For a sporting event, official merchandise is more than a fan service. It’s one of the event’s revenue streams. At large events, fans who come to the venue buy souvenirs in the official shop, and many more buy through the event’s official online store.
That’s why events develop co-branded products alongside the event itself, and why commemorative watches have become part of their official merchandise. We work with events of every scale: large international and regional multi-sport games, and smaller competitions too. Even a school sports day brings in sponsors, and a co-branded watch can be part of what the event and its sponsors offer.
Why a watch, for event merchandise
Most event souvenirs are caps, scarves, T-shirts and keyrings. They sell, but they’re low-priced, and most are forgotten soon after the event.
A watch works differently on both counts. It’s a higher-value item on the merchandise shelf, so it adds more to the event’s merchandise revenue with every sale. And it stays in use: a fan who buys a commemorative watch wears the event on their wrist for years, not just the weekend they attended.
It also sells in both places the event sells merchandise. In the venue shop, it’s the considered purchase fans choose when they want something that lasts. In the official online store, it reaches fans who couldn’t attend but still want to mark the event.
Designing a watch that marks the event
A commemorative watch has to be clearly tied to its event while still being a watch someone wants to wear every day. That usually means carrying the event’s identity through a few clear details rather than covering the whole watch.
Working to a fixed date
Unlike most product launches, an event can’t move. The watches must be finished and delivered before the venue shop and the online store open, so development and production are planned backwards from that date.
The outcome
A commemorative watch gives an event a piece of official merchandise that adds real value to its merchandise revenue, and one fans keep long after the final whistle.
And the opportunities keep coming. Every year brings a large number of international and regional sporting events, each with its own merchandise programme and its own reason for a commemorative watch.
Related reading: Should Your Brand Launch a Watch Collection?
Questions brands ask about projects like this
Why do sporting events sell watches as official merchandise?
Official merchandise is one of a sporting event’s revenue streams, sold both in the venue shop and through the official online store. A co-branded watch is a higher-value item than typical souvenirs, so it adds more to merchandise revenue, and fans keep wearing it long after the event.
What makes a good commemorative watch design?
A good commemorative watch marks its event through a few clear details, such as the event’s identity, colours or year, while staying clean enough to wear every day. Covering the whole watch in event graphics tends to make it a novelty rather than a watch people keep wearing.
How far ahead should an event plan a commemorative watch?
Because the event date is fixed, development and production need to be planned backwards from it, with enough time for design, sampling, approval and delivery before the venue shop and online store open. Starting early protects the date.
If your event, large or small, is building its official merchandise range, we’d be glad to talk through what a commemorative watch could look like. Start a conversation →