Bottom Line Up Front: Brand Stratos is a screen printer that puts creativity first. That didn’t stop when the pandemic hit. Their campaign relies on knock-out designs, sustainability, and a whole lot of community-mindedness to set itself apart — and we’re sure fans of the result.
More than two months after we first started the “˜Spotlight On’ series, we’re back again. This time, we’re here to showcase an example of persistence, community-mindedness, and innovation — to the extreme.
As things start reopening and cities and towns start once again coming to life, it can be easy to forget about the initiatives. It can be easy to turn attention away from the campaigns. Especially for businesses, as they jump into the mad dash to adapt to new consumer needs.
But while the process of adapting is important — and the chaos it brings with it is likely all-consuming — it’s also important not to forget about the basis every initiative, and every campaign, was built on.
The basis of community.
Of helping each other during crisis. Of supporting each other through adversity. And of thinking beyond just ourselves — so that our home, as a whole, can flourish.
Today’s Spotlight feature truly takes those principles to heart. They never balked at giving nearby local businesses a hand with fundraising and exposure, and they never tired of thinking up new, creative ways to help out the community.
So please, join us in welcoming today’s stand-out screen printer: Brand Stratos and their Here For Good 253 campaign!
Always About Keeping Personal
Brand Stratos is a Tacoma, Washington based screen printer that always took the notion of “every customer is different” seriously. The team never lumped customers together by industry or expectations — instead, they approached every interaction like the customer was unique.
Because every customer was.
They listened to the customers’ wants and goals, and then they worked together to create plans of action that fulfilled them.
Every member of the team was eager to start from scratch and bring new ideas to life, and every member of the team was ready to get their hands dirty. They wanted to exceed the customers’ goals, and they wanted to do it by getting personal.
No generic t-shirts. No cliche promo products. Brand Stratos worked hard to deliver out-of-the-box products and unparalleled service — and their customers took notice.
Time For Change
When the pandemic hit, the team at Brand Stratos did everything they could to adjust their offerings — so that they could still offer the products and services needed most.
They knew that essential workers like delivery men and women might be looking for ways to make themselves more easily identifiable to the households they deliver to, so they added customizable caps and magnetic vehicle signs to their roster of goods.
They knew that restaurants would be relying on take-out heavily, so they added customizable stickers and labels to the roster, too.
They were looking for ways to be of use to their community. And then, after weeks of seeing other local businesses around them struggling to keep up in the chaos, they decided to help them directly.
Here For Good 253 was born.
The Campaign
Here For Good 253 is an online fundraising store that’s aiming to support local businesses — while also helping to revitalize the sense of community felt in the South Sound.
It’s not just about getting a couple of t-shirts sold. It’s about selling products that affect the end-user, just like the Brand Stratos team sets out to do with every other project they take on.
The products for sale on the Here For Good 253 online store are uniform, in that they all read “Here For Good 253″ — but other than that message, the t-shirts, hoodies, and stickers are all different.
There are three different design options for both the t-shirts and the hoodies, and each sticker pack comes with three different designs too. These aren’t the kind of t-shirts and hoodies that buyers will throw in the back of their closet — they’re the kind that’ll actually get worn. Not just once, but over and over.
While none of the local businesses are named on the products themselves, they are showcased proudly at the top of the online store.
At the very top of the page, a banner explains that $10 from every t-shirt purchase, and $20 from every hoodie purchase, will go to the local business of the buyer’s choice. In addition to the apparel helping to support local businesses, it’s also helping to support the planet — the fabric is 100% recycled and never re-dyed, so buyers can feel doubly good about their buying decision.
Take It Online
The team at Brand Stratos is doing more than just offering fundraising and brand exposure on the online store to the local businesses they’re working with. They’re also using their social media presence to promote them through “Partner Highlights.”
Each one of the nine businesses, ranging from Valhalla Coffee Co. to Tacoma Historical Society, from Fat Zach’s Pizza to The Grand Cinema, has received its own highlight post on the Brand Stratos social accounts.
Not only is that incredible brand exposure to those within the community, but it also has the power to reach those beyond it.
Every aspect of the Here For Good 253 campaign — from the fundraising store to the online marketing, from the products’ designs to their sustainability — has exhibited an expert-level of commitment to both the screen printing process and the community.
Brand Stratos took its capabilities and went above and beyond, finding new ways to be of use — and add value — to the lives of those around them. The designing, the selling, and the marketing is so clearly done with genuine care, and for that reason, we know the community impact will continue to grow.
There’s nothing we at InkSoft like to see more than dedicated teams coming together to affect change in their communities — and using InkSoft technology to do it.
We created our Designer, Stores, and Fundraising features to make the implementation of knock-out ideas as easy as possible, and we’re so glad they’re being relied on by big-hearted screen printers like Brand Stratos.
We hope this Spotlight brought a little bit of joy — and maybe some inspiration — into your day, and wherever you are, we hope that you know that you too have the capacity to impact your community.
We can’t wait to see how you make a difference.
Stay safe,
The InkSoft Team
