# How to push a brand right from the start



## aarondkeogh (Apr 1, 2009)

O.K so I have the concepts for my clothing line and I am ready to print them onto the garments. From someone's past experience what's the best way for a new brand to start out getting into shops. Would it be to promote to give the brands identity more value so that retailers and more importantly the end customers have more of a ideal of what the brand is about? 

Obviously if the customer likes it so much then they will buy it anyway but then its having the garment in front of the customer when they feel that impulse to purchase the item. But then are the retailers going to see the same thing as the end customer is going to see in the brand?


Regards
Aaron.


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## SBEMedia (Jun 26, 2008)

Well it really depends upon the type of brand and market you are trying to attain, perhaps you could give some more information about what type of brand you are trying to start


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## hotmale4yu (Feb 21, 2009)

Very good question and the one get overlooked by most ppl. 

imo i think this is the key to turning a brand into a brand that sells well

Existing contacts, luck, literally putting your name out there etc


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## Binary01 (Jun 2, 2007)

street credit


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## KarenGarcia (Aug 17, 2008)

I think you have to get as much advertisement as possible, it's amazing how much free advertisement is out there. It's also great if you wear your own designs, people can ask about it and you should always keep business cards with you, so if someone is interested you can just give them out to that potential customer. You can also get some newspaper ads in your area, as well as flyers that can be left at stores, I always ask the owner of stores if I can leave some flyer and 3 out of 5 say yes, so that helps.


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## GraduateClothing (Feb 22, 2009)

Wearing your shirts is the best idea! when i wear mine i get so many people from my school asking me were i got it. and BAM just like that i get some potential buyers who in turn their friends will ask them were they got the shirt and they become word of mouth advt. for you.


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## [email protected] (Apr 6, 2009)

throw a party and give out shirts. or tell people if they wear your shirts they'll get free drinks or get in for free if you charge. but dont make it seem like its a party specifically for the purpose of you making money, or just for your shirts, a lot of my friends did that and people didnt take them seriously. you dont want to "force feed " people your brand. 

look around town at how other people are advertising, try and remember of certain brands or fads and how they spread locally. did a friend tell you? was it something people saw online? maybe it was a few people handing out free stuff.


and of course wear your shirts! and maybe have some in your car, so when you go to one of your favorite store you can give them to the employees or people you may know there.


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## [email protected] (Apr 6, 2009)

oh yeah and bands love free stuff. make a deal with them.

they put you on their top friends and they get free shirts. something like that. 

ask them to say something about your shirts while on stage, and youll give them free stuff. 

best way to do that this is through their manager, this way it would be done through a more "official" way, to make sure they keep up their end of the deal.


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## novanutcase (Aug 6, 2008)

$$$$$$$$$

Advertising......

John


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## eternalcraves (Aug 20, 2008)

aarondkeogh said:


> O.K so I have the concepts for my clothing line and I am ready to print them onto the garments. From someone's past experience what's the best way for a new brand to start out getting into shops. Would it be to promote to give the brands identity more value so that retailers and more importantly the end customers have more of a ideal of what the brand is about?
> 
> Obviously if the customer likes it so much then they will buy it anyway but then its having the garment in front of the customer when they feel that impulse to purchase the item. But then are the retailers going to see the same thing as the end customer is going to see in the brand?
> 
> ...


It take much $$$$ and promo. You can use Web, Myspace and Twitter.


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## Pasquale (Apr 22, 2009)

GraduateClothing said:


> Wearing your shirts is the best idea! when i wear mine i get so many people from my school asking me were i got it. and BAM just like that i get some potential buyers who in turn their friends will ask them were they got the shirt and they become word of mouth advt. for you.


I agree. i wear my clothes and people always ask me where i got it. except i do not have busniess cards yet so im one step behind.


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## RogueStitch (Apr 1, 2009)

Wear your clothes and give your clothes to people to wear who will be in highly trafficked spots...with a fat stack of business cards ;-)


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## MardiGrasTexan (Oct 11, 2008)

aarondkeogh said:


> From someone's past experience what's the best way for a new brand to start out getting into shops.


Don't be afraid to offer your products on a consignment basis on the first offering. You relieve the business owner of having to pay up front and, for a small shop, this is highly desirable. If they sell well, the business owner will be more than happy to purchase up front in the future. It also gets your product in front of customers for free (no marketing costs other than the printing which you probably already have ready to go anyway.) 

And make the shop owner feel special by NOT offering to their next door neighboring shop. With that said, you need to target the right shops that cater to your type of clientele. Remember, they believe their shop is special, so tell them that's one of the reasons you picked them as a possible retailer of your goods over the shop down the street.


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## novanutcase (Aug 6, 2008)

MardiGrasTexan said:


> Don't be afraid to offer your products on a consignment basis on the first offering. You relieve the business owner of having to pay up front and, for a small shop, this is highly desirable. If they sell well, the business owner will be more than happy to purchase up front in the future. It also gets your product in front of customers for free (no marketing costs other than the printing which you probably already have ready to go anyway.)
> 
> And make the shop owner feel special by NOT offering to their next door neighboring shop. With that said, you need to target the right shops that cater to your type of clientele. Remember, they believe their shop is special, so tell them that's one of the reasons you picked them as a possible retailer of your goods over the shop down the street.


Maybe I'm just cynical but that get's very sticky when it comes time to pay for the goods that you left on consignment. Especially if they're out of state. 
Also, IMO, unless the boutique has something invested in the product they will more than likely bury it with all their other product in the back of the store and not really give it a chance to sell. If they've paid for it then they have invested their money and will make a more concerted effort in selling it to recoup their investment.
Boutiques and stores are so inundated with product from so many different vendors that they have a huge base of vendors to pick from. They're going to keep pushing what is selling NOW so the time that they'll give you in terms of pushing your product will be minimal.
The only way I would consign any product is if I can get the store to agree to have it in their window for a minimum of 2 weeks so that it at least is given a chance to retail along with a picture of it in the window for you to use as PR.

John


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## eternalcraves (Aug 20, 2008)

novanutcase said:


> Maybe I'm just cynical but that get's very sticky when it comes time to pay for the goods that you left on consignment. Especially if they're out of state.
> Also, IMO, unless the boutique has something invested in the product they will more than likely bury it with all their other product in the back of the store and not really give it a chance to sell. If they've paid for it then they have invested their money and will make a more concerted effort in selling it to recoup their investment.
> Boutiques and stores are so inundated with product from so many different vendors that they have a huge base of vendors to pick from. They're going to keep pushing what is selling NOW so the time that they'll give you in terms of pushing your product will be minimal.
> The only way I would consign any product is if I can get the store to agree to have it in their window for a minimum of 2 weeks so that it at least is given a chance to retail along with a picture of it in the window for you to use as PR.
> ...


I have to agree with John. This idea will only work if you had a certain written contract with the store owner.


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## MardiGrasTexan (Oct 11, 2008)

Out of state consignment could get sticky, I agree. But locally, you should be able to go back in 30 days and count the difference and get paid or leave a bill. This shouldn't be too sticky....you left 10 shirts, they have 5 left, they owe you for 5 shirts. This is done all day long in a lot of businesses and works well. Business owners love stock that they don't have to take ownership of. As far as the fine details of the consignment agreement goes, that's just something that each seller will need to approach in whatever way works in their best interest. I'm just trying to give the OP another option in his arsenal to launching a brand. He should use as many good options as financially feasible.


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## MardiGrasTexan (Oct 11, 2008)

eternalcraves said:


> I have to agree with John. This idea will only work if you had a certain written contract with the store owner.


Oh, you absolutely have to have a consignment contract...absolutely.


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