In every profit-oriented business venture, one marketing dilemma demands that a certain product's visibility in the market equates to a higher probability of sale. This means that the more a product is seen in various media platforms or through direct and indirect recommendation via use or word of mouth, the higher the chances are that this particular product could generate more revenue through increased sales. Advertising is a great marketing tool and contemporary advances in technology paved the way for new opportunities in addressing the dilemma: "How do we advertise our product?" Marketing analysts would agree that visibility plays a vital role in increasing sales. The increased generation of sales through advertising delves into a whole new sphere of marketing strategy with the use of current technology and existing media particularly visual media. How do customized shirts help in advertising products?

Maximum visibility and exposure are achieved when the marketing strategist has pinpointed the requirements with which a certain product demands in order for it to reach the potential consumers and would eventually boil down to sales generation. Considering visual media as a form of advertising, marketing strategists utilize this opportunity to make a "walking billboard". This was achieved way back when people started to carry placards and soon people began to wear posters over their clothing. This eventually led to the idea that people could express themselves through what they wear, and the way people advertise evolved as customized shirts became an option. Printing information on clothing then revolutionized and paved the way for a vivid and direct form of advertising. Soon advertisers considered t-shirts due to three important reasons: cost efficiency, higher visibility, and finally - people loved to wear t-shirts over themselves rather than hauling placards while engaging in marketing.

Customized shirts are cost efficient since they do not require a fortune to make and they can be produced in large quantities as compared to other clothing. This means that it is cheaper and faster to manufacture custom t-shirts than opting for other means with regard to the level of visibility. T-shirts are everywhere and marketing analysts consider this as an opportunity to utilize custom t-shirts as a means to achieve marketing success.

Why would advertisers resolve to customize shirts as their way of "spreading the word"? It is a contemporary notion that advertising should cross boundaries and that the level of creativeness determines the success of a marketing campaign. There is enough conclusive evidence that there is a trend in advertising that seeks to deviate from the norm of traditional visual interpretation and visual marketing towards a more creative and bolder form of visual media which demands the use of the individual. This does not necessarily mean that the body is used as the canvass; however, the body becomes the scaffold upon which the new medium is rested. Just like the traditional printed media, advertising through the use of t-shirts are all based on the same principle of visual interpretation. Suggestive images are utilized to spark the interests of potential customers and this in turn creates that feeling of curiosity on the consumers' end wherein the use of customized shirts would seem unlikely, but they do get the job done just like all other form of creative visual marketing.

The use of customized shirts would never entirely replace other methods, but would simply open an option for marketing strategies. Mercantilism has been around for ages, ever evolving and encompassing. The current trend in consumerism suggests that the contemporary market is consumer based and not product based. This poses a challenge for marketing firms since marketing strategies are harder, to a certain degree, to implement in a consumer based environment. Marketing in a consumer based market requires innovation and creativity - this is where art comes in. Customization is the form of contemporary digital media and the eternal - t-shirt.