Manufacturing Corporate Clothing for the South African Market

Hospitality Gear

Manufacturing Corporate Clothing, or having your corporates fashion range designed and created through a manufacturer takes planning and a keen understanding of current trends. In South Africa, what is trending may not be what is trending in Asia, so it’s best to look at the South African market if that is where your clothing campaign is going to extend to.

Sometimes a business wants to take their brand beyond what is ‘available’ and seek out new styles and ideas. Marketing a corporate through clothing is not a new concept and what’s more, it will never be an exact science. I say this because it is a creative field and as long as there are creative minds there will be new ideas and trends. Is your business a trendsetter?

There will always be new ideas and it’s imperative that your business stays ahead of the game.

Manufacturing new styles and coming up with new ideas for promotional clothing, kits, sports gear, leisure wear et cetera can and will be a challenge, but the finished product is usually a rewarding experience, as are the benefits of standing out from the average ‘corporate Joe’.

Over the weeks and months ahead, I’ll be posting entries on why the following items are always a good way to go, how these corporate promotional items can be used for campaigning and creative ideas on getting the most out of your corporate clothing campaigns.

Manufacturer Items of Corporate Clothing

• Corporate Uniforms
• Security Gear & Uniforms
• School & Team Kits (Sports, Adventure Corporates)
• Work wear
• Overalls
• Conti-Suits & Jumpers
• Designer Corporate Clothing
• SPECIALISED CORPORATE CLOTHING DESIGNS

Types of Branding

Branded Hand Bags & Accessories

Business owners and marketers have numerous options available when considering methods or types of branding. The type of branding would very much depend on what type of clothing or corporate items you are considering placing your company brand on.

Selecting the item you want to brand should obviously have appeal to the type of person you want to attract.

Depending on the item, your plans for branding will include the following options.

Types of Branding & Tools

• EMBROIDERY – Usually done on Caps, Jackets, and Shirts -  in other words Clothing
• SILK SCREENING – Usually done on T shirts, Bags, Golf Towels and sometimes Clothing
• LASER ENGRAVING – Usually done on anything metal including pens, knives etc.
• EMBOSSING – Usually done on Leather items
• DOME STICKERS – Plastic Key Rings, Stickers & Name Badges
• PAD PRINTING – Usually done on plastic cheap pens or any plastic item
• STICKERS – For car licence discs

I’ll be adding more as I blog on techniques and skills, offering tips on how to get the best finish to your branded items using branding equipment & tools to create your corporate image.

Brand Africa Forum 2010 – 16 September – Sandton JHB

Driving Africa’s image and competitiveness from Africa, for Africa. Brand Africa FORUM 2010 is a one-day summit of pan-African decision makers in media, business & economy, and nation branding.

The FORUM aims to leverage and extract sustainable learnings of the successful 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa to shape the image of Africa, and to set an agenda to drive the reputation, image and competitiveness – from Africa, for Africa. Hosted by Brand South Africa, Brand Africa Forum 2010 is a unique opportunity for pan African decision makers in business, policy, media and civil society to interact and engage with issues and opportunities catalytic to the future of brand Africa.

Brand Africa Forum 2010 will be broadcast on CNBC Africa to 41 sub Saharan African countries. CNBC Africa is Africa’s premier TV channel reporting on business in Africa from an African perspective.

Contact Details For More Information:

• Absie Phantshwa brandafrica@callit-it.com  Tel: +27 11 399 5662
• Thabisile Khumalo Project Manager Brand South Africa thabisilek@brandsouthafrica.com  Tel: +27 11 483 0122
• Thebe Ikalafeng Brand Leadership Academy thebe@brandafrica.net  Tel: +27 11 463 5091 16 September 2010

Venue: Sandton Convention Centre Johannesburg, South Africa

Whether you’re in Midrand, Centurion, Randburg, on the East Rand or West Rand in South Africa, join up at the convention in Sandton, Johannesburg and let’s put our minds toward branding South Africa Internationally.

Embroidery

A Short Introduction to Embroidery:

Embroidery is a technique in which a logo is embroidered onto an article. Embroidery is used for textiles, caps and bags. The price on embroidery depends on the number of stitches and the size of the logo. The maximum number of colours that can be used is 15.

Laser Engraving

A Short Introduction to Laser Engraving: A method in which the design is burned into the article made of metal,wood or glass. The laser beam is emitted by a computer. This ensures that the design can be finely and precisely reproduced. Laser engraving is not possible with multiple colours. The colour is determined by the colour of the of the material or the base layer below the one being engraved.

• This technique gives an elegant and permanent decoration to the product it is used on. Laser engraving can be done on wood, glass or metal.

Pad Printing

A popular printing technique that can be used to print nearly every surface, shape or size. The design is placed photographically on a metal plate. The pad, a rubber silicon image carrier, presses the design from the metal plate onto the article. Through the use of different pad shapes, it is possible to print diverse shapes and forms from pens to bags. You can print one or more colours on most articles.

• Pad printing can be used on plastic and metal items.

Screen Printing

A Short Introduction to Screen Printing: Screen printing can only be used on flat surfaces. It is possible to print 1 or more colours on most articles. The design is placed on the gauze in the screen print plate. The gauze has a light sensitive layer. A film of the design is placed on the gauze and the entire surface is exposed to UV light. The printing ink is pressed through the gauze to the article enabling the image to be printed on it.

• Screen printing is used primarily on cloth and nylon products such as umbrellas,caps and bags.

The Women’s Show – Coca Cola Dome JHB

JOHANNESBURG – COCA-COLA DOME

27 – 29 August 2010

CAPE TOWN CTICC – To be confirmed

Be extraordinary!

Celebrate being a woman –remind yourself why it’s great to be female from make-up, to gourmet food, to luxurious travel and giggling with your girlfriends. The Women’s Show is the perfect place to indulge all of your senses; flirt with fashion, discover the new you, bring out your playful nature and make sure you leave the kids behind so you can get a little ‘me’ time….. You deserve it!
Be inspired, motivated and energised by other women. The show offers live performances, informative workshops as well as interactive zones where you can learn about finance, empowerment, health, beauty and your sexuality and so much more.

The show is open to both the general public and trade professionals.
Show Times: Fri – Sun: 10h00 – 18h00
Where: The Coca-Cola Dome – Northgate, Johannesburg
Admission: R50 per person (tickets available at the door)

Corporate Fashion News & Events

I’ve created this section to keep you updated on conferences, fashion, corporate fashion related events, clothing campaigns, new products and news on gifting trends and happenings in the South African corporate fashion and gifting industry. And I will! Soon …!

I’m still setting up this blog and focusing on how best to use it to convey those finer points, news and tips which will be of interest. No matter where you are, Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, East London, Port Elizabeth or the Northern Cape, this blog is here for you. Please contribute to the blog with all your own updates and news.

If you are a corporate and want to feature your own post on this blog with tips advice and news about your events, get in touch, sign up for email updates and contact me.

COMING! > SOON!!! > CORPORATE > CLOTHING > FASHION > GIFTING > NEWS > LATEST > EVENTS > PROMOTIONS > CONFERENCES > CAMPAIGNS  > A WHOLE HIPPO MORE!

Corporate Gift Marketing & Research

You love South Africa, right? You love doing business. You love it when your professional work and results bring a WOW! from your clients AND competitors, although the latter is, and will probably remain, an extremely hard earned rarity.

Anyhow, join me as I slowly grow this blog into a useful tool for you to use to promote your South African Corporate Gifting Campaigns. What is Corporate Gifting? – Well, can it really be described in a sentence? There are many facets or aspects to and of using gifts as a corporate tool.

The most common use of corporate gifts as a tool would be the ‘business promotion’ or marketing aspect. But then there are those companies who use gifting to entice new corporate relationships or genuinely thank those loyal clients at events / functions. Some projects or business marketing campaigns target business executives & owners individually, with the intention of making a statement stamped with the suggestion of class and quality … through a gift. Personalised or professional, individual or group targeting, it’s great sending someone a gift. The idea of it always makes the recipient feel good … until it’s opened … or the reaction sets in …

Being South African, living in Kyalami and in close proximity to Sandton in Johannesburg, I live and work in a business hub. I come into contact with people dealing in gifting on a daily basis and so often I hear disappointment stories or feedback which goes something like this: “Jeepers, what do they take me for? I’ve got a dozen desktop pen holders!” or “I’m spending a fortune on gifts and the successes aren’t covering my expenses.”

Are you sizing up your clients or targeted business partners & associates? Are you researching them as individuals and as corporate bodies? It’s the world of the internet out there. You can buy online and get information on virtually anything … including professional and corporate profiles. Are you joining online business networks? All of these are important aspects of any business. Get involved!

Over the time ahead, I’ll be focusing on the various facets, methods and aspects of corporate gifting solutions and successful targeting strategies. Oink South Africa (Blog Admin) will also be posting on this blog from time to time on how to use the World Wide Web to gather important information on your targeted clientiele, create your own web-presence and develop online relationships. Tune in …

What Is Embossing?

Embossing – In embossing the design is pressed into the article through the use of a metal plate. Embossing is particularly suitable for Leather products. This process is not appropriate for all leather products and is not possible in colour. It is very attractive and gives a refined touch to any leather article it is used on.

Embossing results in an elegant raised border to images and configurations of whatever form you are embossing. Design and Time. Patience & Creativity. These are all characteristics of refinement in the embossment of corporate and personal identities.