September 27, 2018

Steak-Umm Capitalizes on Twitter Fame With Swag Store

By  Theresa Hegel

For a profile in how a clever social media strategy can be leveraged into offline swag sales, look no further than Steak-umm, the Reading, PA-based purveyor of thin-sliced frozen steaks and sizzling Twitter burns.

The brand amassed a large online following last year after launching a tongue-in-cheek campaign to get its account verified on Twitter. It made headlines again this week when it dropped a lengthy rant about the dread, disenfranchisement – and massive student debt – many young people face.

It’s a surprisingly incisive thread for a Twitter account littered with absurdist beef-focused memes, and it had some people calling for Steak-umm’s entry into the political arena.

And Steak-umm, of course, was happy to entertain the notion.

So, where do promotional products fit into the mix? Steak-umm has a swag store that echoes the wacky tone of its Twitter feed. Powered by Teespring, the online shop offers “meaty merch” like T-shirts, tanks, hoodies, towels and mugs. 100% of the proceeds benefit Meals On Wheels, according to Steak-umm. Each month, the brand plans to add new designs to the store, benefiting other charities.

Among the designs is a simple T-shirt featuring the Steak-umm logo, and a blue check mark denoting a verified Twitter account. It was the culmination of the brand’s #VerifySteakUmm campaign. As the product description states: “It took the corrupt bureaucrats at twitter 9 years to verify our beef. Our beef that has been owning the streets since 1975 all across these united steaks of America. But we finally did it. Together with the power of the people we got twitter to bend the knee. This is our symbol of power. Represent #VerifySteakumm for all the world to see.”

The rest of the merch collection follows in the same vein. There’s a tank top featuring a beef-phoenix rising in flames from a frying pan. An “ugly Christmas sweater” with their frequent Twitter sign-off “Steak-umm bless.” A shirt featuring a deer bearing fangs next to the slogan “Release Your Carnivore.” Check out some of the swag below.