When promoting your next big event, making a bold statement gets people talking about it and, ultimately, drives attendance.
Using branded apparel not only serves as the ideal avenue for making a statement while you promote your next event, but it also raises brand awareness for your entire company. Did you know that, when asked, approximately 90% of people who receive a branded product are able to remember the company’s name?
So, put branded apparel to work for your company. Here are 7 clever ways you can use it to make an impression with your event promotion, ensuring that potential customers remember your brand’s name and are curious about it before the event even begins.
1. Use apparel to push the theme
Brainstorming and implementing a theme for your event should be among the first steps that you take during planning. A solid theme unites people under one cohesive message and, when promoted effectively, generates buzz for the event.
Few things will push your theme as effectively as a branded t-shirt featuring the message and color scheme. Consider an impactful quote, clever tagline, or a thought-provoking question. Enlist the help of your employees to wear your shirts around town and post photos wearing them on social media as you count down to the event.
Having a theme for your event shows clarity and intent, and gives your attendees something to look forward to. With an effective promotional strategy, you can build excitement among event-goers that encourages them to look for that familiar t-shirt they saw online and seek you out at the event.
2. Offer branded apparel as a giveaway item
Running a contest via email or social media channels can neatly tie into your marketing goals by building anticipation for the event. Get creative with your contest ideas and section the awards into different tiers so that you can give away branded clothing items as one of the coveted prizes.
Not only do people enjoy some friendly competition, but they also love receiving free stuff. They are more likely to hold onto their apparel items for several years as an association of the positive memory, allowing for maximum brand impressions and exposure.
You can also use branded apparel to incentivize people to register more quickly for your event. For instance, the first 10 registrants could receive a complimentary piece of apparel as a reward.
Don’t limit your contests to only before the event, either. Brainstorm fresh ways to create participation and engagement during the event itself, before or in between informational sessions. Consider trivia, jenga, ring tosses, or other tried-and-true games and hand out custom hats or shirts to winners. This builds a fun, energetic atmosphere and increases the likelihood of event goers walking around all day or weekend wearing your merch.
3. Encourage people to post their branded apparel on socials
You know how they sometimes say, “photos or it didn’t happen”? Choose apparel that is stylish and that photographs well, so that people want to post photos of themselves in it.
Not only are there more than 4 billion people on social media across the world, but each person attending your event likely has their own network of followers who keep up with their posts. This means that photos of your branded apparel will show up in many new feeds at once, driving brand awareness and consideration.
As an incentive, you can offer discounted services, promotional codes for free products, or other freebies in exchange for people posting your branded apparel on their Facebook pages or Instagram stories. Then, they can redeem their freebies for participating at the event itself.
Provide them with the event location and details to include and a specific, branded hashtag to use. This will help further the conversation about your event online while helping people find you easily online.
4. Don’t skimp on branded apparel for virtual events
Virtual event attendance is up 35% since 2020 and may become increasingly common over the years. For this reason, it’s important to adapt to the digital event landscape.
The good news is that you don’t need to nix your promotional strategy just because your event is virtual. In fact, it becomes all the more important.
Incorporating a personable, physical element such as branded apparel will inspire higher engagement among attendees. Send attendees a t-shirt, pullover hoodie or sweatshirt, ballcap, or other apparel items upon registration that they can then wear during the event.
Having these items to wear during the virtual event will cultivate a sense of community, bringing people closer together and building camaraderie that may otherwise be missing with a digital event.
5. Outfit your event staff and employees
When they’re working the event, your employees or event staff will benefit from being in uniform. This not only makes it easy for your team to stay more organized, but it also makes it easy for event goers to identify them and alleviates confusion.
Allow your staff to provide input about the apparel that they are going to be wearing. If it makes sense for your company and event, consider breaking down the staff into multiple teams that wear different colors. Outfit them in t-shirts, polo shirts, and other outfits that are on-brand for your company.
Most importantly, make sure that the staff apparel is different from anything that attendees are wearing. People will know to come up to your staff for assistance, which acts as an icebreaker for further conversation.
The face time that your staff gets with prospective clients is invaluable. They’ll come away with blossoming professional relationships that can keep providing value down the line.
6. Think outside the box
When it comes to using branded apparel to promote your event, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and keep it interesting for your audience. While hats, t-shirts, and hoodies are beloved examples of branded apparel, keep your event attendees and their specific tastes and needs top of mind.
Mix it up with your branded apparel by considering specific apparel items such as:
- Clothing items in youth sizes for attendees with kids
- Under Armour shirts that control and manage sweat
- Promotional workwear for people in different industries
- Eco-friendly jackets made from sustainable materials
- Personalized blankets for home and travel
People will appreciate thoughtfulness and consideration for their values or lifestyles.
7. Offer shades for outdoor events
The sun can become a problem during outdoor events if you live in a warm area. It creates glaring blind spots, makes people squint and find cover, and can tire out people’s eyes.
With branded custom sunglasses, you help people block out the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays while also promoting your company.
Promotional branded sunglasses come in several options, such as:
- Two-tone aviator lenses
- Malibu’s sunglasses that change colors
- Mirrored sunglasses that promote style and fun
You can also choose between a variety of color schemes and options for logo placements. Sunglasses are a practical item that people love wearing, so you won’t have trouble getting multiple brand impressions out of them!
Get clever with branded apparel to excite your event attendees
With the right plan and some quality branded apparel to help you pull it off, you’re just a few steps away from promoting a successful event. One of the best things about branded apparel as a promotional tool is that you can easily incorporate it into different forms of a marketing campaign.
The seven examples above will help get you started, enabling you to build anticipation, encourage higher participation, and get the best return on investment (ROI) for branded merchandise you purchase when producing and promoting your event.
Now, you just need high-quality products to make it a reality. Check out our promotional items for event managers, including top-selling options in branded apparel.