The de facto item you get when you attend a struggle event, the tote bag, is a useful piece of gear. Can't front on that. I bring one to work every day because I need something to carry my shit, but I don't really care about it so much to buy a nice designer joint. You can throw a basic canvas tote around without worrying about the consequences and if you're in a major metropolitan area, you've probably seen a bunch of NPR-branded totes in your time. And that's no accident. The Atlantic looked at how the NPR tote has become a full-on thing.
In essence, NPR gave away these totes to their donors who sent in money to help keep NPR alive. They were cheap to produce and often the donation from the listener outweighed the production cost, so it made sense to give them away to loyal listeners. Even though NPR has had its own shop for 15 years, totes were only added to the product selection last year. More than 2,000 of them sold from the store alone, along with additional giveaway totes and local station pledges.
There's even a tote with the likeness of Nina Totenberg, NPR's legal affairs reporter, on it. Of course, that sort of funny application appeals to NPR listeners. And NPR is among many other media conglomerates, Complex included, that shill their branded wares to connect with their followers. Even though it's not a huge part of business, it is about connecting with the readers or some shit like that that I know nothing about.
