Think about your favorite sports team. Do you own a few jerseys, backpacks or mugs that represent the club or league with the logo or tagline? Most probably, yes. This is the power of effective sports merchandising. Whether it’s an NBA, MLB or NFL team, people form a close connection with the colors, slogan and brand design of the one they support.
It is common for fans to turn up to the stadium or court in a t-shirt that has the sports logo of their team and invest in various other items as well.
Most old and new organizations focus on creating awareness and building a loyal fan base with their merchandise. One of the most important factors to consider for sports merchandising is the logo design. If you think about it, items such as clothes, bags, stationery or water bottles can help market and promote the visual elements of your sports brand identity.
There are many ways that such items get the attention of the audience and spread recognition. Here’s our guide to sports merchandising for promoting your team or league logo successfully within a short span of time.
Find The Right Products
When marketing and promoting the brand symbol on merchandise, it is important to research extensively and pick products that can appeal to the target audience. Now, you want to make sure that the items are diverse and there is something for everybody. Sporting items have a large consumer base across the world with many being popular among fans.
It has been reported that the market value for licensed sports merchandise is estimated to reach $49.8 billion by 2027. This means that you have a lot of opportunity to create hype for various products and market your sports team logo effectively. While, it is a good idea to create a campaign around two to three items like t-shirts, mugs or hoodies, you need to focus on a particular one that has a high demand.
For example, if jerseys are the best selling product, then do extensive research on logo placement, colors and design to generate more sales and reach a wider audience. Take the example of soccer club Bayern Munich, which sold 3.25 million t-shirts in Europe during 2021. It was ranked above both Real Madrid and Liverpool in selling the item to football fans in various countries.
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Similarly, the NY Giants are another football league that have popular merchandise with their caps and jerseys generating a lot of sales. You might be able to recognize the classic blue and red logo of the team that is featured in unique serif fonts and stands out on t-shirts or hats.
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How To Promote Logo: Analyze and track the data for your sports merchandise to choose a range of products that get the attention of the consumers immediately.
Use Engaging And Relevant Colors
You may want to create a line of sweatshirts or backpacks with your brand colors, but you can explore other options as well. At the end, it is crucial to make sure that the merchandise generates good sales to create recognition for your sports logo design. So with various items, you should try and choose colors which highlight the icon in the best way possible. Consider any team in the NBA or MLB for example here. The Los Angeles Lakers for instance are known for their purple and gold color scheme which is quite eye-catching anywhere.
When it comes to merchandising, this team has a range of apparel including sweatshirts, t-shirts and polos in black, white, blue, purple and variations of yellow or gold. These are all solids which contrast with both the wordmark and basketball icon. You can easily spot the brand design of the Lakers against any such color.
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This helps the team promote its symbol on different clothes for a wide audience and make more people familiar with it. So if you are focusing on sweatshirts or hoodies, you can pick relevant colors that represent the team or neutrals that allow people to get a close look at the sports logo or name.
How To Promote Logo: Stick with a contrast or combination which makes the design stand out and easy to understand.
Collaborate With A Brand Or Personality
This is one of the most effective ways to promote your logo with sports merchandise. By collaborating with an established brand, you can create recognition among their audience and increase sales successfully. There are quite a few clubs or leagues that work with various sportswear brands or personalities for marketing and branding.
Liverpool F.C. has collaborated with Nike to produce an exclusive collection of their kit that features the soccer club’s logo and the iconic swoosh. This way, the fans can purchase their favorite team’s jerseys or t-shirts from one of the most recognized sportswear companies in the world.
Image Source: nike.com
You can look for something similar and create a special line of athletic wear in collaboration with a local brand or store that has an established audience. It is also a good idea to sponsor a personality with a large following on social media like a sports influencer to promote your merchandise and brand symbol.
Image Source: nike.com/nba
How To Promote Logo: Look for a recognized brand that you can collaborate with for mugs, backpacks or other items that feature your logo design prominently.
Keep The Design Simple
For sports merchandise, it is important to be inclusive and appeal to various demographics. You want to market or promote your team logo design in a way that both youngsters and adults are able to recognize it instantly. So look for a style which is simple, minimalistic and draws attention to the lettermark or symbol.
With sports merchandise like accessories or various clothing items, it is a good idea to focus on branding and avoid confusing elements. This does not mean that you cannot diversify the range of products or create something unique. Since you want to catch the eye of men, women, children, the merchandise can include jewelry, watch bands, footwear and tote bags.
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By choosing a simple design for both your logo and products, you can attract a wider audience in a short time and build a loyal fan base as well. If there is a need to upgrade or revamp the brand icon, you can consider launching a logo design contest to get a relevant and appealing one for your sports league or team.
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How To Promote Logo: Introduce new products like baby clothes or a winter line for females that appeals to different consumers. The diverse range of items can increase awareness beyond the target market and boost brand recognition.
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Mark Important Occasions or Announcements
There are many marketing opportunities that you can grab. Be it the NFL, NBA, MLB or college football, organizations can produce merchandise to mark a special announcement, championship final or player trade. If you consider the Super Bowl for example, you will merchandise from shirts to equipment with the number and names of players or limited collection for the event.
Similarly, the NBA has championship apparel and gear for their series final. The winning team also introduces exclusive products to mark the celebration. You can also announce a special line of items that are backed by certain players. Launch water bottles, mugs, hats, gloves or hoodies which are signed or worn by them during the game.
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On some occasions, sports teams also pay tribute to a popular personalities by introducing a line of sportswear for them. For instance, as Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL, both the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers started a campaign with the hashtag ‘Thank You Tom’. Fans of the teams and players can now find merchandise like helmets, footballs, t-shirts and sweatshirts that have been launched to pay tribute to him.
