Custom Ink Launches First Major Brand Refresh in 15 Years

“Ink Is More Than You Think” Highlights Custom Ink’s Evolution from Custom T-Shirt Provider to Team Success Engine

TYSONS, Va., Feb. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Custom Ink, the online leader in custom products and apparel for businesses, groups, and organizations, today announced a comprehensive brand refresh that recognizes and celebrates the role the company already plays as an integral engine for team success. Custom Ink is no longer just a custom apparel provider; its catalog now consists of more than 10,000 different products designed to boost team unity, build brands, recognize customers, and generate leads.

The refresh centers on the new brand platform and tagline "Ink Is More Than You Think". It includes comprehensive updates to Custom Ink's visual identity, messaging architecture, digital presence, and go-to-market strategy, reflecting the company's evolution from its iconic "Thanks, Custom Ink" jingle era to a sophisticated end-to-end platform, while maintaining its customer-friendly roots, including exceptional service and support.

Corporate swag has evolved from being a nice-to-have to a strategic investment that helps drive positive business outcomes. Research shows companies are buying swag to achieve a myriad of outcomes - from employee recognition (54%), to celebrating key business achievements (47%), to client gifting or brand building (37%) and more, according to Custom Ink's 2026 Swag Trends Survey of over 1,000 corporate buyers.

From Custom T-Shirts to Comprehensive Team Solutions

"The pandemic didn't just disrupt our business—it revealed who our customer had already become," said David Doctorow, CEO of Custom Ink. "Almost overnight, we went from primarily serving small groups to also serving larger businesses and organizations. Fortune 500 companies and household brands have been using us for years. We just hadn't fully embraced what that meant, until now."

New Brand Platform:

Custom Ink's refreshed brand platform acknowledges the evolution the company has gone through, from custom apparel provider to comprehensive team success engine through several strategic elements:

Core Brand Tagline: "Ink Is More Than You Think" encapsulates the company's new Platform and highlights its expanded capabilities, as well as the idea that custom products can accomplish much more than people think. Custom Ink delivers far beyond custom t-shirts to power team happiness, connection, and success across every context where teams exist.

Expanded Product Catalog: Because teams don’t just buy apparel—they buy accessories, promotional products, and hard goods—Custom Ink has dramatically expanded its product catalog. We’ve expanded our total catalog to more than 10,000 different products, including doubling our hard goods offerings in 2025. While the company got its start in Custom Tees and Apparel, hard goods now account for more than two thirds of our total product catalog, which aligns well with our customers' needs to drive the business outcomes they are looking for.

Flexible Ordering Options: Organizers need to vet quality before committing budget. Custom Ink now offers a minimum order quantity of one on more than 1,000 products—up from just 60 in 2024—allowing single-item sample purchases so buyers can secure stakeholder approval before full order commitment.

Visual Identity Evolution: A new, modern and distinctive look, feel, and tone is designed to break through the noise, connect with customers, and be both sophisticated and approachable, signaling the ability to serve everyone from Fortune 500 companies to family reunions.

Meet Janine: Custom Ink's New Brand Character and Ultimate Organizer

While custom swag can’t solve all of a company’s challenges, it can be a powerful tool to bring a team together in moments where it’s needed most. And whether you’re a volunteer or a “voluntold”, someone has to be the person who steps up beyond their normal day to day job to make that happen. That person is “Janine” – the core character in Custom Ink’s new campaign. Janine brings the "Ink is More Than You Think" positioning to life through humor and relatable storytelling. She is a 40-something organizer savant who embodies the spirit of “team glue” and serves as champion for the power of custom swag to drive meaningful team outcomes. Janine makes the inherently complex swag process look simple, treating Custom Ink as her "cheat code" for solving organizational challenges with absurd confidence.

By building a colorful, distinctive world around Janine and her team—visually, tonally, and emotionally—Custom Ink brings its brand pillars to life: empowering organizers and simplifying their life, taking the stress out of creating good looking product, fueling team success, and celebrating outcomes that matter most.

Supporting the brand refresh, Custom Ink is launching an integrated marketing campaign across multiple channels, that will include linear and connected TV, paid and organic social.

“Custom Ink has always been the company that powers team success," said Phil Auerbach, CMO at Custom Ink. ”’And in “Ink Is More Than You Think" we have a creative platform and tagline that allows us to better tell the stories of how our customers are already using swag to enable their teams to succeed - whatever success means to them - in a playful and humorous way. We believe our customers will see a little bit of themselves in “Janine” and her crew, and we hope to inspire others to see what Ink can do for them."

Hero Film Launches Campaign with Humor and Heart

The campaign launches with a hero film introducing Janine through a high-stakes organizational challenge. When a worried boss announces "our investors pulled our funding," Janine confidently suggests custom branded tumblers as the solution. Through humor that lands Custom Ink's core message—while Custom Ink can't solve every organizational problem, it can deliver swag that drives outsized impact and the outcomes teams need, no matter their size.

The spot features Janine pulling up tumblers on Custom Ink's website, winning over skeptical teammates, and ultimately celebrating with the team toasting "Let's Funding Go!" branded tumblers. A voiceover delivers the tagline: "With over 10,000 swag options... Ink is More Than You Think."

Partnership with Mekanism

Custom Ink’s evolution into a comprehensive team success engine revealed that its existing brand and creative materials were no longer fully aligned with the needs and desires of its expanded customer base. To bring the updated brand platform to life, Custom Ink partnered with Mekanism, a full-service creative agency, as creative partner.

"We didn’t need to start from scratch—Custom Ink already has a lot of love behind it. The magic was in taking that existing brand equity and giving it a voice that matches the energy of the people who use it," said Carrie Lipper, President of Mekanism. "By adding a dose of humor and some humanity, we’re showing that swag is about more than just a logo on a shirt; it’s about the culture it creates for the team.”

Measurable Returns on Team Engagement Investment

Research validates branded merchandise as an engagement strategy with quantifiable returns. Businesses with highly engaged employees see 21% higher profitability, while companies with strong recognition cultures experience 31% lower turnover and 23% higher productivity. The $26.6 billion promotional products industry exists because strategic swag deployment works.

Availability and Next Steps

Custom Ink's expanded platform and product catalog are available immediately. Organizations interested in strategic swag deployment can explore premium brand options, request samples, or connect with account executives at www.customink.com/team-success.

To view complete 2026 Swag Trends Survey results and browse the featured collection, visit blog.customink.com/2026-swag-trends.

For more from CEO David Doctorow on this moment, visit blog.customink.com/brand-update.

About Custom Ink

Custom Ink is the online leader in custom products and apparel for businesses, groups, and organizations. The company helps bring colleagues, communities, teammates, and friends together with inspired custom products they are proud to use and wear. Custom Ink makes getting custom gear smooth and seamless with innovative design tools, caring customer service, creative design inspiration, and a broad range of high-quality merchandise. For more information, visit www.customink.com.

Media Contact:

Hani Durzy
Head of Communications, Custom Ink
Email: hani.durzy@customink.com
Phone: Available upon request

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