If you don't have a shirt, hat or jacket with your brand's logo on it, you're missing out on a powerful and affordable marketing opportunity.
When it comes to marketing, a lot of business owners focus only on swinging for the fences and hitting a home-run. This usually ends up in a lot of expensive, and often, ineffective marketing campaigns such as TV commercials or magazine ads.
While these types of marketing campaigns are sometimes called for, a smart business owner will know that the biggest solution isn’t always the best one. In today’s ad-saturated media environment often, simpler, more direct marketing efforts yield the best results.
Here’s a quick example to explain what I mean. Next time you’re at the mall or an event, take the time to look around at what everyone is wearing. Count how many shirts you see with brands like Nike, Adidas, GAP and other popular bands on TV and movies.
You’ve just been marketed to—many times over!
In the end, you and your employees have got to wear clothes, so why not put them to work marketing your product or service? It’s an easy win for your company, and in some instances, such as at networking events and conferences, corporate clothing will help you stand out in a sea of suits. I’ll give you some examples to show you what I mean.
Walking Advertisements
At one conference that had roughly two thousand attendees, the three of us from All-County Apparel each wore a shirt with our logo huge on the back. We really stood out, so much so, in fact, that many people thought there were at least twenty of us walking around because they saw our logos so often amid the masses of suit jackets.
At many tech conventions, startups have even been known to pay people to wear their T-shirts and walk around the venue, which instantly builds a brand army.
Organizers of fundraising races hand out T-shirts branded with the charity and sponsors of the event. Runners proudly wear these shirts and are free, walking billboards for these brands.
Why do companies do this? Simple. It’s cheap, effective and creates a tribe of devoted fans and employees who become brand ambassadors everywhere they go in the community. It’s a small investment for more business.
Conversation Starters
When people think of branded clothing, they sometimes think of bland corporate polos and button downs. But that doesn’t have to be the case! You can be creative with your clothing, especially with the ever improving technologies in screen print and digital printing! But, the most important thing is to create conversation.
For some brands, this has to do with being part of a tribe. For instance, when I wear a Giants hat, I get stopped all the time by people who want to talk about the team. I’m not a Giants fan, but I like the hat. By simply wearing the hat, I attract big fans of the brand that want to talk. That’s powerful marketing!
But you don’t have to be a big, classic brand for this to work. Every time I wear branded clothing, someone comments and asks me about my company.
Talent Magnet
Most companies will tell you that their biggest challenges are creating revenue and recruiting talent. Besides helping market your brand to potential customers, branded clothing gives you the added benefit attracting talent.
Even way back when we first started All-County Apparel, we'd always make sure we were wearing branded shirts & hats when at trade shows and events so people would see our brand wherever we were. This also proves helpful when recruiting new employees. For instance, one winter we all wore All-County Apparel branded holiday sweaters out to our company dinner, they were a huge hit and great conversation starter that we had multiple calls from young professionals asking if we were hiring, just from that one night out!
Working Overtime
You can even put clothing to work while you’re not working. While building All-County Apparel, we would place our branded jackets on the outside of chairs so it could be seen while we were sitting down. On planes or buses, we'd fold it in such a way that the logo stood out even when placed in overhead bins. We were relentless in getting our name out to prospects.
The point is simple, every opportunity is a marketing opportunity if you’re paying attention and thinking outside the box. And some of the best marketing opportunities are cheap, easy, and fun. So, start dressing in your brand today! Give us a call at (973) 363-3181, message us on Facebook, or visit our website for more information!