In the fast-paced landscape of corporate branding and employee engagement, companies are always in search of new methodologies for differentiation. Be it intricate digital marketing initiatives, lavish team-building getaways or the endless search for more potent identity and more harmonious and united workforce. Yet, in the midst of this exhaustive search may well lie a terrific, simple, and tangible tool, often overlooked, of great prospect. That is found in the custom team t-shirt. So much more than merely casual apparel, the well-designed t-shirt, too, is a tool which your business can use to its advantage. The custom team t-shirt is a manifesto, which you can wear or display, which can boost your corporate image, psychologically unite your people and turn every one of your employees into a spectacular, moving advertisement for your brand name. The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the multi-dimensional ramifications of this humble garment and how it can be turned into a pillar of corporate branding and culture and marketing. Elevated Corporate Personality: Beyond Logo to Corporate Consciousness
The corporate personality is the amalgamation of company values, corporate mission, and public image. Custom team t-shirts serve as a powerful visual expression of this personality in the guise of an unequivocal sign of professionalism, unity and eye for detail. When your team attends a trade show, client meeting or community event and you can react to the uniformity of your appearance, you lend an immediate appearance of organization and unity. This has a tremendous effect on the first impression that you will create, indicating that the operation is at least as united in its service and operational attempts as it is in its outward appearance. This simple tact to visual interpretation allows the messy variety of personal choice in styles in suit, shoe and tie and so forth to be removed by the uniformness of corporate style and a powerful statement of identity to be substituted.In addition to how it appears on the outside, the quality of the product itself, the t-shirt, becomes a reflection of the company’s values and standards. A low-cost, poorly fitting t-shirt with a poorly created logo communicates a subliminal message of unprofessionalism and cut corners. A better, soft t-shirt made of quality fabric with a unique and modern design sends the message that its company cares, pays attention to the quality of the product and is aware of image. The color choice, logo placement, and the clever use of a slogan all represent part of the corporate story. This tangible piece of the corporate identity gives it a sense of consistency that is no longer an abstract, but it is something that people can see and touch on a daily basis.
This consistent visual symbolism gives a concrete representation of the corporate philosophy, internal and external to the corporate world. On the one level, wearing the corporate t-shirt serves as a periodic reminder for employees of their relationship with the larger entity and its goals. On the second level, for the outside world, seeing those t-shirts in all environments, at big-time meetings involving the company, or its being observed by the public being worn in a local coffee shop by an employee, develops a growing sense of recognition of the corporate identity. It can be seen that the company logo has now become a more active representation of the organization rather than merely seeing a static factor on a web site, becoming an active image that is available for the general public to see in their everyday life. It sustains memory of the logo and builds trust by repeated use, promoting, and exposure not so obtrusively appreciated.
Unifying the Workforce — Weaving a Tighter Team Fabric.
The total effect of the custom t-shirts on teams reaches deeply into the internal area of the culture of the organization. The effect of team t-shirts is exceedingly unifying among employees as well as a great diminishing of the differences and divisiveness among the team members. In the usual business organization, there can be many subtle reminders in the attire of the workforce which connote hierarchies as well as designate replicator influence and coalition of departmental and group membership identification. Nevertheless, during company events like the day of volunteering, or designated "team-shirt Tuesday," everyone from the CEO to the new intern is wearing the same clothing. This simple act of a common dress breaks down invisible walls, creating a sense of bonding and equality. It is a visual affirmation of the fact that each person, in his or her own way, is an important and valued member of the sameWhen there is a company occasion, such as a day of volunteering, or simply a “team t-shirt Tuesday,” all employees, from the CEO to the newest intern, are wearing the same things. This simple act of joining in a common dress suggests that there are no barriers present, that the spirit of unity and equality exists. It suggests that every member is a part of an organization, every member being an importantOn the other hand, during a corporate event such as a volunteer day or even “team shirt Tuesday,” everyone from the CEO to the newest intern is wearing the same clothing. This simple act of a common dress code breaks down invisible walls and creates a certain degree of togetherness and equality. Visually this represents the fact that all people are part of and invaluably important to the same team, working for the same goal, no matter what their position.
This created feeling of belonging is highly important in driving employee morale and engagement. A company t-shirt is like a sports team jersey. It represents team membership and joint purpose. When worn by employees, they feel they are a part of something larger than their individual duties. This also works especially well in onboarding new employees. When they receive a company t-shirt, they have been received into the tribe with an immediate symbolic gesture of welcome. This enhanced collective sense leads to greater collaboration, open channels of communication, and a more positive work environment, and results in decreased turnover and increased production.
This use of custom t-shirts can also be especially adapted to enhance spirit within certain departments or project teams. By creating unique shirts for the marketing team’s annual kick-off, for an engineering department hack-a-thon, or a milestone of a cross-functional project, their specific accomplishments will be recognized, further strengthening their in-group relations.But, at company outings, volunteer events or on “team shirt Tuesday”, everyone from the CEO to the new intern wears the same clothing. This simple act of shared clothing choices helps to break down the invisible barriers caused by difference and creates a sense of camaraderie and equality. This common dress speaks volumes for the idea that each and every employee is an integral part of the same unit, a valued member of the same organization, a contributor to the same task. This sense of belonging is a major factor in employee morale and commitment. A team shirt is a lot like a jersey of a sports team. Its very presence indicates membership and co-partnership. When worn by the employees, the team shirt makes them feel that they are part of something larger than their own separate department or job. This is especially effective in the orientation of new employees, since the giving of a team shirt can be a symbolic acceptance of welcome that immediately makes the new person feel part of the club. A greater sense of community can lead to increased cooperation, open lines of communication, and a more pleasant working environment, all of which translates to less employee turnover and greater productivity. The efficacy of custom designed shirts can be used too to create enthusiasm within selected departments or divisions. The designing of custom made shirts for the annual kick-off of the marketing department, the hackathon for the engineering staff, or the achieving of a milestone in the progress of a cross pollination project, serves to acknowledge the performance of results of that specific function, thus creating additional unity and teamwork within the department.At a company function - a volunteer day, a designated "team-shirt Tuesday," or even just about everyone you come into contact with, including the CEO and the newest intern - is wearing the same item of clothing. This simple process of mandates of "clothing" breaks down invisible walls, creating a feeling of civility and equality to the outside. The idea of everyone wearing the same thing represents the idea that every single individual is a necessary and valuable part of the same team, working to a common goal, and working to achieve this common goal meets with the physicality of the people wearing the same clothing. This sense of belonging to the same group is one of the great motivating vehicles for Morale and Employment. The team t-shirt is the equivalent of the jersey of the sports team. The team which wears the distinctive clothing enjoys the feelings of belonging to a club or group. When they are garbed in it, they say, "I belong despite the nature of my work or my job." This helps especially in the case of new employees starting to wear the company t-shirt. It is a symbol of acceptance which places them among those who have been "# team: My team - I am accepted into their services." This erected sense of community allows, in turn, for better understanding, and more open communication -- better environment for job and less disenfranchised air, for example, creates lowers turnover - increases productivity through this effect. The custom-made jacking material can also be arranged for specific departmental spirit or projects. May create shirts for special uses for the annual kickoff of the marketing departments, or hackathon of the engineering department, or anniversary of joint project, strengthening the feelings of bonds within too.These shirts become souvenirs, physical reminders of the trials and tribulations undergone and achieved together. They build a rich internal culture in which teams are made to feel acknowledged and charged. The workplace is not a collection of people but a group of cohesive, high-performing sub-groups.
Changing Employees into Powerful Walking Billboards: Organic Marketing in Action.
The greatest return, perhaps, for custom team t-shirts is their ability to act as an active, genuine marketing program. Each employee who wears the company t-shirt outside of the office is a moving, breathing brand ambassador. Whether at the supermarket, the gym, at the local park, out with their families, every movement is generating brand impressions. Unlike a digital ad spot that can be skipped or a billboard that is stationary, a t-shirt goes with a human being and exposes diverse audiences to the brand in an organic, natural manner.
The fame of this marketing outlet is its genuineness. An advertisement is a paid endorsement whereas a person who dons a company t-shirt in free time is making a recommendation that is subtle yet credible. The ramifications extend the pride and loyalty felt by the employee for its workplace. This message will strike home with more immediacy with potential customers and future talent than any advertisement could ever comprehend. This entirely antique and human-centered approach creates trust and credibility in the brand image since the message is genuinely being given by a person that can be related to rather than a faceless corporate conglomerate. It’s a new school word-of-mouth advertising. Word-of-mouth advertising is visual. It’s quite continuous.
To take advantage of this closely-held “lurking” issue, the design of the t-shirt must be of paramount importance. The best "walking billboard" shirts are those shirts that employees really want to wear. This means and includes moving away from the printed, flat logo plant in assorted sizes on ordinary shirts. The companies must invest in the finest quality of comfortable, high-grade materials and in producing a most desirably stylistic design, either clever or beautiful or otherwise. For instance, the well-designed shirt that treats the brand gently—possibly in a design or a witticism that is either clever, clever or aesthetic and which incorporates an abstract, striking or commercial view of the firm's efforts— is far more apt to hit the weekend agenda than the standardized “corporate uniformity” designed sort of wandering advertisement. A capital outlay or one-time investment can be made in the design and in the production of shirts of this expensive-quality. and the result is untold years of continuing exposure of brand awareness in a most low-cost-per-advertisement way. The entire work force against inviolable divisions is now an enthusiastic, effective marketing army.