How Custom T-Shirt Design Can Help Promote Your Brand
According to talkroute.com, 76% of Americans derive a stronger emotional connection with a shirt that they or someone they knew has a custom t-shirt design for their business.
This is a simple way to advertise your company, inspire conversations about what you are offering, and visually connect with customers.
Though the idea of printing and distributing wholesale tees might sound a little clichéd — trust me it works!
It will prove to be a win-win situation for your company as in crowded places, whether they be markets or events and conferences, an attractive tee with your logo, icon or your company name inscribed on it will help you stand out from the rest.
People will definitely notice you and in some cases, ask you what the name or logo stands for, out of curiosity.
They might even want to buy one! For instance, a digital marketing agency Single Grain was able to make $500k by simply putting their name on their t-shirts and giving it away to their fans and followers for free.
They used a simple marketing model — logo on the front, message on the back.
There are several other benefits of a custom t-shirt design when it comes to promoting your brand.
According to Socialfresh.com, brand-promoting t-shirts were most popular among younger adults and were most popular among those who politically identified as Independents.
But First Let’s Find out Why Marketing is Important
Marketing is the soul of a business.
Marketing, be it promotions, sales, advertising, social media or content, plays a vital role in the growth of your business.
In simple terms, marketing is getting the word out about your business and brand.
The more people know and read about your brand, the more they will be keen to do business with you.
An article in Smallbusiness.chron.com reveals that marketing is vital for a number of reasons including attracting sales, garnering media mileage and improving your brand reputation.
Creating a custom t-shirt design is just another way of marketing.
Now, when you’ve understood the importance of marketing, let’s have a look at some of the advantages of having custom t-shirt designs for your brand.
And also, what to keep in mind when creating such t-shirts.
Walking Billboards — Billboards may sound a thing of the past in this age of digital advertising, but they are very much here.
Custom t-shirt designs act as walking billboards for your company but are a lot cheaper.
T-shirts with your corporate logo or brand name can offer great visibility to your business in a very cost-effective way.
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Such t-shirts work wonders in catching people’s eye and making a lasting impression on their minds.
Who does not like love freebies? Especially when it’s a long-lasting one such as a t-shirt?
You can distribute your custom t-shirts in events such as a marathon and see how proudly people wear them and market you and your brand as free walking billboards.
A t-shirt travels as far as the person wearing it and can be seen even in places your marketing campaigns cannot reach.
Moreover, as advocates, people share photos of themselves wearing your t-shirts on social networking sites.
Now, marketing cannot get better than this! By merchandising these t-shirts to your employees will add extra benefits to your marketing endeavours, as it will make your team feel valued.
Also, all your employees wearing the custom t-shirt designs of your company give an impression of professionalism and team spirit.
An article in LinkedIn.com reveals that a 2013 study by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) examined the demographics of branded t-shirts, jackets, and caps and found that branded clothing was a great way to promote brand recognition, spark interest, and increase business.
Great Conversation Starters — Do you remember any time when you wore a branded t-shirt and people did not comment on it or had a discussion on the company?
Possibly not! By simply wearing your brand’s t-shirt, you can attract many people that want to talk about the company or the brand out of curiosity.
This is powerful marketing! It will be easier to convey the message of your company through these t-shirts by the way of logos and taglines.
You can even make a statement (if you wish) about what you believe in, the mission of your business, or whatever you want through these tees.
It is an excellent way to engage with other people who may share your interests.
Though there will also be those people who will just ignore what they saw, don’t be disappointed, as many others will have their curiosity piqued because of one reason or another.
Such t-shirts help in creating a sense of unity for people who share similar ideas. According to Marketing Donut, door-drop t-shirt marketing is an effective means of getting the word out about your brand when you’re just opening up.
Visual Impact — Visual appeal matters a lot! According to Slideshare.com, visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text by a human brain.
Also, content with visuals gets 94% more total views. So, a custom t-shirt with a professional logo design and a catchy tagline will prove to be visually stimulating.
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The people who see your branded t-shirts are likely to remember your business for a long time.
Also, since a human mind retains information associated with pictures far more than words alone, it would be safe to say that custom t-shirts can make your brand memorable in the ever-so-competitive market.
Even startup corporations such as TuneIn, that allows users to stream and listen to the radio online, has been able to garner a huge fan following with its t-shirts featuring its art and entertainment logo within a constellation.
Remember, a stylised company logo or even the name of your company on a t-shirt could easily make your customer remember your name, forever.
Not Such A Costly Affair!
You don’t necessarily have to have a big budget for this one.
The custom t-shirts are inexpensive as compared to other marketing techniques. All you need is a blank t-shirt design and fill it up with branding elements of your company, be it your logo, icons, or any other graphics.
You can get printing done at a relatively low price. Moreover, t-shirts act as great gifts at events or giving to other willing local businesses to distribute.
All you need is a unique, custom logo design that draws the attention of the people who see it.
Moreover, if you have a small business, you can start by ordering small quantities until things start to grow. Also, this makes it easy to change your message on the tee if you want to.
A Few Tips for Creating Your Custom T-shirt Design
We are sure that you already would have worked on designing a logo design or other graphics for the promotion of your brand, but you may need to rethink how it works when printed on a t-shirt.
It is not necessary that what looks good on a desktop or on paper will look good on a t-shirt as well.
Therefore, whether you’re looking for a graphic designer to rework on your existing design or you’re looking for someone to create a new one, make them understand your need to fit the design on a t-shirt.
However, keep the following suggestions in mind while creating a custom t-shirt for your company:
• People make snap judgments. According to conversionxl.com, first impressions are 94% design related.
So, make sure the size of the logo is sufficient to be seen from a distance so that it impresses people.
The Majority of people will not look at it for more than 5 seconds.
• Include an out of the box tagline of your business with the name of the company so that it generates buzz and people start discussing it. No one talks about monotonous things.
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• The cloth that you select for creating t-shirts should be of high quality so that it is comfortable for people to wear them.
• Finally, don’t put any slur or inappropriate images on the t-shirts with your corporate logo as this might harm the brand image.
We are sure that by this time you are convinced that how creating custom t-shirts can help you promote your brand.
But don’t forget to wear your t-shirts everywhere and evoke curiosity in people. Because when people get curious, they go out of their way to know more about your company.
In some cases, this might turn into additional business.
Even if they don’t bring customers directly, they might just wear them and move around which will ultimately be beneficial for you and your business in the long run. Just make sure you thank people who wear your t-shirts and help in the promotional design of your brand.
So, come up with a custom t-shirt design that is unique, eye-catching and memorable for your company.
Then, see how simple it is to create a buzz by wearing it.
If you wish to discuss how we can develop your brand or provide graphic design for your product or business, email us at: hello@inkbotdesign.com
Inkbot Design is a Creative Branding Agency that is passionate about effective Graphic Design, Brand Identity, Logos and Web Design.
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