T-shirts have been promo’s biggest category for decades ($4.5 billion in yearly sales, according to ASI’s most recent data), and apparel makes up nearly half of promo sales every year, per Counselor’s annual State of the Industry report.

But in a market full of apparel options, how can you differentiate yourself as a distributor or decorator?

At an ASI Show Fort Worth Education Day session, Jenna Sackett and Lizz Reidy of Stahls’ (asi/88984) broke down exactly that. Your apparel offerings and selected decoration methods, they said, can often be what both elevates a client’s project, and builds up the relevance of your own brand.

“Can I do a back print location for my customer? Absolutely. Can I do a left chest? Absolutely,” Sackett asked, as she put a Stormtech (asi/89869) long-sleeve, color-blocked tee into the heat press at the front of the demonstration room. “But in a sea of sameness, what are you doing to stand out?”

Jenna Sackett of Stahls’ (asi/88984) suggested during an ASI Show Fort Worth Education Day session that decorators take advantage of all the real estate available on a particular garment by adding small bits of branding in unique locations.

Reidy compared that “sea of sameness” to the cereal aisle in a grocery store. Every box’s branding includes the same few features: a bowl of cereal, a spoon, the bright colors. All the cereals do the same thing, so what separates them from each other? What does your business have in its arsenal that keeps people coming back to you as clients?

Sackett cited elevated product selection and unique decoration placement as potential drivers for that separation. For instance, she added a small logo along the hood of that long-sleeve, color-blocked tee, and, in a later demonstration, what she called a “locker tag” at the hem of a Nike quarter zip – more unique but still subtle spots for added branding.

She and Reidy also showed off faux leather patches, applied via heat press, as similar examples of a more elevated, tone-on-tone approach.

Sackett said that sometimes, with the elevated net pricing of higher-end apparel products – think Nike and Brooks Brothers, for example – decorators can be hesitant to turn to heat press application for fear of scorching their expensive inventory.

But, Sackett added, it’s a decoration method that’s certainly possible beyond just your standard cotton and poly options.

And the type of value add that can come from brand name apparel can be critical for elevating customers’ image of your brand, whether it’s offering a standout decoration technique on an unconventional material or providing a “good, better, best” option for a client who does want a simple polo or T-shirt project.

“It could just be a T-shirt,” said Sackett. “But sometimes, when someone comes to you, it could be so much more.”