What agencies are actually asking for from merchandise in 2026

Every year there is a list. Top trends in promotional merchandise, freshly dated, mostly the same as last year's. This is not that.

What follows is what we are actually seeing change in the briefs coming through from agencies and marketing teams right now. Four shifts, all noticeable, all worth understanding before the next brief lands.

Quality expectations have moved

There is more scrutiny on what goes out under a client's name than there used to be. Briefs are arriving with more thought behind them, more attention to how an item sits alongside the wider campaign, and more awareness of how it reflects on the brand.

When something feels considered and well made, it adds to the overall impression of the work. When it does not, that tends to show up quickly too. As a result, the conversations are shifting. There is more focus on who the item is for, what it is meant to say, and how it fits the idea, rather than just getting something produced and out the door.

Co-branded products are doing better in sign-off

One thing coming up regularly in conversations with clients is a preference for products people already recognise. Brands like Moleskine, SIGG, Montblanc, Cross. Items that carry some inherent meaning before a logo goes anywhere near them.

From an agency point of view, this tends to make the client conversation easier. There is less explaining to do, the perceived value is already there, and that usually speeds up sign-off. With budgets under a bit more scrutiny at the moment, anything that helps a client feel confident in the choice is genuinely useful.

The shift from volume to value

The default approach to merchandise used to be volume. How many can we get for this budget? In 2026, the same budget is often being spent on a tenth of the items at ten times the quality.

What has changed is the thinking behind it. Briefs are starting with what the merchandise is actually there to do and who it is for. Mass giveaways still make sense where reach is the goal. But where the aim is to create an impression or land with a specific person, far fewer items are being used in a much more deliberate and targeted way.

The logic is straightforward. Premium items stay on desks, get carried in bags, and do their job for months or years. Cheap items spend a week in a drawer.

Personalised send-outs are becoming part of the brief

There is a steady increase in briefs focused on reaching specific individuals rather than sending something out at scale. Items are going directly to named people, with contents shaped around what is known about them.

This tends to sit within a wider account-based approach where timing and relevance matter as much as the item itself. When it is done well, it gets noticed differently because it feels intentional. More recently we are seeing this integrated into CRM and marketing workflows, so the send-out is triggered at a particular point in the campaign and can be tracked alongside everything else.

It is a different way of thinking about merchandise. But it is coming through more and more.