The T-Shirt Theory of Branding

There’s a strange thing that happens with consumers. We willingly buy t-shirts (and other clothing) with corporate logos on them, often at exorbitant prices.

Think about that for a second., it sounds a bit absurd, doesn’t it? Consumers are willing to be walking advertisements for brands, and not only do they not get compensated by the brand, they actually pay the brand! Why?

The reason is brand.

The Importance of Branding

What is brand? Branding is all about your reputation. It’s your essence. It’s what comes to mind when consumers think about your company. It’s your values and what you stand for when you can’t talk about your product. There’s a famous saying in marketing – people don’t buy products, they join tribes. This is mostly true.

So what does this have to do with where logos on our clothing?

People often have a need or desire to establish their personal identity. Equally as important, we want others to know our identity. The brands we buy, specifically the visible logos on shirts, are part of our identity. They send signals to the world, “Hello world, this is who I am, this is what I’m into, this is what I support.” It’s a shorthand way of saying, my values are aligned with this thing (brand, artist, team, etc.).

In essence, the t-shirt does the talking for you.

Continue Reading: What is a Brand Essence Wheel?

This can be incredibly useful in many circumstances. In most societies, it’s generally impolite to talk about how much money you have. But wearing a designer name can send that message for you, provided it is a well-known brand, the branding is visible, and it is known to be expensive.

Wearing a jersey or a shirt with your favourite sports team emblem can allow you to find likeminded people in your tribe whether at a sporting event, the office, or out in public.

Wearing a John Deere hat says something about you. Wearing a Metallica shirt says something about you. As does wearing Patagonia, Nike, Supreme, Harley Davidson, Gibson Guitars, or even a Batman emblem.

All of these are examples of well-established brands who have a reputation or established values.

Consumers of these brands don’t need to see an ad to buy Nike, they seek out Nike. They don’t need to be constantly reminded of Batman, they are already super fans.

What is the Purpose of Branding?

Branding obviously has a purpose, otherwise why would we do it. So what is the purpose of branding?

The purpose of branding is:

Identify / establish what are your brand values – i.e. when someone where’s your logo on their shirt, what message does that send to the world?
Find other people who share those values.

If it’s not obvious to the world what are your brand values, or no one would ever buy a t-shirt from you, then you have a brand problem.

Continue reading: Signs You May Have a Brand Problem