Does your brand pass the T-shirt test?
No, we’re not suggesting that your business needs a load of branded T-shirts.
But we are suggesting you should think about whether your logo would look good on one. Or not.
It’s not as stupid a suggestion as it sounds. Most of the rebrands we work on at Milestone happen as a result of changing business ownership, restructuring and modernisation (sometimes called digital transformation).
Whether or not a new logo would look good on a T-shirt doesn’t seem to fit with any of these motivations. However, putting your logo on a T-shirt tests four key brand attributes in one application.
- Practicality
- Distinctiveness
- Relevance
- Desirability
Practicality
The harsh test of printing or embroidering a logo on fabric shows whether it has been designed to cope with the rigours of today’s diverse applications from social media and websites to signage and packaging. The resolution issue for T-shirt printing is comparable to the tiny sizes and short attention spans encountered on social media.
Distinctiveness
In its most basic form is your branding recognisable and ownable? Like the strong, flat colour logos from the 1970s, printed on bags and sportswear, you need a brand that is instantly striking and memorable.
Relevance
Branding is the shorthand for what your business stands for. In every market, people are very good at instinctively decoding brands. Does your brand identity encapsulate the value/values you want it to in a simple mark?
Desirability
Now that you’ve printed it, does anyone want to wear it? In many ways this the killer question of the T-shirt test. It’s pure behavioural psychology in action. You could never analyse it using a questionnaire, but being happy to wear a branded item says everything.
Still not convinced? Still thinking that a sensible B2B brand has no place on a garment, unless it’s a uniform?
Well, there’s a fifth brand attribute we didn’t mention earlier:
Alchemy
At Milestone we believe that people don’t set out in businesses to be dull, they set out to be noticed, to be loved by staff and customers, and to make an impact on a market category. All brands including B2B branding needs to reflect the company’s ambition, passion, purpose, drive, spirit, culture and inspiration. This is brand alchemy – intangible, hard to measure, but magic all the same.
One of the key challenges facing most businesses today is recruitment – attracting top talent to roles across the board. Again, we’re not suggesting that branded T-shirts are the answer. But if you’re proud enough of your logo to stick it on a T-shirt, you might just have the kind of brand that pulls in new people.
So, if you’re considering whether you need to embark on a rebranding project for your business, or if your logo is just fine as it is – take the T-shirt test.
