Strategy

Power to the Girls

This Top 40 distributor showed support for its majority-female workforce with an in-house gift celebrating women’s empowerment.

On January 21, people from all walks of life took to the streets of Washington, D.C., during the official Women’s March to show their support for feminism and women’s rights. According to the event’s official website, more than a million people converged on the nation’s capital that day, with millions more participating in protests in cities around the world.

President Larry Cohen (center, back row) of Axis Promotions (asi/128263) with his employees after the apparel gifts were distributed. "Women make this company work," he says.

It was a heady moment for many, and one that inspired countless creative promotional projects. One company that was moved by the events of that weekend was NYC-based Top 40 distributor Axis Promotions (asi/128263), which happens to be recognizing 25 years in business this year with a workforce that’s 76% female.

“We wanted to celebrate our anniversary and each other,” says marketing coordinator Angelica May. “We have bright, beautiful, ambitious women here.” May teamed up with President Larry Cohen, marketing manager Pearl Park and vice president of sales Tara Koppel with the idea of designing women empowerment shirts for all of their employees.

“Women make this company work,” says Cohen. “They’re smart, energetic, creative and dedicated. We decided to give apparel to everyone as a surprise internal gift. And none of the men were slighted!”

The group chose the Alternative Apparel Eco-Jersey Slouchy Pullover (AA1990) from SanMar (asi/84863), and, inspired by popular empowerment phrases such as #GirlBoss, decided to feature the phrase “Girl Gang” in a bold screenprint across the front. After finishing the art, they sent virtuals to the employees asking for their names and sizes. The pieces were picked at SanMar, shipped to Artwill Group (asi/125436) in Congers, NY, for screenprinting, and then arrived in time for Axis’s recent all-company meeting.

The apparel was distributed to all employees at the New York City headquarters and the company’s offices in Rye Brook, NY, Burlington, MA, and Chicago, and recipients were asked to wear them during the meeting. Off-site colleagues were happy to send in their selfies that day.

 “It all came together really fast,” says Cohen. “It’s a great way to build on the national attention on women right now. We’re thinking about rolling it out to a number of clients. We’ve found that often, the real decision-makers are smart, bright, creative women.”

Axis continues to leverage the power of the apparel by promoting it on social media with the hashtags #AxisMade and #GirlGang, and offering it as a gift for those who engage with the distributor on their various platforms.

“This was a really inclusive moment,” says May. “The depiction of female empowerment created a beautiful picture of our company, and clients want to work with companies whose employees are happy.”

Follow Axis Promotions on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @AxisPromo to join in the official #GirlGang campaign.