Wear your brand if you want to get noticed. That saying seems trite, but a recent encounter reinforced its value to me.

I was sitting at a table outside Mendocino Farms in Sacramento waiting for my lunch and my subcontractor. As I checked my phone, I heard a voice: “What’s BCG?”

I looked up and to my right and saw a man standing next to my table. He was walking past the outdoor patio and saw the purple hat and shirt I was wearing, as you can see in the photo.

I explained what BCG was. He asked about the grape logo, and I told him about it. I gave him my business card, he looked at it, and he said he would connect with me on LinkedIn.

Though I haven’t seen that connection yet, it doesn’t matter. I know the investment in my shirts and hat I invested in years ago still work.

Merch for You and Your Team

Offline marketing is just as important as online marketing, and clothes are a great way to market in person. Company-branded clothes can include:

• Hats
• Short-sleeved collar shirts
• Long-sleeved collar shirts
• T-shirts

The best thing about clothing is that you can invest a little
and get a lot out of them over time. For example, you can buy one hat, six short-sleeved shirts, and six long-sleeved shirts. And T-shirts can commemorate special events, such as the BCG 20th anniversary T-shirts I created a few years ago.

You can use any color you want for different shirts. I used purple for my short- and long-sleeved collar shirts because purple is my favorite color and is in the logo. Purple also stands out more. So, aside from wearing your favorite color, you may want to consider colors in your logo and color psychology when you decide what colors you want for your apparel.

You may also want to offer clothes for your employees, too. They can be color-coded for certain departments, or you can have one color for all employees. For example, shirts with one color can make your employees feel like part of a team — and make it easier for customers to find employees to ask for help.

Be sure to add embroidery for your good shirts and a hat if you use one, or use silk screening for T-shirts with your logo.

Sell Merch

When your business becomes popular — or your clothes do — then company-branded clothing can be a new income source for your business.

For example, Linus Media Group produces a variety of tech-related YouTube videos and they have an entire clothing line for fans to buy. Those clothes include:

• Custom-designed shirts
• Sweatshirts
• Beanie hats
• Scarves
• Sweatbands and wristbands

They even go farther and offer water bottles, cable ties, and even pillows!

These are just ideas to get your gears turning, but don’t worry about having to sell clothing right now. Wear your brand right now. You may be pleasantly surprised by the reaction.

Eric Butow is the owner of Butow Communications Group (BCG). Eric can help you tailor your company’s digital marketing. Set up a meeting with BCG!