Brand Building 101: How to build a brand from scratch

Brand Building 101mucca @ WIX MEETUP

About Mucca

muccais an award-winning branding firm based in New York City. We strongly believe in the balance of strategy and design, both of which are essential to creating relevant, authentic brands.

Mucca has worked with a wide range of clients, including global & international brands such as Barnes & Noble, Kartell, Rizzoli, Target, Victoria’s Secret and Waterworks.

come from a wide range of industries and sizes, including such international brands as Barnes & Noble, Kartell, Rizzoli, Target, Victoria’s Secret and Waterworks.

Our clients

Balthazar Target Random House André Balazs New York Magazine Sant Ambroeus SSG Food Market Domaine de Canton Brooklyn Fare Rizzoli Harper Collins Keith McNally Butterfield Market Kartell Morandi Waterworks Casa Lever Victoria’s Secret Gracious Home Adobe Matta Barnes & Noble Grand Central Publishing Gagosian Gallery Presidio Social Club The Chelsea Pravda Wired Magazine Parc MenuPages Schiller’s Liquor Bar Patina Restaurant Group Gracious Home Vanity Fair Runa GQ Roman and Williams The New York Times GQ Steve Martin

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Local BrandsLocal Brands

BalthazarBalthazar

Gracious Home

Victoria’s Secret

MenuPages

How do you build a brand?

Forget about

the logo!

“A brand is the essence of one’s own unique story. This is as true for personal branding as it is for business branding. The key, though, is reaching down and pulling out the authentic, unique you. Otherwise, your brand will be just a façade.”

- PAUL BIEDERMANN

That’s why we start withBrand Design Strategy.

A Brand Design Strategy informs, plans for, and guides a brand’s development.

Starting with Research & Discovery, we develop a deep understanding of a brand’s:

• unique value proposition benefit of a product or experience



• industry trends in customer service, technology, media, etc.




• target audiences demographic research, customer surveys, etc.




• target audiences demographic research, customer surveys, etc.

• competitors competitive analysis, perceptual mapping, etc.

This strategy results in aBrand Positioning Statement.

A Brand Positioning Statement is our North Star. It captures a brand’s:

• core o!erings

• core o!erings

• personality traits, values, and narrative


• core o!erings

• personality traits, values, and narrative

• verbal communication style & distinct messaging


When we understand the brand intellectually, we can begin to express it visually and verbally.

BPS

VISUAL LANGUAGE VERBAL LANGUAGE

M A N H A T T A N

B R O O K LY N

Case Study

Grocery StoreName TBD

The Brief

BC Food Corp, a lone real estate developer, wanted to

open a gourmet grocery in Brooklyn’s emerging Downtown neighborhood.

Brand StrategyResearch & Discovery

Findings

Findings• Shifting demographics A mix of longtime locals and new residents of upscale condos.


• Economic growth $9 billion in new investments in the local economy, including new residential & commercial units (Barclay’s Center, high rises, etc).


• Economic growth $9 billion in new investments in the local economy, including new residential & commercial units (Barclay’s Center, high rises, etc).

• Increasing competition These developments attracted Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s,

in addition to other national brands.

The Competition• Fairway• Fresh Direct• Garden of Eden• Key Foods• Pathmark• Peas and Pickles• Greene Grape Provisions

• Trader Joe’s• Union Market• Sahadi’s• Perelandra• Whole Foods (projected)• And many local bodegas

8BC Food Corp. Competative Markets 10.08.2008 Mucca Design

QUALITY (high)

QUALITY (low)

PRICE (high)PRICE (low)

BC Food Corp

PerceptualMapping

9BC Food Corp. Competative Markets 10.08.2008 Mucca Design

SERVICE (high)

SERVICE (low)

SELECTION (high)SELECTION (low)

BC Food Corp

PerceptualMapping

Audience Findings

Audience Findings• Diverse customer base (blue- and white-collar workers,

and residents of upscale condos and brownstones)



• Across-the-board Brooklyn pride




• A!ection for local bodegas




• A!ection for local bodegas

• Appreciation for the colloquial customer service found

at corner shops

Opportunities

Opportunities• Take advantage of the dramatic revitalization underway

in downtown Brooklyn.



• Create an authentic Brooklyn shopping experience,

while still providing a one-stop shop for easy shopping.



• Create an authentic Brooklyn shopping experience,

while still providing a one-stop shop for easy shopping.

• Establish strong early foothold against national

competitors to jumpstart the market’s brand value.

Brand StrategyBrand Positioning

Statement

[TBD] proudly serves the Brooklyn community, meeting a diverse range of customers’ culinary needs, from the everyday to the extraordinary, with a broad selection of reasonably priced fresh, packaged, and prepared foods, household and convenience items, and a level of personal service usually associated with neighborhood shopkeepers.

Statement 1

[TBD] proudly serves the Brooklyn community, meeting the daily needs of a diverse range of sophisticated modern food shoppers with a broad selection of fresh, packaged, and prepared foods, household and specialty items, and personal service on a par with the city’s most esteemed culinary destinations.

Statement 2

Authentically Brooklyn

[TBD] proudly serves the Brooklyn community, meeting a diverse range of customers’ culinary needs, from the everyday to the extraordinary, with a broad selection of reasonably priced fresh, packaged, and prepared foods, household and convenience items, and a level of personal service usually associated with neighborhood shopkeepers.

Final

Brand DevelopmentNaming

Cornerstone Marketsolid, reliable, historical


Hoyt Merchantlocal, historical, personable



718 Merchanturban, modern, authentically Brooklyn




Brooklyn Bon Vivantjoyful, worldly, sophisticated





The Corner Shoplocal, friendly, informal






Brooklyn Purveyorsreliable, resourceful, historical







Del Issatimeless, ownable, referential


Brooklyn Farelocal, plentiful, traditional






Del Issatimeless, ownable, referential

We have a strong Brand Positioning Statement and a pitch-perfect name.

So where do we start?

Brooklyn Fare

In this case,

Window Signage

With renovations of the interior space underway, our client needed to cover all 13 of his storefront’s windows.

With renovations of the interior space underway, our client needed to cover all 13 of his storefront’s windows.

We saw this as a golden opportunity to get people excited about Brooklyn Fare —and get some early feedback from our target audience in the process.

Passers-by could subscribe for updates by visiting brooklynfare.com.

Delivery ServiceWe make house calls.(deliveries that save you time and prevent back strain)

Catering ServiceBe a guest at your own party.(restaurant-caliber catering for homes and o"ces)

Chocolate SelectionFeeling bittersweet?(specialty chocolates you’ll want to keep for yourself)

The response was overwhelmingly positive. Over 3,000 Brooklynites subscribed for updates within the first week alone.

We were on to something...

Call it Serendipity

Concept DevelopmentLook & Feel

Brand DevelopmentBrand Identity

Since we determined that copy was at the core of the brand, we realized this voice needed its own unique typeface.

Custom Typeface

Logotype

Color Palette

Poster Concept

Bringing personal service to the web: customers can email department experts for advice, recipes, or just to say hello.

Bringing personal service to the web: customers can email department experts for advice, recipes, or just to say hello.

The Results

Letterhead

What have we learned?

Takeaways• A brand is not just a logo.


• No BS. Authenticity above all.



• Test your assumptions.




• Always lead with strategy (but please be obsessed with design).




• Always lead with strategy (but please be obsessed with design).

• Have fun!

Thank you!

Roberta Ronsivalle, Managing Partner

@muccadesign

Business

Brand Building 101: How to build a brand from scratch