Jump to content

User:PGHistorian/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
< User:PGHistorian

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by PGHistorian (talk | contribs) at 16:11, 15 June 2021 (→Pittsburgh Finished It). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Pittsburgh Clothing Company
Company typeLifestyle Brand
IndustryTextile, Graphic Design
Founded2012; 12 years ago (2012)
FounderZack D’Ulisse
Headquarters
Pittsburgh, PA
,
United States
ProductsCasual wear, Printed T-Shirt and accessories
Websitepghclothing.com


Pittsburgh Clothing Company is an American online shopping lifestyle brand/apparel business celebrating Pittsburgh's past, present and future.

The company was founded on August 16, 2012 as "Center Field Smoke", by Zack D’Ulisse, and officially became Pittsburgh Clothing Co. on March 18, 2017.

Gaining most of its popularity on social media, Pittsburgh Clothing Company’s niche has been to provide quick, witty, and on-the-spot t-shirt designs for current events happening in and around the city of Pittsburgh.

Origins and History

File:AJ Burnett STFD.jpg
Burnett wears the 'STFD' t-shirt after a game in August, 2012.

Pittsburgh Clothing Company (PGH Clothing, PGH Clothing Co. or PGHCCo), originally known as Center Field Smoke (CFSmoke) was founded by University of Akron alumnus Zack D’Ulisse.[1] The inspiration for the company’s first design came during a Pittsburgh Pirates game, when Pittsburgh’s pitcher A.J. Burnett had a verbal altercation with Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Hanley Ramirez, telling the shortstop to “sit the f*** down.”[2]The incident became an online sensation, but also a business opportunity for the graphic designer who simply created a shirt to remember the moment and support his favorite baseball team.[3]

The shirts were popular online to a limited Twitter audience until A.J. Burnett was captured in a photograph posted to Instagram by his wife, Karen Burnett. He was wearing the shirt in the Pirates clubhouse after a home victory and that is when the shirt became more successful than D’Ulisse could have imagined. It launched a brand and a moment in time to never be forgotten. [4]

Center Field Smoke

Immediately following evidence of Burnett wearing the ‘STFD’ t-shirt surfaced online, Center Field Smoke subsequently began churning out more t-shirt designs. Most of the designs related to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were just beginning a run of success that resulted in three straight playoff appearances after not having a winning season for over 20 years prior.

The “CFSmoke” name originates from Manny’s BBQ, a PNC Park food stand located in center field, operated by World Series Champion Manny Sanguillen. During Pirates home games, smoke can occasionally be seen bellowing out from behind the ‘batter’s eye’ when food is being prepared on the grills. [5]

Rebrand to Pittsburgh Clothing Co.

During the winter months of 2017, the CFSmoke Twitter account began dropping hints that something would change within the brand. In the wee hours of March 18th 2017, at exactly 4:12 AM, the ‘re-brand’ to Pittsburgh Clothing Company was officially announced via Twitter.[6] D’Ulisse explained that the re-brand was a long time coming because many outsiders did not understand the ‘Center Field Smoke’ name and he received numerous inquiries thinking that he was operating a vape or cigar shop.[7]

Spreadshirt

Pittsburgh Clothing Company operates with the help from Spread Group, a social-commerce company that provides its users with an online platform that can be used to customize and buy T-shirts. Spreadshirt handles warehousing, production, shipping and payment processing. With one of its headquarters being in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Clothing Company is able to use a local printing company and ship items to customers within a few days.

On May 7, 2021, Pittsburgh Clothing Company was named to Spreadshop’s “Top Shops of April 2021” list, which featured them in the #1 spot.[8] The rankings were made using sales, traffic and social media engagement.

Diagram explaining the inspiration behind each part of Pittsburgh Clothing Company's logo

Pittsburgh Clothing Co.’s logo is inspired by Fort Pitt and contains an astroid in its center. Fort Pitt, a Western Pennsylvania fort utilized during the French and Indian War, was used because it is a unique piece of Pittsburgh’s history. The center of Pittsburgh Clothing Co.’s reimagined Fort Pitt emblem is the hypocycloid known as an astroid. This is another, more recognizable piece of Pittsburgh history which can also be seen in the Steelmark and Pittsburgh Steelers logo. The three horizontal lines that travel through the bottom half of the mark represent Pittsburgh’s three rivers. The Allegheny River, Monongahela River, and Ohio River. [9]

Products

With no physical location, there can truly be an unlimited amount of t-shirt styles and designs in the company’s online shop. The website contains shirts and hats that could be considered one-off, or limited, but there are also many that have been on the site since the CFSmoke days, and others that were so popular they will stay forever. With no inventory, there is no risk involved and the company is able to experiment with different designs and trends to see how consumers react.

Marketing and Strategy

PGHCCo’s online presence can be seen on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Often engaging with their consumers, the brand knows its importance on the web is to stay relevant, which can be seen through memes, historical reminders, live-tweeting sports, brackets, and of course more shirt designs.

Keeping people engaged and together, while celebrating Pittsburgh is the goal of the company’s social media existence. There is a reason for all of it. Anything and everything posted can lead to a shirt, event or potential new relationship. Whether it is posting a meme about the Pirates, a reminiscent video of the Penguins, a funny beer commercial from the 80s, or simply wishing a happy birthday to a local celebrity, the engagement received from followers can determine if a certain topic is an impending t-shirt idea.

Shirt ideas come from many places. Most of the designs derive from current events such as Pittsburgh athletes or songs, but there are also shirts inspired by defunct Pittsburgh sports teams and businesses or even through fan submissions.

Walking on Sunshine

The most popular shirt-to-date is “Walking on Sunshine.” The shirt features Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz, who became an internet sensation while celebrating his second Stanley Cup with the team. The iconic moment happened during the team’s celebration parade.

Walking down the Boulevard of the Allies with his jersey, a backwards hat, and chugging a beer, Schultz was photographed by a member of the crowd.[10]The picture would go viral, as would Schultz. With thousands of people talking about the picture and making memes, Pittsburgh Clothing Co. knew it was their time to shine. They reached out to the photographer, who granted permission to use the photo, as long as a donation was made to the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. The donation was made and the shirt was quickly released.[11]

Pittsburgh Finished It

On November 14, 2019 an infamous fight broke out between Myles Garrett and Mason Rudolph during a Cleveland Browns-Pittsburgh Steelers game. Many people were waiting for PGHCCo’s response online since they often create a shirt on-the-spot, but the company stayed quiet. A day later, an apparel company in Cleveland created a “Pittsburgh Started It” shirt, implying the fault of the fight was on the Steelers’ quarterback. [12]Weeks later, the Steelers and Browns would play again without any fights, but the Steelers won the game. PGHCCo broke their silence minutes after the game on Twitter with a shirt response: “Pittsburgh Finished It.”[13] It immediately became a best seller.

Pain

Entering the 2021 Major League Baseball season, Pittsburgh Clothing Co. created a shirt to prepare Pittsburgh Pirates fans for the upcoming year. With the team not having great expectations to compete, a painful season was expected. Using the city’s black and gold color scheme, the company created a design that simply said “Pain”, which gave Pirates fans something to laugh about during a rebuilding year.[14]

The word “pain” is used on social media as a meme, whether it be as an image or plain text, and is often attributed to sports teams when they lose. As soon as the Pain design was released, Pittsburghers and Media in Pittsburgh began picking up on the shirt.[15]

Fundraising

Building Bridges Bar Crawl

The Building Bridges Bar Crawl is an annual Pub crawl with three goals: to raise money for someone in need, to develop relationships with local businesses, and to have fun. The event rotates to new locations around the Pittsburgh area, and welcomes anyone to join. All proceeds made from each bar crawl are donated to a person in need. [16]

The event has grown in popularity each year, building new bridges between Pittsburgh’s businesses and locals. The crawl makes money by having companies sponsor the official bar crawl t-shirt, which is necessary for entry. There are also tickets to enter, which come with the official t-shirt.

Past events

Guests gather for a group photo at the Building Bridges Bar Crawl held on February 15, 2020 on Pittsburgh's North Shore

2020 Building Bridges Bar Crawl

The 2020 Building Bridges was Pittsburgh Clothing Company’s largest bar crawl to date, gathering 200 people and raising over $5,000.[17] The event took place in North Shore (Pittsburgh) and brought participants to 10 different bars. All proceeds from this crawl were donated to a person struggling with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. [18]

2017 Backyard Brawl Crawl

The “Backyard Brawl Crawl” was the inaugural event for Pittsburgh Clothing Company’s series of bar crawls held on December 9, 2017.[19] The event’s theme was based on the Backyard Brawl, a rivalry between colleges West Virginia University and University of Pittsburgh. With the two schools facing off in College basketball, the bar crawl took place in Shadyside (Pittsburgh).

The proceeds from the event were donated to Pittsburgh-based organization Oncology Nursing Foundation.

Project 34

Project 34 is a foundation created by former Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams with a mission to positively impact the lives of those living with a spinal cord injury by providing necessary medical equipment, assistive devices, and aiding in the cost for physical therapy.[20]

Pittsburgh Clothing Company designed the foundation’s logo and sells its shirts out of their online shop. The proceeds earned go towards easing stress that accompanies the financial burden of these necessary materials, so that the patient and their families can focus on living a fulfilling life. PGHCCo was also involved in the creative process and design for Project 34’s ‘Dingers in the Desert’ Home Run Derby and ‘Project 34 Golf Classic’ both held in Arizona.

Project 34 was inspired by the journey of Cory Hahn. A dear friend, former roommate and teammate of Williams, and a person living with a spinal cord injury.

50 Reasons to Win

“50 Reasons to Win” was a t-shirt created during the 2017 Pittsburgh Steelers season in support of Steelers’ linebacker Ryan Shazier, who suffered a career-ending injury in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.[21]

Proceeds from the t-shirt were donated to Rise Again, an organization in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania that supports individuals with spinal cord injuries.[22]

References

  1. ^ Cody Kohlman (February 12, 2021). "Back to the Burgh - Zack D'Ulisse Pittsburgh Clothing Company". YouTube (Podcast). Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  2. ^ Charlie Wilmoth (August 16, 2012). "Animated: A.J. Burnett Tells Hanley Ramirez To Sit Down". SB Nation. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  3. ^ Dave Gossett (March 21, 2014). "Express Yourself". Herald-Star. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  4. ^ Weirton Daily TImes (July 11, 2015). "Center Field Smoke Seen Throughout Pittsburgh". Weirton Daily Times. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  5. ^ @HolyFamily4all (September 16, 2015). "Smoke coming from CF grill at PNC Park". Twitter. Retrieved June 15, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ @PGHClothingCo (March 18, 2017). "INTRODUCING: Pittsburgh Clothing Co". Twitter. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  7. ^ Matt Gajtka (February 10, 2020). "10 Questions". Patreon (Podcast). Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Spreadshop (May 7, 2021). "A Spreadshop for Everyone: Top Shops for April 2021". Spreadshop Blog. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  9. ^ "About Us". PGH Clothing Co. March 17, 2017.
  10. ^ Michelle Crechiolo (May 7, 2020). "The picture worth a thousand memes". Pens Inside Scoop. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  11. ^ Aaron Aupperlee (June 16, 2017). "Justin Schultz 'chug walk' photographer 'thought it was awesome'". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  12. ^ CBS Pittsburgh (November 21, 2019). "Cleveland Company Stirs Controversy With 'Pittsburgh Started It' T-Shirts". KDKA. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Matthew Florjancic (December 1, 2019). "Pittsburgh finished it': Pittsburgh company celebrates win over Cleveland Browns with new t-shirt". WKYC. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  14. ^ Ally Bear (March 30, 2021). "You Can Now Buy a Shirt with the Word 'Pain' in the Pittsburgh Pirates Font". WKST-FM. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  15. ^ Ryan Deto (March 29, 2021). "Pittsburgh Clothing Co. introduces "Pain" merch just in time for Pirates season". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  16. ^ "Bar Crawl". PGH Clothing Co. November 15, 2019.
  17. ^ North Shore Nine (February 23, 2020). "BNS9 Episode 194-2.23.20". iHeartRadio (Podcast). Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  18. ^ "Building Bridges Bar Crawl". Local-Pittsburgh. February 15, 2020.
  19. ^ "The Inaugural Backyard Brawl Crawl". Twitter. November 11, 2017.
  20. ^ Kevin Gorman (March 22, 2018). "'Project 34' near and dear to Pirates' Trevor Williams". Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  21. ^ Chris Wesseling (December 4, 2017). "Steelers LB Ryan Shazier suffers back injury". National Football League. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  22. ^ "50 Reasons to Win". Twitter. December 8, 2017.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=User:PGHistorian/sandbox&oldid=1028718387"