Never underestimate the power of the freebie!!

If there is one thing everybody wants, it’s something for nothing! Anyone who has ever left a tube station in the London rush hour will be scanning the exit gates for the latest promotional handout, I know I do! So why do large companies such as Nike and Muller give away so many goodies? Yes you’ve guessed it, to push the brand directly to the customer and try to raise its image with the consumer.

More and more business are starting to court there customers in this way with many actively using the prospect of a freebie to place their logos or brand directly on the customer, how? by the use of customised promotional clothing. Many fitness gyms now include free branded leisurewear with new subscriptions such as polo shirts and baseball caps. In the IT sector it is rare for people attending technical training courses with large vendors such as Cisco or Microsoft not to be given a branded polo shirt, tee shirt or baseball cap.

With many ranges of promotional packages and customisation deals on the market today, promotional clothing marketing campaigns don’t have to break the bank and can be incorporated into a standard marketing budget. In fact we believe that you will receive more return on your investment from someone wearing your branded Leisurewear and interacting directly with your target audience than placing advertisements in traditional media.

In the land of the brand, image is king!

Don’t believe me? Then take a few moments just to look around you right now and I bet you will be able to see at least five different corporate brands be it the coke your drinking or the logo on the monitor your reading this on! You can’t escape it and most of the time your being influenced by brand and you don’t even know it!

From the Playboy bunny logo right through to the Christian 'Fish' symbol brands are designed to evoke feeling and condense your product to a single glance and in today’s media intensive world our customers are masters at analysing and forming opinions on your brand in a split second. Still don’t believe me? Think of the coca cola logo I bet you start to feel thirsty?

Many service industries use there staff uniform to promote a good corporate image through embroidered uniform or with workwear that is festooned with the company logo or slogan and the better your customer facing brand presence performs the more people will identify your logo with quality and good service.

Some company’s brands are so popular that they even use the customers as walking advertisements buy turning their brand identity into a fashion icon via way of the merchandise market. Everybody knows or has seen at least one person with the world famous caterpillar workwear clothing on!

So what is it that makes a good corporate logo? Well it seems that simplicity is the key here, after all you have so much to convey to the customer in a very short time. Strong vibrant colours are a good way of drawing the eye to your corporate image, take the caterpillar logo.

This logo just jumps out and demands to be noticed with a bright yellow background contrasted by the dark CAT lettering, straight away you identify the logo with the famous yellow diggers. In fact this ‘yellow’ association is so strong that I bet that when you think of a digger it is always yellow!

Next is the slogan, if your going to have a slogan it can be to be dynamic, quirky, ultra descriptive or even annoying. Below are some edited examples of slogans you will instantly recognise.

You cant get better than a ******** fitter
******** is good for you !
Just do it!
Vorsprung durch technik!

Try them on your friends and you will find that they can all associate them with there brands.


This just goes to show that a little investment in your corporate identity can really benefit your brand in the long term, and with the right brand marketing strategy that utilises simple principles such as embroidered workwear for your staff or even promotional clothing for your customers you can maximise your impact in the market place.

London fashion week fever has hit

As London begins another fashion week we cant wait to see all the new ranges from top designers such as Matthew Williamson and Antonio Berardi and with the controversy sparked by Mark Fast’s decision to use larger models causing rows between his management team one stylist to walk out it is boiling up to be an unforgettable year.

We will eagerly anticipate the toned down versions of this years leisurewear and even some new designs in Corporatewear that will inevitably have there roots firmly place in this wonderful showcase of established and up and coming talent.

Looking and feeling good was never so easy!

One of the markets that don’t seem to have been hit by the credit crunch are beauty salons and hairdressers. It seems that a few hours of pampering in the salon is a great way to fight the crunch, and with more hairdressing salons now offering the kinds of services that were only available in the top spa’s, Britons focus on self image and pure indulgence is at fever pitch .

Naturally a market sector as indulgent as the spa industry needs to present a highly luxurious and decedent image to its clientele. Many outfits are offering custom embroidered salon robes while the client moves between sessions and even extend these products to their merchandise range. But the main backbone of any great hairdressers, spa or therapist salon is quality luxury toweling.



At first glance the casual onlooker could be forgiven for dismissing this fundamental area of the salon industry but ask yourself the question if I were having a spa day would I want to be wrapped in a starchy crisp towel, or would I like to be enveloped in a silky soft high quality towel or robe?

In fact a good quality soft embroidered towel with the spa resort or salon’s brand design makes a fantastic souvenir of a clients ‘perfect salon day’ and furthers your brand exposure all with the added bonus of bringing in more revenue in merchandise!

With over 80 years of experience Caterpillar Workwear has become the must have brand for businesses that need reliable and hard wearing workwear and uniforms.

With a fully comprehensive range of garments from hats to safety boots and a global market of customer from its heavy and land moving machinery sales Caterpillar have take the market by storm (and have even released a children’s range!)

Delivering the high quality that the workwear industry demands caterpillar work garments can only go from strength to strength and are proving to be a major contributor to the market alongside Dickies workwear and Snickers.

Its Toon time!

Hospital's and Healthcare Surgery’s can be a daunting and often scary places for adults so imagine the stresses children face having to adjust to sometimes lengthy stays in hospitals or clinics.


With these challenges in mind paediatric units should try to make sure that their wards more child accessible by decorating them in bright colours and adding pictures well known children's cartoon characters and TV personalities.

This theme should also carried on through the colourful staff uniforms, scrubs and tunics in the form of Tooniforms!


With an array of well know characters that includes the ever popular Garfield, Tooniform scrubs are designed to be stylish with engaging colours that will entertain children from babies to teens (we hear they are even a favorite with maternity doctors!)

Protective Workwear and PPE

According to the Health and safety executive Employers have basic duties concerning the provision and use of personal protective clothing (PPE) at work so you need to know your obligation to meet the requirements of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations act 1992.


The conscientious workwear purchaser should consider the following when assessing whether PPE is suitable:

• Is it appropriate for the risks involved and the conditions at the place where exposure to the risk may occur? For example, eye protection designed for providing protection against agricultural pesticides will not offer adequate face protection for someone using an angle grinder to cut steel or stone.
• Does it prevent or adequately control the risks involved without increasing theoverall level of risk?
• Can it be adjusted to fit the wearer correctly?
• n Has the state of health of those who will be wearing it been taken into
• account?
• What are the needs of the job and the demands it places on the wearer? For
• example, the length of time the PPE needs to be worn, the physical effort
• required to do the job and the requirements for visibility (i.e. hi vis vests) and communication.
• If more than one item of PPE is being worn, are they compatible?

Also depending on the area of work many other regulations may need to be taken into account such as:

• The Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002.
• The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.
• The Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999.
• The Construction (Head Protection) Regulations 1989.
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as
• amended).
• The Noise at Work Regulations 1989.

More information can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive website (http://www.hse.gov.uk)