Experiential Marketing for Decorators

Our regular listeners know this, but 2 Regular Guys are all about garment decorating, a bit of fun, and no rants or lectures or selling. We are not doing this for our employers, but rather for our industry. Since February 2013, The 2 Regular Guys have been the first and the most listened to garment decorating industry podcast on this planet! We are humbled by all of you tuning in each week. We work hard to bring you information that will make your business better, and our industry better. Take a look at our incredible weekly guest list and you’ll understand where this industry goes for news, interviews and the heartbeat of garment decorating. Thanks for listening!

News

• Joe Clarke, a pioneer and innovator in the screen-printing industry passed away on Sept. 22. Clarke’s time in the industry spans multiple companies, roles, and decades. Clarke was born in Youngstown, Ohio on Sept. 18, 1951. Entering the screen-printing industry after graduating high school, Clarke’s first foray into the market was his own business, Clarke’s Silk Screen. Clarke continued with his career contributing his knowledge at seminars and in technical articles, and released an extensive book on four-color process printing in the 1980s entitled “Control Without Confusion.” Further on, Clarke served various high-level roles in the industry, including vice president of flexible products at The M&R Companies, vice president at Wilflex/PolyOne, and as head of his own company, Clarke Product Renovation & Synergy Inks.

Experiential Marketing

Terry: It’s all about the experience in marketing. Jay Busselle is here to talk about this method of marketing and how it applies to apparel (and product) decorators.

Erich: What exactly is Experiential Marketing?

JAY: I think the smart folks at EventBrite defined it best: a strategy or a purposeful plan that engages consumers using branded experiences. Sometimes this is referred to as “live marketing” or “event marketing experience,” the idea is to create a memorable impact on the attendees; one that will inspire them to share with their friends both online and off.  Your staff, customers, and prospects want an experience — they want something remarkable, something they relate to, something that makes them feel like less of a checkbook and more of a participant.

Terry: Why does this work so well for apparel (and other product) decorators?

JAY: Because apparel & product decorators can create purposeful experiences where the attendees are involved, engaged, participating, watching this thing…come to life or being made live, in real time. When and if  possible – actually involving the attendees in a hands-on experience… will give them a significantly deeper emotional connection. You can literally impact their senses. They can become co-creators of the swag or branded merch.

Erich: Jay, what are some common examples of experiential marketing in our industry?

• Manual screen printing: 1-2 colors
• Heat pressing specialty material transfers
• Sublimating mugs
• Laser engraving pens
• Embroidering names or monograms

AND of course as you mentioned this is part of the strategy we use at EZ while exhibiting at trade shows. Using a DTG printer to print full color, custom & potentially personalized images

Terry: How about some more unique examples?

Brett Bowden of Printed Threads

Jay & Jeff printing official keynote speaker bags live at the ASI Power Summit. The keynote was Jesse Itzler. 

My friends and co-founders Danny Rosin and Robert Fiveash of Brand Fuel have just about mastered this strategy. They have a variety of levels of experiential marketing. Keep in mind they are a promotional product agency and don’t have any decorating equipment themselves.

1.  But they will partner with a local screen printer and have a Make & Bake event. Folks will create their own design AND PRINT their own customized t-shirts while learning the ancient art of screenprinting.
2. Swag Lottery Machine: Insert a lottery ticket (data capture), pull a lever and watch the laughter as arms pop out of the machine, delivering swag to recipients who won’t soon forget your brand.
3. TASTE TESTING. They create team-building experiences where the memories will be savored for years to come. Think breweries! Coffee houses! Chocolate Factories! Wineries! Bakeries! This experience further supports the local movement with an educational experience. Of course they have branded merch and sometimes personalized swag for these events.

Erich: We want to give you a chance to talk about your latest marketing project.