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Insights & Guides

Strategies, trends, and practical guides for promotional product distributors and decorators.

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PPAI Is Embracing “Branded Merchandise”

2026-07-30 · By Maarten Boone

PPAI is moving the industry's language from 'promotional products' to 'branded merchandise,' and a 15,000-member Facebook group has already renamed itself to match. Here's what's changing — and why the word fits.

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2026-07-16

Branded Merch vs. Promotional Products: Why the Words You Use Decide Who Finds You

Buyers search for 'branded merch.' The industry sells 'promotional products.' That gap in language is quietly deciding who gets found — here's how to speak the buyer's term without losing the trade's.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-07-15

Business Cards, On Demand: Adding Personalized Print to Your Merch Stores

Business card programs have always been a separate, manual exercise. Now you can add personalized, on-demand business cards to the same store your clients already use for apparel and hard goods.

By Brikl TeamRead →

2026-07-14

How Creators and Influencers Earn From a Branded Merch Store

Your audience already wants to represent you. A branded merch store turns that into revenue — with no inventory, your own margin on every sale, and coupons to launch the drop.

By Joe EdmundsRead →

2026-07-11

Flat vs. Percentage: How to Run a Merch Fundraiser That Scales

A merch fundraiser can raise a set dollar amount per item — or a percentage of the price that scales with every sale. Here's when to use each, and how to run a drive that funds itself on demand.

By Joe EdmundsRead →

2026-07-09

One Store Per Department: Running Multi-Team Merch With Sub-Organizations

Big organizations don't need one giant merch store — they need many small ones that stay on brand. Sub-organizations give every department its own store while central admins keep control.

By Luana DesouzaRead →

2026-07-08

Coupons That Actually Move Merch

A coupon code is more than a discount — it's a reason to buy now. Here's how to use percentage and fixed-amount coupons to launch drops, reward audiences, and clear seasonal merch.

By Brikl TeamRead →

2026-06-02

Printful Enterprise's Full Catalog Is Now Live in the Brikl Marketplace

Brikl launches its Printful Enterprise integration — 1,000+ on-demand products across apparel, drinkware, home goods, pet products, stationery, and more, now available directly inside every Brikl-powered distributor store.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-05-31

The Case for a Permanent Employee Swag Store (Instead of Quarterly Bulk Orders)

Most companies run branded swag through a combination of bulk orders, agency drops, and ad-hoc requests. A permanent branded store changes all of that — here's how corporate teams are using Brikl.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-05-31

Gym Apparel Without the Inventory Risk: How Fitness Studios Are Running On-Demand Merch

Most gyms carry boxes of unsold shirts in the back room. Here's how fitness studios are switching to on-demand branded stores where members order what they want, when they want it.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-05-31

How Nonprofits Launch a Branded Merch Store Without the Overhead

Most nonprofits run merch campaigns that open, close, and disappear. Here's how to run an always-on branded store that funds your mission without touching inventory.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-05-31

Running a Club or Team Store Without Bulk Orders or Box Logistics

Sports clubs have been running kit orders through spreadsheets and bulk orders for years. Here's how clubs are switching to on-demand stores where every player orders their own size.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-05-29

Running Spirit Wear, Athletics, and PTA Stores on One Platform

Most schools manage their spirit wear, athletic uniforms, PTA fundraisers, and faculty stores through a combination of spreadsheets, bulk orders, and separate vendors. There's a better way.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-05-05

Why Personalization Matters for Promotional Product Distributors

Team stores, corporate programs, and school spirit shops all share one need: every item should feel like it belongs to the person wearing it. Without built-in personalization, distributors lose hours to spreadsheets, typos, and re-keyed orders. Here's why personalization belongs inside the product, not in an inbox.

By luana-desouzaRead →

2026-04-28

What's New in the Brikl Marketplace: January → April 2026

The marketplace grew from 3,799 to 4,677 products between January and April 2026 — adding a new fulfillment partner and significant depth across apparel, drinkware, and tech.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-04-28

How to Find Made-in-USA Products in the Brikl Marketplace

From American Apparel jersey tees to Cap America beanies, Bayside hooded sweatshirts to SOCCO crew socks — the Brikl marketplace carries an explicitly USA-made shelf you can curate for clients who require it.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-04-28

The Fastest Way to Launch On-Demand Stores

From blank page to live, branded storefront in roughly 22 minutes — without inventory, without bulk minimums, and without writing a single line of code.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-04-27

How to Find Sustainable Products in the Brikl Marketplace

From organic cotton to recycled polyester to bamboo and hemp — the Brikl marketplace carries sustainable products across four distinct categories. Here's how to recognise them and build a curated shelf for your clients.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-04-22

Five Things Brikl Replaces for Distributors

Order emails, artwork ping-pong, blank sourcing, invoicing, and sales tax — here's what goes away when you move to Brikl.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-04-22

More Stores Should Mean More Revenue — Not More Work

Most distributors hit a ceiling — not because they run out of clients, but because every new store adds more admin. Here's how to break the linear scaling trap.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-04-13

Hoodies, Business Cards, and Tumblers — in One Store

Print and promo have been separate industries for over a century. Mixed stores — where a client orders apparel, print products, and hard goods from one storefront — are changing that.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-04-13

On-Demand Isn't About Minimums — It's About Eliminating Every Manual Touchpoint

The industry equates on-demand with no minimums. But the real breakthrough is end-to-end automation — and the minimum of 1 is just a byproduct.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-03-22

8 Features Every On-Demand Company Store Must Have in 2026

A checklist of the capabilities that separate real on-demand store platforms from adapted e-commerce tools — based on what promotional product distributors actually need.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-03-20

The Real Cost of Selling Promo: A Margin Breakdown

A transparent breakdown of what it actually costs to sell promotional products on-demand — with real numbers, real fees, and real profit margins.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-03-18

What Is Print on Demand? A Complete Guide for Promotional Product Distributors

Print on demand lets distributors sell custom products without holding inventory. Here's how the model works and why it's reshaping the promo industry.

By Luana DesouzaRead →

2026-03-15

How to Build a Company Store That Employees Actually Use

Most company stores fail because they're treated as catalogs, not experiences. Here are the practices that drive repeat purchases.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-03-10

The Complete Guide to B2B Merchandise Programs in 2026

Everything promotional product distributors need to know about building, managing, and scaling B2B merchandise programs for corporate clients.

By Luana DesouzaRead →

2026-03-05

Screen Printing vs. Embroidery vs. DTG: Choosing the Right Decoration Method

A technical comparison of the six most common decoration methods in promotional products — when to use each and how they affect cost, quality, and turnaround.

By Brikl TeamRead →

2026-02-28

How On-Demand Fulfillment Works in Promotional Products

A step-by-step breakdown of the on-demand fulfillment process — from order placement to delivery — and why it's replacing traditional inventory models.

By Maarten BooneRead →

2026-01-20

PPAI Expo 2026: What We Learned at Booth #3508

Key takeaways from PPAI Expo 2026 in Las Vegas — on-demand adoption is accelerating faster than anyone expected.

By Brikl TeamRead →

2024-04-15

How to Scale One-Off Orders Without the Sourcing Headache

Single-piece orders are where distributors lose money — sourcing, decoration, and shipping costs eat the margin. Here's how an on-demand network changes the unit economics.

By Maarten BooneRead →

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