Small business marketing case study
BAMBOOLOO
How KEXINO helped this eCommerce business grow from startup to acquisition in less than 2 years
The Brief
BAMBOOLOO is an online retailer of luxury, environmentally-sustainable toilet paper. They came to us looking for help in building a strong and differentiated brand, supporting collateral, and webstore.
AUDIT / REVIEW
Our first task was to review BAMBOOLOO's existing position – sales and marketing collateral, corporate ID, and so forth. We felt the company’s logo, sourced from one of those “$99 logo creation” websites, had a number of issues.
Primarily, the old logo was too visually complex. The icon and wordmark featured subtle color gradients and intricate detail. When printed at a large size you could get that it was an illustration of some bamboo branches. But when the logo was reproduced at smaller sizes (such as on a website, brochure, or business card) the meaning was lost.
What was needed was a logo and supporting assets that were visually-arresting, better conveying the philosophy and reasoning for the brand's existence. Also, something that could form the basis of a visual communication ‘language’ that was clearly aligned to the company, its values, and its brand promise.
BRANDING
At its most fundamental level, a company’s brand is the narrative that describes it, and the reason that it exists at all.
It’s about being brave enough to say “This is who we are, this is why we exist, and this is why we do the things we do.” Unless you’re prepared to do that, you’re going to be ignored.
The building of a brand should begin from the very outset of the creation of the company – before tangibles such as logos, corporate IDs, and suchlike. Brand building is essentially a reflection of the way the company is run, and the values the company is run with.
Over the course of a number of interviews, we crafted a branding guidelines environment that takes the basic brand narrative and codifies it into a set of beliefs and decision-making framework.
Once you have a clear idea on who you are, you have a better handle on communicating who you’re not.
> NEXT: CORPORATE ID
CORPORATE ID & LOGO DEVELOPMENT
We spent a long time learning more about the company. Not just what it was selling, but the reasons why the company was created in the first place. Its purpose, values, and aspirations. The condition it wants to leave the world around it.
We then researched the market and the competition. It was crucial that the BAMBOOLOO brand had a clear and distinct brand articulation and value promise that was seen to be different, and ‘stood out’ from other businesses selling into this market space.
We floated a few different visual idea directions to the client. The clear favorite was a treatment with an earthy, indigenous feel.
Extending the basic visual premise created by the logo and wordmark, we created iconography and commissioned photography that could be used for various other supporting branding roles – such as packaging, point-of-sale, and online communication.
> NEXT: VIDEO PRODUCTION
BRAND VIDEO PRODUCTION
To help launch the BAMBOOLOO brand and more effectively communicate the values it stands for, we produced a short “mood film” to articulate the brand proposition in under 90 seconds.
A mood film – also sometimes called a mood reel – isn’t an ad to help sell a product or service. Instead, it’s a way to help convey message, feeling, and sensibility. Maybe you’re familiar with a mood board? Well, a mood film is very similar.
> NEXT: WEBSITE DESIGN
ECOMMERCE WEBSITE DESIGN
Once we’d created the logo, product packaging, sales collateral, and associated visual assets, we set about designing the website and online store.
For reasons of both expediency and budget, we advised the client to host the site on Shopify. The Shopify platform allows the creation of an eCommerce website, with all this implies (inventory management, secure online payments, etc.) quickly and cost effectively. The main downside is that, creatively, there are some restrictions in terms of design.
Working with the client we art-directed the photography, developed copywriting and imagery, and SEO-optimized each page according to previously-conducted research into competitive sites, search term popularity, and keyword use for both organic and ad-driven terms.
"Choosing KEXINO was hands-down the best decision I've made. Gee and his team are absolutely amazing!
They exceeded my expectations in every way. I was guided through the brand-building process with patience, and Gee's intelligent insights helped me to gain more clarity about my business - something I didn't expect.
From the logo to the launch of the website and everything else in between, I have been awed by the KEXINO team's talent and ability to deliver exactly what I need - and then some."
BAMBOOLOO
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