Editor’s Note: Dawn Shurmaitis, ASI’s executive director of corporate communications, spent last week volunteering at the Democratic National Convention. She agreed to give us a firsthand report of the extensive use of merch she witnessed at the convention.
The 2024 Democratic National Convention, held in Chicago from Aug. 19-22, was like Coachella for the party faithful – filled to the rafters with colorful, clever and outrageous swag bought and sported by delegates, political leaders, protesters and heads of numerous social action organizations.
The nearly weeklong convention attracted 12,000 delegates and alternate delegates scattered across 30 hotels, along with an overall total of 50,000 visitors. That’s not to mention the well over 20 million viewers watching on their phones, laptops and TVs, where they saw both speakers and candidates as well as an endless array of logoed merch.
ASI Research tracks the percentage of annual promo industry sales that come from elections, and reports that roughly an additional $100 million is injected into the print and decorator market every four years when a presidential election occurs.
That phenomenon was certainly on display in Chicago with the promotional products of the DNC. In the host city, T-shirts dominated, with the majority showcasing current Vice President Kamala Harris and her VP pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Printed buttons, lanyards and badges were omnipresent, and evidence that the print market was enjoying gangbuster business was everywhere too, with directional and step-and-repeat signs and sky-high vinyls making it clear to passersby blocks away that the DNC was in town.
During each of the convention’s four nights at the United Center, delegates also waved colorful synchronized and visible signs, printed with messages like “USA,” “Union Yes,” “We Fight We Win” and “Coach Walz.”
According to the Washington Post, the thousands of signs were the result of “a meticulously planned operation that started weeks before the convention, when preapproved designs needed to be sent to a single longtime vendor, including some that were assembled by union workers at IUOE Local 399 in Chicago.”
Inside the arena – the largest in the U.S. and home to the Chicago Bulls – the official Democratic Convention merchandise stand did brisk business selling T-shirts and sets of buttons and magnets featuring candidate faces along with red, white and blue donkeys, outlines of the state of Illinois, Chicago’s L train and even a piece of pie.
During the DNC, the Host Committee also brought together dozens of local businesses for a Chicago Business Expo and Vendor Fair at McCormick Place. Local businesses from all over the city, including Pilsen, Chinatown, Bronzeville, and more, showcased their goods and services to thousands of convention attendees, featuring lots of promo giveaways and samples.
Blocks away from the convention’s tightly controlled and patrolled security perimeter, vendor Mu Johnson of Conshohocken, PA, set up his insta-shop, dipping his toe into political merch for the first time after sticking to major sports events like the Super Bowl and World Series.
“I haven’t broken even because of the security,” Johnson said. “The first day they wouldn’t let us set up our tables.” So, Johnson sent his grandson running to the store to buy six $70 wagons, so he’d be ready to pack up and pull away if ordered to by the Chicago police.
Johnson’s five styles of shirts, sized small to XXXL, were printed by manufacturers in Atlanta, New York and California. The hottest seller featured Harris wearing pearls and her trusty Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars, promising “Chucks and Pearls Will Change the World.” The runner-up: T-shirts emblazoned with another hot Harris slogan, “Say it to my face,” uttered as part of a challenge to face her political opponent Donald Trump on the debate stage.
Johnson thinks that from now on, he’ll stick to sports, with the occasional, lower-key political rallies. “I understand security is heightened, especially after the Trump shooting,” he said, “but I’m apprehensive to do another convention because it’s very risky to make an investment and be 10 blocks away from the action.”
Melvin Fields, wearing a “Black Mamba” sweatshirt, packed his Dodge Ram with 10 dozen T-shirts and drove in from Arizona, scoring a permit and relatively choice spot within sight of the arena, selling six types of T-shirts to delegates streaming in and out of the convention.
“I did a bunch of events this year with T-shirts I got from different suppliers,” Fields said. “It’s been busy, with a nice crowd.”
During the day, delegates from numerous groups like the Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Labor Caucus and Women’s Caucus met further downtown at McCormick Place Convention Center to talk strategy, some wearing swag promoting their issue. Meanwhile, protestors who were mainly pro-Palestine massed in and around Union Park all week, waving printed and handmade signs and sporting T-shirts.
Another group promoting their cause was the Chicago Firefighters Union Local No. 2, which took advantage of the heavy media presence to urge Chicago’s mayor to pass its contract. The firefighters used large signs and red, black and white T-shirts to drive home their cause: “Stand With First Responders.”
“This is a pro-labor town with a pro-labor mayor, and we haven’t had a contract for three years,” said organizer Patrick Cleary. “We got a lot of media attention this week.”
Merch was also getting the Hollywood treatment. Inside Chicago’s historic Auditorium Theatre across from Millennium Park, CBS talk show host Stephen Colbert hosted a week of live Late Show broadcasts, featuring guests like Hillary Clinton, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
In the lobby, a dancing pitch man whirled around grabbing the attention of audience members eager to buy official Late Show bags and posters memorializing Colbert’s run of shows in the city where he got his comedic start.
The convention set the stage for November, which is sure to be a monumental moment for the country – and a significant event for the promo industry.
