Marketers put their commercials on billboards, buses, and cars, so why wouldn’t they put them on our clothes and turn us into walking ads that convey their brand’s message? Many companies use clothing items for their promotion, and I’m not only talking about low-quality and ugly T-shirts and baseball hats, but also about well-designed clothing items and accessories that would earn praise from the strictest fashion critics and the fanciest bloggers.

How can you promote your brand through fashion?

If we look at a random sample of promotional clothing items, we’ll realize that most companies don’t invest too much money in its design. Of course, you won’t hire Valentino or Marc Jacobs to design your company’s promotional T-shirts. Still, entrepreneurs should invest a little bit more money and effort into this type of advertising.

Your customers will always accept a free gift, even a T-shirt with an ugly logo and colors that don’t match. Most people wear promotional clothing at home. This fact drastically devolves the ROI of ‘fashion-marketing campaigns.’ That’s why companies must focus on creating clothing items that are ‘worth the hanger’ in their customers’ wardrobes. If you replace ugly T-shirts with stylish fashion items, your customers will wear them on various occasions and promote your brand wherever they go.

One of the best ways to incorporate promotional clothing items in your marketing campaign is to turn them into regular products and add them to your company’s offer. Many different companies sell their apparel. Apple is one of them. The company recently put its staff T-shirts on sale, and it already has a cult following among diehard Apple fans.

Why would someone turn a restaurant into a fashion store?

Maybe Apple is not the best example of the effective use of fashion in marketing. Even if they’d released a khaki-blue Apple underpants, they’d sell the whole batch in less than an hour. So, let’s find some other examples.

Hooters is a well-known restaurant franchise that employs attractive young women as waiting staff. They say that “Sex appeal is legal and it sells”. Hooters waiters wear revealing T-shirts and shorts, which became a brand after some time. Hooters ‘work uniforms’ became so popular that the company developed a separate brand that promotes Hooters apparel. They sell it in restaurants and on the company’s website. Their collection includes T-shirts, sweaters, baseball hats, and other clothing that are easy to make and design.

Hard Rock Cafe is another popular theme restaurant that has developed its chic apparel. They popularized their venues by hanging rock and roll memorabilia on their walls. In time, Hard Rock T-shirts became one of the most recognizable clothing items among the rebellious youth. Both companies earn significant funds from clothing sales but use their apparel to promote their business far and wide. Think about it: thousands, or even millions, of people worldwide work as brand advocates of these two restaurant chains by doing branded catwalks on their city’s streets.

Promotional accessories

Do you know that the first promotional item was a leather school bag produced by a shoe factory in Coshocton, Ohio? In recent years, printed non-woven bags have also been used as affordable and effective promotional products. Any branded fashion accessory can be used for this purpose. This includes handbags, umbrellas, wallets, scarves, watches, and hats. You can sell them as your products or give them to the most loyal customers at various promotional events. Sometimes, fashion accessories are even better than clothing because designers have much more liberty to express the true nature of your brand through lively colors and various practical features.

Good-quality clothing is one of the best marketing tools. Although it doesn’t have the mass appeal of social media or TV commercials, it’s one of the most personal ways to spread your brand’s message. Many marketers agree that word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most effective techniques for attracting new customers. Wearing promotional clothing gives a new dimension to this form of marketing. Customers who wear promotional items stand behind their favorite brand and are unafraid to show that to the world. That’s why even the companies that don’t have anything to do with fashion should try to develop their apparel.