Recently Proven: Better Wardrobe Means Better Performance

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “Clothes don’t make the man.”

These are widely accepted rules of life, promoted by the kind hearted -or poorly dressed, it would seem, if recent studies are anything to go by. Results have indicated that people who wore well-made or expensive clothes, usually from well-respected brands, were the people who had a little more strut in their stride. Their fierce dress sense had another correlation -greater performance.

No, there were no wizards cloaks, or basketball shoes with little jet-packs for that slam dunk, but the effect is still undeniable -even if the clothing or merchandise isn’t necessarily genuine. During the study, participants were asked for a round of golf, and were given a golf putter they were told was Nike brand. Simply thinking that they were holding a quality piece of golf equipment caused a boost in their performance by 20 percent -the same percentage in improvement of participants asked to do a math quiz with ear plugs in, who were then told their earplugs were of the highest quality… Testing golf putters, or ear plugs in a math quiz; someone drew the short straw.

Having these highly esteemed products around you tends to rub off on your own self-esteem, it would appear. And this ego kick will inversely affect your anxiety, so you’re ready to master any task in front of you, even becoming apparent in your thinking and behaviour. Once you step outside in your designer shoes, with a well tailored suit or prominent designer dress, you are dressed in the modern equivalent of chainmail; your apologetic tiptoes turn into a cascading saunter. But it’s not all about vanity; various logos can have an effect on your character responses too.

Study participants were asked to complete a task, after seeing the Apple logo, or the IBM logo. Those who were exposed to the Apple logo had a much more creative result than those who saw the IBM logo, thanks to Apple’s tireless marketing as a forward-thinking company, now commonly associated with modern ingenuity and creativity. Likewise, after being exposed to either a Disney or E! Entertainment Channel logo, participants tended to behave more or less honestly, respectfully. This is likely from the innocence of a children’s TV channel, contrasting with the channel known for such contributions to society as the Kardashians.

So next time you’re weighing up whether to get that new shirt, or a smart new pair of shoes, remember that the effects on your psyche could be priceless- and never take the word of anyone who watches too much E! Channel.

Once you’ve got your personal presence primed, take a look at your digital one. If it could use a little flair from some digital marketing designers, get in touch with the experts here at Dilate- we won’t shine your shoes or dust your shoulders, but we will tailor a digital marketing strategy just for you and your business, and talk you through how to structure and maintain your website.

If you would like to know more about building a long term online marketing strategy that works, contact us. We are experts in all aspects of online marketing, and our strategies will work with search engines holistically and naturally. This will help your business to rank for your keywords and protect you from algorithm updates in search engines that punish poor quality links. Get in touch with us today for more information about how we can help your business grow online in 2016.