January always feels deceptively calm. Diaries aren’t rammed, inboxes are manageable (ish), and there’s a rare bit of headspace to think properly.
For smart marketers, this is exactly when 2026 event merchandise planning should begin.
Not because you need to place orders today, but because the thinking needs to happen now.
When event season kicks in, the difference between “that’ll do” merch and branded merchandise for events that actually works is almost always decided months earlier.
Why early merch planning changes everything
When merchandise is planned early, it stops being a last-minute giveaway and starts becoming part of your wider marketing strategy.
Marketers who plan ahead can:
- Align event giveaways UK with campaign goals, not just budgets
- Choose better products (and better suppliers) instead of what’s in stock
- Design once and reuse confidently across multiple events
- Avoid rush costs, compromises, and panic decisions
- Build consistency across exhibitions, conferences, onboarding, and internal moments
Most importantly, it becomes intentional, not reactive.
“We planned almost a whole year in one morning”
One of our clients at ARC, Rebecca, summed this up perfectly after a planning session in our Cheltenham showroom.
She explained how spending focused time together allowed them to plan nearly a full year of activity simply by seeing and handling products in real life, touching, feeling, comparing, and challenging ideas on the spot.
What stood out most wasn’t just the range of ideas they uncovered, but the confidence it gave them going forward:
- Products were chosen and designed in advance
- Options were ready for both planned and last-minute events
- Ordering became an admin task, not a creative scramble
Her point was simple but powerful: once the thinking is done early, everything else becomes easier, timing, budgeting, and execution included.
Watch her full video here!
The calm window most marketers miss
Right now is the calm window.
Later in the year, planning often looks like:
- “We’ve got an event in three weeks… what can we get quickly?”
- “Let’s just reorder what we did last time.”
- “We’ll think about sustainability later.”
Early planning looks very different:
- “What do we want people to remember us for in 2026?”
- “Which products reflect our values and brand properly?”
- “What can we reuse across multiple touchpoints?”
This is where exhibition merchandise ideas go from generic to genuinely useful.
The 2026 guide to sustainable merch (without greenwash)
Sustainability is still high on the agenda in 2026, but the questions are sharper, and audiences are more sceptical.
When planning sustainable event merchandise early, here’s what to ask:
- What is the product actually made from and where?
- Is it designed to be kept, reused, or refilled?
- Does it replace something people already use?
- Can we justify it beyond “it’s recycled”?
And what to avoid:
- Products that shout sustainability but feel disposable
- Over-claiming with vague eco language
- Choosing materials without considering durability or usefulness
Planning early gives you time to choose products that stand up to scrutiny, not just tick a box.
From one-off giveaways to a reusable merch wardrobe
One of the smartest shifts we see is brands moving away from single-use event items and towards a merch wardrobe.
That means:
- A core range of branded merchandise for events
- Designed once, approved once
- Rolled out across exhibitions, team moments, onboarding, and campaigns
When an opportunity pops up, the groundwork is already done. No redesigns. No rethinking. Just smart deployment.
Showroom thinking vs screen thinking
There’s a reason we don’t list everything on our website.
Merchandise is tactile. Weight, texture, quality, and finish matter, especially when it represents your brand in real life.
Whether you visit us in person (with coffee and lunch involved) or book a virtual session, planning works best when:
- You can see options side-by-side
- Challenge ideas in real time
- Discover products you wouldn’t have searched for
It’s not about browsing products, it’s about shaping a plan.
If events are on your 2026 radar…
…this is the moment to act before diaries fill up and everything becomes a scramble.
If you want:
- Event merchandise planning that actually supports your strategy
- Branded merchandise for events that feels intentional and on-brand
- Event giveaways UK audiences will keep, not ditch
Now’s the calm window to plan.
Book a chat, pop into the showroom, or jump on Teams, whatever works best for you.
👉 https://bit.ly/ChaniBookingPage
Let’s make 2026 your most organised (and least stressful) merch year yet.
