Normally, you plan your merchandise marketing carefully and strategically. But sometimes, you just have to react to a surprise.

A London pub mentioned in a Taylor Swift song lost most of its logoed glassware to fans who swarmed the pub during her “Eras Tour” stop in late June, but the establishment launched a merch collection to make the most of the musical name drop.

Fans flocked to The Black Dog, which lends its name to a track on Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department – despite the singer herself never visiting the spot. Lyrics for “The Black Dog” recount how Swift watched as a former flame (but which one?) who left location services enabled on his phone, headed into the pub.

The establishment quickly caught on, posting on Instagram the day the album dropped, but unfortunately, many Swift fans also walked out with The Black Dog’s branded pint glasses (perhaps while humming “You Belong With Me”?). Some have posted their purloined pint glasses – as well as pub menus – for sale on eBay.

But there’s no “Bad Blood” here – the pub has leaned hard into the Swift spotlight, celebrating the name drop on its social media accounts and, naturally, launching a collection of merchandise (ahem) tailored to the tastes of its new fan base. Items bearing The Black Dog logo include cropped and unisex tees and hoodies in bright white and a few earthy shades, plus totes, caps and a travel mug. It remains to be seen whether the pub will replenish its supply of branded pint glasses or add them to the merch mix.

You can count on such a happy coincidence, so why not call APTCO to get ahead of your marketing needs?