The Promo Pro: Cary Heller, VP of Sales/Partner, All USA Clothing (asi/30171), a MI-based decorator
Client: New York City Transit Authority
Job: Provide custom union-made apparel as a holiday gift to union workers to thank them for the long hours they put in on an $11.2 billion rail line construction project
Order Value: More than $100,000

STEP ONE

Work Your Connections
Union bonds can run deep. As a union shop, All USA Clothing is in a strong position to win business from unions. Such was the case for this campaign. Years ago, a connection from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers referred an IBEW official to Heller. Given the opportunity, Heller built a relationship, regularly providing solutions for the client, including higher-volume orders around the holidays. The track record of success put Heller in top position to win the six-figure campaign in 2020. “I’ve become very close friends with the customer after doing many, many orders for him and his team,” says Heller. “He knows that we come through.”

STEP TWO

Understand the Audience
The IBEW member, who’s part of the New York City Transit Authority, was interested in providing top-notch holiday gifts to unionized trades professionals from L.K. Comstock. The RailWorks-owned company was performing pivotal work on the East Side Access Project, an $11.2 billion public works initiative in New York City centered on extending the Long Island Rail Road. “They lay new track or repair old track and update/fix electrical systems,” Heller explains. “They work long hours with overtime every week and on nights and weekends.”

The client wanted branded hoodies, jackets and short-sleeve/long-sleeve tees. The apparel for the hardworking skilled tradespeople had to be as durable, tough and dependable as the workers themselves. As Heller’s client made abundantly clear, every aspect of the garments, from the manufacturing to the decoration, had to be made in the USA by union labor. Plus, the client held precise tastes on what the artwork should be. “The client is highly creative and always looking to do something way out of the box,” says Heller. “He won’t accept anything cookie cutter.”

Made for union workers, Cary Heller ensured that all aspects of the hooded sweatshirts and other apparel he provided was Made-in-the-USA.

STEP THREE

Be on Point With Artwork & Packaging
Heller’s not kidding about the client being a bit particular. There was a plethora of artwork revisions – including total restarts after thinking the designs were complete – that occurred over the span of approximately six months. Things didn’t get much easier after graphics were finally set. It was as important for Heller to keep close tabs on the production and decoration of the custom garments, ensuring all aspects of them were union-made and printed to the client’s exacting standard.

The painstaking work continued with packaging, about which the client had quite specific demands. “Every employee was to get a package with the garments and each package had to be labeled with contents/sizes, then packed alphabetically with a master packing list that correlates,” notes Heller.

Leaving nothing to chance, the All USA Clothing sales leader personally oversaw the packaging to ensure it went off with pinpoint precision. “If you pack an order without really thinking it through and carefully labeling and packing, then the customer has to spend a ton of time handing out the garments and that gets old really quick,” Heller asserts. “When we do the packing here, we’re taking that frustration and pain away from him and the order is received much more joyfully.”

STEP FOUR

Charge Appropriately
For sure, the project was a lot of work. Other large campaigns for the client have also required ample heavy lifting. Heller admits that, for a time, he had trouble feeling “comfortable charging the client the kind of money that an order like this demands.” But then one year he raised the pricing on a large order to a level that was warranted. The result? The client was still comfortable paying it because of the excellent service and product quality All USA provides. That held true again on this mega campaign, the apparel for which accomplished its goal of thanking the subway builders in a meaningful way. “My client,” Heller says, “made it a point to tell me how much something like this boosts employee morale.”

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