Uniforms for employees have become pretty rare in recent years; most clothes shops simply have their staff wear brands that they sell, workmen tend to wear whatever they want as long as it meets regulations and the most you’ll usually see in a supermarket or fast food outlet is a branded polo shirt or fleece. The question is, could uniforms actually be a powerful marketing tool?
The answer is almost certainly yes, and the simple reason is that easily recognisable uniforms carry very strong connotations with them. If you’re looking to push a particular message or impression on your clients and customers, then having your employees wear a uniform could well be a great way of doing so. Here are a few examples of how and this idea works:
The Coffee Shop
If you’re a Starbucks regular, then you may never have actually paid attention to the uniforms that the baristas wear, unless you’ve accidentally wandered into the wrong coffee shop. Most employees wear a large green apron in the same colour as the company’s logo. It drills this colour into the mind of the customer, associating it with the brand, but the apron itself reinforces a feel of cleanliness and professionalism.
The Delivery Guy
Most of the world’s most famous delivery people wear some sort of easily recognisable uniform. UPS have their immediately identifiable brown shirts, whereas the Royal Mail have a bright red colour scheme. What they both have in common are shorts – even in inclement weather. This gives the appearance of employees being hardworking and active – they spend their day on their feet delivering your parcels and letters, not sat behind a desk.
The Air Hostess
Outside of healthcare and the emergency services, the uniforms worn by air hostesses are probably the most famous of all workplace attire. Whether it’s Virgin Atlantic or Emirates airline, each operator has a distinctive style of uniform, but all carry the same attitude of confidence and professionalism, whilst being attractive and often playful.
You don’t have to think of anything revolutionary for uniforms to be an effective marketing tool, you just need them to convey the messages your brand carries. Even just a basic workplace uniform from somewhere like Brookes can really help give your brand a physical impression. Some of the best uniforms are the ones that you don’t really notice – they’re just there in the background to improve atmosphere.