Discuss the fun task of marketing a t-shirt shop. Where to advertise, link building, word of mouth, press releases, search engine marketing, keyword advertising, magazines, etc.
I am working on some shirt designs, and wondering how prominent my branding should be on the shirts. Some people seem to opt for having little to no branding on their shirts, while others incorporate large logos, URLs, and the like. I'd like to have a substantial logo on the backs of my shirts (with the main design on the front), but I wonder how potential customers would react to having what is in effect an advertisement on their backs.
What are your experiences with branding your shirts? What do customers seem to like / dislike / not really care about as far as having your logo on the shirt? (In my case, people would certainly be buying for the design, and not for my branding - I mention this because I would think that this is not necessarily the case for some better-known brands.)
Personally I think it depends on your purpose and target market (and to some extent, your company name ).
Some customers don't mind at all, some will be opposed. If you are really working at establishing a "brand", then the benefits of branding a small logo on the upper back might outweigh the sales that might be lost.
A *big* company logo on the back might be much more off-putting than a smaller logo on a sleeve or back "tab" neckline location.
sagacitee,
how large do you want your company to grow? Branding is not only about the product but also about the people you employee. everybody within your organization have to be on the same page when it comes to branding. the stronger the branding the stronger the product or service. sometimes one logo can mean alot to a potential customer if the company brand image is strong and supportive of the product. look @ APPLE, NIKE, FUBU, ROCAWEAR, SEAN JOHN for example.
I'll let Nick answer that one for himself Personally I consider geek a compliment, but he may not (in which case - sorry, no offense intended). Either way, as a university student in a position to get the jokes, who is into t-shirts... he's target audience material.
I place my brand name very small underneth the slogan on the front of the shirt. I modeled this approach from a company that I was very impressed with and it seemed to work for them. It is way to early to tell what is or is not going to work for me, so in that regard I don't know what to tell you. My target group is very small compared to most peoples and I don't think that if they mind wearing one of my shirts that they are going to care about the small website at the bottom. Well, good luck.
Does Nick also use beauty products for men? Heh. Would branding be the logo and the brand name as well? For me I have my full company name of HongKongDMZ but then I also use HKDMZ as my brand as well as a design idea. So...name and logo are both needed for branding?
You could always have your logo stitched or printed onto the edge of a sleeve rather then having it on the label or openly displayed. I'm really not sure if I'm selling my brand openly on my products now.....giving blood sure drains you. Not a pun thanks.
Why has this become an interrogation! Men don't have "beauty products" they have "man cleaners". I occasionallky moisturise, but anyone in Australia who doesn't looks like Paul Hogan when they're 25.
I think it's very bizarre that things which make you more attractive, like vaguely looking after your skin, are thought of as somehow "un-manly" when the end result is more women wanting to sleep with you. Very odd.
Logically, looking like you live under a bridge should be "un-manly", as most women wouldn't go within 20 feet of you, even in a gasmask.
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How Prominent Should Branding Be? 
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