T-shirts are so 20th Century. These days, entertainers are looking for new merchandising opportunities. Ever since the marketing blitzes that took place in the seventies, eighties and nineties with properties like Star Wars, K.I.S.S. and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, these days you don’t just put your brand on a t-shirt and call it a day. These days, you can put your brand on a t-shirt, on a coffee mug, on a toothbrush, on bumper stickers, you license out action figures and hire the top artists to write comic books, novelizations and TV specials about your brand. Custom belt buckles are kind of obvious, then, as the next logical step in branding.
For certain bands, there’s really nothing that represents them better than a custom buckle. Think about it: if you love a hardcore southern rock band like Lynyrd Skynyrd, are you gonna settle for a t-shirt, or do you think a big, shiny, high quality buckle from Inola Castings might do a little more to let people know that you love Swamp Music?
There’s a reason all of the ancient conquerors like Genghis Khan bore bold insignia on their flags: it makes a statement. An iconic image etched into a metal belt buckle makes a declaration of permanence. In this day and age, bands are really come and go. For someone to stick around, it takes more than just good music. Maybe there was a time when people were less focused on image, but these days, an entertainer who wants longevity needs to understand that people out there are jaded and cynical and it takes a little something extra to really make an impact and let people know you’re here to stay. Something like a custom belt buckle can make just such a statement.
It’s a bold move, and in this competitive era in music, bold moves are the only ones that matter. Anybody can get on Myspace and Youtube and send out messages begging people to come listen to them play, but if you really want to make an impact, if you really want to get people tuning in, it takes a little more than social media marketing and cheap t-shirts. A lot of the top entertainers and license holders have gotten custom buckles made through Inola Castings, and once you’ve seen Elvis Presley in chrome and gems, a ratty old t-shirt just doesn’t look as good as it used to.