We recently published an article to help you push personalized hats for Father’s Day. In it, we discussed the types of excursions many dads participate in to celebrate and suggested reaching out to these places in order to serve their promotional needs.

Today, we’re going to take that one step further and tell you how to sell promotional hats to the businesses running these types of experiences.

Today marks the first day of Summer 2016, so we’re going to focus on those experiences one might seek out during warmer weather. For a much broader look, check out our article discussing how to sell hats to the top 10 industries that purchased promotional products in 2015.

Alcohol Tastings

Imagine it’s a warm sunny Saturday. You’re sitting on the patio of some new local joint everyone at the office has been telling you to try. There’s a large happy umbrella shading you as you drain your first craft brew. Joe, the bartender, brings you a new drink. In it sits a miniature version of the umbrella above.

“Wait till you try this one,” he says.

With the rise in popularity of microbreweries and local distilleries, as well as traditional vineyards, you can always find a tour or a tasting to attend. Whether it’s beer, bourbon, tequila, or wine – this isn’t your fraternity’s jungle juice.

These places have very tasteful (and tasty) opportunities to sample local, domestic, or imported spirits. Visitors also have the chance to learn about the origins of certain brews, grapes, etc. Additionally, guests can often tour the grounds and experience what goes into making the final product. Personally, I have always wanted to stomp some grapes ever since I saw that I Love Lucy episode.

If they don’t already, these places should be offering merchandise to their customers. I would suggest they give away personalized hats upon arrival, as their customers will need them when touring the outside grounds under the hot summer sun. Hats can also help hide the droopy eyes of those who forget the spit portion of the swirl, sniff, spit method.

ATV Rentals

This is my simple way of saying any type of track or day trip involving a motorized vehicle. Some examples include:

• Dirt Bikes
• Dune Buggies
• Four Wheelers
• Go Karts
• Motorcycles
• Race Cars
• Scooters

These types of expeditions are a great daytime activity for tourists or groups, like a birthday or bachelor party. Giving these people a cap with your logo will only ensure they return next time they’re in town, or the next time they need to plan a party activity.

Campgrounds and Lodges

People love spending time in the great outdoors, especially in the summer when the weather in nice.

There are countless campgrounds and lodges throughout the U.S. This is exactly why they should be giving their customers personalized hats as a thank you for selecting their location, thus differentiating themselves. When visitors wear it, they can tell everyone about the relaxing week they spent in the mountains, or at the lake, and how beautiful the parks were.

Carnivals and Fairs

In 2014, the top 50 fairs in the U.S. attracted over 44.2 million fairgoers. Last year, the Texas State Fair alone, which has remained the largest for many years, brought in over 3.5 million visitors.

48% of consumers report that they would like to receive promotional products more often, so why aren’t all businesses passing them out like goldfish at a carnival. See what I did there?

This is an enormous target market and that’s only counting the 50 largest fairs, not the smaller county fairs or city carnivals. If each fair and carnival offered personalized hats to its patrons there would be millions upon millions of individuals walking around with fair caps on their heads. This type of advertisement only further increases everyone’s desire to go to the fair.

Concerts and Music Festivals

Music Festivals are an experience that attendees will want to remember. They usually last several days; people often camp out so they can immerse themselves in the music and the sense of community that comes along with it.

Being outdoors for an entire weekend in the summer, hats become a necessity. If festivals gave out promotional hats with ticket purchases, fans would wear them all weekend and for weekends to come. This would bring more exposure for next year’s event and provide attendees with a positive recollection of the event’s brand. Furthermore, fans would have a tangible memento of their time spent engrossed in the musical experience.

Extreme Sports and Water Activities

Extreme sports include:

• Bungee Jumping
• Mountain Biking
• Rock Climbing
• Ropes Courses
• Skydiving

Water activities include:

• Canoeing
• Kayaking
• Sailing
• Scuba Diving
• Snorkeling
• Surfing
• White Water Rafting

Many of these excursions are things that people will not frequently attempt. True, they are hobbies for a select few, but for the masses, they’re once in a lifetime (or once in a while) experiences. When someone chooses to go skydiving, it is a memory they will want to remember forever, and often, one they will want to share with their friends. This is why these businesses should offer commemorative hats as part of the experience.

In addition to being a coveted souvenir for customers, it is an inexpensive and effective advertising medium for the company. When customers receive a free hat, they will want to recommend the company that gave it to them. And each time they wear it, it acts as their endorsement of the company.

Rodeos

Going to the rodeo sparks that childhood dream of being a cowboy in most all of us. Everything about it is exciting, the tough look of the riders, their rugged outlaw attitude, the feeling of worn leather, the sound of the buzzer, the smell of the animals…okay, maybe not the smells.

What was it Garth Brooks said about the rodeo? “It’s boots and chaps. It’s cowboy hats.”

Guess what, personalized hats don’t always come in the form of baseball caps. There are different shapes that can be decorated with the rodeo’s logo. Everyone wants to feel and dress like a cowboy when they’re at the rodeo. Set these babies up outside before the gates open and they’ll fly off the shelves.

Do you think the summer months can increase the demand for personalized hats? Where else should we sell them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. You can also follow us on Instagram using the hashtag #hatswork.