Maintaining a vast library of t-shirt designs on the YMCA Company Store provided an opportunity to embrace technology.
The Situation
Our client, YMCA Metro Marketing came to us with a need to standardize their t-shirt designs.
This was due to branch members (end users) approaching both Symphonix and their marketing department for creative work making the process a bit convoluted. They have dozens of shirt graphics, 17 different branches, and countless variations of text for programs such as:
- Afterschool programs
- Swim instructors & lifeguards
- Y Readers
- Youth sports
- Adult sports
- Summer day camp
They wanted a streamlined way for their members to have some creative liberty designing t-shirts while also maintaining brand standards. In addition, they wanted stakeholders to have eyes on this process with the ability to approve and edit designs as needed.
The Symphonix Solution
The shear scope and volume of these t-shirt requests made this the perfect opportunity to employ some of our marketing automation technology.
Plans were made to build an "apparel engine," where the end user could design their shirts within our company store platform using dynamic templates.
The client supplied us with all their active graphics, logos and approved text. These would be thoughtfully loaded into a single store item allowing the users to choose their shirt colors, sizes and quantities then customize the front, back and/or sleeve with the assets provided. An option for free-form text would also be added along with an approval process so the marketing stakeholders could maintain brand compliance.
The Execution
It was certainly a challenge to think through and connect all the color and layout options.
However, the client provided a great group of "beta testers" who gave valuable feedback at the end user level. Hundreds of scenarios were considered, and countless tests were run to ensure a seamless experience for the users. Once those tests were successful, we had a select few branch members place actual orders so we could see the process from start to finish.
After a few more updates, the apparel engine was rolled out to a wider user base. A process was also developed for maintaining and updating the asset library as the clients’ needs changed for seasonal events.
Overall, an incredible number of hours are saved every week by centralizing this apparel ordering process.
The benefits are many:
- Fewer touchpoints
- Complete brand compliance
- Empowerment of branch members to self-serve
- Quality controlled, print-ready artwork
- Easy checkout processes
- Success!
Looking for success like this?
Contact us today to get the conversation started.
Our experienced account managers have the expertise, knowledge, and experience needed to ensure that your business is making smart decisions and staying ahead of any obstacles that might stand in its way.
