How to promote Kilts

[munnin]

Wow a lot of good feed back here. To collect them:

1) This is clearly focused on the USA but as Moose pointed out has been shown to work in other places.
2) Cost for a team tartan is not a minor factor.
3) You could spice up a current tartan with you team color and logos.
4) At least two of use would already like to get colors for our team.

One thing I would like to make clear is that if we only look to current kilt makers to get colors for our teams then we are only talking to each other. We want to get other talking about and to us. Black and gold tartans are common enough that I could easily find a nice one to put a Steelers logo on. Yet even if that met some limited need once you started selling it to others you would be hunted down and shot by the NFL lawyers for creating un-official merchandise.

What I am suggesting is the creation of “official” NFL merchandise that will appear on every team web page. When a fan goes looking for a new hat or terrible towel, they will see an official team tartan. They think about getting it, and then when they go to the local team bar they see one of the fans wearing on and it goes from there.

This would also help with the cost problem since the NFL is a large company and would get a large order and economies of scale would kick in.

[morrison]

........
What I am suggesting is the creation of “official” NFL merchandise ......

yer right. Lawyers would have yer bones picked clean and hung out to dry before the first shuttlecock crossed the warp. We could pool our resources and become a force with legal wingspan first. Then launch the drive to tartanize. But don't ask me how. It's just an idea, not the plan.

[munnin]

yer right. Lawyers would have yer bones picked clean and hung out to dry before the first shuttlecock crossed the warp. We could pool our resources and become a force with legal wingspan first. Then launch the drive to tartanize. But don't ask me how. It's just an idea, not the plan.

Actually my thoughts are far more direct than that. I think developing a marketing pitch with a few virtual examples would be the route to take. The key would be:

1) Proving that kilts are a growing market with growing acceptance
2) Team colors would look good.
3) That they could be created at reasonable cost for decent profit.

Am I missing anything?

[Kilted KT]

Actually my thoughts are far more direct than that. I think developing a marketing pitch with a few virtual examples would be the route to take. The key would be:

1) Proving that kilts are a growing market with growing acceptance
2) Team colors would look good.
3) That they could be created at reasonable cost for decent profit.

Am I missing anything?

hmm...only thing missing is a merchandising outlet. Proving there is a need and getting vendors to buy and resell your product are vastly different things. will need one or two target markets to being this venture. Philly eagles colors? I hear philly has loads of kilties around there...

[munnin]

hmm...only thing missing is a merchandising outlet. Proving there is a need and getting vendors to buy and resell your product are vastly different things. will need one or two target markets to being this venture. Philly eagles colors? I hear philly has loads of kilties around there...

Actually every team has an official NFL web site with and official online web store to sell merchandise. So I think once you convince the NFL to create the product the outlet is obvious. I am not sure what the manufacturer/vendor relationship is though. Different teams do have special products so I am not sure which products are created for the NFL and which are privately created at the request of the team.

One example would be the wide range of caps created by rebock which are all designed similarly just with different colors and logos. Another would be the terrible towel which is created specifically for the Steelers and few teams have a similar product.

[Kilted KT]

Actually every team has an official NFL web site with and official online web store to sell merchandise. So I think once you convince the NFL to create the product the outlet is obvious. I am not sure what the manufacturer/vendor relationship is though. Different teams do have special products so I am not sure which products are created for the NFL and which are privately created at the request of the team.

One example would be the wide range of caps created by rebock which are all designed similarly just with different colors and logos. Another would be the terrible towel which is created specifically for the Steelers and few teams have a similar product.

while I agree, I'm not sure the NFL will buy off until you have shown proven sales of the product. I don't think they would sink any money into a product that has no hisotrical sales to project future profitability from. I'm sure each of the team specific items started somewhere as an idea that grew into something that the NFL found to be profitable, and purchased.

[munnin]

while I agree, I'm not sure the NFL will buy off until you have shown proven sales of the product. I don't think they would sink any money into a product that has no hisotrical sales to project future profitability from. I'm sure each of the team specific items started somewhere as an idea that grew into something that the NFL found to be profitable, and purchased.

Yes I think that is the crux of the problem. We would need to convince the NFL that this is a product that they would make money on, and that there are vendors who can reliably supply a quality product at a reasonable price.

[cavscout]

Best case scenario, you manage to get to the right person who is willing to allow you to put a picture of the kilt on their web site. See what happens. If it doesn't take off you are out only a small cost.

I would imagine though, they are going to want to reasearch your ability to provide a kilt to everyone who orders one in a timely manner since the customr is buying from them and not you.

I think you would be within your rights to make kilts which happen to match the team colors and sell them on a web site maybe named something like "www.northamericanfootball kilts.com". Then you could purchase NFL & AFL patches and pins from an authorized dealer to sell in conjunction with the kilts and maybe sell a "application service". Then you are not tying yourself to the football leagues.

Disclaimer: I'm no lawyer and this post is no way represents anything but an opinion and we no what those are worth