The Milwaukee Bucks asked four local designers – Brew City, MilwaukeeHome, Sconnie Nation and Wiskullsin - to create unique limited edition “Milwaukee Originals” Bucks-themed t-shirts. The designs will be sold exclusively at the BMO Harris Bradley Center as part of an exclusive ticket offer available for select Wednesday home games in November and December. We spoke to Vice President of Milwaukee Buck’s Marketing Dustin Godsey to get more details.
All the t-shirts seem very different. What instructions or guidelines did you give each designer?
The only real guideline we gave the designers was to create a shirt that incorporated the Bucks, but stayed true to their personal brands. They all know their customers and what sells for them. We didn’t want them to create a design that didn’t feel authentic to their line of shirts. We weren’t looking to just create more Bucks t-shirts. We have plenty of those. We wanted them to create Brew City, MilwaukeeHome, Wiskullsin and Sconnie Nation shirts that featured the Bucks and I think that’s what we got. These are 100% their designs – we wanted them to have as much creative freedom as possible.
We did have final approval over all of the designs, but aside from a few minor (and I do mean minor) cosmetic tweaks to one or two of them, we didn’t change a thing. We really feel like each of the designers each did a great job of creating something that would speak to their respective customer bases. Each of these companies has a unique personality, which comes through the designs and explains why each design is so different from the others.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Can you elaborate a little more on the “meaning” behind each designer’s t-shirt?
I can only speak from an outside perspective. The designers would really know what their thought was and how they arrived at each look. From my viewpoint, one of the coolest things about the way the designs turned out is that they all present the Bucks in a very different voice. MilwaukeeHome’s design fits extremely well with their brand and really reinforces the relationship between the team and the city we’ve called home for over 45 years. Wiskullsin’s design is probably the most similar, as it plays on the passion of the local fan, portraying the Bucks as being not only their figurative, but literal, heart. Brew City took a much more lighthearted approach with their “Bucks Yeah!” using a clever play on words to showcase the fun side of being a fan. I also really like their choice of typography, which I think has a bit of a disco era feel that ties in our history dating back to the late ‘60s. Finally, Sconnie Nation presented more of a retro feel, using the Bucks old word mark in the three shades of green that were prevalent in Bucks uniforms in the ‘80s, but still managing to make it feel new and fresh.
Why did you choose these particular designers?
The original idea of working with local t-shirt designers for a limited edition line came out of a meeting someone on our staff had with Troy from Sconnie Nation. We definitely wanted to work with designers who had established brands in Milwaukee and these four are certainly amongst the most well known. Walk around any part of the city and you’re likely to see someone wearing one of their designs. We also liked this particular mix because they have such different styles and we really wanted to create a series in which all four shirts were distinct. We also knew that each of them had already created shirts that looked to tap into the passion the people in Wisconsin have for their sports teams. We wanted to give them an opportunity to explore that with full permission to use our logos, colors, and marks.
How will you feature each t-shirt on its given day?
We started off by promoting all four of the designs together as we launched the concept, and then we’ll feature each designer for a week leading up to their specific game, through advertising, in-game promotion, and email and social media. On the night of the game, the designers themselves will have space on our concourse to meet with fans, sell shirts, and promote their individual brands.
Are you doing anything else to promote the designers?
One of the cool things about our partnerships with the designers is that we’re able to help each other reach different audiences than we normally would. They each have very loyal customer bases, which they’re helping us reach in a very authentic way. At the same time, through the promotion we’re giving them – through our website, our social media channels, and our in-game presence, we’re allowing them to directly reach a lot more people at once than they might otherwise be able to. The designers names are front and center in any promotion we’re doing for the shirts, which hopefully will create additional interest for the other designs they offer as well.
Will everyone who purchases a ticket to one of those games receive a voucher for the shirts?
No, not everyone with a ticket will receive a shirt. The shirts are being sold as a part of a special ticket package, with one designer’s shirt available for each of the next four Wednesday games, starting with Sconnie Nation being featured this Wednesday. Tickets packages start at just $24 for the ticket and shirt, and fans can also purchase a 4-game package that includes a ticket to each game and each t-shirt, starting at just $89. Both individual games and the 4-game package can be purchased at Bucks.com/MilwaukeeOriginals. For those who already have tickets to the game, there will be a limited number available for sale, directly from the designer on the night of the game at a retail price of $30.
|
|
For more information, go to:
