# Branding Implementation ? - starting out, should you put your brand name on the front



## bucknut5 (Mar 21, 2007)

Am in the design process and am deciding if I should put my brand name on the shirt.....do not have a logo (kind of like Abercrombie and Hollister who have their name on every shirt but no logo).

I really feel as my brand name adds a decorative feel/style to the shirt, but I don't know if it will turn customers away for the simple fact that nobody has heard of it and therefore do not want to be seen in public with it.

---In handling this, should I just leave the brand name on from the beginning in hope that the visibility for the few who buy will build some reputation and cause more to buy- or - 

should I leave it off initially and let word of mouth from the site and advertising take a roll for a while until I gradually introduce it, or does it really matter?


----------



## rejoice (Jun 7, 2007)

*Re: Branding Implementation ?*

Is your brand name embarassing or crass? I would say if you're building your brand and expect people to showcase it in the future.... why would you not brand them initially? I believe you should build your brand awareness from the start.


----------



## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

*Re: Branding Implementation ?*

Hollister and Abercrombie both have logos, and both use their names and their logo on their garments depending on the design.

Hollister with the seagull, and Abercrombie with the moose.


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

*Re: Branding Implementation ?*



> I don't know if it will turn customers away for the simple fact that *nobody has heard of it *and therefore do not want to be seen in public with it.


*Speaking generally:* Unless you are going to spend a lot of money advertising and marketing your new company in major media, I would suggest leaving your brand name off of the design.

Nobody knows who you are or why they should wear your brand, so they won't want to be an advertisement for your company.

The reason why Ambercrombie and Fitch, Hollister can do it and charge big bucks for it is because they spent lots of money in advertising, marketing and branding. They do radio ads, tv ads, magazine ads, sponsor athletes, get celebrity endorsements, have a retail store, which gives people the feeling that it is a "must have" brand and when they wear that brand, they want to be associated with what the brand is aligned with.

There are exceptions to this rule of course, but as a general rule, if you don't have the big bucks to advertise and market and get known, then just focus on the designs, and leave the branding to your neckline tags or even a sleeve tag or other non-intrusive area.


----------



## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

I think there's no right or wrong answer to your question - if you feel that it's important then go for it.


----------



## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

I would say go for it! Remember the guys at VOLCOM started with about $2K.

Good Luck!


----------



## tshirtinsurgency (Jul 27, 2007)

We grappled with this question with our products too. If it's subtle and doesn't take away from the design, I'd say go for it. Otherwise, we've been perfectly content on people remembering us just based on the strength of our designs. 

Whatever you decide, good luck out there.


----------



## truemeaning (Apr 21, 2007)

PUT YOUR NAME/LOGO ON YA GARMENTS.......It will let people know who you are. I don't know about anyone else but I have looked at plenty of garments and saw the name and went online to see more of there apparel. You WANT people to know who you are so put it on there. I put my company name on every design and now I put a small logo badge print on the bottom of the shirt too. all of my customers seem to like the extra badge print.......Something to remember and that is very important.....PERCEPTION IS REALITY, if people think your brand is a must have it will become a must have, it's all about how you put it across. A lot of really good indie designers that don't have stores and don't have all the crazy marketing and endorsements brand there products and they look great too. Why do you have to reach a certain "status" or "echelon" to be able to brand your product? I say DO IT........


----------



## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

truemeaning said:


> Something to remember and that is very important.....PERCEPTION IS REALITY, if people think your brand is a must have it will become a must have, it's all about how you put it across.


I agree! PERCEPTION IS REALITY.


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Why do you have to reach a certain "status" or "echelon" to be able to brand your product


Because many times nobody will want to wear your "brand" without knowing "why" they should wear it.

Just because you have a new brand, doesn't mean that people will want to spend the same money as an established brand that has spent the money marketing/advertising to make their brand the "must have" thing.

Just starting a new brand doesn't make it a "must have" thing. 

So putting your brand name on the front of your t-shirts could cost you sales if nobody believes in what you're selling since they haven't heard of you before.

If you're doing a full marketing/advertising campaign to go with it and you're ready to really compete with the brands that exist, then it could be worth a shot.


----------



## truemeaning (Apr 21, 2007)

Sorry Rodney but I disagree with you on this one man....look at it this way. Let's say someone buys a shirt off of your website or even hand to hand and someone else sees them wearing it and says, "I like that shirt were did you get it?" Let's say the person wearing your shirt replys "Oh I was surfing the web or walking down the street and just bought it" Friend says who makes it? what website" what store? what's there name? Customer might say...." I don't know...or I don't remember".........If you put your name on it you let everyone who might want to know who you are...know who you are....What is the point of establishing brand identity if you don't let consumers know what and who your brand is. At the VMA's on Sunday ( Ifeel bad for Britney by the way) Timbaland wore a shirt that said "Blackpool Bombers" and had some dragon on it. I wanted to know who made it cause it looked cool so I googled "Blackpool Bombers" and found who made it and were to buy there clothes...they are called "Salvage Clothing" Do you think I am the only person in all of the world who did that same thing? I would bet anything there sales went up from him wearing that shirt. Why? Because it was identifiable, it was branded maybe not with there company name but with something you could use for i.d...that could be any of our shirts in the same situation and who would want to have a huge superstar on MTV wearing there shirt and noone being able to find out who your company is because you didn't want to brand your clothes because you are not a "big name" or "important enough" or can't "market and advertise".......the end result will be you blew your chance to be a "big name" and be important enough to do the advertising and make your product a must have. BRAND YOUR CLOTHES FROM THE START BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHERE YOUR CLOTHES WILL END UP OR WHO MAY BE WEARING THEM.


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> .look at it this way. Let's say someone buys a shirt off of your website or even hand to hand and someone else sees them wearing it and says, "I like that shirt were did you get it?" Let's say the person wearing your shirt replys "Oh I was surfing the web or walking down the street and just bought it" Friend says who makes it? what website" what store? what's there name? Customer might say...." I don't know...or I don't remember".........If you put your name on it you let everyone who might want to know who you are.


I didn't say there is anything wrong with "branding" the t-shirt to make it easier for customers to remember where they bought the tee. There are lots of ways to "brand" yourself though.

But this particular topic is about putting your brand name on the front of your t-shirt. IE...JUST selling your name on the t-shirt by itself with no design.

To sell your brand name on the t-shirt with no design, you're going to have to give customers a reason to want to be your billboard. Those big names do that by advertising and marketing so much that it seems "cool" to just wear that company name.



> Timbaland wore a shirt that said "Blackpool Bombers" and had some dragon on it. I wanted to know who made it cause it looked cool so I googled "Blackpool Bombers" and found who made it and were to buy there clothes...they are called "Salvage Clothing" Do you think I am the only person in all of the world who did that same thing? I would bet anything there sales went up from him wearing that shirt. Why? Because it was identifiable, it was branded maybe not with there company name but with something you could use f


EXACTLY my point  How do you think that t-shirt got in the hands of Timbaland? Advertising and Marketing!

The only reason why you got a chance to even see that t-shirt is because that company got its t-shirt in the hands of a celebrity. That made the t-shirt "cool". That made people want to find out about it.

If you just saw that t-shirt on the web, I'm guessing it wouldn't have been as cool or had the same draw.

That company competed with the "big names" by marketing and advertising and doing the "branding" stuff that makes people want to wear your clothing line.


----------



## cferrari (May 3, 2007)

OK, Here is my 2 cents on this. We are branding a line. We have our logo on the front of all of our shirts. We have about 42 designs being released next week. Our name and logo tie into our designs. We felt it was important for that reason as well as the fact that we are rolling out a line that we brand the product. We have a marketing company that is working for us that agreed. We retagged all product with the company name, web site and logo. We are shipping in bags that have the brand logo etc. For us we felt that to really roll out and brand a line it was important to have it on all of our products. 

Now I think Rodney's point is very good. Unless your spending money on a marketing campaign, people will not know you and will not be drawn to wear you just because it is out there. Todays kids and young adults like popular trends, and in that they will want to wear the flavor of the month. If your line is not a known flavor, they may not want to wear it. However, good marketing, hard work and persistence will get you there. 

Now we created a sort of buzz with our line. We have several retailers already signed and bought product but they had to agree not to put out until after our show and release next week. That was part of our branding and marketing campaign. Now this is costly to do and at the end of the day I do not know if it will be successful or not but you have to try. In the end I guess there is no real concrete answer to this question like others have said, but you have to d what you believe is the correct way and roll with it. You can always change as your business plan should be fluid anyway. Good luck.


----------



## truemeaning (Apr 21, 2007)

Ok Rodney I agree selling your brand name as the design as a starter is not the way to go and I hobestly hate when the bigger company's do it. I get no satisfaction out of wearing something just becasue some company put there name on it and other than that the garment has no uniqeness to it so I agree, putting just your name on a tee as a new company and selling it is somewhat foolish. Overall though like I said if you put a design on it you NEED to brand it or make it identifiable without a doubt. All of my garments sold are polybagged with hangtags and all the tees of badge prints on them with my website in small print, it ads a little extra quality to the garments believe it or not. The reason I say brand it and put some extra finishings on your pieces is becasue that's the way I was taught from retailers and advisors in the fashion industry. I was fortunate enough to be able to chat with with some people who had some experience and knowledge in fashion and advised me to do so and gave other great info as well. I would recommend anyone to brand what you sell because you don't want to create a demand for your products and noone know who you are or haow to get your stuff..then you miss out on sales. Sometimes you don't need all the marketing and ads...FUBU was made popular through LL.COOL J because he knew them prior and wore there clothes in some photo shoots and boom next thing you know they are a "must have" noon knew who they were before LL wore there clothes but after that everyone did and everything was branded. We all might not be as fortunate but who is to say that one day someone wont stumble across your tees and wear one and then someone else sees it and likes it and orders some and next thing you know Britney is stumbling around drunk shaving her head bald in a photo taken by the paparazzi wearing your shirt......hey it could happen u never know where they go and who ordred it so I say...Brand it


----------



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> Overall though like I said if you put a design on it you NEED to brand it or make it identifiable without a doubt.


Yes, that's definitely true. I just got confused, since this thread is specifically about putting your brand name on the front of the t-shirt with no design 

I agree, branding your line in general is a smart move.



> Sometimes you don't need all the marketing and ads...FUBU was made popular through LL.COOL J because he knew them prior and wore there clothes in some photo shoots and boom next thing you know they are a "must have" noon knew who they were before LL wore there clothes but after that everyone did and everything was branded


I'm not sure what you think of when you say "marketing and ads", but having LL Cool J wear your clothes is a perfect example of marketing and ads.

Without marketing and advertising, your t-shirts will not sell.

There are all types of marketing and advertising methods. Having celebrities wear your shirts is one of the more popular methods these days.


----------



## MiNGLED (Aug 22, 2007)

When I started I decided to brand my t-shirts but in a subtle way. The design is always the focus, front and centre (usually) with the branding as small as I can make it on the back. This isn't for brand awareness, very few people yet know of the name, but just a subtle reminder for the buyer as to where, amoungst the many online stores, it was bought from. Plus as truemeaning said, it's there for anyone who asks.


----------



## donsopranojatt (Sep 30, 2007)

Timbaland wore a shirt that said "Blackpool Bombers" and had some dragon on it. I wanted to know who made it cause it looked cool so I googled "Blackpool Bombers" and found who made it and were to buy there clothes...they are called salvage clothing [/quote]
i also saw the t-shirt and was impressed could you please send me a link on were to purchase the shirt as i had no luck in googling the search thanks


----------



## truemeaning (Apr 21, 2007)

Salvage Clothing made the blackpool bombers shirt he wore...........u can google them but u r gonna have to dig through all there stuff to find it..........I found it once on a different site and now I can't find it again..........


----------



## zagadka (Jul 6, 2006)

If you're going the way of graphics and not text, I would stay away from putting your name on it.

You kind of have to ask yourself- "What do I want to be known for?"...do you want to be recognized for content, or really sweet typefaces? Either one can be done in a thoughtful, artful way, but its just a matter of opinion.

I personally prefer design over text.


----------



## Ilona (Mar 12, 2008)

hey man. just starting out myself but i want to put my 2 cents in. i think it all depends on whether u have some sort of urban fan base and perhaps if you could get just one "right" person to wear it . is there a chance that someone on tv will see it? otherwise it's iffy. it also depends on the quality of your shirt and like rodney mentioned how much you plan to spend on advertising. wish you luck.


----------



## lordpyro (May 1, 2007)

I think the answer is both!

remember that Branding is a noun (concept)and a verb(action)...yes, nobody will buy it if they don't know who you are - UNLESS the logo is in a cool design...

you have to build a brand - that is what branding is about...you are building a base of people who will know your desings, your quality , your customer service, etc...until you are Timbaland, you have to build a bit slower..if you dont have the cash, you arent stopped! There are plenty of things you can do to market yourself and steadily build a fan base - even if its by word of mouth...think about it this way - Timbaland branded himself!!! No one knew who he was until he became a superstar producer, and now he is at the point that you just say Timbaland...

if you don't brand, then NOBODY will know who you are..and you are branding all of the time whether you know it or not...if one person knows who you are and your compnay you are branded so to speak...next the issue is about volume..and then you will get to the place where people will buy yourstuff because of who you are...


----------



## DirectSupply (Mar 19, 2008)

I agree and also think its important to incorporate your brand logo or name in the design.

For example, let say your graphic designs are skulls, how would the consumer know to differentiate your brand from other brands that have skull graphics.

Your designs may be completely unique but if you are starting out and don't have extensive marketing $ there is no way for the consumer to connect your brand to the shirt.

If the consumer sees a logo or your brand name or even a brand slogan incorporated in the design of the shirt, they are able to associate the brand with the design. Which in return increases your brand recognition.

Later on when the brand grows, you can expand to selling anything and everything with just your brand name or logo on it , ie: those A&F shirts mentioned earlier.

Rod


----------



## highstyleinc (Apr 4, 2007)

If you are working the name into a design as others have said, it would be fine.

There are several ways to use branding in your products as a start up.

As a start up company, you defintely don't want to just print your name and logo on shirts unless you are selling a specific product line. For example under shirts or underwear, you may want to use a small tag or print of your logo somewhere on the product.

Branding should be a part of every product. It dosen't necessarily have to be your full name printed on a shirt for someone to notice. It could be a design that you add your monogram to somewhere on the same spot of each product. 

It's ok to get inspiration from well known brands, but think of a unique way of branding. 

Did I totally get off topic? Sorry


----------



## xbrandon408x (Jan 24, 2008)

yea the only time iv been successful with just putting my name on my shirt was at school that was my first shirt i branded it very very well and was know as the shirt guy haha and practically the whole school was wearing my shirts i would just come out with different colors and they would buy them haha i only had one design at the time the school even wrote an article on me. 

But now since its summer time that aproch doesn't seem to work so well outside of school you deff. need to get unique designs with your name to get people to buy.


----------



## yellowguy (Aug 27, 2007)

In all of my shirts I heat transfer a tag that has my name and logo on it along with my website and a phone number. You don't have to put your logo on every shirt you make on the outside... but, if you want why not try putting a little logo with your name on the bottom of the arm of the shirt. A lot of established brands do this.


----------



## MiNGLED (Aug 22, 2007)

Seeing as how I use Spreadshirt to create my T-shirts, every additional graphic added adds to the base cost. Previously I had a small company logo on the reverse of every T-shirt but have recently decided to drop to logo and pass the cost saving (around $2) onto the customer. Branding is important but I'm not sure it's worth the potential loss of sales at this stage of the game.


----------



## yellowguy (Aug 27, 2007)

You know how they say you have to spend money to make money... I also give away free stickers with every shirt sale with my logo and website on it. Your customers are going to be your best advertising - so if you think about it that way... you're not really losing money, you're spending it on advertising.


----------



## Louie_J (Nov 8, 2007)

Here's my thing....
On a "stock" designs... I put my logo and URL (approx 2"x3") on the back, centered, by the base of the neck. It's there for advertising but not too obnoxious looking.

I'm working on a bunch of "stock" tribal designs and was also thinking of a "tramp stamp"-like logo to put at the bottom center of the back of the shirt.


----------

