By Liz at Pop Culture Tees

Have you ever read a mission statement that starts something like this?:

“Brand X is a brand that represents urban culture and is for creative edgy people everywhere. Every product of Brand X incorporates our unique vision, style, and attitude. We’re not just a t-shirt shop, we’re a culture…”

Horrible, right? Because there’s a half dozen problems with this:

1. Of course your products are unique… but what actually makes them different from anyone else’s?
2. T-Shirts are not culture, and they’re not a representation of the entirety of urban culture or anything else. They’re clothing. And unless you’re really lucky, they reflect pop culture, not create it.
3. Lots of words without saying much. Buzz words are cheap, and you can string them together to make something that sounds great. Problem is, they usually don’t mean anything.
4. Trying to defining and classify your customers is a great way to drive would be buyers away. If I don’t feel like I’m edgy and creative person, I’m not going to feel like your tees are for me.

This isn’t a real mission statement, but it is inspired by (and in some spots roughly borrowed from) dozens I’ve read from submissions to the site, and around the web. Your mission statement says who you are, and what you’re about, so why short change yourself by writing a bad one that doesn’t really say much at all?

If you want to write a great mission statement, follow these 3 simple rules:

1. Tell people where you came from: how your brand started, what was the inspiration, why are you doing what you are.
2. Tell people what’s really unique about your brand: Maybe all your tees and ink are organic or maybe your designs are all inspired by your favorite Star War characters, or maybe you donate 10% of each sale to the WWF. Whatever it is, make it plain and easy to understand.
3. Tell people what your designs are about: This is hard if you don’t have a theme that connects your clothing line (hint: your brand will be stronger if you have a central theme), but you should be able to talk about what connects all your designs and what they’re about.

Post from: How to start a Clothing Company

How to write a Mission Statement for your clothing company

I saw this on smallbiztrends.com

Combining social media marketing with traditional branding efforts may be the wave of the future. After all branding is one area social media can help social media the most, establishing brand identity in a way that once required much larger budgets. The following roundup looks at social media, branding, small business and more.

Branding & Sales

What does your branding say about you? Your brand is important especially in terms of how it communicates to your target market or audience. Does your brand really say what you intend or are you unintentionally communicating a message that does not portray you in the best possible light. Urbane Technology Solutions.

What are the reasons for a business owner to sell? There may be a couple of reasons why owners may wish to sell their business, but according to business broker Scott Messinger, one stands out above all others. If you think he’s being overly simplistic, just take a look at his guest post and judge for yourself. Noobpreneur.com

Social Tools

Are you using the new LinkedIn buttons? The Web’s top business networking site has added a further social marketing and Search Engine Optimization tool similar to share buttons already found on other social sites like Facebook and Twitter. Using networking tools like the new LinkedIn button can have many positive results for your networking and marketing efforts. Test the new application today. SEO Tips and Updates

Could branding threaten the location-based social media revolution? Mir Rooshanak argues that it might with brands like Coke and Pepsi lining up to sponsor SCVNGR and Foursquare respectively. This, he argues, is much different than the two big brands merely both having a presence on Facebook. What do you think? How much important is location-based social media to your small business and will major corporate branding effect how or if you use the service. UPrinting.com

10 tools to manage online presence. Ryan Hanley, an insurance broker from Albany, is quick to point out he’s not a social media expert, but we think his list of tools for building brand online are really worth a look. As Ryan points out, there are tons of tools available to create your online presence and the key is to select the right ones for you. RyanHanley.com

Community Building

Are you building community or just adding followers? Could “less followers” be the new “more followers?” If this doesn’t make sense to you, perhaps your goals in social media aren’t quite what they should be. This wake up call to social media marketers looks at the truth behind what constitutes success in the social media sphere, and how to create connections the old fashioned way…one relationship at a time. SocialMouth

Do you respond? If not, be aware there may be a price to pay. The fact is that social media is social and when you behave in a less than social manner you are making a definite statement about your brand. Imagine if you never answered phone calls, or didn’t talk to someone when they came to your office to see you. Jason Kienbaum has some further thoughts on the repercussions of being unresponsive in social media. Business Done Now

Your Message

Why context not content is king. If social media networking success isn’t just about the sheer number of followers you can amass, it may be time to look at some other myths out there about building a brand on the social Web. Take the argument that “content is king”, as an example. But as Ivan Walsh points out, content if unrelated to your readers and what they might be searching for, is useless. Bloggertone

A strategy for building content that works. If the key to great social media branding is creating content that suits your customer’s or viewer’s needs, than the system by which you develop that content is also important. Enter John Jantsch’s suggestions for creating a “content lead generation system” as an important step toward creating and sharing not just any content but the content that really matters. Duct Tape Marketing

Strategy

Do you have a strategy for your social media branding? If so, what is it and how does it apply to targeting the audience and customers you’re after? Ann Evanston suggests an approach that builds networks, adds value, and creates your brand in the social media space. Ignore strategy at your own peril. Take a conscious look at how to use social media to build the brand you want. Warrior Prenuer

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Social Brading Basics

Post from: How to start a Clothing Company

T-shirt Packaging

Andy over at Hide Your Arms wrote this article about 410bc’s new packaging.

410BC sent me a tee a little while back (which will likely be posted soon), and I loved the packaging that it came in so much that I meticulously peeled away the customs label, 410BC return address sticker, my address, the postage sticker, and a lot of the tape the box was wrapped in to reveal a box that was far too nice to be thrown in the bin, and so will now house HYA related gubbins. click here to read the rest

- Andy

Really awesome job by 410 bc to create packaging that makes people talk about. Here am I am blogging about it because I saw it on another persons site. Stuff like this does get expensive and it’s hard to justify spending the extra money for boxes but I think it is well worth the money when you’ve established your clothing line. Check out the article above for more pics of the boxes, there is also an inside print to.

- Jon Kruse

Post from: How to start a Clothing Company

410 BC Packaging.

Describing your brand properly is a necessary skill for building a successful clothing line. Not only does it help clarify what your company is all about, it also shows that the people behind the brand are knowledgeable on what they’re selling and know how to present a great idea. Your brand profile should be included on your website and in press releases. In many cases its your one shot at reeling in your target customer. Some people have trouble with describing their brand in words, and if your one of those people, don’t lose sleep over it. It’s one of those things that you kinda KNOW, but you can’t exactly explain. Let’s work on getting that explanation down.

When writing your brand statement, what your aiming for is convincing your target customers that your brand is exactly what they’re looking for. If your products aren’t giving people a solid idea of what your brand is about, your “About” page is your only hope. It also helps to be pretty specific about what your brand means rather than establishing yourself as a brand with no real meaning. I’ve seen tons of t-shirt lines that I didn’t really understand right off the bat, but got a better understanding and appreciation for once I read their brand profile. I’ve also seen a bucha brands who’s brand profile do absolutely nothing for making their brand look good, and in fact do the opposite. It automatically makes me pass over the brand and look for something better.

If you don’t want to be looked over there’s a few major things you should ask yourself while defining your brand:

What does your brand name mean and how does it relate to your products?

What kind of theme is prominent in your designs?

What principles do you stand by?

What words can you use to describe your products?

What are some notable features about your t-shirts?

If you can tackle those questions then you’re on your way to writing a great brand profile. Try to avoid cliches like claiming your brand is “unique” and “something new”. Don’t mention how everybody is tired of going to a party and seeing 3 people wearing the same shirt and that your brand will be the one shirt nobody has. Those are just fillers people use when they don’t really know what the hell their brand is actually about. None of this stuff will have a great impact on whether or not a potential customer will consider buying your items. Instead, focus on describing what makes your brand so unique and cool rather than simply saying “We’re cool and unique!”

Don’t make a buncha statements like “We’re here to take the clothing industry to the next level” and “We’re gonna change the t-shirt game forever!” That kind of talk is nothing but your company’s generalized goals, goals which many other brands also have. It doesn’t increase the chance of gaining new customers.

Don’t flood your brand description with unnecessary information about yourself or your team. Things like “We always wanted a clothing line and finally our dreams have come true” and “We each have our own unique styles and ideas” do nothing for the potential consumer learning about your brand. You should only mention things about yourself that relate to the brand. If you have a line of fishing t-shirts it’s okay to say you’ve been fishing all your life. That kind of information actually adds to the brand experience. Knowing that you and your best friend have been trying to sell tees for the past 3 years doesn’t help in highlighting the brand itself. People don’t even care about you until you’ve proven yourself.

Read the rest of the article at t-shirt magazine

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Creating a Good Brand Description

Post from: How to start a Clothing Company

5 Steps To Successfully Managing Your Clothing Brand