History of Branded Merchandise

Branded Merchandise has its roots in the founding of America with one of the first known examples being a Commemorative Campaign Button used by George Washington all the way back in 1789.

Just over a century later, in 1890, an industrious newspaperman would try his hand at Branded Merchandise by printing a shoe store ad on burlap sacks he gave to local children to use as book bags. The shoe store's sales exploded and Branded Merchandise as an Advertising Platform took off.

In 1907 this fledgling industry was first revolutionized by the invention of Screen Printing - a production technique that would dominate for over a century.

By the 1970s a second revolution was underway with inexpensive garments, embroidery machines and the proliferation of plastics driving the change and making Branded Merchandise a staple of big business.

Unfortunately, the costs associated with Branded Merchandise Production made the endeavor risky for any organization that didn't have a built-in marketing budget.

In the 2010s a third revolution was forming. Advances in digital printing technology and a re-thinking of production lines drove a new option in the world of Branded Merchandise.

This new revolution is called Print-On-Demand, and the Print-On-Demand Revolution (POD-R) is one that changes the game for small, non-profit, and underfunded organizations because there's...

• NO Up-Front Costs
• NO Merchandise to Manage
• NO Risks - High Rewards

POD-R functions as a bridge between POD Manufacturers and the Organization offering a Framework, Curated Product Catalog with Items from Multiple Vendors, Custom Graphic Design work for those Items, and Management of an Online Store.