On a recent visit to the local middle school year book class, I learned that the teacher and students planned to buy some ‘branded’
sweatshirts. In the past the young journalists who worked on the yearbook had ordered sweatshirts with silk screen type on the left chest saying “Yearbook Staff” and they wanted to do something like that again.
Well that was all okay, but I know that this is a national award winning middle school yearbook that has been recognized for its excellence year after year. This class (and their teacher) deserved something more special than an ordinary athletic sweatshirt with a one or 2 color screened imprint.
Fashion is a loosely defined term and yet ‘fashion’ is a key component of branding. The garment and the colors, type fonts and styles all matter in delivering a message about the wearer. 8th graders are extremely conscious of style and aware of what their clothes ‘say’ about them. (If you don’t think so, you haven’t visited middle school lately.)
MadeToOrder presented the class with some new ideas and examples of brands they would know and value. We talked to them about their school brand in the context of brands they are familiar with such as Nike, Coke or Apple. We discussed how important it is to promote a brand with the right message and merchandise.
The students and MadeToOrder worked together to create a wonderful Yearbook Staff wearable that projected a sense of style and creativity. We selected a full front hoodie in a retro design and combined silk screen, appliqué, and embroidery in multiple locations (including the hood) to convey the theme and style of this years’ yearbook staff.
It was easy for them to understand the inappropriateness of putting the Porsche logo on a potato chip clip or slapping ‘Tom and Frank’s auto service’ on a Cross Pen. MadeToOrder is dedicated to promoting unique branding experiences – large and small. We know that merchandise and message have to match in order to successfully promote a brand.