Last year I put together an idea for a sticker collection featuring all the National Parks. It may not be going the way I planned, but it’s still early and I have ideas for more in the future.
People really seem to love getting free business card stickers. Free things are always great, right? So I thought this would be a perfect path to check out. Who doesn’t like stickers, placing them on their Hydroflask and being reminded of their adventures. For me it makes good business sense too. If I can spread my product line out to include something at a lower cost it may be the perfect stocking stuffer or non-comital gift for that outdoors man or woman. It’s a way to push that needle a little higher.
Originally I started sketching packages, sets of three that would work as a starter pack and show people how the new series would pair together. And when I went for a vintage Boy Scout merit badge style I thought I landed the perfect way to build loyal collectors. However, when I went to price full sheets with three stickers, it came back a little higher than I was comfortable with for a test piece. So I settled on a single Yosemite sticker thinking, “People love Yosemite”, and this should move a few units.
Then, when I dropped into Patchwork for the first time this last November, I sold zero stickers.
I’m not sure what the trouble was exactly. My current theory is multi-part: for one, I think the patch-like appearance confused people. I designed the style to mimic actual patches so perhaps customers are not be comfortable with the two mediums, which are typically their own separate categories, combined into one form. The other part of this could be the price point. I’m looking for five dollars per sticker which comes from the production cost and comments I received when I launched my smaller, free sticker. That might be a little high, but I don’t know that I have a lot of wiggle room for the pricing.
The strategy for now is to make another two or three new of these in hopes that by combining stickers into a set people will start to see the potential. Eventually I would like to create the sticker packs that I originally made, but until I know that these will sell, we’ll have to wait and see.
One last note: this was also part of a goal to dip my toes into package design. While I might conceivably catch flak for my definition of packaging, it’s simply an exercise in trying to see how graphics fit together to make the display of product better. I’ve had in the back of my mind ideas about making packaging more flashy so this is the first step toward trying to incorporate more design thinking.
Alternate ideas I had for the layout of the three-pack
Buy a Yosemite Sticker
Inspired by old Boy Scout merit badges, this 3 inch weather resistant vinyl sticker is perfect for Hydro Flasks, your trusty camp car, or beer cooler.
- 3 by 3 inches
- Tough vinyl
- Ships in 1-3 days
Copyright © 2018 Robert C. Olson
Robert C. Olson 