How to get feedback on your swag

Use this research template to test branded merchandise designs, compare options, and find out what your audience actually wants to wear and use.

This template is for:

Brand

Marketing

Preference testing

Created by:

Lyssna

Overview

Find out which branded merchandise your audience actually wants before you commit to a production run. Use this template to compare swag options side by side – from item types to design details – and understand what makes certain choices more appealing, useful, and on-brand than others.

The problem with choosing swag without feedback

Every quarter, brand and marketing teams spend real budget on branded merchandise – and most of those decisions are made in a conference room, not with the people who'll receive the items.

Internal preferences are a poor proxy for what your audience actually wants. Trends get followed, safe options get ordered, and the result is often a box of t-shirts no one wears and mugs that end up at the back of a drawer. Beyond the wasted budget, poorly chosen swag can quietly work against your brand – an item that feels cheap or irrelevant sends a signal you didn't intend.

The same problem repeats year after year because teams don't have a structured way to test options before placing an order. This template changes that. You can share swag designs and merchandise options with real people before production, so you order with confidence – not guesswork.

Preview this template

This template will help you discover

The most useful swag isn't the flashiest option or the cheapest one – it's whatever your audience will actually use, wear, or keep. This template helps you figure out exactly that before you spend a cent on production:

Which swag designs and item types your audience prefers.
What kinds of merchandise people would genuinely use or wear – not just say they would.
How different design options compare in terms of visual appeal and brand alignment.
What factors are driving preference: design quality, utility, color, or something else.
Whether your merchandise communicates the right message about your brand.

What you'll test

Design preference

Show two or more design options side by side and ask participants which they prefer – and why. Whether you're comparing logo treatments, color options, or entirely different graphic concepts, preference testing gives you a clear read on what resonates visually. You'll see not just which design wins, but the reasoning behind the choice: contrast, clarity, color, feel.

Merchandise appeal

Not all swag is created equal. Some items get used every day; others never make it out of the bag. This template lets you present multiple item types – hoodies, tote bags, mugs, t-shirts, and more – and ask participants to rank or compare them. You'll find out what your audience would actually reach for, not what you assume they'd want.

Brand alignment

Swag is a brand touchpoint. This template includes follow-up questions that surface whether your merchandise is communicating the right things – whether it feels premium or throwaway, aligned with your values or off-brand. That's insight you can act on before the order goes in.

When to use this template

This template is useful any time you need to make a merchandise decision with audience input rather than internal opinion:

Before ordering items for events, conferences, or trade shows.
When selecting new branded merchandise for employees or customers.
When evaluating multiple design options from a vendor or agency.
When refreshing your swag catalog or building one from scratch.
When launching a merch store or planning a giveaway campaign.

How to use this template

Select your merchandise options. Gather the items or designs you want to test. These might be two different hoodie colorways, four candidate swag items for an upcoming event, or a set of logo treatments for a tote bag. The template works best with two to five options – enough to generate a clear preference without overwhelming participants.
Set up your preference tests. The template includes a preference test asking participants to choose their preferred item type, plus a second preference test comparing specific designs. You can customize the options shown to match exactly what you're deciding between.
Add your follow-up questions. Follow-up questions are built in to capture the reasoning behind choices – preferred colors for apparel, what's driving the preference, and whether there are item types not included in your options. These open-text responses often surface the most useful insights.
Choose your participants. Share the test with your own audience – event attendees, employees, or customers – or recruit from Lyssna's research panel. If your swag is going to a specific audience, targeting matters: the template works best when participants reflect the people who'll actually receive the items.
Review your results. You'll see clear preference data across item types and designs, with participant reasoning captured in follow-up responses. Use what you learn to place a more confident order – and to brief your vendor or design team with real audience input.

See an example of the swag feedback results

Example outcomes

Teams who use this template before placing a merchandise order typically come away with:

A clear winner among competing designs, with qualitative reasoning to share with stakeholders.
Confidence that the items they're ordering are ones people will actually use.
Insight into which design elements – color, scale of print, overall style – are driving appeal.
Data to justify budget decisions and push back on internal assumptions.
A stronger brief for vendors or designers when refining options further.

Who this template is for

This template is a good fit for anyone making a merchandise decision and wanting real audience input before committing to a production run:

Brand managers selecting branded merchandise for campaigns, partnerships, or brand programs,
Marketing teams planning event swag, conference giveaways, or promotional merchandise,
Event coordinators choosing what to order for attendees at trade shows, summits, or internal events,
People operations teams selecting merchandise for employee welcome kits or team rewards,
Founders and startup teams building out a branded merch store or running their first merchandise giveaway,