Merch That Sells The Memory Long After Curtain Call

Merchandise can feel like a simple souvenir until you realize it’s doing three jobs at once: capturing the emotional high of a live event, extending the brand into everyday life, and quietly selling the next ticket. We sit down with Michael Rego, CEO of The Araca Group and a longtime Broadway producer, to unpack what makes live event merchandising actually work, from the first creative conversation to the final moment at the merch stand. Along the way, we swap real examples from Wicked, The Outsiders, and immersive experiences where the “exit through the gift shop” moment is part of the design. 

We get tactical about the merchandise development process: discovery calls that align producers, marketers, and IP holders, then wide brainstorming designed to keep products authentic rather than logo-first “promo merch.” Michael shares how different fan bases buy differently across Broadway, concerts, exhibitions, and family shows, why staples like magnets and mugs still matter, and how innovative formats like blind box collectibles can surprise even seasoned teams. 

We also connect merchandising to ticketing, CRM, and the full customer journey. Pre-show offers, post-show follow-ups, and smart email or text reminders keep the conversation going for fans who don’t want to stand in line. And for long-running productions, we dig into the biggest refresh trap: making what you personally like instead of what your audience wants, plus simple ways to listen, test, and stay current as trends change faster than ever. We close by looking ahead at personalization, limited drops, and brand collaborations that help fans curate a more personal live experience. 

If this helped you rethink fan engagement and live experience marketing, subscribe to Fandom Unpacked, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a rating and review so more people can find the show.

Recorded Thursday, April 16th, 2026
Hosts: Damian Bazadona, CEO & Founder, Situation & Maureen Andersen, President & CEO, INTIX
Guest: Michael Rego, CEO, The Araca Group
Producer: Peter Yagecic, Founder, A Mind at Work Consulting

https://situationinteractive.com
https://intix.org
https://amindatworkconsulting.com

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

Peter Yagecic 0:04

You're listening to Fandom Unpacked from Situation and INTIX, the series where we unpack modern fandom with some of the brightest minds in sports and entertainment. I'm producer Peter Yagecic, and our hosts for today's QA are Situation CEO and founder Damian Bazadona, and president and CEO of Intix, Maureen Andersen. Our guest today is Michael Rego, CEO of The Araca Group, the merchandising and theatrical producing global powerhouse whose mission is to excite and engage fans by delivering high-quality, memory-building products and experiences. Damian, I know you have a bit of a passion for fan memorabilia yourself. How about you get us started?

Merch As Brand Building Tool

Damian Bazadona 0:40

Sure. Thanks, Peter, and thanks, Mike, for doing this, man. Of course. Aside from running a wildly successful merchandising business, you're also a prolific, wildly successful producer of Broadway shows. Including a personal favorite, The Outsiders on Broadway that's playing right now. At 30,000 feet, straddling this role both on the merchandising business and also producer shows. How would you describe the role of merchandise in brand building of live experiences?

How Merch Gets Developed

Michael Rego 1:11

Thank you, Damian. And thank you, Peter Maureen, for having me here today. Thrilled to be talking about merch. I think when we do our job right, merchandise is really an extension of the marketing vision for the show. A treasured merchandise item often represents a cherished memory of a live experience. I think it's a key way that we can continue a dialogue with our audience after they see a show. And again, when we do our job right, it becomes a part of someone's day-to-day life. It inspires conversation. It's ultimately a tool that helps sell tickets.

Damian Bazadona 2:01

And when you so take me into the process, right, of how you scope merchandise, the stuff that you create. I feel like I go to a concert with my kids, whether I go to a Broadway show with my family, whatever that is, you go to any different merchandise, and it's it's generally speaking custom to what I'm seeing, right? Of some standards. Of course. I'm just curious, take me to the process. Who's involved in it? Is the artist involved generally? And like, and I guess what makes the best collaborations?

How Different Fans Shop

Michael Rego 2:25

Well, uh, the best collaborations are when there is a uh meeting of the minds of um the creative folks involved with a show. That can be a producer, that can be uh an IP holder, um, sometimes it's even the authors of a show. And, you know, uh our kind of ragtag team of merchandise enthusiasts. Um, most of my team are people who buy merchandise themselves for brands and experiences they love. Uh we have sort of a continuous RD process that is naturally happening as uh our team sees new merch categories in the market. Um we also work across many different types of live events for TV and studio properties, Broadway musicals and plays, uh exhibitions, anime, kids' shows. Um and I think that diversification allows us uh to learn from successes and try new product categories that wouldn't typically be sold. Uh, you mentioned the outsiders earlier. We just launched up a blind box concept of stickers. Uh, we launched last weekend, became one of our top sellers. Um when we start a development process for a new project, we'd like to have a series of what I call discovery calls with a team that will be approving merchandise. Uh again, that could be the producers, very often it is, sometimes it's the marketing team, sometimes it's both. And I love to get us all on the same page of what is the marketing vision for the production. Because this, once we learn the tone and the rules of the marketing, um, we then can have that be the filter that we create products and designs so that it feels authentic for the brand. Um we we then go back to our team uh after we have that series of dialogues. And we always have a company-wide brainstorming meeting that literally everyone can attend. And this way we we we hear from any and all fans of the of the brand, of the show. And uh we we really consider their perspectives as we're trying to develop products. I think the best collaborations, because I think you're asking that, are when our interests are aligned and we work together as partners to develop something.

Damian Bazadona 5:05

And when you so when you work, so again, you work across what concerts, theater, live experiences. So there's gotta be, I'm assuming, there's are there's significant differences in how those fan bases shop? Because I would imagine if you're working with a Broadway producer versus a concert promoter or someone like your different folks, those audiences are different. I'm assuming by kind of or maybe or am I over or are they are they more similar or more different?

Michael Rego 5:27

Uh no, certainly there's different kinds of passion for merchandise that different entertainment verticals will inspire. Um, some, you know, sometimes there's a combination of the obsession with the brand and the emotional impact created by a live event experience. Um, we did, for example, the Jurassic Park Immersive uh exhibition. Well, at the end of that, a T-Rex literally chases the kids out of the exhibition and they exit through the gift shop, right? So they're like coming from this like dinosaur chasing them into a world of uh ways to memorialize that experience. Now you don't always get that, certainly not always on a Broadway show. Um, but uh you have different levels of comfort with the very idea of buying merchandise to commemorate an experience.

Damian Bazadona 6:29

Yeah. Well, I feel like I brought my son to a Travis Scott concert, and something tells me I'm not gonna I'm not gonna see a coffee mug there. My guess. I can't remember if I did or didn't, but something tells me I did it. Yes, there's probably like 10 different Broadway coffee mugs somewhere in my house.

Michael Rego 6:42

Yes, and you know, a Broadway fan, uh, especially a Broadway assessment fan for merchandise, will have certain staples that they demand to have. And, you know, if you don't have a magnet, if you don't have the right size magnet, we're gonna hear about it. Uh if we don't offer a mug, we're gonna hear about it. But that doesn't mean that we can't begin to introduce new and uh innovative items. Really, it comes down to space. You know, if you have space to be creative, I mean, you've go over to Wicked sometime. There's all kinds of crazy stuff that you can get for Wicked that are really um we are honing that merchandise line. I think we we figured out we've created literally thousands of unique items in the 20 plus years that Wicked's been around. Um so uh there will be different types of uh merchandise that we can offer, depending on the the suitability of the show experience. And does it does it demand a merchandising experience that uh is outside the box in some way?

Damian Bazadona 7:52

Well, I know Maureen, I'll let Maureen get in here, but I know Maureen is an avid Broadway merchandiser, merchandise buyer, my favorite kind of person.

Maureen Andersen 8:02

Is this correct, Maureen? So yeah, I am a terrific fan. And Mike, thank you for what you do because I come at it looking for certain things, and I am an avid collector of Broadway baseball hats. You know, God bless.

Michael Rego 8:15

Thank you.

Maureen Andersen 8:16

With some catchy thing on it. I mean, one of my prized possessions is you know, is the Hello Dolly Bet Midler one. So anyway, good, thank you.

Michael Rego 8:23

Uh-huh. Thank you.

Ticketing Data And Post Show Sales

Maureen Andersen 8:24

I um that's what I buy, and it always fits and it's easy to pack. And, you know, I like to brand myself that I was there. So I'm curious, is that, you know, with the ticketing and fan experience point of view, is how do you see, and I'd love to hear this about the broader audience journey and how merchandising connects up with ticketing and the CRM and the actual fan and the customers, pre-journey, post-journey, all those touch points, you know, is it becoming more intrinsic and integrated? Is that something that that's occurring?

Michael Rego 9:03

Uh short answer is yes, absolutely. Um being able to, you know, now we have tools where if someone wants to buy a piece of merchandise before they come see a show, we can offer it to them. We have a way to uh continue the dialogue with them after the show. We can email them, we can text them, or we have ways to thank them for uh coming to see the show and remind them if they miss any of the merchandise, it's still available to them. Um I think inherently the merchandise experience at live events needs to be a live experience. That is where the emotional impact of seeing a show, of experiencing a concert, it happens live. Um, and for a lot of people, that experience wants to be happened while they're waiting. They want to wait in a line a bit. You know, they if there's no line at all, that's not good. I always say there's a there's a sweet spot between no line and too long a line. And um the the the magic lies somewhere in between that. But I think when we're really doing our job right, we give options, though, for different kinds of fans. Some fans, the idea of waiting in a line drives them crazy. We want to be able to have them order from their seat or order once they get home. Because again, the most important thing is to give them the tool of merchandise so that they can keep reliving that experience and talking about it. Because that word of mouth is what sells tickets. And the folks who actually care enough about a show to want to buy merchandise, I think they are your first uh level of ambassadors for your shows who are most likely to engage in social media content with your brand, forwarding a link. Oh my gosh, uh our shows in that I saw the show in previews. You have to go see it. That's what we want to have happen.

Maureen Andersen 11:09

Well, and it's interesting when you talk about the line is that how much is actually upsold by standing behind the woman who gets the t-shirt for their daughter, and you say, Oh, that really is cute. I didn't really want that when I started, but now I want the magnet and the cup and the t-shirt.

Michael Rego 11:24

Absolutely. And I and you know, we are the the folks who work for for us selling merchandise, those are our employees, and they are 100% continually trained about trying to find out who are they buying for? Is it with someone they're with? If not, it's oh, it's a grandparent. Do you need something for yourself as well? Like they're constantly looking to get more tools. Yes, they're trying to upsell because for the from a revenue standpoint, uh I'm not naive to that. But really, most importantly, is to continue the dialogue with the fan who is waiting for merchandise to say, I think there are ways that you can keep experiencing this moment that you just had uh uh in the venue, and let us give you a tool so that you can do it right.

Maureen Andersen 12:12

Right. And read in your crowd. And, you know, that's a skill set in itself. I mean, what's interesting, and Mike, you have so much perspective from so many different sectors, which, you know, a lot of merchandise people don't, frankly, is that there's principles that are great merchandising, you know, that seem to be universal across live events. But then, you know, you have somebody who breaks the mold, like, you know, we were talking the other day about Taylor Swift with her merchandise trucks. And it's not like you can actually put a merchandise truck down and, you know, in front of Performing Arts Center A or, you know, uh, you know, in a Broadway street. But are there things in the playbook that are actually getting changed by new directions in merch?

Michael Rego 12:55

Uh that's a it's an interesting question. I think um the exciting thing for me, being a merchandiser, is that I think there is from the in the 25 years that we've been doing this, the perception of merchandise within the context, particularly on Broadway, is that it's part and parcel to the experience for so many people. Um, there's no shame in it anymore. And I think as we've been able to go beyond what I'll call promo merch, which was, you know, very much you get a logo, you slap it on a t-shirt, you throw it on a mug, and that's all it was. Where we were giving, at I think in the earliest days of merchandise, there was a billboard aspect. Uh in one sense, you're kind of asking an audience to go shill for you, right? And say, oh, I want my logo out there so that people want to buy my tickets. And there's a certain kind of audience member who I think absolutely wants the brag. They do want to feel like, oh, I went to see Wicked, and gosh darn it, I want you to know it. So I want that on a t-shirt. But there are going to be other, maybe slightly uh uh more nuanced uh audience members who want to feel like, you know what? I want to have something more aspirational in my merchandise. I don't want it to be so blatantly logo-based. Um, I want a moment from the show that really resonates with me. Um using Wicked's perfect example, to find gravity. It's a wonderful, amazing moment that happens at the end of Act One. And we've been able to craft, you know, you know, dozens and dozens of pieces of merchandise from apparel to dolls to souvenirs that all celebrates this incredible song. And that gives audiences the ability to wear something. And when they're interacting, it's a if you know you know kind of uh aspect to it.

Damian Bazadona 15:01

Hey guys, Damien here. I just want to take a quick moment to say if you're enjoying this podcast right now, odds are you're in the business of selling live experiences. And if you don't know my team at the advertising agency situation, you most definitely should. Aside from just being an awesome group of human beings, there are a global team of professionals covering a brand base in sports, arts, theater, culture, museums, or any live experience that requires people coming together. Big, small, all shapes and sizes of brands. You can hit them up at the information below in the show notes.

Maureen Andersen 15:42

Peter, I think, do you have a listener question today?

Peter Yagecic 15:45

Yeah, we we do have uh a couple of listener questions, and I'd I'd love to ask one that I think uh pivots nicely from where you guys were just talking. Um, Mike, you've you've had the the good fortune to work with some brands that have been around for a long time and you know, not just that initial batch of merchandise, but but are lucky enough to kind of refresh and maybe renew that over time. So the question that we got uh on our website ahead of time was is there a common mistake that uh long-running productions or organizations make when they refresh a merch program? And if so, what what advice would you give them to avoid a pitfall during a refresh?

Michael Rego 16:26

Well, I think um that's a good question. And uh I think it's a pitfall both when you're initially making merchandise, and then if you're lucky enough to have to do a refresh, you you can fall back into it. It's that very often I think we get tempted to make product that you personally like instead of merchandise that your fan wants to buy. Uh, if you're lucky, and I guess you sit right in the middle of your core demographic, if you're exactly the person who is going to see your show, maybe your taste aligns perfectly with that. But I think um we try to be really disciplined about um listening to the audience and um trying to go beyond just our own sense of what, oh, I think this is cool. But will they think this is cool? Do I know what's cool anymore in terms of the show with this audience? Like I we want to we really try to constantly check ourselves and say, um, you know, and can you test it? Can you um uh not saying some far as you go focus group, but like you can really take some time to really um listen to what your audience is telling you. And that's from watching really the show, as much as how we create the merchandise.

Peter Yagecic 17:54

Well, and I imagine uh your clients benefit from the deep bench that you've had in the experience over the years of seeing those things that didn't quite work out um because they were made just to satisfy, you know, a a narrow interest.

Michael Rego 18:09

Well, and I hopefully I I I'll follow up by saying I that we try not to then get too much in the oh, this never works school of thought either, right? Like we try to really keep an open mind to it, even on the never works, because uh it's good to to see how has the market changed. And um, it changes faster than it ever has these days.

Authenticity And Trend Awareness

Peter Yagecic 18:33

Damian kicking it back to you.

Damian Bazadona 18:35

Yeah, I you know, actually the uh the I wanted to you kind of just answered the question I had about I wanted to to talk a little bit about authenticity and the strategy of development. That's got to be, and you just kind of talked about it. It's hard, I would imagine. Because like you're representing the fan. And you like you think about the stuff that we're putting, the stuff that's being created and printed, and the the evolution, I would imagine, like a wicket or something like that, that's always sort of reinventing itself in the cultural zeitgeist. You're the voice of that, right? And so, and navigating sort of what's true to a fan, it that's a um, and it's gotta be hard to keep up with that, right?

Michael Rego 19:10

Like, and you know it certainly it's hard and it's fun at the same time because it does keep changing. And um, you know, that's where I I think part of our job is to keep working with our producing partners and our marketing partners as their process evolves, if who they think they're targeting is growing or contracting, if the if demographically it's shifting from point A to point B, we need to be listening to that and getting that information so that we do stay authentic. And um, and authentic can be as much as, oh, you know what? This shade of blue, it was really hot last season, and it's not this season. And um, it's it's being able to uh stay current with trends and um trying to anticipate trends, you know, easier said than done, but that's our job is to to attempt to do that.

Damian Bazadona 20:08

Well, and you need your clients to lean in in the conversation, which I'm assuming is also it's going to be on a client-by-client basis, so the folks that you work with, that it's complicated. You need everyone's engagement in it. And then I'm assuming, like on an ongoing basis, of we need to keep refreshing this and rethinking through it. And I'm assuming some lean in more than others, which probably makes your life sometimes easier than others.

Michael Rego 20:27

Of course. I mean, you know, in clients, you know, you know, every single client I have is cool. Every client is easy. No, easy. No, look, uh the fun part I try to convey to the folks who work with us is that yes, we've been doing this a long time, but we are in a business of startups. Every show that launches, every concert that launches, every exhibition that launches is a startup business. So you have startup energy that is coursing through that entire process. Um, the stakes are really high. The competition is really tough. And um that means we need to be able to adjust continuously to um new information, um, new energy. And um uh but I do say it's fun. I mean, that for us, uh, you know, we love doing it.

Damian Bazadona 21:25

That's the energy that that when you you way you frame that, that's why I'm in this industry. I think the energy, the idea of like building a plane as you're flying it, I just find exciting and nerve-wracking, but worth coming to work for, which is which is cool. Um uh Maureen, let me let you back in.

Advice For Smaller Merch Programs

Maureen Andersen 21:40

I'm gonna go keep on the kind of the startup idea, is Mike, you you're not everybody gets to work at your scale. So, you know, you you have that special spot. So you also have advice and counsel for those who are setting up or reinvigorating a merchandise program. Are there good Smart steps to keep it from being overcomplicated or overinvesting or not making the t-shirt that says season 2026 on it and the season's over and nobody cares about 2026?

Michael Rego 22:12

Sometimes you can extend season 26 for a lot longer than you think.

Maureen Andersen 22:18

On the emotional level of what you did.

Michael Rego 22:22

Yeah, I mean, look, our business model is basically catch lightning in a bottle because we were able to launch our merchandising program, really. I mean, we had done some smaller shows, but really it was with Wicked. So we were able to have an incredible uh show that sold a ton of tickets and a ton of merchandise with which we could build a company around. So I guess my my flippant advice is to someone if you're not doing Wicked, really you shouldn't do it. Like this is it's a it's a hard business unless you have scale. Because the amount of it's a very the first piece of advice anyone ever gave me about the merchandising business was it is labor intensive. And it truly is. It's it's um now in theory, it's become less labor intensive with print on demand. And, you know, if you're trying to start an e-commerce business from your basement, sure, I guess you can do it. But if you're um if you're launching a live event um and you're thinking, well, geez, I bet I could make a lot more money if I made my own t-shirts. I my advice to you would be don't do it. Sell your tickets, don't get distracted. And this is me really with my my producer hat on as much as my merchandise hat on. I would say get a professional to sit with you, to do your marketing, to do your merchandising, to do your advertising. That's the you there are people who have made a million mistakes and learned from them already. Let them help you make your show great.

A Quick Note From Mind At Work

Damian Bazadona 24:04

Hey guys, Damian here. If you're listening to this podcast, I'm gonna bet that you're probably thinking about how your team works and adapts right now in this new technology landscape. That's why the one person I always point people to is my co-host, right here, Peter Yajisic, and his company, a Mind at Work Consulting. They run smart, tech-infused workshops that help teams build new skills and actually put ideas into action. Peter is way too humble to brag, but I have no problems bragging for him. So if you're serious about what's next, talk to a Mind at Work Consulting. More in the show notes below.

Maureen Andersen 24:45

Peter, back to you.

The Matilda Shirt That Worked

Peter Yagecic 24:47

Yeah, uh we we kind of let you know about this listener question ahead of time, Mike, but we didn't hear what your answer is yet. So I'm kind of waiting on baited breath. Um, is is there a piece of merch that means a lot to you personally? And can you share with us the story of how it came into your life?

Michael Rego 25:05

Um yes, I can share this with you. Uh I will hearken back to the spring of 2013 when uh Matilda opened on Broadway. Um Matilda was a uh transfer from London, where it was a big hit over there. Uh, a very merchy show, um, merchy being the highest compliment I can give to a show. Um uh but we we had a challenge creating uh a piece of merchandise for like one of the signature moments in the show. It's a um it was a song called Naughty, which had a great line in it. Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty. And we were determined to get that onto uh a piece of merchandise. It's sung by uh Matilda, it's this great song. It's uh um, but we we felt like the the merch intended to feel like it was created by a child. And my design team was working on it and working on it, and everything we were doing, it just felt cheesy and inauthentic, and we we couldn't get it. Uh so one night I went home and uh I asked my daughter Christina. Uh, she's just about to turn seven years old, and I said, uh, honey, I have a problem at work. Can you help me? Um, you know that show Matilda that we've been listening to? And she said, Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's one of her favorites. Um, we're trying to make a t-shirt with this line that sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty. I know it's one of her favorite songs. Um and uh and she thought for a moment, and with a very serious look on her face, she asked me to get her notebook paper and pencils. And I went and I got it, and she got onto the kitchen table and she thought for a moment, and she looked at her piece of paper and she wrote down the words sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty, like a seven-year-old would write it off the lines, kind of a little scribbly, and she handed it to me and she says, That's it. And I looked at it and I was like, That's it. And I took it to the office the next day and I showed the designers, and they said, That's it. And we put it on a t-shirt, and it became our number one selling t-shirt for the show. Um, and uh, she still is asking me for money for it, but I'm not doing it. You know, she's in college. I said, Go get your own job, but you know, uh I love I love that show.

The Future Of Fan Merchandise

Peter Yagecic 27:52

I love that story. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that with us. Sure. Yeah. Um, Damien, kicking it back to you to bring us home. Yeah, Mike, thank you.

Damian Bazadona 28:00

Thanks for taking the time to do this. Of course. I appreciate it. Um as you look ahead, where do you think the fan merchandise is going next? Just the industry overall. Is there are we gonna see more collectibles, more limited drops, more? What do you where is it going? What should we be anticipating as fans of all the stuff that we're fans of? How might that how might that look different in the future? What do you think?

Michael Rego 28:23

I would say yes to everything you just said, we're going to see more of. Um, I think fans are are are constantly looking for a personalized live event experience and that carries through to the merchandise. I mean, ideally they'd come up and ask for a unique item, and everyone would want a piece of unique merchandise. And um, you know, there are ways to do that that are not quite up to the quality that um actual merchandise is yet. But I think that's an instinct that people want to curate their own experience with seeing a show. So, you know, our challenge is how do we achieve that efficiently in a theater or venue with limited sales periods. But um, I do think uh collaborating, um, collabs, licensing programs with uh, for example, we did one on The Outsiders with with Moleskin. There's a notebook, it's a really important piece to the to the musical itself. And we were able to do a partnership um uh uh with Moleskin. Now, it didn't redefine uh revenues. That really wasn't the purpose of it, but it was a way to define who the show was and who the audience is for the show as they were coming to see it. So I think, yep, we're gonna be doing more and more of that uh in the future. Um and more unique, you know, can we do make an item and sell 500 of them? That's it. So uh, and do more and more of those, um, which, you know, absolutely is in the offing right now.

Damian Bazadona 30:03

Look, I think you're one of the most innovative folks in the industry in a lot of ways, and you come to a curious open mind to try stuff. And I personally, I think we're about to go to the whole new race, uh kind of an exciting wave of innovation in the fandom space overall. And I think merchandise is at the center of it. So I think you're in for a fun ride and well positioned to continue to dominate.

Michael Rego 30:22

Um well, he just cut just compete. Just compete, Damien.

Where To Listen Next

Damian Bazadona 30:26

I'm gonna go with dominate. But that's I I can I could say that. You can't. Uh, Peter, want to take us out?

Peter Yagecic 30:32

Absolutely. That is gonna do it for this episode of Fandom Unpacked. Thank you, Mike, Maureen, and Damien. If you liked what you heard today, please check out all the great QA interviews we've done over at fandomunpack.com, or by searching Fandom Unpacked and following the series in your podcast player of choice. We'd also love for you to rate and review the show while you're at it. That really helps us find new fans. We're gonna be back in your feed in a couple of weeks for the entire Fandom Unpacked crew. I'm Peter Yujistick. We'll see you next time.