Overall, promotional marketing is one of the most fun and creative industries to be in. People LOVE swag, and we LOVE providing it. But as with any small promotional marketing business, the road to smooth operations, repeatable procedures, and happy clients has been littered with messy mistakes.
However, here at ITB, we’re all about seeing our mistakes as a chance to learn valuable lessons and improve operations so we can execute future campaigns without issue.
In this blog, we’re revealing some of our promotional marketing “disasters” and what we learned from them.
Screen Printing Blunders
The screen printing process is detailed, with variables like ink consistency, drying time, screen alignment, fabric type, and garment measurements all playing crucial roles. Making sure our clients’ visions are executed flawlessly is pivotal, meaning our screen printing steps must be dialed in to perfection.
Luckily, we have a team of screen printing specialists each with years of experience, so screen printing blunders don’t happen very often—but they do happen! Here are some of our most memorable:
Screen Printing Blunder #1
A new client ordered a large batch of custom t-shirts for a holiday event, only to realize at their event that a word on the design was misspelled. Even worse? The error was pointed out by one of their eagle-eyed clients. It wasn’t a good look for us, as the designers AND the screen printers, but also could have reflected poorly on our client as well.
Lesson Learned
Implement checks at every step of the process.
Though our client had approved the proof, the misspelled design made it through several other sets of eyes at ITB before being printed. It was an avoidable mistake, and one we felt horrible making.
Now, our design process is much more involved. Not only does our in-house designer use several programs to check all wording, our Brand Ambassadors and Brand Coordinators carefully inspect all client artwork before sending to them for approval. Making detailed design inspections part of our process ensures artwork never makes it to our clients with mistakes, much less all the way through the printing process.
Screen Printing Blunder #2
Several years ago, one of our largest clients ordered a run of t-shirts with a simple logo screen printed on the front. Easy, right? Well, what should have been easy turned into a decoration disaster when we printed all 500 onto the wrong color of t-shirts.
This client’s branding was very specific; their team wore orange, and their logo was black. However, the t-shirt they had chosen came in two different shades of orange…and of course, the wrong shade of orange was ordered, printed on, and sent to them.
Lesson Learned
Keep the correct lines of communication open with clients!
Despite asking our contact which color and ordering the one they specified, we didn’t do our due diligence by making sure to ask the correct person. Later, we learned the “contact” we had for this client was in their accounting department, and that person had only guessed.
Now, our Brand Ambassadors have specific client contacts they use for major decisions, and we do not deviate from those rules. If we can’t get approval from that specific person, we don’t move forward with the project until we do. Keeping those lines of communication open is essential to saving ourselves from completing large client projects with mistakes—and saving our clients money.
Screen Printing Blunder #3
Screens go through several steps of preparation before hitting the production floor…and then through a few more steps before printing begins. One of the final steps is taping over calibration marks and screen flaws so they don’t get printed onto the clients’ design by accident.
But what happens when the screen printer accidentally tapes over part of the design in addition to the calibration marks?
In this case, 750 t-shirts that said, “WELCOME TO MONTA” instead of “WELCOME TO MONTANA!”
Lesson Learned
Incorporate a final approval process before work begins.
Because our screen printers are moving quickly to stay on schedule, they don’t have time to stop and inspect garments before printing is completed, meaning they can easily miss things.
Now, we always run a test print, and require final approval by a second person before beginning final production. This allows us to ensure the screen printing setup is calibrated correctly, gives us an opportunity to inspect the details of the final design, and helps us catch mistakes. If the test piece doesn’t pass our visual inspection, we re-calibrate and re-test until it does.
Laser Engraving Errors
Laser engraving machines are high-tech pieces of equipment that require precise settings for depth, alignment, and material. And because the final product is tactile, any inconsistencies are easily noticeable.
We’re fairly new to the laser engraving game and have only offered this service for a couple of years. Still, we’ve put in the time and experimentation to dial in the laser engraving process for a truly flawless final product. Here’s what we’ve learned with plenty of trial and error:
Laser Engraving Error #1
A client placed an order for sleek engraved power banks for a product launch. Because they were flat and made of metal, we assumed this would be an easy project. We were wrong.
After having to troubleshoot our machine over and over, we nearly missed our client deadline. The power banks were covered with inconsistent engraving depths and misaligned logos—despite not looking “terrible”, they didn’t meet our quality assurance standards and we weren’t okay with presenting them to our client until they did.
Lesson Learned
Know your limitations!
This mishap was 100% our “bad”—we didn’t do our due diligence by learning our machine and mastering our process before taking on client projects.
Now, we don’t accept projects until we’re absolutely certain we can tackle them. Though we were able to eventually solve our machine calibration problems and deliver on time, this ended up being a costly mistake for us—and one we’re determined not to make again.
Embroidery Accidents
Embroidery is a complex process where thread tension, fabric type, and design intricacy, size, and placement must be perfectly balanced. Many clients also don’t realize their designs must be digitized into an embroidery-specific format and some designs simply won’t look great. When these factors are not harmonized, projects don’t turn out well and lead to client disappointment.
Embroidery Accident #1
A client ordered several large rolling suitcases with their logo and a design embroidered onto the front as employee gifts. Their logo itself looked fine when digitized, but the design they wanted included smaller details that didn’t translate well into an embroidery format. Additionally, the suitcases were harder to hoop than we thought (the hoop holds the item in place and ensures the design is aligned properly through the process).
Unfortunately, due to all these compounding issues, this was a project we accepted (with stipulations) but eventually had to abandon. Our client was understandably upset.
Lesson Learned
Don’t over-promise and under-deliver.
Even though we warned our client their design might not look great as embroidery…
Even though we told them the suitcases would be difficult to embroider on…
Even though we feel we did our best to temper their expectations, and gave them alternate options we felt would work better…
We still accepted a project that deep down we knew might not match our client’s vision and couldn’t complete it.
Now, if we have even the slightest doubt about a project, we consult with our production team and trust their expertise. If they say it’s unlikely that we can complete a project to our client’s satisfaction, we don’t attempt it. It doesn’t feel great to turn down projects but works out better for the client and for our team in the long run.
Seeing Mistakes as Opportunities
Promotional marketing disasters, while frustrating, are invaluable learning experiences. And though it’s taken us time to see them that way, we operate smoother and with fewer errors than ever.
Here’s a recap of how we’ve turned lessons learned from decoration disasters into success:
Conduct Thorough Testing: Always run test batches to identify potential issues early—especially on equipment, materials, and techniques you’re not familiar with.
Prioritize Quality Control: Have high quality assurance standards and implement checks throughout the production process to ensure you hit them.
Standardize Your Procedures: Create clear, standardized procedures for each production method. Incorporate checks into procedures to catch mistakes before they become large-scale problems.
Train (and Trust!) Your Team: Train your people on the latest techniques and troubleshooting methods. Consult with them and trust their guidance to guarantee the best outcomes.
Maintain Your Equipment: Empower your team to know when your machines need maintenance. Be willing to invest in keeping them well-maintained and calibrated to ensure consistent results.
Invest in Quality Materials: Don’t be blinded by smaller price tags; choose the highest quality materials you can for final products that meet your quality assurance requirements.
Communicate Clearly: Ensure clear communication between clients, sales, design, production, and quality control teams to limit misunderstandings and easily avoidable mistakes.
While we can’t guarantee what worked for us will work for you, we’re proud of the progress we’ve made. And we believe by learning from our promotional marketing mishaps, other businesses can improve their processes, produce higher-quality products, and ultimately create more effective promotional campaigns. Mistakes aren’t just setbacks; they’re stepping stones to greater success. Embrace them, learn from them, and watch your promotional marketing efforts flourish.
Want to experience our high standards, excellent communication, easy production operations, and brand-empowering outcomes for yourself? Contact a Brand Ambassador to start a project today!