Building Brand One Ukiyo-e T-Shirt at a Time

The toughest question we face as marketers is, “How much should we spend on brand?”

My issue with this question is that it shows the archaic mindset of the industrial age. You are dividing, not integrating your business divisions.

As the old sales saying goes, “Everyone in our company is in sales.”

Everyone in your business is in branding.

Your brand is not just your logo, your colours and your outward facing strategic communication tone.

Your entire operation is your brand. Brand includes the UX on your site; your always-on ads; your daily organic content; your radio ads; the number of payment options you offer; your customer service responses; the tidiness of your bricks and mortar store; your visibility as a team; your internal company culture; your sales team’s professionalism and care; the way your buyers interact with your suppliers; the way you package your product or service; your ability to adapt to different cultural nuances across the globe; and keeping it all consistent. That is the tip of the iceberg that is brand.

So, why did I refer to Ukiyo-e T-shirts?

I have found the best ever T-shirt maker. They are based in Latvia and they do these awesome prints based on Ukiyo-e art. Ukiyo-e is a particular genre of woodblock painting that flourished in 17 Century Japan. It depicts the Samurai caste with crazy eyes in extraordinary situations.

Big fan.

So, these t-shirt makers have taken this style, and put the Samurai in modern day situations like riding a bike or writing code on a computer. I saw their ads on Instagram, a lot, before I made my first purchase, and, because I have been burnt before with online purchases, I followed my personal rule for international eCommerce acquisitions.

I bought one item. That way, if they were fraudsters, I would lose only a minimal amount.

It took three months to arrive, but arrive it did, and I was very, very happy with the quality and the service. It was the height of COVID, so I expected delays.

So, you know what I did next?

I bought ten t-shirts. And, they arrived in a-month-and-a-half. Bonus!

I have subscribed to their mailer, willingly. I follow them on Instagram. I trust them and I love their product.

Their brand has delivered.

Something worth considering.