The Marketing Power of a T-Shirt

Before I sat down to write this article I took a quick look in my wardrobe to see how many promotional t-shirts I could spot: seven. Seven! From Red Bull Racing to Bumble via to university logos, there was a mix of them all. So many marketing campaigns focus on expensive ads on TV or magazines, and most of these campaigns are ineffective.

Why? Because the biggest solution is not always the best one. Promotional t-shirts are a form of direct marketing that resonates with consumers for all of the right reasons.

Next time you’re out in public, I challenge you to spend a few minutes looking at the t-shirts people are wearing. Are you spotting a lot of Nike, GAP, and Supreme? Every time you do, you are being directly marketed at which is the exact intention these brands had by plastering their logos and names over the front of these popular clothing items.

Promotional t-shirts are literally a walking advertisement – and you don’t even have to do the walking! Having your logo on a promotional t-shirt is a cheap, effective way to essentially build a group of brand ambassadors to carry your logo wherever they go.

You need to be creative when considering how to brand your t-shirt. Creative doesn’t always mean whacky. If you want to stick with just your logo then that would work, but it could work even better as a marketing tool if you step a little outside of the box. No, I’m not saying start with a ‘Keep Calm and…’ or an ‘I <3’, but try and think about how you can turn a clever t-shirt into an art canvas. For an inspirational idea, check out the Evian Live Young T-Shirts (the image above).

You can also get a buzz around your brand through promotional t-shirts. The other day I was wearing a Bumble tee I had been given for free by their brand ambassadors on campus to the gym and this girl came over and said it was a cool design and asked about the brand. T-shirts are an instant conversation starter, and yes, you guessed it, that conversation will be around your brand. In my eyes, that is powerful marketing.

We have a whole range of t-shirts you can add your logo to should you be interested in jumping on board this trend. If tees aren’t your thing, consider perhaps hoodies, or hats, or maybe even socks!