Most business owners are on the front lines of the advertising and promotion battle. Now more than ever, the importance of staying in the forefront of customers’ minds can bring revenue – the lifeblood of your business – straight to your door.
But were you aware that the business uniforms you choose for your employees can also have a significant impact on your brand awareness? Just as with advertising and promotion, the clothing your employees wear must be targeted in order to reach as many people as possible, as cost-effectively as possible.
Clothing – The Secret Marketing Strategy
If you’ve ever turned your head in interest at a logo on a hat or t-shirt, you may have experienced the impact that clothing can have. Moreover, there is a vast array of options available for those looking to promote brand awareness. From caps to sports items, office wear to t-shirts, these items can have a very real and tangible impact on a company’s short and long-term returns.
The traditional tools of promotion for businesses were small items like pens, key chains, mugs, calendars and the like. In fact, these remain popular options for businesses to keep their brands out there. But although these less costly items may save you money, they may ultimately reduce the overall impact your advertising has.
But when you choose to increase brand awareness with business clothing, you choose an advertising method which can put your brand in front of thousands of people, around the clock for years. Essentially, corporate clothing works much like a billboard, passively advertising your business and brand to whoever happens to enter your place of business.
Many resent the intrusion that aggressive commercials and campaigns can make. But when you place those very same sorts of advertisements onto clothing, the message is far less intrusive, but can still reach a high number of potential customers.
How to Target Potential Clients with Clothing
Sports events attract a large number of people to one place. This is likely why promotional clothing for sports fans works so well. Jackets, caps and t-shirts can introduce a brand to a whole new audience. One way that many businesses do this is to sponsor a sports team, whose shirts and caps carry the company’s name.
The Case for Longevity
While it may be tempting to choose clothing that is low in cost, the longevity of that clothing should also be taken into consideration. The longer your promotional clothing can last, the longer and further your brand will be exposed and carried. It’s completely reasonable to expect that a piece of quality clothing could be in circulation for many years.
Effective Design
When considering the design of business clothing, an important element to keep in mind is wearability. Your branding shouldn’t make the wearer want to throw it back in the closet. Successful branding using clothing contains simple elements that aren’t blatant advertising. If your potential clients are not comfortable with being walking billboards for your business, then your design will need to be toned down somewhat.
Another thing to consider when deciding on how to advertise your business with clothing are the demands of your target market. What kinds of clothing do they like to wear? In what situations would they be wearing your promotional clothing? Is there a void in the clothing they are currently wearing that you can fill?
Sitting down and really thinking about these types of questions can make it much easier for you to not only design effective promotional clothing, but distribute the clothing more easily to potential clients who are already eager to wear the items.
