5 benefits of hosting a t-shirt design competition

Hosting a t-shirt design competition is easier than ever, thanks to specialist websites designed to host design competitions and promote voting through social media networks. But what can a t-shirt design competition do for your company?

Creative engagement

A t-shirt design competition provides a way for people to engage with your company in a creative way. With the incentive of an excellent prize, your current and future customers are motivated to think hard about the design brief, engaging them on a deeper level than any passive response to advertising or company newsletters. They will have invested their time, and will be interested in the results, giving you another excellent opportunity to get back in touch with them once the competition is judged.

An insight into the creative members of your customer base

If you offer the opportunity to design a t-shirt in return for a prize (and the prize is well chosen), it's likely that the entrants will include design elements that appeal to them, thus giving you critical information on your customers' taste. What they choose to feature in the design can be revealing, as they are likely to focus on those that are important to them, and if the design brief is to create a t-shirt for your company, or an event, their designs will reveal what they feel is the most important things to say or promote about them. In other words, you'll see your company through their eyes, not yours.

T-shirt competitions generate a lot of interest

If you choose a competition platform that is connected to social media networks (for example, having a Facebook button that allows people to post up their design and ask for votes in just one click), your competition entrants will spread the word naturally. This gives your company extra exposure, and can encourage more people to enter the competition too. In addition, a t-shirt design contest is a great topic for press releases and follow up stories about the winner can give the story even more exposure.

Let your customers inspire you!

As the competition hosts, you'll have access to all of the entries to pick the winner. Every single one should be shown to your marketing department. Not only will the entries give them the insights into what customers feel is important, as previously discussed, they could also inspire a new tagline, a new logo design or more. Just take care to credit the person submitting the entry and send them a gift to thank them for a great design – or choose them as the winner of course!

Brand and message visibility

Ultimately, every company is looking for a way to give more visibility to their brand and the core message of their marketing efforts. Hosting a t-shirt design competition increases brand visibility and a deeper awareness of your brand if you host a well-planned competition with a prize your target market will really want to win.

A note on how to find a good t-shirt competition platform

One of the main reasons a person might not enter a t-shirt design competition is if they think it will be too difficult, so take care to choose a platform that is integrated with online t-shirt design tools that are intuitive and easy to use. In addition, check that the platform offers social media integration and an easy way for people to share their design and the competition itself with their social networks. Shirtlab, for example, has recently launched a competition platform that is fully integrated with its online t-shirt design tools as well as social media.

Once you have chosen your platform, all you need to do is set a design brief for the competition (simple is best) and then offer a prize that your target market can't resist.

About the author
Steve Beynon has over 20 years of experience in the garment printing and embroidery industry, creating Shirtlab after extensive research into customised clothing and apparel websites in the UK. Shirtlab provides a state of the art online promotional garment design service, providing easy to use design tools creating outstanding personalised T-shirt designs with minimal effort.