Services List
We can help you define, engage and connect with your audience. What do you need?
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Best Practice Coaching for In-house Design Team and Juniors
We’re collaborative in the way we work so we’re happy to create templates and guidelines for in- house teams. We’re available to mentor juniors so they understand the branding process and how to adhere to brand guidelines.
Brand Building with Paid Media Campaigns (Adwords, Instagram, etc.)
We have people to plan out your digital marketing campaigns. You can do a lot for your brand with a robust content program and if you are specifically trying to drive sales, you need to have a component of paid media to cut through the algorithms so your customers can find you.
Brand Creation
Whether it’s brand creation or a brand update S Design has excelled in brand identity and brand development since 1994. Our experience shows that a well positioned and designed brand identity system is the solid foundation for successful marketing. We begin with brand strategy and positioning, understanding the customer competitive environment, naming and then work on logo development, look and feel, typographic style, color, voice and tone. Together we audit brand applications and ensure leadership and team alignment. We provide you with a brand style guide, brand guidelines for company-wide use, as well as digital files and guidance for key employees responsible for managing the brand assets. See our Brand Creation Package.
Brand Audit + Brand Equity Program
Through a series of workshops and sprints in cooperation with leadership and internal teams, this program will help your organization understand the gap between where you are and where you want to be in terms of brand equity and goodwill. We’ll provide recommendations for best practices and increasing opportunities available to achieve your communication goals and business objectives. We review existing research, customers and competition. We create a scorecard of both internal and external brand touch points which includes an evaluation and recommendations for best practices and brand alignment.
Brand Maintenance Program
You’ve invested significant resources creating and implementing your brand. It’s imperative that you have a continued focus on building brand equity and impact year after year. By creating a customized brand equity plan, you’re protecting your brand image and reputation from drifting off track due to neglect. We will work with Sales, Marketing and HR to create your quarterly equity plan including monitoring communications and materials that are going out, building templates, and training for in-house marketing staff to ensure your brand remains relevant and consistent in the marketplace. See our Brand Building, Social Media and Digital Marketing.
Brand Rollout Workshops and Implementation
Company-wide buy in, timing and a slew of other details are critical when introducing your new or refreshed brand to your customers and target market. We customize a plan with you that includes messaging and brand assets as you announce changes, introduce new information and alleviate any stakeholder concerns. Each element of our brand roll-outs reflects your brand identity and is rooted in research, strategic thinking and a thorough understanding of customer experience and environment. We work with your team to develop a holistic experience for brand rollouts which could include new or updated websites, logo systems, signage, graphics, ephemera or promotional items, communications plans, media relations, writing, photography, video, graphics, animation and digital marketing.
Brand Standards Guide
Consistency is a vital part in building an enduring brand. S Design creates custom brand guidelines which empower employees to maintain consistency within an organization regardless of changes in personnel. These guidelines help stakeholders to understand both why the standard supports the brand and how to apply standards uniformly for the successful communication of your culture and brand. The brand manual is customized to each business or organization and includes your brand positioning, logotype or trademark and typography standards, photography and illustration styles, primary and secondary color palettes, recommended voice and editorial consistencies. It can be expanded to include specifications for key touchpoints in the customer journey including uniforms, signage and environmental graphics, etc.
Brand Story for Day-to-Day Conversations
A deeper dive into your brand story and messaging. We give you talking points and most important messages that are important for the sales team, HR and marketing.
Brand Strategy and Positioning
The brand strategy process clarifies who you are, your most distinctive attributes, your place in the market, who you need to reach and your target market definition. We design a positioning statement as the basis for designing your identity and the touchpoints along the customer journey.
Brand Variations for Use in Different Channels
Adapt your brand messaging for use in different marketing channels. We’ll take a campaign, figure out the different platforms and usage requirements, and produce the content and graphics. This ensures consistency across all platforms and creates brand impact.
Branded Environments
Interior and exterior spaces bring your brand to life and create delightful customer and employee experiences. Function, color and style provide the foundation for our recommendations.
Business Rebrand
How do you maintain and build brand equity while rebranding your business for the future? Our rebranding process begins with leader and stakeholder interviews, a review of strategic goals, changes in your category and market shifts to ensure that outcomes are innovative and align with the future direction of your business or organization. Our process uncovers the inner workings of a brand and facilitates a conversation about culture and expectations. The insights revealed in this process motivate, re-energize and inspire your stakeholders, update and realign brand positioning, brand story, and provide research for a deeper understanding of customers and audiences, the selection of key attributes (imagery, colors or logotype design), messaging, and, if needed, a name change. See our Business Rebrand Package.
Coaching
It can be helpful to have an expert in your corner to support you in decision making, dealing with issues and opportunities that arise and talking through ideas. Some of our CEO clients refer to this as “brand therapy”.
Copyright/Trademark
We refer our clients to several Intellectual Property Attorneys who provide copyright and trademark services and ensure the highest level of protection for name and brand identity. These comprehensive services include initial research, opinion letters and registration of copyrights and trademarks. We provide the materials you will need to submit.
Creative Services
Our clients benefit from our branding agency expertise in improving customer experience by looking at all touchpoints to build consistency. This includes deliverables such as corporate image, brochures, brand logo with name, copywriting, slogan, tagline, newsletter design, email signatures, website design, direct mail, signage, uniforms, social media design, videos, advertisements and more. (link to case studies). Each new project you have needs to have a purpose, maintain your brand standards and support your marketing plan.
Customer Personas
Deeper dive into your ideal customers. We are going to find out who Jane is, what she cares about, where she shops and what keeps her awake at night. This sets the stage for effective marketing messages and better return on your marketing investment.
Event Brand Creation and Management
From annual conferences and parties to stand-alone, purpose-specific gatherings, the events we have branded and managed have one crucial thing in common: a clearly articulated, strategy-driven approach and a visually memorable look designed to capture your concept, tone and aesthetic in a way that is meaningful to your audience.
Leadership Team Alignment
Market Research
Research helps guide intelligent business and branding decisions. We use a qualitative and quantitative market research approach to understand your customer and competition. Insights help you sleep at night, and can inform customer personas and other tools to support your team. The best decisions are informed ones. We’re skilled in observation and asking the right questions to get the answers you need.
Touchpoint Review
We will conduct an audit of all your touchpoints throughout the customer journey. We’ll identify opportunities to improve customer experience and point out inconsistencies that may be watering down the brand. We will introduce recommendations for best practices to ensure future quality and consistency.
Marketing and Communications Strategy
Improve customer experience and support Human Resources and sales teams. We know that the best outcomes begin with a comprehensive, detailed plan. your plan should align your business goals with purposeful tactics, channels and support materials. Follow-up meetings allow the team to learn and adjust, track progress, identify and remove obstacles and champion success.
Media Relations
Our media approach is to bolster brand awareness with local or national media by developing and connecting your messaging with the journalists who can tell your story to the right audience.
Naming
Development of a creative name that represents the brand well in the market is key to brand recognition. Our process starts with your brand positioning and we present a list of unique brand names. We also have expertise in navigating intellectual property considerations and provide guidance for research and trademark registration with IP attorneys.
Outsourced Creative Support (Extention of Your Team)
Photo and Video Asset Creation
Original photography is always more compelling to the viewer than stock photos. We are strategic about planning, building and the creative direction of your photo library to make the most of your budget and give you a variety of images for different uses (website, social media etc.)
Signage Programs
Some branding projects require updated exterior signage and wayfinding, We have the resources and fabricator partners in place to design and implement signage programs.
Sales, Marketing and HR Support, Strategy and Collateral
Improve the employer brand and support Human Resources with HR branding for hiring, recruiting, on-boarding, and internal communications. Empower sales teams and strengthen the customer experience with marketing and sales collateral materials that are boldly aligned to the brand.
Social Consciousness Programs (Internal or External)
Part of building the brand and internal culture is aligning your organization with social causes that support your purpose. We will work with you to identify options that will be a good fit and expression of your brand.
Social Media Content
Strong social media post design provides greater access to your customers and fans through buyer personas and target market strategy designed to create one-on-one interactions. We study your customer’s behavior, your specific marketing objectives and thoroughly research your market to provide social media audits, strategies for content, implementation, measurements (analytics), graphics and training so you have a monthly plan and your brand stands out.
Social Media Management
Team Swarm
Gather your team for brainstorming to solve a specific problem and create appropriate action steps.
Tagline Development
A tagline enhances the company name by describing more about the product or service you provide.
Using Existing Photo/Video to Curate an Image Library Aligned with Brand
We want to make the best use of the photography you have so we begin by looking at your existing library and then seeing how we need to supplement it depending on the story you want to tell.
Website Design
There are many reasons for a new or redesigned website: updating technology, aligning with a new brand or a copy refresh, change in the company, implementing an updated design or visual, creating a better user experience change in audience etc. We provide full service website redesign including copywriting, photography, design and development.
Workshops to Help Marketing Teams Better Understand the Brand
Customized group trainings to provide professional development for your team. Topics include branding 101, understanding design and print, website training, copywriting, social media implementation, digital and image asset organization, print management, archiving and more.