As fast as brands emerge, they disappear just as quickly. With market disruptions and choice overload for consumers, what do the successful brands have in common? To survive and thrive, we believe brands must focus their narrative by answering a few fundamental questions. [Read more…] about 5 Questions to Ask Before Branding
As you get closer to launching your product brand, it may feel as though you’ve waited your entire life for this moment. All of your blood, sweat and tears is about to pay off! But, do you fully understand the process of launching your product? Getting ready to go launch your product brand is an exciting and stressful time, and if it’s not done correctly, can cost you thousands of dollars and can potentially make or break you.
Build your brand first
Many companies fail to realize the importance of a strong brand in addition to exceptional package design. A product can sabotage its own success when it’s not designed, created, launched, with a solid brand at its core.
Don’t over-design it
Don’t get too carried away with embellishing your product features or try and capture everything possible within the packaging design.
Be consistent
It’s important to design product packaging that’s consistent with your brand’s identity and values, and ensure all packages look consistent.
Be patient
Do things right the first time. If it takes a little longer to get the right package for your product, it’s worth the wait. Saving you money, headaches, and detrimental brand decisions.
Imagine you just picked up your new puppy, and now you’re off to the pet food store to choose her food. Your eyes pass over a package with an image of a dog blasting through the woods after its owner riding a bike; another image below shows Salmon with the headline “Wild Pacific Salmon from Haida Gwaii”. The Omega-3-rich icon signals to your brain that THIS is the perfect food for for your furry friend!
Without using a lot of busy words and static images on the front, the package touches on a lifestyle that resonates with you, it communicates quality and exudes trustworthiness.
With consumers increasing their knowledge of and demand for quality, sustainability, transparency and organic ingredients in their pet food, so too comes the need for branding and package design that communicates this promise.
Packaging is meant to communicate what your brand stands for and what it means for the customer. 95% of new products fail, and a large part of that is because of the finite amount of time shoppers spend weighing the advantages and disadvantages of products. If they don’t understand or resonate with your package, they’re gone.
Package design is one of the single-most important factors in launching a product because packaging helps consumers understand why your product and brand are the “ONLY”. Your story can be swiftly told by strategies such as a clever name, a logo that signals the brand purpose, images of the actual ingredients— like wild salmon that appeals to pet owners who prioritize their pup’s health. Other ways could include joyful moments between pets and their owners that exudes the sense of care, or eye-catching certification icons that customers can check off their safety and quality list.
Great package design and branding is especially significant for growing startups such as dog food companies because it can have a direct impact on sales and a company’s overall appeal. Take Holy Crap Cereal, for example. Zesty Brands re-branding and package design for Holy Crap has boosted product Sales of Holy Crap™ over 166% since the re-branding. since the re-branding.
Today’s marketplace for pet food is way too competitive for you to rely on having the best product. We live in a world where we are spoiled for choice, and that’s in some ways, but a challenge for brands who rely on capturing the attention of customers in a few seconds.
Dive deep into the heart of any successful brand and you’ll find one crucial element: a zest factor.
Think about why your brand matters. At our Vancouver branding agency, we take our clients through a unique process to discover what makes them the only. This “onliness” is what we call the zest factor Your zest factor is the heartbeat of your company—the thing that sets you apart from the others, and highlights the heart and soul of your brand.
When you’re bringing your business to market, it’s tempting to try and stand for everything and be everything to everyone. Unfortunately, though when you attempt to be everything to everyone, you end up appealing to no-one. Look at your competitors and ask yourself why customers should switch to you: The unique way your service might be superior. Your pricing structure might be unlike anyone else. Or perhaps you are offering something on an emotional level that appeals to your audience, such as ethically sourced materials.
Ask yourself what zest factor your competitors have. Learn as much as possible about them, from their advertising, social media, websites, and product/service descriptions, to the tone of voice they speak.
If you can’t say why your brand is both different and compelling in a few words, than you likely don’t have a killer idea, and there is no magic way to rise to the top—you’ll need to fix your company or product.
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Let’s chat about launching your new brand—drop us an email!
Branding is an opportunity to connect with the right audience in an unforgettable way, but without an understanding of the branding process, your business will be lost and your money will be wasted.
Here are four questions to get you thinking about brand strategy. Our Vancouver branding agency is passionate about working with you to build a brand infused with intelligence, meaning and imagination. We’re excited to help ambitious companies, so if that’s you then get in touch!
Your passion which motivates stakeholders forward—a common purpose beyond profitability.
A brand needs to resonate on a deep emotional level with its audience. Understanding who they are and connecting with them authentically will be what drives sales and loyalty.
Carving out a defendable and distinct position and personality is how you will make a notable impact.
If your strategy stops short at a logo, then your efforts are vain, meaningless and disconnected.
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Let’s chat about launching your new brand—drop us an email!
A value proposition is a clear statement of the results that the customer can expect to receive from your product or service. Because your marketing initiatives are organized around this value proposition, it’s critical to get it right.
A big idea around the brand is more important than a big idea behind your marketing. Without a value proposition, even the most creative and well-targeted advertising won’t increase brand’s value.
As brand designers, we develop many aspects of the brand, from the strategic thinking that creates the big idea, to the brand visual graphics, colour strategy, typography and imagery. But there’s an aspect that many startups and designers overlook, and that is a brand’s voice.
People often say, “we need branding work,” and then they begin the conversation talking about colour schemes and logos—That’s a mistake. Your logo, your tagline, your colour scheme, your graphics are just the outward facing articulations of your brand’s purpose, promise, voice and personality.
Engaging, relatable, and memorable brands are more than marketing tactic—they’re about telling a story and forming lasting connections. Are you the kind of company that people want to chat with over a few pints? Or are you the one who people are continually inspired by? Perhaps you’re the one they look to for expert advice. Defining your voice will give you a powerful tool for connecting with your customers, but only if you know how to do it.
Your audience is constantly inundated with marketing messages these days, but if you can learn how to give them something that truly surprises or intrigues them, they will pause and really consider what you have to say. They might smile, or laugh, or take a moment to think. Done right, that moment will stick with them, and they might even share it with someone else—because we all love a good story.
People buy from people they like, know, and trust based on a relationship cultivated over time, they don’t want a robotic, one-sided, copy-and-paste relationship.
Behavioural psychologist and Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker designed a framework that posits there are five dimensions to one’s personality, and each contains a set of facets. Each facet contains a set of traits.
To apply these to a brand, you rank the traits on a scale of one to five, with one being the least representative of your brand and five being the most. The Five Dimensions Framework can be used to compose the personality of a new brand or to articulate a brand’s current state (defined by customer perception and attitudes) and future state (defined by desired perception).
Another method is using Carl Jung’ 12 archetypes. His theory was that the identities are derived from our most primitive instincts and collective unconscious, forming the foundation of who we are and what stories we tell and surface in our culture. We tend to have one dominant personality, but often we’ll have a back-up as well.
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For brand strategy services, send a message to our Vancouver Branding Studio
The loudest and most compelling voice is always the voice of warning. It’s respected with little scrutiny and it’s often parlayed into the voice of wisdom in brand survival. However, the intention of survival isn’t actually survival, it’s stagnation. This voice of warning does not nurture growth.
A fear of failure runs deep within our society. And most of us feel a heavy shame within failure. What isn’t talked about enough is that failure can be (and often is) in the secret sauce for massive amounts of courage, confidence and success. In fact, almost every successful entrepreneur, accomplished athlete and thriving trailblazer is quite comfortable with failure.
If you’re a mountain biker you understand the space between what is and what could be. It’s a space filled with discomfort, darkness and doubt. Most would rather take the well-trodden path—what is—rather than veer right and face the big bold obstacle—what could be. However, what could be is where the magic lies. A successful brand is one who can tolerate the discomfort of uncertainty in challenging the status quo, because they’re able to envision remarkable success.
I recently attended a speech by outdoor legend and North Face founder, Hap Klopp. Hap ran The North Face for 25 years, is an avid supporter of disruption. From creating the first aircraft aluminum tent poles and pack frames to parachute materials for sleeping bags, The North Face was all about doing things differently. Hap understands the role of failure in success; in fact he is supports and encourages his staff to explore ideas and fail fast, because failure is a teacher that shows the path to success.
The tried and tested path doesn’t necessary lead to innovation. It’s those that go off the beaten track – making discoveries unnoticed by those too busy following the rules – that truly shake things up. Sir Richard Branson is a testament to this, saying “When we launched Virgin Atlantic everybody thought that we’d fall flat on our face, but we didn’t. Armed with the naivety to think we could make a real difference, we disrupted the state of play – and we were delighted to prove the naysayers wrong.”
Innovation isn’t for the faint of heart, it takes courage and sometimes a little sprinkling of naivety. This is why many young start-ups become so successful. Their approach takes a fresh perspective and thinks in ideals rather than marginal improvements.
If you’re a company looking to disrupt the industry and blaze your trail, I suggest you line up to the big bold obstacle and go for it. Because lukewarm attempts will produce uninspiring brands.
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Interesting in disrupting your market? Let our Vancouver Branding Agency take your brand to the next level.
With Canada’s federal government announcing it would be legalizing marijuana, we’re seeing a staggering increase of products coming on the cannabis market. This means you’ll be seeing a lot more Cannabis brands in the near future.
Gone are the days of buying weed on a dimly lit street corner. It’s no longer a shady exchange, it’s regulated, legal and it’s a legitimate business—a business opening up an exciting new territory.
At our boutique Vancouver branding studio, we develop brands for growers, investors, dispensary owners and inspired entrepreneurs. We help cannabis companies take an objective look at their brand, develop a strategy for how they want to be perceived and create design and communications to follow.
It’s becoming understood that an investment in strong branding is key to rising above the glut of companies trying to get a piece of the grassy pie. It’s more than just selling marijuana products, this is an entirely new business sector that requires everything from professional and captivating branding to chic package design and fully designed and branded retail spaces.
The sustainability of the cannabis industry is dependent upon strong brands and good design. Beyond just making the product more mainstream, strong branding helps the public feel safer and more well-informed about the use of cannabis. The public needs to see that the industry is legitimate, and branding and package design will be the first and most notable ambassador of change.
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Send us a note to learn more about our branding services
The job of branding and package design is to reflect those values back to the customer. When it comes to adventure brands, we want the products to look and feel exciting and capable. Wellness brands should ooze a healthy and wholesome vibe. Luxury brands need to convey a sophisticated language and personality and their packaging should be high quality.
Many of the trends we will see this year are largely based on the buying power of Millennials. They’re influencing how brands respond to consumers shifting values. Consumers in the 18-34 age bracket are demanding higher standards of design and a consideration on environment and sustainability.
Brand these days need to be more honest and authentic than ever before. The traditional power dynamic where the brand has more power than the consumer is long gone. The Millennials are so well-connected that they know if a product is inferior, the service bad or if the brand is not being authentic. In today’s market, consumers can find an alternative almost instantly or publicly criticize a brand, using social media.
Consumers want a story. They want to know “why” you’re selling your product or service, not “what” you’re selling. Recent research supports the importance of good brand stories, finding that a brand, its zest-factor and even its font style and color scheme were accurately recalled in the context of an original story.
Retail spaces are becoming brand experience spaces. How you behave is as important as what you say and smart brands will reinvent their spaces for people to connect and interact with the brand in person, versus just online through social media and web.
The process of getting your idea to the shelves of major retailers can feel overwhelming. And once you’re there, success not only requires a viable idea but an alluring brand, scaleable business model and healthy supply chain.
Understandably, we all want the instant product success and the brand recognition of companies such as Herschel, Burt’s Bees and Air BnB. But what does it take for a brand to truly break through in today’s crowded market?
It starts with planning. First, you need to define the purpose and value proposition of your product—at our Vancouver branding agency we ask: What’s your zest-factor? Second, you need to focus on storytelling rather than on selling a product.
It takes more than a great product to pitch the retail buyer. You need to know what you do and why; it’s also important to define what you don’t do.
For your product to stand out, you must have a purpose. And you’ll need to really think deeper on this—it’s a nice sentiment to try and make the world a better place, but ultimately that’s just a vague comment that doesn’t capture attention. Instead, look at your target customers and decide how your products will enhance their lives and solve a problem for them.
Stories are the best way to distinguish yourself from the other brands. Why?Because people always remember a good story. If your brand is going to succeed, it has to become something more than your products. You need to tell stories that touches the hearts of your customers.
Great stories have several key ingredients, here are a few to consider:
Theme
Something important the story tries to tell us. A theme ties the character’s (customers) concerns and passions and it will keep your brand on-point with every decision and communication.
Example: Toms shoes, improving lives.
Plot
A conflict or struggle that the main character (customer) goes through and the sequence of events inside a story. Conflict translates naturally to storytelling in products. People use your product to solve a specific problem or to get a specific job done. What will their experience be from purchase to usage and beyond?
Example: Endy Mattress. By offering home delivery in a compact box, the company takes the stress away from the mattress-buying process and even makes it enjoyable in its un-boxing.
Setting
A place and time that gives a vivid mental picture of the world your characters are in, as such, when you can create a setting that your product lives, it gives people a feeling of stepping into a whole new world with your brand.
Example: Is your brand about; the natural environment, a fun atmosphere, on an adventure in the backcountry, a luxurious evening etc? Once you define this, you can enhance and embellish.
Style and Tone
The language that feels right for your story. A brand’s tone of voice should be distinctive, recognizable and unique. It’s job is to communicate effectively with the customer.
This is one of the first questions I ask my clients. Yet so many times I hear “Everyone. My target is whoever wants to buy my product”.
Knowing your demographic is essential so that we can understand purchase habits, what other brands appeal to them and with whom you might be competing with for their attention on the shelves. Knowing your target market allows us to establish a brand personality and design language that speaks to them.
Research your ideal retailers and list the type of products that they offer. Look for gaps where your product fits and where there are no competing products. Or if there are competing products see where your direct competition sells and how their product is positioned. Are there advertisements, point of purchase displays, or end-caps dedicated to your competitor’s product or brand? If the answer is yes, you might have a harder time out-marketing them, but, does your product offer a different value proposition or go after a different niche?
Obviously you need to do your homework on ingredient/material costs, the cost of your co-packaging or manufacturing costs, any broker or distributor fees, as well as any packaging, design, engineering and freight costs. Beyond that, you need to look at how the brand relates to the price. If you have an $8 box of crackers that will sell at Whole Foods, it should look and feel like an $8 box of crackers in order to appeal to the customers you’d like to target.
A smaller budget and lower retail price doesn’t mean your packaging can’t be well-designed and on-brand—but it’s very important to look you want to achieve with a specific project budget. If your product is purposefully economical, it shouldn’t look like a luxury brand—there would be a disconnect with the customer.
If your product isn’t selling, it won’t be reordered. It’s as simple as that. You need to make sure your product is top of the list for a purchase order. This means understanding their needs and how you can help make their life easier.
Make your best effort to keep stores informed and educated about your product. This means in-store demos, providing helpful marketing materials and even producing in-store displays or coolers that assist with telling your story for you.
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For more help with launching a product, drop us an email!
Here at Zesty Brands, our Vancouver branding agency has a heartfelt passion for uncovering your greatness.
Main Squeeze and creative director, Rachelle Hynes inspires you to push the boundaries and make bold decisions. In her experience, it’s in this uncomfortable territory that extraordinary brands are born and radically better businesses are formed.
Everyone wants to have a memorable brand, but very few carve out a relevant difference in the market. Most businesses focus solely on the design, the look and the marketing—branding is SO much more than that. It’s your story, your personality, your purpose and vision, it’s all the tiny nuances that make you unique. Rachelle finds it frustrating to see many companies waste thousands of dollars playing it safe on “me-too” ideas; they miss the point of working with a strategic branding company.
Being brave means making investment in your brand a priority. Memorable brands possess a laser-focused relentlessness and determination to champion the things they believe in, and make a difference to their lives and the world they live in.
It takes bravery to be unabashedly true to your brand. Courage means breaking away from the kinds of communications that you see from your peers and doing something creatively different. Rachelle believes if you’re not afraid of your business decisions, it probably means the work does not have enough zest! Breaking new ground is scary, but moving towards fear is the only way to realize incredible growth and remarkable success.
Rachelle holds a Design + Illustration degree from Capilano University and her work has achieved accolades from several publications including; DesignEdge Magazine, Thedieline, Kitwatch, Awwwards and Men’s Fitness Magazine.
Rachelle has spent over a decade working with an amplitude of companies such as; Hitcase, Paladin Security, Bean Around the World, Rescue Project and Lucky iron Fish. Rachelle’s multidisciplinary background in graphic design, branding and illustration combined with a fierce love of outdoor adventure inspired her decision to create ZESTY BRANDS—a branding agency that is hyper-focused on helping emerging brands with big plans.
If you’re a startup or small brand looking to breakout, you’ve gotta think about micro-specialization. What do your customers need and how can you narrow your offering down to something you can become known for. If your brand were a cyclist, would you only fight for the yellow jersey when you have the opportunity to change gears and competently grab the polka dot?
This is a question potential customers think about when making purchase decisions. Imagine for example, you crashed your bike and you need surgery on your left shoulder. Are you going to head to the nearest surgeon, or would you rather visit the one who specializes in left-shoulder surgeries?
By concentrating on a niche, you can stand out amongst the competition, give your prospects the confidence to listen to your pitch and seriously consider your offering. Eventually they’ll decide to purchase from you instead of the more generally-focused competitors. The expertise your brand offers makes it the first and often only stop for your customers.
Let’s take a look at the boutique bike brand Franco for example. This sleek and elegant roadbike brand based in SoCal is one I hadn’t heard of until recently, and it begs the question, how can a boutique brand imagine competing against the big brands like Specialized and Giant?
Nevertheless, Franco is gaining traction and popularity. Franco’s strategy? A hyper-focus on customer service. Franco pride’s itself on making no compromises when it comes to personal service, tailored builds and top notch performance. When you order a Franco, everything is custom. Each bike is built from the ground up according to each customer’s specific requests regarding all components, from custom colour to drivetrain, saddle, stem and handlebars.
So rather than buy a bike off the shelf and drop an additional wad of cash on upgrades, with Franco you get the bike exactly the way you want it, out of the box. Plus they’ve dialed their consumer-direct business model so you are knocking out the middle man to save you some moola for maintenance and cafe’ stops.
By narrowing your focus on a niche, you can get you closer to your customers. From this closer vantage point, your brand can become indispensable and a pacesetter for a specific offering.
When your brand can offer a unique product or service to a niche audience, you have the benefit of setting prices to increase profitability. The price reflects the exclusivity of the offering, and there’s no argument because you’re in a position to be sought after for your expertise.
Look for low hanging fruit. What do your customers want that other companies don’t currently offer? Are there common services or products you can put a creative spin on? Some examples could be:
Many small business owners I meet think they need a “logo” for their business and very few understand the nitty gritty of what a brand is, why it’s important and that their financial investment is wasted if they’ve only thought as far as logo.
Branding and healthy business go hand in hand, but for most small business owners it’s hard to implement successfully because they just don’t see how developing a brand can apply to a small business such as a physiotherapist, cafe or veterinary clinic.
Your company name, the way you answer the phone, the clarity and consistency in communication, the vibe in your office or shop, what your customers are saying about you; all of these things create an impression of your company and what it’s like to do business with you—that’s your brand.
The process of branding formalizes how you conduct and present yourself and your business on a day to day basis and it involves creating a set of standards for decision making and communication. The creation of graphics are certainly part of this process, but they have a purpose, which is to signal the reputation you wish to convey.
A logo in its basic form is a distinctive typeface or graphic style used to represent a brand name.
Think if your logo like a suit or outfit you wear. Its purpose is to support your personality, values, character and all of the things that can’t readily be touched or seen. It draws people in to learn more…but as we know, unless there’s more behind a mans good looks, most ladies will keep on walking.
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For more info on how Zesty Brands can help your small business, drop us a note
In an era where brands are increasingly pressured into short-term thinking, careless reactions to trends, features frenzy and non-existent visions, it’s worth considering how mindfulness can help brands filter out the noise and create space for what matters.
Mindfulness encourages more intentional and purposeful action in our personal lives, but it goes for business too. From brand development to design and deciding how and when your brand will communicate, mindfulness can be applied to every area of business. Taking a zen approach to branding offers a space to breathe—to evaluate what’s in front of you and make conscious decisions.
Elegance and simplicity, two of the hardest attributes to accomplish are key to achieving a Zenful brand.
Sometimes catching the best wave is not what makes you successful, it’s what you do on the wave you’re riding that makes the difference.
You can frantically paddle into whatever comes your way, but it’s a waste of energy and resources. To really get the epic payoff you’ve gotta play to your strengths with strategy, patience and poise.
At our Vancouver branding studio we teach brands how to maintain rhythm and purpose, observe the landscape and immerse themselves in the culture, before deciding to drop in.
In today’s crowded market, it’s hard to find ways to stand out from the rest. Although temping to follow other brands into their wave, the world doesn’t need more of the same. If you don’t stand out, you’ll end up drowning in the sea of me-too brands.
Branding is about learning to keep your focus in a state of flux. The proverbial waters of consumerism are unpredictable and changing at all times and in order to rise to the top you must stay true to your vision.
The best brands are simple in both idea and look and they cut through the clutter by delivering a simple and consistent message. When the message is simple, it’s easy for people to understand, share and relate. Achieving simplicity is not easy, but brands who learn to harness its power will find their business just, flows.
Branding deals with the fundamental, not the superficial and it focuses on the root problem, not the symptoms. By understanding and defining the core of your brand, we can bring you closer to your customers and further apart from the competition.
Branding is an effort to reach deep inside your audience and evoke feelings about your company. To do this, you start exploring the center of your company with Why then you move outward through the How and you end up on the outside with What.
Great brands understand risk often leads to reward. Brands who are brave enough to take the wave less traveled, choose a tactic no brand has taken before and develop a purpose that is wholly their own, will have a more competitive presence, a stronger organization and seriously radical brand.
