After 30 years in the radio industry, Jeff Boden said he recognizes the effect a giveaway with a logo on it can have.
Boden in January opened a Bethesda location of EmbroidMe, a national company that does embroidery, screen printing, and promotional products for businesses, schools, nonprofits and pretty much any type of organization that wants its logo on, well, anything.
Boden’s shop (7030 Wisconsin Ave.) includes examples of logos stitched in jackets, fleeces and highway construction vests, also painted on t-shirts, golf balls, beer koozies and more.
“It’s the most effective way to advertise,” Boden said. “It’s half the cost of television, radio and newspaper and it’s a very good way to extend your brand in the local community. A lot of what people do is they do business with people they’re familiar with. That’s why it’s so important to get branding out there.”
Boden, who spent time running WMAL and Mix 107.3, had plenty of experience on the other side of the equation, buying custom-made apparel and promotional materials to give out to station listeners.
“I kind of got a good idea of what was good and what wasn’t and what worked and what didn’t,” he said. “I saw how you get somebody to wear a logo on a fleece, for instance. Do you want to co-brand with a high-end brand? Do you want that Nike swoosh on the shirt next to your logo?”
EmbroidMe does it both ways. Some want their logos on products from well known brands such as Nike, Under Armour and Patagonia. Some think it detracts from their message.
“There are no two jobs that are the same,” Boden said.
Boden is talking to a local martial arts studio that wants branding on its martial arts apparel, something to set it apart from the other studios at group competitions.
It’s that variety of businesses, school groups and other organizations that attracted the D.C. resident to Bethesda. He got into the business last summer and searched the area for a location.
“We really wanted to be in a high-traffic area and we love the demographics of Bethesda,” he said.
