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9071 Posts
TL's store has been fairly stagnant in recent months when it comes to getting out merchandise with our own brand. There are many factors in this - from being focused on other store related projects to just not having the right ideas. Because we don't push out products all that often we really put a lot of thought when we do work on something new. Recently I've been thinking a lot on how Esports merchandise works as a business model, why people buy what they buy and if its possible to look for models outside of Esports that can be applied successfully by us. Even if I'm doing this for about 2 years, being TL's store manager presents constant new challenges and the learning curve is still very very steep. Because of that, many of the things and projects I work on are very intuitive. I realize that has to change and our brand merchandise and store has to have a clear direction.
If we look at our record so far, our most popular product by far is the TL Hoodie - its a damn good quality hoodie too, but a big factor in its success I think is the design. The reason why the hoodie is so popular and why the TLpro jacket got a great response is in my opinion the classy everyday design that carries little to no connection with gaming. Does that mean we managed to create an understated and elegant image for our products, is that what people expect from esports apparel and want to wear? The simple conclusion may be that if the product is of great quality, has lovely everyday design and is priced reasonably fans will buy. But there's probably more to it than that and I can't help but draw some parallels with a couple of scenes with similar demographic - 18 to 34 year old males.
There's a lot to learn from world wrestling entertainment's success and marketing strategies. I've been on and off wrestling fan for probably 15 years now and every time I go back after a 2-3 years hiatus the differences in their product are very obvious. Yet, in some areas WWE has been incredibly consistent, especially when it comes to fan shirts and merchandise. Fan shirts are a huge part of WWE's business now, sure their product is more family orientated now, but they still count on the 18-34 y.o. males to buy their merchandise. WWE does a great job promoting the shirts, wrestlers have to wear them during promos, signing sessions, pretty much all the time when they are not in the ring. In Esports you cant count on that. Team and sponsor's promotion is paramount and there are very very few cases when the players are not in official setting and allowed to wear anything other than their team shirt or uniform. I can only think of streaming sessions at home. Sure you can have player focused and themed shirts and diehard' fans will probably buy, but when you don't have a setting to showcase the product constantly it's very hard to create a desirable product. Imagine we make a cool TLO shirt - it will be so much easier to promote it if TLO could wear it everywhere. Of course not having that setting in place is not a definitive reason why a TLO fan shirt can't exist - in fact I'm pretty sure its possible for such a product to be successful but creating a brand image is much harder. T-shirts are a big part of wrestler's identity and contribute a lot to the way fans see the super stars. If some guy's story line or gimmick gets a push with big crowd reaction, t-shirts are created right away following that image:
http://shop.wwe.com/CM-Punk-Best-in-the-World-T-Shirt/W03355,default,pd.html?dwvar_W03355_color=White&start=16&cgid=superstar-current-cmpunk&prefn1=category&prefv1=Authentic T-Shirt
Following CM Punk's 2011 iconic promo about being the best in the world all his shirt models have the gimmick as a part of the design. Same goes with John Cena and his "hustle, loyalty, respect" credo. Having story lines and strong personalities in Esports doesn't come from a team of creative writers though (Wax tries really hard), those have to exist naturally, but even here a bit of social media interaction and activity can make a big difference. You can easily tell MC is a wrestling fan cause he markets himself exactly like a wwe super star. In the sea of faceless korean's having a couple of guys like him and Parting creates a lot of excitement. Results contribute to the team's success and popularity, probably even team shirt sales too, but when it comes to personal merchandise winning is not nearly as important. WWE also has a very specific design approach when it comes to their shirts - they always have a big front print, big back print and even something on the shoulders. Overall their shirts are a bit ostentatious, the quality I have no doubt is very good, but design wise this is nothing like our beloved TL hoodie.
Which leads me back to the image of our products. Are understated designs preferred as consumers taste or people just don't want to be recognized as gamers so wearing a nice everyday hoodie is sort of a "little secret", which makes us feel good? I'm sure many of you at some point wearing your TL hoodie or winged pony tshirt got a silent nod of approval by a stranger at your university or on the street. Is that what this is about? Wrestling, especially in the states is probably at this point a lot more mainstream, but I'm still completely sure a lot of people have prejudice for wrestling fans as premature men with, lets put it this way, questionable taste for entertainment. So why does WWE make these loud ostentatious t-shirt and why are people buying these ? Well, if you are a big WWE fan it doesn't really matter how other people view your passion, in many ways there's pride in wearing Stone Cold t-shirt or CM punk hoodie. That sense of pride I think just doesn't exist for gamers. Of course gamers are a very diverse community with interest in a lot of different titles and genres - from minecraft to LoL CoD and SC2. It's not very likely to have a unified association with a specific game, yet seeing a guy with a LoL tshirt is probably just as likely as seeing a guy with a SC shirt.
Another parallel which is worth making is with skating and skater apparel. Skaters have a lifestyle that goes with particular apparel brands like VANS Globe DVS etc, but over the years these brands managed to reach a much bigger audience. Random guys wear VANS shirts cause its cool. Sure most of these brands used to have and sponsor pro skating teams, but by now its hard to even make that connection cause they are so much bigger than that. For the customers though this all is still bottom line a cool lifestyle. If you ask me how I want people to see Esports and gaming apparel in 10 years I will probably say I would want it to be like VANS.
Can this happen ? Will gaming ever become a lifestyle which people express with their clothing? Is there pride in wearing gaming apparel and being recognized for it ?
 
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In general it is extremely unfashionable to wear logos and graphic tees.
The 18-30 male demographic will generally care more about how they look in public, and there is a difference between the nerd and more normal cultures.
Where I'm from I don't see any wrestling shirts, but a few years ago MMA shirts were extremely popular and now they've faded to just a small core of people that you see at the bar who come for the PPV events. What is much more popular are hockey jerseys, but even then ONLY on game day.
If no-one is willing to wear a GSP shirt around when MMA and hockey are leaps and bounds bigger than esports, are you surprised that no-one wears a tl horse shirt?
Take a walk downtown and just count how many commercialized sports shirts you see.
edit: You're totally right in that its casual wear that is "our little secret."
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9071 Posts
I never had the illusion that there are somewhere 250 000 starcraft fans waiting for the right tshirt to buy and wear. Our customer base is tiny compared with traditional sports MMA or wrestling. But even if you have a small solid core of say 1000 people who would buy gaming apparel you could build something sustainable if you understand very well what they want.
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Stopped reading at WWE, please explain what abbrevations mean the first time you use them especially when theyre not gaming related. Just confusing for readers like me 
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On May 14 2014 01:04 Dumbledore wrote:Stopped reading at WWE, please explain what abbrevations mean the first time you use them especially when theyre not gaming related. Just confusing for readers like me
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=wwe
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On May 14 2014 01:04 Dumbledore wrote:Stopped reading at WWE, please explain what abbrevations mean the first time you use them especially when theyre not gaming related. Just confusing for readers like me
It literally takes you longer to write a post complaining about it than it does to look it up.
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1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
Is this a veiled TL Sneakers announcement?
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What's secret about wearing a shirt that says TeamLiquid on it?
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On May 14 2014 02:16 Saechiis wrote:
What's secret about wearing a shirt that says TeamLiquid on it?
That hardly anyone of the general population knows what Team Liquid is
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On May 14 2014 01:59 lichter wrote:
Is this a veiled TL Sneakers announcement?
omfg, I would so buy that~!
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Johto4988 Posts
just today, i sat in my university lecture wearing a  Team ALTERNATE-Trikot, so i don't really have a problem showing it off to others. I even was at chess-tournaments with it. I also wore my SK-Hoodie lots of times, and it is in fact one of my favourite hoodies. But yes, i don't see those too often "in the wild".
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First and foremost for any clothing merchandise is it has to look good. The TL hoodie is a hoodie I'd buy even without the TL branding simply because it has great colors and design. Basically the first thought that someone has about your clothing shouldn't be "What is that?" but rather "oh that looks neat." When you just slap on something strange that leans on its reference to be interesting people think the former.
The problem with a lot of shirts and stuff is it's rather first and foremost an advertisement or some overt reference to gaming that doesn't really look great (usually ok, but not great).
Personally I'd like to see more DotA shirts in the style of:
http://imgur.com/a/HCWwH or http://sheron1030.deviantart.com/art/Dota-2-Kunkka-Wallpaper-375627418
Possibly minus the text and background or whatever fits right. That Kunkka design especially would just be perfect on a shirt (so long as it's not that odd plasticy stuff that sticks out of the shirt) because it looks compelling and interesting without even understanding the reference.
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My original MYM Grubby t-shirt is still one of my favourite shirts in my collection even after all those years.
It isn't just the MYM jersey with sponsors and "Grubby" flocked on it. It's a special design with Grubbys counterfeit and his signature (and no team/sponsor-logos at all).
It's still in the "little secret" area, as there is no connection to WC3 on it. Grubby could as well be a famous singer.
But I love it anyway because it's a Grubby t-shirt! I remember when the old clanleader of 4Kings was shitstormed because he couldn't manage to produce and sell Grubby and Tod t-shirts in the 4Kings online-shop when basically the whole (Esports-) world was begging for them. Then Grubby switched to MYM and we could finally order our shirts from Denmark :D. I was the happiest person on earth that day!
That's what sells WWE shirts and team jerseys. SUPERSTARS! And of course that's a problem as there are no real superstars in Esports anymore. That would require somebody with character to greatly influence e-sports itself AND a huge international audience for more than a year. Someone like Boxer, Grubby, Moon or HeatoN during their heyday.
The closest thing we had in SC2 was Idra during the height of his popularity. It's telling that famous SC2-casters are probably better suited to become "Superstars" than most current players.
Although, I would buy a MC shirt if it's bling-bling enough :D
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I wear the hoodie a lot particularly on TL match days. I agree that part of the appeal to me is that its a subtle enough reference and its sort of my way of supporting TL on a daily basis. Over the last few days yeh I hope people around Uni who know esports have noticed and smiled because TL vs AM is on atm in the TI Qualifiers. But I also really appreciate the fact I don't have to explain it to everybody.
I'm not sure if that is the ideal model for the store but I really like the current styling and quality of TL merch.
I also completely agree with what Logo is saying.
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get sonic to design a special TL shoe from the sinbal farm collection x_x
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I always wondered about eSports merchandise being a little easier to obtain, though never in the categories of planning and brand strategy. I tried drawing parallels to traditional sports where you can find appareal connected to fotball teams at almost every corner. I would think that it would be a big money source for teams, especially Korean PL giants, and yet it's their stuff that is the hardest and most pricey to get.
So to TL;DR: I love that TL has easy to obtain eSports stuff, wonder why some other teams, especially Korean don't, and if only I had more money I would regularly buy something.
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I have a SC2 t-shirt (it is one was sold as "official Blizzard" alongside with the game in a local shop, but is is done by some unknown to me company) and I have it as an "airport t-shirt" - I wear it almost every time I fly somewhere to increase just in case I meet a SC2 celebrity, or at least another fan. So far, no luck (evern though I spend an unhealthy portion of my life on airports)
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Understated is the way to sell currently. Nerddom is not popularly accepted, and even where it is, the games TL associates with have a more hardcore image, you're not exactly sellin a t-shirt with super mario on it or something.
Even if everyone here vocally says THEY DUN CAR WUT OTHA PEOPLEZ THINK, that is not the demographic that is shelling out 60$ for one of your hoodies. The ones that do are the ones who want something that will look good in all settings, and get that nod of appreciation of someone who recognizes the small winged horse logo, and yet they can proudly wear it at a bigger nerd event.
My personal opinion is also that MASSIVE TEXT and LOGOS/PICTURES on t-shirts and hoodies etc. look like shit, regardless of nerd or whatever other sub culture. I think a logo or text should minorly accentuate a piece of clothing, not define it.
Kinda skipped the WWE/VANS part, couldn't figure what point you were making except hoping nerds would reach that stage one day?
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If I were you I would advertise TL shirts heavily before a convention with images of people looking cool and having fun together at some such setting. Because that is about the only place people can really imagine wanting to having them. Keeping in mind that you are competing with handsome nerd shirts, which are funnier and more generally nerd-culture rather than ultra-specifically TL. It is easier for people and those around them to identify with nerd culture than TL.
I don't think TL can rely on loyalty to their site anymore, since at least it is my impression that TL is just another gaming forum/portal without anything in particular to recommend it. I used to have a really good idea of what TL was and what it wasn't, but TL's image has become very confused in my mind.
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EPT
