How to Build Artist Merch That Feels Like a Brand

The product must connect to the audience’s understanding of the artist: aesthetic, language, release context and cultural position.

This requires more than graphics. Product category, fit, material, photography, website and campaign presentation all communicate whether the drop is credible.

The ecommerce experience should continue the same world rather than switching into a generic store template.

Last year the ‘OPT’ platform transformed into the #OPTToAct campaign, a call for REI’s customers and followers to join them on Black Friday 2020 for a “Nationwide day of action” that would kick off a year of change. The campaign is both empathetic and guilt-inducing in its messaging, recognising how easy it has been for us to create the waste, while acknowledging that behaviour change is hard. But neither is it impossible, and it’s never too late to begin making a change.
For the Leave no Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, the campaign has became part of their own toolkit and ethos as theyjoined community cleanups across the country and did their bit to leave the world better than when they found it. 

Celvoir manages these elements together so the merchandise can build long-term brand value as well as immediate sales.