Building a Solid Brand Foundation
A solid brand foundation means you don’t need to re-do the branding a year or two later. Get your brand message right on shelf the first time, so that it’s an easy extension to your packaging, website, social, and in-store experience. Make it one cohesive target.
Did someone say Target®? Yes please! Let’s make that fantasy a reality and get your brand so buttoned up that co-ordinating a meet and greet in Minneapolis can happen within 1-5 years of getting on the market. Yes, these big-box retailer meetings take time, but they do eventually happen once you nail your message and can eventually sustain that level of fulfillment!
To get started, we need to develop a clear strategy to turn your product from a business into a brand. A brand is not a logo, or an identity, or just a product — it’s the personality and story that your consumers feel and taste when engaging with your product. Whether your the ONLY kids food brand that’s Tummy-Friendly @NurturMe — or you’re the ONLY unisex Paleo-Skincare line on the market @FATCO — your message needs to convey that one ownable THING through approachable copy and tasty visuals. Because whether you’re selling food or skincare or even toddler toys — an approachable AND tasty personality sells.
How do you know when you’ve nailed your brand experience? When the concept can easily translate across all design deliverables from naming — to brand story — to packaging — to website — to social — to expo booth. A winning brand experience should hold up on shelves for at least 5 years before needing to revisit a brand evolution due to new market insights and changing consumer expectations.
Find the right design partner who can help you stay the course and protect you from moving your target year to year. Check out the results of our design partnership with @Fatco below and how they won an account at Target!
Due to a trademark dispute, we were forced to rebrand back in 2015. We were connected to Shelf Studio by another industry colleague, and I am so glad that we found them! They helped us to completely revamp our brand, including a new brand name, colors, redesigning packaging for all 40 of our sku’s, and a new website!
It was a large project, but Alison and her team were amazing to work with. They communicated every step of the way, and I always felt comfortable talking to them frankly when things were leading down a path that I wasn’t crazy about. The color palette that they chose is beautiful, and the custom fonts that they created were amazing. Before this project, our branding was indicative of a small, boutique brand, with a mild “apothecary feel”. After the rebrand was done, however, our brand felt more like a “national brand”, that one might see in big-box retailers! I think this was one of the determining factors in the buyer from Target showing interest in our brand, which eventually led to us launching our products at 500 Target stores in Jan 2019!
We continue to receive compliments on our branding at industry events and trade shows, even 3 years later!”
– Cassy Burnside, CEO+Founder at Fatco
This is one of a 6 part series:
Top 6 Reasons to Invest in Your Branding
