By Nathan Bailey, Chief Branding Architect
Whether it’s t-shirts, polos, or button-down shirts, corporate apparel can work more for you than just simply an employee outfit. It is a powerful tool that can aid both marketing and confidence. Here are the top three compelling things that corporate apparel can implement.
The Uniform UnifiesIf you’ve ever played on a competitive sports team you know that the uniform has the capability to give off psychological power to your team. Additionally, wearing a uniform with others unifies employees as a team.
It also invokes a sense of pride. That feeling you get pulling a uniform over your head is a great reminder that you’re part of a team and your important and distinct role on the team. It is a great motivator for who you play for and what you’re playing for. (which can range from sales goal achievement to recruitment). Employees should be proud of where they work and the part they play in making the company successful. Look Good, Play Good
I tell my son that if he looks good, he’ll feel good, and then he’ll have a better chance of playing well. A clean unwrinkled uniform that is tucked in properly will give him the upper hand by giving him the confidence to get the outcomes he desires.
If you have a construction crew on the roof of a house all wearing t-shirts that are branded the same, they will look like a team and work like a team. This is also great marketing for a potential customer to look up and see a bunch of guys running around with orange shirts orchestrating fast and professional work, much like a sports team does. Perhaps you’re in sales and meeting potential customers. There is calm professionalism that the customer feels when they shake hands with a salesperson wearing a branded shirt. It allows for an unspoken upfront contract to quickly be made between the sales rep and the prospect of who they are and why they are there. If someone comes into my office with a Comcast-branded polo on, I know they are here to have a chat with me about my telecommunication needs. If someone walks in with blank business casual attire, my eyebrows raise as I have no idea why they are in my offices. Looking good makes you feel unbeatable and invincible, which makes you play well, and that feeling of being unstoppable is motivating to take on the world, dominate the competition and bring home the wins.
Generating Leads Through Marketing Apparel
I have had many conversations that have led to referrals, meetings, and business from wearing my company’s branded apparel. Every day I go to the same coffee shop. Many days, I see the same people on the same schedule. There have been times while in line, people ask me what Ideation is because they saw our cool retail-inspired logo and branded tees, polos, hats, etc.
Four years ago, a sales rep at Ideation was wearing a branded shirt and was behind the Director of Marketing for another company wearing a branded polo. Their shared commonality of wearing branded apparel and getting Chipotle led to a conversation, that led to a phone call, that led to a partnership that Ideation and this client hold today. These types of collisions happen all the time through branded apparel and should be happening for you and your company.
The investment is worth it.
We offer brands like Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, North Face, and Alternative. We can design apparel in a variety of different retail inspired ways that will leave your company looking good, playing good and winning in many facets of the game.
