Here’s some free marketing info compliments of  Bizcommunity.com . It relates to the ticket sales for the Fifa World Cup 2010 – anyway, that’s what I’m focussing on. What’s more important, is that the ratio of predicted ticket sales  per country is listed and this gives us an idea of which countries to target when selling our world cup merchandise.

2010: Our Cup runneth over

Good news from FIFA: not only has two million tickets been sold to date, a recent poll reveals that South Africans are ‘overwhelmingly positive’ about hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The third ticketing sales phase, which will conclude with a random draw for oversubscribed matches on 1 February, saw 1 206 865 applications received from 192 countries. Six matches are currently oversubscribed (in all categories), among them the semi-finals and the final. In total, 55 matches are oversubscribed in at least one category.

This means that after three of five ticketing sales phases, two-thirds of the available tickets have been sold.

Taken from Bizcommunity.com, continue reading

P.S. If you’re not interested in all of this marketing mumbo jumbo and don’t want the fuss of planning ratios of t shirts / caps per country for optimum sales and blah,blah, blah………  just put on some “klopse” garb and sell proudly South African on the parade.

I’m an avid reader of  t-shirtforms.com. This cauldron-esque hub of t shirt chatter is where I keep up to date with the latest garment printing tech and t shirt info- plus it’s a great interactive area for picking the brains of the  both experienced and newbies.

So, yesterday I was reading about the “tips of starting a clothing brand” and there was some good advice given. I found the following comment by Mike from Imahottee to be the “tip of the thread” because this, from my experience with t shirt start-ups, is the key ingredient to being a successful t shirt brand:

You should have something that makes you different, and should be able to describe it in a single sentence. In addition to running my shop, my day job is reading scripts for movie studios. In Hollywood, they call that something different “the unique attractor,” or The Hook. “Ghostbusters” has a great hook, for example; so did “Back to the Future” and “Jaws.”

So if you take a look at the different huge tee companies out there – Busted Tees, T-Shirt Hell – they’ve both got easy one-sentence pitches. Whether or not you like their stuff, it’s hard to deny the power such a resource has for marketing and branding purposes. I always knew I wanted to have a humor tee company, for example, so I decided to do only clean humor to set myself apart. The company’s called I’m a Hot Tee, and our slogan’s “Hot Tees You Can Take Home to Mom!” So it’s a pun and it’s memorable – two other things that can really go a long way.

What it means is understand your concept; stick to it and build your whole brand around it, even especially if it’s controversial.

Check out these great sites and see if you can regognise their excellent concepts:

• Think Geek
• Street Shirts
• Threadless Tees
• Band Tees
• Laugh It Off

Awesomely breathtaking is the only way to describe the feeling one gets when looking over the new Green Point Cape Town (as corrected by Clemy) Stadium pitch from one of its soon-to-be luxury booths.

I was pleasantly surprised when I had to deliver a t shirt order to the stadium yesterday and was excited by the prospect of seeing the  building from the inside and not from High Level or Green Point Main Road.

Around R3,7 Billion (I’ve heard) will be spent upon completion of this beautifully  monstrous building, which is nestled between mountain and shore of the world’s most natur-all-y gifted city.

The cost of the cheapest ticket is just under R400 (certain games only)  for seats right behind the goals, which makes one think that the view is obstructed, but it isn’t. The seating is so well arranged and elevated, that there are no bad seats. If you can afford to watch at least one game, you must. Even if it is the two worst teams playing. In fact, if you’re local, it probably will be…

There are pros and cons to such an event as the Fifa World Cup 2010. South Africa and sponsors will spend so much per stadium on an event which will only last for one month, while people are dying of hunger, wars and natural disasters as preparations are taking place. On the other hand, the world may see Africa in a different light after a few of these major events and learn to trust and respect our abilities.

After yesterday’s post I was approached by the director of a company that has Fifa product, branding and distribution rights. Apparently Lava Ink can now sell Fifa branded headwear on a wholesale basis. We are only allowed to sell to retailers (including flea markets) and the branding on the cap must stay as is. No extra logo’s may be added.

These are only 3 styles of many.

Contact us for pricing details

Fifa is very strict about their registered trademarks and they have basically gagged local producers by preventing association of products with the upcoming event, unless they have granted permission . However, everyone can reap the benefits of selling clothing products at the Fifa 2010 world cup.Yes, a t shirt/cap  from the 2010 world cup with all the Fifa branding is a great momento to have but it’s not the only kind of product that our international visitors will be looking for.

Here are a few tips on what to do, but I leave the creativity up to you:

Produce local

The key to making loads of cash is to be 100% local. Any locally produced products that have some kind of branding stating that its from SA, Cape Town, Jo’burg or wherever are great gifts to take back. Do not use imported products because the label will say made in China/India – and what’s the use of that?

Produce quality

Make sure that the goods are well constructed or manufactured and that the printing or embroidering is well done. It is a fact that our goods are cheap when compared to Britain,Europe and America. What we may perceive to be expensive is not when converted to Pounds, Dollars and Euros. Get the right suppliers and service providers that are reliable and quality conscious.

Package nicely.

Even if you are selling from a flea market, put your goods in a nice drawstring bag/ brown bag or even in a pizza box (with your branding of course). It all gives the perception of value for money. If your product is packaged well and you have your web address on it, you may reap the benefits long after the world cup.

Cater for all ages

Even though the majority of visitors will fall in a certain age bracket, you must cater for all ages because there are relatives all over the globe that are going to expect something from Mamma Africa.

I’ll end off by saying, be original and create an identifiable brand with a local flavour.

Selling t shirts can be a satisfying and lucrative exercise  but you need to prepare well or things will go wrong.  Here are a few points to remember when getting your design to print:

1. Design the artwork in the correct format.

When designing for screen printing one has to consider the end result of what the print will look like or what you want to achieve. Communicate with your printer for guidance before you start designing or you will end up paying  more or having to redesign. Screen printing is not like digital printing as it is done in stages, thus the artwork needs to be prepared differently. More info can be found in this post of which software to use.

2. Convert all fonts to curves.

If your design includes fonts and you’re using a vector program, always covert to curves. This will ensure that the artwork will look exactly like you intend it to. Please note that this will prevent later editing so it is best to save a copy that is not converted to curves as well.

3. Do a print out or computer mock .

Get a set of t shirt models/ drawings and place your designs before doing your positives.  You will get an idea of what your end result will be. Use it for scaling and positioning your artwork. If you have a physical sample of the t shirt, do a print out and position it on the actual t shirt. You can send either of these to your printer as a reference. More guidance = better results.

4. Provide your artwork in the correct size.

Do not expect the printer to be your desktop designer and scale things for you. Ensure that you scale the artwork yourself and state that the scale provided is as is.

5. Work with Pantone Colours.

Invest in a pantone colour chart and always design in pantone colours (if not working with photo images) so that you know what the colour will look like before it’s printed.  This will ensure that if you need to do reprints that the colours will be the same as before. It also allows you to have your goods printed at various printers and achieve the same results. Never use the colours on screen as a reference because the printer’s screen may have a different setting/ calibration.

6. Ask for 2 physical sample prints of the t shirt.

You will be charged for setting up and positive costs but it’s always better to do 2 samples. Don’t let the excitement of doing a run make you cut corners. Print 2 samples and if you are happy with both of them, let the printer keep one and you the other. Sign an agreement that the samples is as the run should be.

The Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup is a great launch period for all you aspiring designers. We will have tourists that are eager to get great gifts for family and friends back home.  Be sure to use anything and everything about South Africa in your designs but of course sticking to the rules regarding Fifa trademarks.

Its a bit late, but rather late……

In order of events; happy Hanukkah, Muharram , Christmas and New Year to each and everyone. May the new year be the best we’ve had in a long time Insha-Allah. May all of us prosper spiritually (whatever our faith or beliefs) and may we put our health and inner peace above wealth and what “Beyonce” and “Kanye” tells us is important. Last year was rough on many (financially) but I believe that it gave us some perspective and made us innovative and appreciative for what we have. Earn fairly and honestly and make it your new years resolution to help people whenever they need it.. especially children, orphans and Seniors.

Anyway, the holiday was humble but great because it was spent with familia!

Here are some scenery snapshots taken on drives during the holidays:

Enjoy the festive season !