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Brand Strategy This chapter
looks at a real-world case study: Small Roar, my new baby clothing
company. After the birth of our daughter, my wife Stephannie and
I realized that new parents want to express a point of view through
their baby’s clothing, and we saw an opportunity to create
fresh and innovative products that would appeal to other parents
like us. I developed the concept as my graduate thesis project at
MICA and then took it to the marketplace.
Brand Strategy is the combined understanding of
your product’s position in the marketplace (target audience,
competition), its visual identity (from the product itself to packaging,
logos, and promotional materials), and your marketing initiatives
(how your product or service will be delivered to customers). These
components should work together to support your business goals.
Brand Positioning How does
your product or service compare to your competition? What makes
it unique or different? Who is your potential market? Our brand,
Small Roar, is the fusion of graphic design, free speech, and baby
clothes. Using the graphic t-shirt as an inexpensive way to make
a visual statement, Small Roar gives babies (and their parents)
a voice.
Our audience is hip, smart parents looking for an
alternative to the Babies-R-Us clothing options as well as friends
and family of parents looking for a clever, memorable baby gift.
Brand Identity Brand identity
is the visual language that a company uses to communicate with its
audience. Our brand identity reflects our marketing statement: It’s
not about pinks or blues, ducks or bears. It’s about design
culture and self-expression. It’s about making a statement
and wearing it loud. Most of all, it’s about cool clothes
for cool babies.
Our name (taken from the saying, “Keep it
to a small roar”), our logo (a typographic speech bubble),
and our products all make-up the foundation for our brand’s
visual language.
Product Your product or
service is the most important part of your brand. This is what gives
your public a tangible value. A well-designed product provides an
immediate, emotional connection to your audience.
It is crucial to find reliable vendors capable of
manufacturing your product in a high-quality and timely fashion.
Key factors include material, size, color, graphics, labels, hang
tags, and packaging. These elements become part of the product as
it speaks to people in a sales environment.
Promotion Promoting your
company, product or service is crucial to your brand’s success.
If your idea is good, you need to make sure people hear about it.
Whether you use direct mail, media, or word-of-mouth, it’s
important to get your message to your audience.
Identify local resources that might share your interest
and be willing to help promote or even sell your goods. Areas of
focus are publications, retail stores, institutions, and trade organizations.
Distribution Sell. Sell.
Sell. Look at building direct sales as well as your wholesale business.
With direct sales, you make twice the profit and experience the
joy of working directly with your customers. Secure, on-line shopping
cart services, like PayPal, make setting up a store and selling
your goods on-line safe and easy.
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