When I was young, my father only bought Ford cars and trucks. So it was that as kids, my brother and I wrote to Ford Motor Co. on one or two occasions.
Ford probably responded with brochures about the new models but definitely included a sticker of the company’s iconic oval logo with Ford written in script.
What kid doesn’t like a sticker? Come to think of it, what right-thinking adult doesn’t like a sticker, either?
If adults can have coloring books, then they also should have stickers. And many hip and cool companies today are using stickers to provide a little extra value to customers while promoting their brands at a very low cost.
The felt pennants I had custom made by Oxford Pennant came with a sticker. I asked Oxford co-founder David Horesh about it.
“I remember getting stickers with shipments from bands (t-shirts, hats) when I was a kid,” he wrote in an email. “In a lot of cases, it was my favorite part of the order. Including stickers with our orders pays homage to that and it allows us to work with various designers to further express our brand. I like cycling designs in-and-out. Keeps things fresh.”
Speaking of Homage, the T-shirt company by that name includes a sticker with its orders and, in my experience, a pack of baseball cards.
The snowman-themed silk tie I bought from Vineyard Vines came at a great post-Christmas price — and with a cool whale sticker.
Backcountry, an online retailer of outdoor apparel and technical gear, devotes a section of its website to giving away stickers with its goat logo: “Helmet, bumper, you name it. Put a goat on it.”
Madison Heights, Mich.-based Moosejaw Mountaineering describes itself as “The Most Fun Outdoor Retailer on the Planet according to our moms.” I think that’s an understatement; I would argue that it’s the most fun retailer, period.
Consider that when you open an online chat with Moosejaw, up pops a photo of a curly-haired kid in a striped turtleneck circa 1973. “Chat with the smartest person at Moosejaw,” it says next to his photo.
I chatted with Chanda. I didn’t tell her I was writing a blog post about stickers so as not to influence how she interacted with me. I asked her whether Moosejaw always sends stickers with orders, which has been my experience as a customer.
“Yes, I believe they come with each order,” she said. “You can also request that we send you some for free.”
“Do you get requests just for stickers?” I asked
“All the time! :)” she wrote.
Followed by:
“Did you want us to send you some?”
