it can be an important marketing tool for spreading key messages about your business and connecting people to your brand. 

“Branded items is a passive way of marketing; you’re not walking up to people,” Mary Morong, owner of Adventure Begins – Travel by Mary in Texas, told Travel Market Report. “For more introverted people, it’s easy to wear something. It makes it a little easier and gives you a little more confidence.” 

Here’s what else advisors had to say about the benefits and drawbacks – and do’s and don’ts – of branded merchandise for travel agencies. 

Give Your Brand a Distinct Logo 

If you’re going to have branded merchandise, you should first and foremost make sure your logo is distinct and recognizable. The people who own these items should be reminded of your services when they see them. So just remember, it can take time to create powerful imagery that will evoke memories of the beautiful vacation you planned for them. 

At the same time, try to keep it simple. Morong’s logo is a compass rose with the silhouette of Texas in the middle – and, importantly, her business name in bold letters. This immediately represents travel while telling the larger story of her business. Morong’s grandmothers were avid travelers, and her father was a pilot, so travel was in her blood. When she herself began traveling, her father gave her a compass rose. 

“Whenever [my dad] told me where in the world my grandmothers were, he would draw it, so I knew which direction was north,” Morong said. “When I started the business, he said, ‘Are you going to take everyone to everywhere on the compass? As long as you know where north is, it’s all good.'” 

That helped spark the idea for her compass rose logo, which she designed herself using Canva. Once she had the logo, it was time to get some merchandise printed – and Morong has ordered everything under the sun: T-shirts, beach totes, pens, notebooks, document holders, beer koozies, you name it. 

Before her career as a travel advisor, Morong worked in corporate America, so “I believe in branding,” she said. “As soon as I set up my business, I went and had shirts made. It puts the visual in their head, so when clients see something like that, they know it came from me.” 

Still, she advises new travel agency owners to only buy the things they need first (more on that later). Her biggest hits for merch include canvas bags and first aid kits – all of which she calls “conversation starters.” 

“A lot of my clients are carrying stuff outside of the hotel,” she said. “Some [bags] that I have, you can sling like a loose backpack, and some of them are true beach bags and don’t take up much space in a person’s packed luggage. It’s free advertising.” 

All of this may not work for every business, but if your business does have a great logo, then you have more leeway with what merch will work. 

Know What Is – And Isn’t – Useful to Your Clients 

Many travel advisors want to narrow down the kinds of merch they buy. Christina Alessi, an advisor in New York, was introduced to branded merch when she joined LBAC Travel in 2016. As a storefront, the travel agency buys in bulk for all its advisors, which helps cut costs. It also helps the agents learn quicker what works and what doesn’t.  

For Alessi, she has specific items that she will give to specific clients. For example, clients who visit theme parks get lanyards, which they use to hold their tickets, so they do not need to pull out their Express Pass at every attraction.  

“Lanyards go to Universal guests and cruise clients to put their set sail cards in. Reusable straws, I give to all-inclusive and Caribbean resort guests,” Alessi told TMR. “During Covid, guests loved the hand sanitizers. I know my clients have commented on the reusable straws, too, that they loved them.” 

Currently, Alessi only buys lanyards and reusable straws because it’s what she gives most consistently to clients. In the past, she’s also bought stringed backpacks, face masks, and document holders to give to clients. She’s also gotten creative with the types of merchandise she uses as post-trip gifts. 

“Pizza cutters are great in case you are out of ideas for a client gift,” she said. “You can mail them a pizza cutter and a $25 gift card to use at their local pizzeria when they return home from their trip – no cooking when they return home.”  

It all comes down to time and place, and what does and doesn’t work can depend on your niche and the client you’re selling to. Monika Sundem, CEO of Adventure Life, can vouch for this: her company has branded cold weather gear, including parkas and gloves, that clients can buy especially from a webstore for their expedition trips. 

In addition, Adventure Life sends branded swag, such as packing cubes, luggage tags, water bottles, and backpacks, when clients book with them. These are meant as a “thank you” because they are useful to clients, and sometimes, they help for marketing purposes, but not always. 

“It gets the conversation going for word-of-mouth referrals,” she told Travel Market Report. “We give people luggage tags, and they’ll run into another Adventure Lifer, not even on a trip, and it builds a connection point, as well.” 

Though clients love branded luggage cubes, items like this are not as visible to others. Even with ones that are, the goal isn’t always referrals, but simple brand recognition – and for your clients to feel a connection to your brand when they show off the name or logo.  

So, always think about the purpose of merchandise before buying it. Is it to make your client feel appreciated? Is it to make their life easier? Is it more for marketing? And go from there. 

Growing environmental concerns should also be taken into consideration when dealing with merchandise. This means knowing your audience and what your clients will be open to receiving. Things like stickers may easily be thrown in the trash, but a pin can be worn on a purse.

“In recent years, we occasionally get some travelers who don’t want us to send them anything because it’s wasteful, and it’s gotten us to reexamine automatically sending a thank you gift,” Sundem said. “It got us thinking maybe we should ask first in order to be more responsible, less wasteful, and save postage costs.” 

Find a Helpful Supplier That’s Fit for You 

For something as specific as waterproof expedition gear, but really for any kind of branded merch, a trusting relationship with a supplier goes a long way. 

“It took some trial and error,” Sundem said, noting that now, the company has been with the same supplier for 15 years to provide the highest quality gear. “It took three different vendors before we found one that’s really great for us.” 

So that’s advisors’ final piece of advice for those buying their first branded merchandise: Start small and go slow. This way, you will learn which suppliers you really want to work with for the long haul.   

“Don’t go on a shopping spree right away,” Morong said, adding that there are many large companies out there with good bulk prices, but quality matters, too. In fact, with a local business, more people in the community might get eyes on your logo and be curious about your services.  

The first time Morong went in person to a printer, she struck up a conversation with someone who saw her merchandise and “I got a client in between ordering and going to pick up my stuff,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt to do the small business route.”