Choosing colors for your promotional products is essential—it directly enhances your brand identity and helps you stand out from the crowd. At Storm Creek, we designate our apparel into two categories: core and seasonal.
Core colors are program-safe—they are almost always in stock to make reordering and brand consistency easy. They are chosen for their versatility and popularity, making them reliable choices for corporate branding projects and programs.
Seasonal colors are more trend-focused and come and go with each year or season. They are ideal for one-time events or programs when reordering isn’t in the plan.
Let’s take a closer look at what we mean:
What are Core Colors?
Storm Creek’s core colors are easy to identify. They’re marked with a “C” icon in our catalog and online product pages. Go to any product page and find the color swatches. Every color swatch with that C icon laid overtop is available year-round—a core color.
Our core colors typically include the fashion basics like navy, black and various grays. Some items also include an additional shade or two of blue. These colors work well across a range of garment styles (i.e., jackets, button-ups, polos) and are equally suitable for men and women.
Benefits of Using Core Colors in Your Promo Orders
There are numerous advantages to sticking with our core colors for your branded items.
Core colors are always in stock and are perfect options for your program projects. You can re-order with full confidence anytime, during any season. This makes it simple to maintain brand identity across promotional products over time.
You don’t have to be concerned about managing inventory with core color items—and re-ordering is a snap. Your customers can build a recognizable brand image with consistent color themes season-to-season and year-to-year.
In addition, navy, black and gray (the bulk of our core colors) make almost any company logo “pop,” so you can be sure your brand stands out and is easy to read.
What are Seasonal Colors?
Sometimes your customers prefer color options for their branding that are more trendy and fun—maybe for a special event or occasion. Enter our seasonal colors. These are offered for a season or two and may or may not be continued in the future (but don’t worry, we’ll let you know when these items are phasing out).
Seasonal colors are also easy to identify—they don’t have the “C” icon. No icon, no guarantee of availability.
When might a customer choose a seasonal color over a core color?
Let’s look at the Men’s Optimist Polo as an example. This polo is always available in Peri Blue, Navy and Black—its core colors. But maybe your customer is sponsoring a golf charity event in August and wants an extra cheerful color. They can single-order a batch of polos in the seasonal color Melon Orange for this one-time event.
Best Practices for Choosing Colors for Promotional Apparel
Here are a few best practices for choosing colors you can apply to your customer relationships:
- Discuss product colors with your customers so you’re aware of their needs and desires. You can recommend either core or seasonal colors, depending on their goals for each order.
- Prioritize core colors to them when continuity and reordering are expected. Suggest they limit seasonal colors to non-program
- Encourage your customers to plan ahead for seasonal colors and order early. That way they won’t be disappointed that the one color they loved for their main summer event promo product has already sold out.
- You’re always welcome to reach out to us for color recommendations and inventory updates.
Explore our catalog and website to see the range of color options available for your clients’ promo needs. And then be sure to let us know if you have any questions about them.
Want a first-hand look at any of our products and colors? It’s easy (and very cost-effective) to order samples or a curated Sample Kit.
Once your order is ready, don’t forget we’re happy to ship it for free to one of our Decorator Network partners.
