The News & Observer names Custom Patch Hats a winner of the Raleigh-Durham Top Workplaces 2026 award. Raleigh-based custom headwear and apparel company also secures national honors for Purpose & Values and Manufacturing Excellence. RALEIGH, N.C. - September 20, 2026 - Custom Patch Hats (CPH) has been awarded a Top Workplaces 2026 honor by The News & Observer. The award is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The confidential survey measures key aspects of the employee experience, including feeling respected, supported, enabled to grow, and empowered to execute. Custom Patch Hats is one of three organizations with 1-149 employees in the Raleigh-Durham area recognized with this year's award. Custom Patch Hats pairs real human design experts with high-quality custom hats and branded apparel to take the guesswork out of custom ordering. The Top Workplaces recognition highlights CPH's commitment to building an internal culture rooted in the same accountability and care it delivers to clients. In addition to the regional honor, CPH received two national 2026 Top Workplaces awards: a Culture Excellence Award for Purpose & Values and an Industry Award in Manufacturing. Founded in 2018 by Brian Cox and Scott Alexander, the Raleigh-based company has prioritized a people-first workplace since day one. "When we started CPH, we wanted to build a place where people felt backed up, respected, and genuinely excited to walk through the door," said Scott Alexander, Co-Founder of Custom Patch Hats. "Every day, our team comes in ready to help people create gear that brings their crews together. Honestly, they're the ones making it happen. This award is entirely theirs, and Brian and I couldn't ask for a better team right here in Raleigh." "Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees," said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. "That's something to be proud of. In today's market, leaders must ensure they're allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. That's paramount. Top Workplaces do this, and it pays dividends." Company Contact Amy Hoppe Brand and Product Development Manager [email protected] 919-424-7723 ex. 530 About Custom Patch Hats Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., Custom Patch Hats (CPH) pairs real human design experts with high-quality custom headwear and apparel. Built on a commitment to hands-on craftsmanship and total accountability, CPH helps organizations build custom gear that brings crews together. Demonstrating rapid expansion alongside its workplace culture, CPH ranked No. 140 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America. To learn more, visit www.custompatchhats.com. About Energage Making the world a better place to work together.(TM) Energage is a purpose-driven company that helps organizations turn employee feedback into useful business intelligence and credible employer recognition through Top Workplaces. Built on 20 years of culture research and the results from 30 million employees surveyed across more than 80,000 organizations, Energage delivers the most accurate competitive benchmark available. With access to a unique combination of patented analytic tools and expert guidance, Energage customers lead the competition with an engaged workforce and an opportunity to gain recognition for their people-first approach to culture. For more information or to nominate your organization, visit energage.com or topworkplaces.com. Want to build something great with Custom Patch Hats, LLC? See why Custom Patch Hats, LLC were named a Top Workplace. Join a human-first team that takes pride in hands-on craftsmanship and growing together.

Behind the campaign: helping Custom Patch Hats stand out in a crowded space. When Custom Patch Hats (CPH) partnered with TriMark Digital, they had two needs: stronger organic content and more qualified leads from paid media. TriMark's job was to make it happen in the ultra-competitive fashion marketing space. TriMark Digital put on its thinking caps and crafted a campaign focused on driving active engagement through visually appealing, highly strategic media. Here's how TriMark Digital did it. A brief intro to Custom Patch Hats. Custom Patch Hats is a branded headwear and apparel manufacturer in Raleigh, North Carolina. Known primarily for its hand-stitched leather, PVC and fabric patch hats, CPH also offers customizable workwear, athletic wear, winter wear and other apparel. CPH primarily serves businesses wanting custom-branded apparel for employees or customers. However, the brand specifically does not want to position itself as an impersonal, glue-it-and-send-it branded apparel manufacturer. CPH focuses on craftsmanship, precision and detail in every product. The idea is to create branded items that people actually want to wear, so customers remember CPH as a supplier they can trust. Setting the growth strategy. CPH wanted to drive sales growth and recognized its emphasis on a quality product as a core performance driver. However, the fashion industry is packed with brands that position quality as a core value, creating competitive paid media and social marketing spaces. If the brand couldn't stand out uniquely, it wouldn't compete. With this in mind, TriMark mapped a marketing approach centered on two big ideas: Relatability. Content and messaging had to convey a human connection. It needed to illustrate that CPH's products are more than standard-issue company-branded apparel. Rather, it's clothing people are proud to wear in their real lives. Adaptable visibility. In a complex paid media landscape, all campaigns required flexibility. TriMark Digital had to implement ongoing analysis and be open to periodic restructuring to ensure optimal performance. Bringing the brand closer to the wearer. Although CPH is mainly a B2B brand, TriMark Digital realized the best approach for its content was to curate a B2C image. Businesses primarily buy CPH-branded materials, but its customers or employees wear the items. Their satisfaction is what matters most. By creating human-focused content, TriMark Digital could convey that these were quality items for daily use. To capture that message, TriMark Digital: * Focused on lifestyle imagery and simple storytelling, showcasing how CPH products fit everyday moments. * Highlighted CPH's product creation process, emphasizing the craftsmanship in every piece. This approach strengthened a more human brand image and made the content more shareable among a broader audience. Fine-Tuning paid media. Its content creation strategy was backed by a flexible paid media strategy. TriMark Digital initially focused on Google and Microsoft search campaigns, and its Q1 results showed considerable performance improvement with the new content: * 95,000 - impressions, a 62% increase * 5,500 - profile visits, an 11% increase * 2,100 - content interactions, a 107% increase TriMark Digital knew this couldn't be a set-it-and-forget-it campaign, given the high variability in the fashion and apparel marketing space. TriMark Digital had to learn, evolve, adjust and follow the data. While TriMark Digital met its lead generation goals in the first quarter, TriMark Digital also recognized that overspending in less productive channels can challenge profitability. Therefore, TriMark Digital had to recalibrate, expanding in some areas while pulling back in others. In Q2, TriMark Digital refined its bidding strategies, adjusted its targets and spends, and remained flexible to adapt to evolving search trends. TriMark Digital adapted its content and copy production to align with the latest keywords, conversion data and performance metrics. This maintained a tight, responsive campaign. The results: increased visibility and revenue. Its CPH campaign focused on curating relatable content while maintaining visibility in the right channels at the right times. TriMark Digital made it easier for the right people to see and connect with the brand. The outcome was a 15% increase in annual revenue, driven by: * 1.6 M - impressions * 381,000 - reel plays * 2,000 - new followers * 11,000 - content interactions * 27,000 - profile visits * 4,000 - external link attempts These results exceeded CPH's initial aims, providing the stability any successful brand needs. Engagement drives revenue growth. Investing in quality content and showcasing it effectively can drive measurable growth. If your team wants to align creative and performance for optimal results, TriMark can help. Talk to TriMark Digital about how integrated strategies can support your business goals. CONTACT US Work with TriMark. TriMark Digital don't do one-size-fits-all. TriMark Digital build custom strategies that solve real business problems and drive results you can measure. Let's talk about how TriMark Digital can grow your brand - starting today. Keep reading discover what drives results. Published: Mar 5, 2026 Where has discovery gone? Find out how you can capitalize on modern search to drive positive business outcomes. Published: Feb 25, 2026 Where has discovery gone? Find out how you can capitalize on modern search to drive positive business outcomes.