If you’re looking for a fun and creative new way to promote your retail company, you might want to consider adding merchandise into the mix. But what merchandise is best for you to offer? Hats are a great choice to start with. You can use hats to promote your brand, and this form of advertising is accessible to businesses big and small. Moreover, you can get as creative as you want with this merchandise for your business, especially if you want your brand to stand out. Don’t be afraid to get creative and a little wild during your merchandise designing process. With that in mind, here are some unusual hat designs that help promote your retail company. Use these to inspire you and get started.

First—Why Hats?

Hats might seem like a strange choice for merchandise, but they’re actually some of the best options you can choose for promotional purposes. Some customers even prefer hats over other types of merchandise. You can find t-shirts at any clothing store and many of your favorite retail stores too. On the other hand, hats are rarer and harder to find unless you head to your local sporting goods store or hat shop. This also means that consumers will have fewer options to choose from for hats and will gravitate towards wearing your branded headwear more easily. Here are some more benefits of using hats as retail merchandise.

Accessibility

Hats are extremely accessible to both your business and your customers. If you shop smartly by ordering and customizing your branded hats through a wholesaler, you can cut down on your merchandise costs and sell them at lower prices for your customers. This makes hats an easy choice for loyal customers who want to support your brand but might be on a budget.

Free Advertising

For many people, wearing a hat is an essential part of their outfits every day. Lots of people, especially men, wear promotional hats at least once a week. And this number can increase exponentially in the warm, sunny parts of the country or during the hotter seasons in general. All this headgear receives plenty of attention or at least glances each day. Think of how many eyes you could have on your brand’s logo if you started selling promotional hats. Plus, your loyal customers will often be enthusiastic about wearing your logo and spreading the word about your store when asked about it. Hats work like walking billboards but on a much larger scale. You’re getting free visual advertising and word-of-mouth advertising all in one item.

Everybody Loves Merch

Whether it represents your favorite sports team, band, TV show, pop culture reference, or business, branded merchandise is a common sight in a closet. Just about everyone has a least a few items like this. Many people love to show their support for the things they love by representing them with their clothes. There’s only one thing better than branded merchandise, and that’s free branded merchandise. If you can obtain your customized hats for a low price through bulk ordering, consider setting some aside to give as free gifts to your loyal customers. For example, when someone spends a certain amount, you could throw in a free hat. Your customers will feel appreciated, and you’ll get some valuable free advertising out of it, too.

Customizability

Another great advantage of hats is the vast amount of customization options they place at your disposal. Not only can you design a unique logo to put on your hats, but you can also choose the style to match. You can select a color that complements your logo, the type of closure your hats will have (adjustable straps, snaps, hook and loop fasteners, etc.), and more. In fact, you can customize your hats to include just about anything, as you’ll see with these unusual yet effective hat design examples.

Unusually Creative Hat Designs

It only makes sense that unusual hat designs would be effective for marketing—they draw so much attention. Keep reading to discover some of the most creative hats the designers have turned into great marketing examples.

Festive Hats

Skip the holiday sweaters this season—stock your shelves with holiday hats instead. These accessories pack all the fun of the ugly Christmas sweater across the front panels of the hat, complete with argyle patterning and everything else you expect. A holiday hat could be a festive addition to your retail store this year.

LED Light Hats

Your standard baseball cap outfitted with LED lights balances the classics with practicality. If your customers go on a late afternoon hike, they won’t have to worry about bringing a flashlight or a headlamp because they already have one built into their hat. These hats can be a great point of sale for sporting goods and other outdoor-centered retail stores. They could also be great for selling near a concert venue or at a music shop.

Bottle Opener Caps

The description says it all—these are hats tricked out with attached bottle openers in the hard brim potion of the baseball cap. With football season in full swing, these hats are perfect for cracking open a cold one at the stadium or home in front of the TV.

All these unique hats leave room for the most crucial part, which is your brand’s logo. If you go through all the work of specially customizing your hats, you want all the eyes on them to see your logo, too.

These unusual hat designs that help promote your retail company might be a bit strong to start using when initially merchandising your brand. Try customizing some adjustable baseball caps or dad caps to get started and see how your customers like them. Traditional hats can be just as effective at building brand awareness and spreading the word about your business, as well. If you need a source for bulk hats like wholesale vintage hats and more, check out KBETHOS. We carry various hats, from dad hats to snapbacks to bucket hats and more. This way, you can choose the best style for your business.