Jay Allen - Marketing Ideas?

[Jay Allen]

Hi All,

I'm starting to put together some marketing material. Take a look at some of this stuff and let me know what you think. Really just getting started at this point and am playing with ideas for my "brand". I want an industrial feel to my stuff and the following few images will give you an idea of where I'm going with it. Give it to me straight....you always do. Thanks!

These are the colorways I've decided on.

Conceived and executed on the working waterfront of Portland, Maine. [email protected]

[jdavis]

I’d suggest – if you haven’t already – making a decent linesheet. It doesn’t necessarily have to be long either. Opening up with a blurb on the Jay Allen design philosophy, a little about your ‘premium’ materials and construction/dying methods, continuing with designs/colours/pricing.

It’ll be easier for the retailers that you meet with as it’ll show the essence of what you’re about. It’ll be sendable, and perhaps most importantly it’ll be on a buyer’s desk long after you’ve moved on to the next one.

The chair picture is okay for me. But I almost feel that if you’re going for that industrial look than keep the photoshop to a minimum, and stay with real. Instead of pasting your tag on the chair and surrounding it with a shirt, maybe you could hang a solitary tshirt from some rusty chains or something like that. You could even spray paint Jay Allen on the wall behind, play with lighting – whatever. For inspiration, take a look at what others are doing as well, then make it your own.

I like the background you used for sky is falling, and the aluminum siding in 04101 is a nice touch – perhaps you could get a piece of it to lay your shirts on, which would be easier for photos and eliminate the need to photoshop, giving it a bit more realism.

For colours – what about white and black?

Well thanks for listening to my little rant Jay and of course best of luck!

Edited by jdavis on Dec 11, 2005 at 09:45 AM

[yuljo]

Its a good start but I feel you would be better off finding a model that you can pictures of in industrial settings rather placing the shirt over a picture in photoshop.

[Jay Allen]

Thanks for the feedback.....We shot a couple hundred images yesterday at this abandoned warehouse in South Portland, Maine. We hope to use some of them for a good line sheet as well as a marketing package, press kit, and even for the website. The few that I posted were slapped together last night by the gal that is helping with this stuff. I agree about the photoshop stuff.....I probably won't do that very much in the final product. I may use it to some degree to show the detail of the shirt without having to have several images.

As to the black and white shirt issue......No real good answer other than the fact that everyone has black and white shirts. I also can't discharge print on white. On the other hand.....maybe everyone has black and white shirts because that's what most people want to buy.....

Thanks again for taking the time to post thoughtful feedback

Conceived and executed on the working waterfront of Portland, Maine. [email protected]

[Jay Allen]

Quote:

Its a good start but I feel you would be better off finding a model that you can pictures of in industrial settings rather placing the shirt over a picture in photoshop.

--- Original message by yuljo on Dec 11, 2005 09:45 AM

Good suggestion....we actually talked about that yesterday while shooting the images. I may go back this week and get some with models. It's getting a bit cold up here but I'm sure I can find someone willing to wear a t-shirt when it is 20 degrees!

Conceived and executed on the working waterfront of Portland, Maine. [email protected]

[adsurgo]

i dont liek the... random "sakjdgfhjadfg" everywhere.. change it up a bit maybe?

[Jay Allen]

Quote:

i dont liek the... random "sakjdgfhjadfg" everywhere.. change it up a bit maybe?

--- Original message by adsurgo on Dec 11, 2005 11:58 PM

Oops...I forgot to explain that the text in these images would be actual descriptive text and not gibberish. We just haven't written it yet.

Conceived and executed on the working waterfront of Portland, Maine. [email protected]

[adsurgo]

o ahah. good.

[adsurgo]

i like that 04101 shirt. can you PM me details on how to buy one?

[sarno]

i get the "industrial chic" thing, but why exactly does that appeal to you? I myself don't really get that from your shirts or from your chatroom demeanor, so that's why I ask. Also, does photographing your shirts (or people wearing your shirts) in an old factory make a convincing case for for your aesthetic? I only ask this as food for thought, not as an opinion on your work. marketing is where you express the personality of your clothing--playful? edgy? traditional? iconoclastic? trippy? preppy? who do you want to wear your shirts?

incidentally, you are familiar with rogues gallery? dude's from maine, too.

Edited by sarno on Dec 12, 2005 at 09:59 AM

[Jay Allen]

Quote:

i like that 04101 shirt. can you PM me details on how to buy one?

--- Original message by adsurgo on Dec 12, 2005 01:01 AM

Adsurgo....Thanks for expressing interest in the 04101 shirt. As you probably know it is the zip code to Portland, Maine. I guess it is my version of a "logo" shirt. You'll never see my name plastered all over one of my shirts. Not that there is anything wrong with doing that.....it just isn't something I'm interested in. I made the first one for myself and then decided I really liked it and am adding it to my Pool Show assorment.

Anyway....payment of $30 to my PayPal email address - [email protected]. I'm printing tonight so If you get back to me with your size I'll get yours done tonight to ship wednesday.

BTW.....Am I losing my mind or did the PM function dissapear? If it didn't could you tell me how to do it?

Thanks again!

Conceived and executed on the working waterfront of Portland, Maine. [email protected]

[minya]

Jay, click "superprivate" up above. That's the PM section. Gotta click "new message" and type their username in manually; unfortunately there isn't an easier, automatic function.

[Jay Allen]

Quote:

i get the "industrial chic" thing, but why exactly does that appeal to you? I myself don't really get that from your shirts or from your chatroom demeanor, so that's why I ask. Also, does photographing your shirts (or people wearing your shirts) in an old factory make a convincing case for for your aesthetic? I only ask this as food for thought, not as an opinion on your work. marketing is where you express the personality of your clothing--playful? edgy? traditional? iconoclastic? trippy? preppy? who do you want to wear your shirts?

incidentally, you are familiar with rogues gallery? dude's from maine, too.

Edited by sarno on Dec 12, 2005 at 09:59 AM

--- Original message by sarno on Dec 12, 2005 09:57 AM

I wish you could see the other 200 shots we took at the freaky warehouse. I think the place is beautiful in a twisted way. I think of my shirts the same way. I'm drawn to the industrial/gritty aesthetic because I associate it with things that are "real". My shirts are all about being pure without any manufactured marketing angle. The ony exception to that has been my "Bespoke" shirt. I made that because I knew some of the guys on the board would appreciate it. Other than that example I design whatever comes to me without regard to focusing my line in a particular direction. My hope is that people will buy a shirt because they love "the shirt", not because of who made it. Obviously anyone that buys one of my shirts now must really like it because they have no freakin' idea who I am.

I know I'm not answering your question worth a damn. Most designers sell a lifestyle, or an image, as opposed to a garment. The garment is almost secondary. While there is nothing intrinsically wrong with that....it just isn't what I'm interested in. The gritty aesthetic that I like is probably a reflection on how I perceive myself. My family is the pure definition of "poor white trash". We grew up in a junk yard...literally. My father operated a junkyard in our back yard for years. The only thing missing was that we didn't live in a house trailer......although a house trailer would have been a step up. If you've never been woken up in the middle of the night...... by your father shooting a shotgun out of your bedroom window....... at people stealing shit from the junk yard...... in your back yard.......you haven't lived.

In a last feeble attempt to answer your question I would just say this - I love that old warehouse because it has a past....a real history. It is so raw that i get goosebumps when I walk in. Nothing is pretty...nothing is staged.....it just is.

You ask who I want to wear my shirts.....Anyone and everyone that likes them. I know that sounds lame but it is the unvarnished truth. I honestly wouldn't know who to target even if I wanted to. I suppose anyone that buys them will be drawn to the technical aspect of the shirts as much as the graphic. How do you like my finely tuned marketing plan so far?

Yes I know Alex Carlton very well. I met him long before Rogues Gallery. He had been a designer for Abercrombie and then moved to Maine to work for LL Bean. The guy is an absolute genuis when it come to fashion. I fully expect that Rogues Gallery will become a major brand in the next 5 years.....and deservedly so.

Conceived and executed on the working waterfront of Portland, Maine. [email protected]

[sarno]

no need to self-deprecate. i respect your appreciation for the mill. it seems to be a touchstone for you. i understand wanting to incorporate it somehow. you started this process not wanting to bother making t shirts unless they could look different. i think that is a difficult but more rewarding choice.

[frogeyes]

a great marketing idea for this crap would be NOT TO MARKET it. the font work as discussed several weeeks ago is weaker than an 80 year old with illustrator. the shirts all look like you pulled them out of you #$&. lame to the lamest degree. it almost makes johnny pupcakes look good.

[Jay Allen]

Quote:

a great marketing idea for this crap would be NOT TO MARKET it. the font work as discussed several weeeks ago is weaker than an 80 year old with illustrator. the shirts all look like you pulled them out of you #$&. lame to the lamest degree. it almost makes johnny pupcakes look good.

--- Original message by frogeyes on Dec 13, 2005 05:14 PM

Geez Frogeyes......I actually thought you might like the fonts used in the "Bespoke" and "04101" shirts. I thought of you (admittedly very briefly) when I was making them. Don't know what to tell ya......I'm sorry you don't like them. I suppose the only sensible thing to do is sell my equipment and find something else to do. I mean.....if the great designer "Frogeyes" gives you a bad review.......

BTW....I've never seen you post any of your work here on ST. What is it you design?

Conceived and executed on the working waterfront of Portland, Maine. [email protected]

[sarno]

he obviously works for johnny cupcakes

[werdtoyourmoms]

ignore him – real designers say "typeface." "typography." "type design." "typographic design."

i think your shirts are interesting. frogeyes probably likes helvetica.

korn feat. ice cube

[benny rags]

Hey I like hellvetica too, maybe a little too much, I find myself gravitating towards it

every time I have to drop some text on stuff.

Excessive/ Obvious photshop layers work is a big turn off, but I don't think

there's anything wrong or out of place with industrial chic. Lighting can do a lot

for an otherwise nondescript place.

Benny Rags

[andewhall]

Quote:

a great marketing idea for this crap would be NOT TO MARKET it. the font work as discussed several weeeks ago is weaker than an 80 year old with illustrator. the shirts all look like you pulled them out of you #$&. lame to the lamest degree. it almost makes johnny pupcakes look good.

--- Original message by frogeyes on Dec 13, 2005 05:14 PM

Don't mind the haters Jay.......wage slaves like the Toad get bent outta shape when other cats are making their own moves.

http://photobucket.com/albums/y278/andewhall/

[Toronthoe]

I've posted 18 times and pretty much all of them are zero-content flames! Go me!

Edited by minya on Dec 14, 2005 at 05:02 PM