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Making A Good Compression
By: Lisa Horn, Editor
Issue: 2005jun
Of all the thousands of garments in the promotional marketplace, none is more popular than the t-shirt. A rainbow of colors—and every shade in between—is available to match any promotion’s theme. Some tees have pockets, and others don’t. Both crews and v-necks are offered, as are short and long sleeves. Standard unisex silhouettes are still the most prevalent, but ladies’ cuts are becoming more popular—and you can get these in fitted, classic and relaxed styles. And with infant sizes up to 10XL, there are t-shirts to fit almost every human on the planet. Finally, tees are easily decorated via embroidery or silk screening and offer a broad canvas for adornment on the chest, back and sleeves. It’s easy to see why tees are so popular: versatility to fit almost any promotion.
But the versatility of the t-shirt doesn’t end here. In fact, it really just begins. What if you could vacuum pack tees into one of 300-plus shapes, include custom-printed romance cards and individually package them in a specially shaped box to create a true one-of-a-kind promotion? Then you would be entering the world of compressed tees.
This is a world where the sky is the limit when it comes to creativity in promotional design. But don’t let the extensive menu of possibilities give you indigestion—suppliers can provide simple solutions to sophisticated, multi-faceted campaigns.
THE SHAPE OF PROMOTIONS TO COME
Everyone knows what a t-shirt looks like. In theory, once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, right? But by compressing tees into unexpected shapes, visual interest is created for recipients while conveying the campaign theme. While most suppliers offer custom shapes for a truly mouthwatering experience, here’s a sampling of available stock shapes to whet your appetite:
Tasty Treats
While on the subject of food, why not begin with these tummy-tempting options? Hamburgers, hotdogs and pizza are top-sellers in fast-food restaurants, so these compressed tee shapes would be perfect for target audiences who can be a little lax with their waistlines. For the more health-conscious crowd, there are broccoli (everyone’s favorite vegetable), bell pepper and avocado styles. Create a promotion Carmen Miranda would adore with banana, grape, lemon, lime, strawberry and watermelon shapes. And for desert lovers, there are cookie, donut and ice cream cone options for the ultimate tasty treat.
For Your Health
To remedy overindulgences from those previous treats, check out these shapes for the healthcare industry: pill, shot, bandage and ambulance. For specialized physicians, there are ear, eye, heart, brain and foot styles. There are tooth and toothbrush options for dentists. And those on the pharmaceutical side of the business will appreciate the beaker and microscope shapes.
The Athletic Department
Doctors are always touting the benefits of regular exercise, so here are some ideas for the sports minded. America’s favorite pastime is well represented with baseball, bat, ball and glove, and team jersey shapes. Of course, there are football and helmet styles, and you can’t leave out basketball, tennis and golf. Hockey lovers will enjoy the puck, stick, mask and jersey options. Finally, trophy and gold medal shapes are available to honor highest achievements.
Planes, Trains And Automobiles
Transportation is big business around the globe. So whether your audience is compromised of moms toting little ones to soccer practice or burly men unloading containers at an international port, there’s a shape for everyone. From sedans, trucks and SUVs to parts such as spark plugs, radiators and tires, it’s easy to start up a promotion for the automotive industry. If you clients “feel the need, the need for speed,” then check out the jet, rocket, racecar and motorcycle shapes. Or choose the yacht, cruise ship or sail boat shapes for a high seas adventure theme.
The Holiday Spirit
Holidays are surrounded with joy and happiness, ideal qualities for the foundation of a promotion. No matter where your event falls on the calendar, there is a holiday themed shape: champagne bottle, heart, clover, Easter egg, American Flag, ghost, Frankenstein, pumpkin, snowman, Santa, wreath, gingerbread man and Christmas tree.
FINISHING TOUCHES
While the versatility of compressed tees begins with their shapes, it certainly doesn’t end there. By using packs, sacks or boxes—whether stock or custom designs—a vehicle for delivering complete marketing messages can be created. Check out these ideas for combining other promotional products and printed materials to exponentially increase impact:
For new product launches, include a preview CD-ROM or a memory stick loaded with a presentation about the product.
For consumer promotions, include coupons to reward buyers on their next product purchases.
For the entertainment industry, complement the visual aspect of the tees with sound by including CDs or music download cards.
For a product trial incentive, create an on-pack promotion to entice consumers to try something new.
For a gift-with-purchase campaign, design a series of shapes so recipients can collect the entire set.
But packaging of compressed tees isn’t limited to traditional means. Stuff a compressed tee in a decorated can cooler or plastic mug and you have an easy-to-distribute summertime promo that’s perfect for community picnics, corporate outings and open-air concerts. When it’s time to go back to school or have the annual sales meeting, combine a compressed tee with a binder and all pertinent materials will be in one place.
So when you’re looking for a promotion that will make a huge impression, think compression and watch your creativity—and profits—grow.
Lisa Horn is PPB’s editor.
A Great Catch
Making a splash at a tradeshow isn’t always easy. In the sea of exhibitors, how does one stand out? In addition to having terrific products and top-notch exhibit personnel, it’s essential to have the right bait—i.e., the right promotional product to flood the booth with potential customers.
Fishery Products International, one of the largest seafood providers in North America, has a customer base that consists of foodservice operators in multiple segments, broadline foodservice distributors, specialty seafood distributors, supermarket chains and club stores. Its extensive menu of products includes sole fillets, cod loins, snow crab sections, individually quick-frozen scallops, cooked and peeled coldwater shrimp, and shell-on coldwater shrimp. The company needed a way to attract tradeshow attendees to its booth where these delicacies were showcased.
Working with distributor Tom Meehan, AIA/Beantown Promotions, supplier Simply Smashing (UPIC: SIMPLY) created the right bait—fish-shaped compressed tees imprinted with the slogan “We Catch Customers For You” and packaged in authentic Styrofoam fish market trays.
First, heavyweight white t-shirts were imprinted full front with the FPI logo and promotion slogan in two spot colors. After printing and compressing into a fish shape, the tees were then placed on the blue trays where full-color insert cards were added. The tray backs were also custom labeled, and the entire pieces were shrink-wrapped for authenticity as well as easy distribution in the exhibit booth.
According to Meehan, “The promotion was very successful with multiple repeat orders throughout the past couple of years.” Apparently, FPI has been a good catch for him as well.
Get Connected
When PeopleSoft held its annual Connect Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco last September, it needed an innovative invitation to entice prospects to attend. PeopleSoft supports technology infrastructure with a variety of applications to manage customers, suppliers and workforces as well as financial and supply chain aspects of business. This four-day event is filled with opportunities to meet with PeopleSoft developers, trainers and consultants for technical advice as well as to attend education seminars and visit with more than 200 exhibitors.
Distributor Canary (UPIC: canary) teamed up with supplier AddVenture Products (UPIC: COMPREST) to create a postcard-shaped direct mailer that was sent to the first 1,000 attendees who registered for the conference. The mailer consisted of the compressed tee with full-front imprint and two insert cards—one with the logo and one with the recipient’s address on the back.
Using the PeopleSoft|Connect logo—a ball comprised of blue, green and orange rubber bands—as the foundation for the color scheme, Orange Poppy Fruit of the Loom tees were tracked down (not an easy task according to Staci Sears, AddVenture Products director of business development) because they matched the logo’s color scheme exactly. Additionally, the intent was for recipients to wash (to remove wrinkles from compression) and wear their tees to the conference, making it easy to spot PeopleSoft supporters anywhere on the show floor with such an eye-catching color.
According to Canary’s Cadi Stevenson, this campaign was the most successful tradeshow attendance promotion in PeopleSoft’s history. This was extremely important because PeopleSoft announced at the convention that it would be partnering with IBM to jointly invest $1 billion over five years to create and sell business software programs. By connecting the right promotional product with the right idea executed in the right way, the right result was delivered. Right on!
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