Promotional products come in many shapes and sizes, including mugs, pens, tote bags, and USB drives. One popular promotional item is apparel. From hats and corporate jackets to t-shirts and sweatshirts, you can put your name and logo on virtually any type of clothing, and you can give them away to employees, loyal clients, or prospects.
If you’re still giving away promotional corporate apparel you designed years ago, however, you might want to consider if it’s time to buy new stock. Here’s why.
1. Your Logo, Brand Colours, or Corporate Name Has Changed
Many companies rebrand for a variety of reasons, whether it’s due to a shifting customer base, an evolving mission statement, or an expansion into new products or services. If your brand’s logo, colours, or name has changed due to a rebranding effort, it’s definitely time to buy new inventory of your promotional apparel. For your promo products to be effective, they might accurately convey your company’s image and keep your brand top of mind. This isn’t possible if your apparel is vastly different from the brand you’re not representing.
2. Your Fabric Is Uncomfortable
When you first purchased your stock of corporate apparel, you might have gone with a basic fabric option such as polyester. Perhaps you were trying to stay within budget or maybe you simply didn’t know about the different options available to you. Regardless, the fabric you may have chosen for your shirts or sweaters years ago may be too uncomfortable for your employees or customers to ever wear them. If this is the case, your promo items will fail to be effective.
Fabrics today are more durable and soft. Consider purchasing new apparel in a poly-blend, such as nylon, spandex, and polyester, to increase comfort and provide greater flexibility and movement. Find more online resources at the Brandability website.
3. The Cut Is Cookie-Cutter
It can be difficult to purchase promotional apparel when you’re trying to please everyone. As a result of these efforts, you may have purchased one cut, such as a straight box-cut t-shirt. Unfortunately, this makes it less likely that people will wear your apparel. If the cut is out of style or doesn’t fit well, it’s time for another order of apparel. Try polos instead, which are more figure flattering.
4. You’re Running Out of Sizes
If, after several months or years, you’re only left with 500 XL shirts and no other sizes, it’s time for a re-order. Your employees, customers, and prospects come in all sizes, so you should have apparel available in multiple sizes to meet all their needs, from XS to XXL.
5. The Colour Is Out of Date
Colours that might have been in style back in the day when you purchased your inventory of apparel might be out of style now. Colours are often trendy, and you might have bought into the latest fad at the time, such as bright colours. As time goes on, though, these colours can fall out of favour. You can consider purchasing new apparel in the latest Pantone colours or go for neutrals for a classic look that won’t fade anytime soon.
