Bringing new brands to life

Our team in the Devizes studio have enjoyed many creative hours working on both national & international product launches over the last 12 months. Three, in particular, stand out – an international gin, an English sparkling wine and a luxury range of beauty products.

In the very early stages of consumer brand development, creative consideration is given to logo ideas, mood boards, hand-drawn sketches, different shapes of bottles, stoppers, packaging, art, foils, wraps and embossing samples.

Add to this the liaison with suppliers of all types and nationalities to make sure we have all the options in front of us, and the brand slowly starts to come together.

Before this creative stage, however, some essential groundwork will have taken place. This consists of identifying the target audience and figuring out the brand positioning and messaging.

We need to know who the potential customers are – where they live, how old they are, how they behave, where they eat, drink, socialise, what apps they use and any other insightful characteristics that will help us to tap into their needs, desires or aspirations.

With the help of our clients, we diligently investigate what competitive brands are doing, keen to differentiate and find new ground. We aim to push the boundaries so the product will stand out.

From there, we distil this information into a key message that will resonate sufficiently to drive them to want to try the new product, or at least to find out more.

For international products or those that intend to cross borders in future, consideration is given throughout the process to the different local cultures. Launching the gin in Hong Kong at the auspicious time of Chinese New Year, launching the English sparkling wine with plenty of reference to our green English countryside and wildlife, launching the luxury Mediterranean-inspired range of beauty products with all its accents in the right place. These are details that can make or break a brand.

The result we are all after is a strong, unique brand, for a beautifully packaged product, aimed at the right audience, sitting confidently in its marketplace. And, of course, sales.