Off the Cuff: Avoiding Political Pitfalls

Selling promotional apparel and products to political organizations can yield high profits, but make sure you're aware of the possible risks.
Oct 27, 2008

By Mark L. Venit, MBA, Contributing Writer

The U.S. presidential election is only a week away — along with U.S. Senate campaigns in 33 states and 435 races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The national election brings 1,000 candidates in need of what we sell. Add to these campaigns those of several governorships and contests for office seekers vying for municipal, county and state legislative, executive and judicial positions. For our industry, that means tens of thousands of orders — and reorders — for T-shirts, sweats, caps, bags and promotional products. Indeed, there's gold in them thar campaigns. But as with mining any natural resource, there are risks with this opportunity, and some firms are bound to get burned.

Campaign committees are temporal vessels that begin and end for a reason. They begin with the desire to get someone elected and end shortly after the votes are counted, win or lose.

Regardless of your political preferences, sellers who fail to adequately protect themselves from the risks of doing business with political campaign committees do so at their own peril. Some companies that hitch up to politicians' bandwagons are abandoned when the bill comes. Of course, others will make respectable profits on the upcoming elections.

The winners and losers in our industry will not be determined by votes, but by the skills and savvy of entrepreneurs who know — or learn — that their biggest campaign challenge is getting paid.

Industry veterans know the ropes — most of us having learned the hard way. Less seasoned producers, especially newcomers, need to learn a few important lessons. Fast.

Political campaigns focus on three key applications when purchasing decorated apparel and promotional products:
• Spiritwear — an investment in esprit de corps, providing a morale boost to those who wear campaign gear and their peers who see them in it.
• Advertising — Hardcore supporters derive not only great pleasure in identifying with a candidate, they want to advertise that affinity. A printed T-shirt or sweat shirt worn outside the home or office — in class, going to and from work, at the mall or supermarket — will be seen by approximately 200 people a day (Source: Apparel Graphics Institute, Ltd.).
• Fundraising — Selling campaign apparel and promotional items to supporters uninvolved in a campaign affords people a reason to make a campaign contribution in the form of giving a $5 to $10 per-unit profit per T-shirt and $10 or more on higher-priced items.

Whatever the mission of campaign shirts, caps and bags, getting paid from political organizations and campaign organizations is a minefield for the uninitiated. While selling to a political party is relatively safe — provided all your t's are crossed and your i's are dotted — selling to campaign committees is another story. These organizations are strictly short-term affairs. Unless you prefer learning the hard way here, selling to campaign organizations means you get paid upfront.

In many states, that's the law. Moreover, campaign organizations just about everywhere expect to pay upfront. So, don't be a Mr. Nice Guy and allow C.O.D. orders.

Candidates' committees that owe money after Election Day — especially those that lose — quickly forget their campaign promises, and oftentimes their debts.

Mark L. Venit, MBA, is president of Apparel Graphics Institute Ltd., Ocean Pines, Md., which provides management and marketing consulting and proprietary research to apparel graphics companies throughout the Americas and Europe. He also is the chairman of ShopWorks Software LLC, a provider of industry-specific business software. Venit teaches pricing, strategic marketing, salesmanship and other business management topics at the Imprinted Sportswear Shows. You can reach him at markvenit@cs.com.