Located in Toronto, West Park Healthcare Centre helps patients get their lives back after life-changing injury or illness. To help staff and patients show their pride, West Park recently launched a custom clothing line using Entripy’s online shop platform, Entripyshops.
Putting Their Pride on Their Sleeve
The level of pride amongst staff at West Park is high. A recent staff survey revealed 81.4 percent of West Park staff share with others how proud they are to be part of the organization. The industry average is 72.3%. “Our staff and patients are very proud of West Park and many have said they would like to show their pride by wearing clothing with our branding on it,” says Vince Rice, Director of Public Relations, West Park Healthcare Centre.
West Park turned to Entripy to outfit their staff and patients in West Park custom apparel. The Entripyshops platform was ideal for this. “We wanted to raise our profile, allow people to show their West Park pride, and raise some money,” says Rice. “We also wanted to avoid the usual problems while selling branded merch; maintaining a large inventory, handling cash, dealing with the retail side”.
With the Entripyshops online platform, supporters can purchase as few as one item, in the size they desire and customize the item with the logo they desire. Entripyshops removes the administrative headache of selling custom branded apparel. Individuals purchase the items online. Printed items are produced on demand, meaning the organization doesn’t have to handle inventory or guess sizes. Plus, organizations can earn a 10% rebate (after their shop reaches $1,000 in sales), funds that can be used to aid their fundraising campaigns.
A Memorable Custom Apparel Launch
To launch their online custom apparel shop, West Park held a fashion show on February 27th. Staff and patients modelled the various branded apparel items available on their online shop. Annie Murphy, star of CBC’s hit comedy Schitt’s Creek made an appearance as the show’s MC. “We knew a fashion show would be a fun way to roll out the product and the concept of a branded merch shop. It would give possible customers a way to see some of the products up close as well as get them excited and involved in the shop,” says Rice.
The fashion show was a huge success. It helped to create buzz around the hospital to get both staff and patients interested in the hospital’s new custom apparel line. Local media also showed interest in the show and wrote a front-page story in the local weekly newspaper about the event. “We were able to quickly reach the $1,000 in sales to allow the 10% rebate on all future sales,” says Rice.
Designing Meaningful Logos
West Park Healthcare Centre designed custom apparel featuring the hospital’s logo as well as a unique graphic featuring their slogan “Get Your Life Back”. A montage of the words was depicted upside down, backwards and forward in grey and in the center of the graphic, green text reading “Get Your Life Back” is prominently featured.
The tagline has special meaning as reflecting everything we do should support patients to reclaim their lives and realize their potential,” says Rice.
