Flip Your Lid

In early 1961, President John F. Kennedy took the oath of office and one thing stood out: he refused to wear a hat. Afterwards, many men ditched their chapeaux as well. Toppers started to make a comeback in the forms of baseball-style caps and "trucker's" hats. But by this millennium, more and more styles were launched, from newsboy caps, to knits, to new visor styles, to fedoras and more – all with the ability to be "logo-fied." The hat is indeed back, and it looks like this fashion accessory is here to stay.

According to statisticbrain.com, approximately 43.8 million baseball hats (still the top topper) are sold in the U.S. annually, netting an annual revenue of more than $2 billion. And, although most folks may own only one raincoat, many have several pieces of headwear.

And this means a nearly endless opportunity for promotional products salespeople to keep creative headwear at the forefront of many campaigns.

"Really," emphasizes Gary Mosley of Kati Sportcap & Bag, "all creative opportunities are great opportunities for headwear. Just about every end-user has a need for caps."

Alisa Buckner of Sportsman Cap & Bag elaborates, noting that headwear is an exciting "solution for every lifestyle - casual, corporate, team sports, schools, gyms, studios, and outdoor sports." Caps, she cites, comprise 6% of the total industry sales each year. Headwear is an attractive part of nearly any campaign because a topper is viewed as multi-functional and cost-effective.

"Headwear may be used as a self-promo for a local business or brand launch, for special events (5K/10K runs, charity events, fundraising, political campaigns), school events and school sports from elementary to high schools, and then rolling into team sports," Buckner observes. "The best way to cash in on the headwear market is by creating a promotional calendar that identifies the key times for each selling season. This allows the distributors to sell headwear all year long."

Sportsman Cap & Bag offers 20 brands of the top-selling headwear styles. "Headwear provides you with a multitude of solutions for a cost-effective way reach a large market at a fraction of the cost of using print and/or media ads."

When you take time to look at the wide variety of headwear folks sport – from their professional lives to their leisure lives, the many opportunities become obvious. Take note of all logos you see and on what styles those logos appear. For example, you may see a popular energy drink brand on a sporty cap, or a local beach restaurant hot spot on a visor. You may see a tech company logo embroidered on a cool fedora. Everyone has a style preference.

Mosley reveals that his favorite look is the unstructured, low profile. "It used to be more of a golf look, but now it’s very mainstream," he observes. "Our brushed cotton twill cap (style A130) has this design, and it comes in a ton of colors. It’s a really versatile hat," he adds.

Mosley notes that his customers love Kati's camouflage, which remains the supplier's best-selling line. Any client of yours that has anything to do with the outdoors – landscaping, cable and utility repairs, park personnel, etc. would be highly suitable for the camo."

Buckner's favorite headwear piece is Sportsman's new DRI-DUCK Industries series. It is offered in three styles that are unique and will appeal to a broad audience: Excavating (style 3325), Oilfield (style 3330), and Railroad (style 3331). "These caps would be great for industries such as construction, gas companies, electric companies, railroad, oilfields, and many more," she says.

Camouflage and denim are the rage this year, no doubt. Just a look at the headwear suppliers' websites will show you that many are now offering some sort of "camo." Denim, too, is getting bigger in headwear, says Buckner, but then again, denim has been a staple in Americans' wardrobes for generations. "Denim is bigger than ever – the darker, the better," she says.

Sportsman offers a denim mesh back cap (style DN200M) and the Original Chuck Denim Everyday Cap (Style 32997). Both come in two colors and are available now. The Chuck Denim Everyday Cap is made of 100% cotton, and is structured with a mid-profile, six-panel design. The visor is slightly curved, and the snapback closure ensures a comfortable fit. One size. Colors: navy denim and black denim.Kati Sportcap & Bag's licensed camo with mesh back and Velcro® closure (style LC5M) is a structured cotton twill cap with mid-profile, six-panel construction and mesh side and back panels. It sports a pre-curved visor and a matching undervisor. Colors available are realtree all purpose pink/pink, realtree all purpose pink/brown, realtree all purpose/brown, realtree all purpose/tan, realtree hardwoods/black, and game guard/brown.

The 7700 Tour Cap is new from Vitronic. Made of durable polyester, this unstructured cap with accent mesh sides has an athletic shape with adjustable fabric strap and hook and loop-tape closure, making it versatile for many end users. Its 2.5" crown makes it perfect for logo placement.

Outdoor Cap's new style CGW-115M in Muddy Girl® is a sassy and fun hat for women. The six-panel, low-crown unstructured fit cap features a pre-curved visor, tuck-strap with slide closure, and woven loop label in the back arch.

So, review your current client and prospect lists, and see how headwear can fit their promotional marketing goals. You will definitely find the perfect style to "top off" their sales orders!