If you’ve stumbled across this article, it may be because you are planning an upcoming photoshoot for your brand. How exciting! Adding brand colors in your photoshoot can seem like a big task. Let us show you how in this article!
Your Background
Let’s say your brand colors are black, grey, and light blue. You will want your backdrop to be styled in a way that complements those colors. Use mostly neutrals with no other bright colors that will compete with your brand. A white background is always a safe bet if you are unsure.
Your Outfit
While using the brand color selection of black, grey, and light blue, let’s continue talking about what you are going to wear.
Your background matters- so try to think about what your clothes will look like in comparison to your photo’s background.
For example:
If the photos are being shot on a neutral background, you could wear a fun light blue suit as shown below. If your background is light blue, wear a neutral.
Accessories
Your clothes do not always have to be your statement piece. If you want to utilize your pop of color in a fun way, try doing so with jewelry, a coffee mug, or some type of stationary product.
Fun Edits
Do special effects or an overlay with your “pop of color”. This could simply be done with a flat lay photo. Add a transparent overlay with one of you branding colors.
When you think about your company brand, you really want to picture the entire customer experience. From your logo, website, social media, messaging, storefront, and everything in between…what does your brand look like to your customers? Is it consistent and easy to recognize? If not, it’s probably time to rebrand your business.
Your brand has the power to set your company apart from the competition, promote recognition, connect with customers, and create strong business value. However, if your brand isn’t consistent, it can provide a confusing message and ultimately cause your company to fall short of its full potential.
Here at Spectruss, building stronger brands is what we do best!
We worked with The Plastic Surgery Group to rebuild a stronger, more cohesive brand for their company. Through detailed strategic planning, we successfully helped rebrand the company as RefinedLooks Plastic Surgery and Spa. Check out some of our work below!
Behind the Brand
The Plastic Surgery Group, Chattanooga’s first and largest plastic surgery practice, has led the way in plastic, cosmetic, reconstructive, and noninvasive procedures for over 60 years. After a year of working with the Plastic Surgery Group’s new medspa, Refine Aesthetic Studio, our team at Spectruss encountered challenges with operating multiple practices with different names and proposed a strategy to restructure the entire practice.
Rebrand Strategy
Our team began working on a strategy to help rename the practice as one brand to strengthen their identity and better reach their current and future patients. The new brand name, RefinedLooks Plastic Surgery and Spa, was born. The practice’s hand reconstruction and therapy center, Hayes Hand Center, was kept separated from the new name to minimize confusion and preserve its integrity.
New Logos
We designed a brand new logo for RefinedLooks Plastic Surgery and a variation for the Spa using elements that were inspired by the aesthetics of their offices and reminiscent of their past identity. Our team also worked on establishing a more prominent presence at their location by adding new outdoor signage at the exterior skin of their building as well as in the interior.
Website Redesign
A brand new website consolidating the practice into one was also designed, re-imagined and built by our team. The new site highlights the practice’s doctors, team and features a newly organized structure of their procedures and new services that lacked prominence from their previous site.
E-Commerce Store Revamp
RefinedLooks previously had two separate websites with two different e-commerce stores offering the same products. This not only spread their marketing efforts thin but also created inconsistent branding and an inefficient business process for the practice. By eliminating one of the two e-commerce sites, our team helped funnel all marketing promotions into one site to better track, process customer orders, and improve overall efficiency.
Videography
Our team also extended our videography services to RefinedLooks to bring their practice to light for current and potential clients. This brought a better understanding of all the procedures and services that are being offered at the practice.
Consistent Branding
From a brand new identity to print and web materials, we ensured the new branding was prominent and consistent across all marketing materials. By rebranding the Plastic Surgery Group and Refine Aesthetic Studio to RefinedLooks Plastic Surgery and Spa, our team helped strengthen the practice’s aesthetic brand, improve marketing strategies, and set up the practice for exponential growth opportunities.
Rebranding is an opportunity to revitalize a business, inspire consumers, and stimulate company growth. While many may think of a rebrand as simply updating a logo or picking new colors, it is so much more than that. The true power of rebranding is fueled by a carefully planned brand strategy. Keep reading for our secrets to successful rebranding.
A rebrand can be the best thing to ever happen to a business…or it can be the worst. The key is to be true to your company’s identity and make it about better serving and reaching your customers. A successful rebrand needs to tell a story of who you are and who you have become as a company.
Behind the Rebrand
After a year of working with our client, The Furniture Shoppe and The Patio Shop, our team at Spectruss encountered multiple challenges in operating a single store with two names. We wanted to consolidate and strengthen the brand as one to eliminate confusion from a consumer’s point of view.
We began working on a strategy to rebrand the company back to its original roots as one store, Fowler Brothers Company. Our team dove deep into the company’s rich history of 135 years to form a precise brand strategy from start to finish including a new logo, website redesign, and storefront remodel.
Logo Redesign
We wanted to create a fresh, modernized look while also using elements of the original company logo (top right picture).
Paying respect to the history of the family-owned business, we designed a new logo that reflects the vision of the founders that long-time patrons would also recognize.
Storefront Remodel
One of the challenges that Fowler Brothers faced was the physical store’s lack of presence at its own campus. Our goal was to unify the store as one showroom for both home furnishings and patio furniture. We began reimagining the exterior design of the campus to create an eye-catching storefront that passersby wouldn’t miss.
We worked very closely with the president and owner of Fowler Brothers Company, Carter Fowler, with choosing every detail for the remodeling project from interior finishes to price tag designs, and everything their name would be on.
Before:
After:
New Digital Presence
Launching a seamless rebrand across all channels was crucial to the success of the new Fowler Brothers Co. Home and Patio brand.
Our team gave Fowler Brothers Co. a new digital experience by developing a new website, an e-commerce store, and a unified social media account. This resulted in one simple way of identifying the brand through all online platforms.
The new website also features an interactive style questionnaire which allows customers to select their ideal style choices and rooms they wish to furnish for a customized interior design recommendation. This was a great way to highlight the store’s interior design services as well as give a personalized feel for website visitors.
Rebrand Success
Our goal of giving Fowler Brothers Co. Home and Patio “One name, One store, One company”, has been a total success and one of the most exciting projects we’ve been a part of. Our team at Spectruss was proud to receive a Silver ADDY from the 2021 American Advertising Awards for our work on the rebranding project.
Brand-driven storytelling is the art of using a cohesive narrative to connect your brand with customers. The key to successful brand storytelling is to clearly communicate your brands’ core values in a way that resonates with consumers.
A recent study found that 55% of people consider buying a brand if they love their brand story. Of those people, 44% will share that story with others, and 15% will immediately purchase the product.
It appeals to consumer’s emotions
It is scientifically proven that human emotions are impacted by stories. Our emotions play a significant role in our daily lives, which also affects our buying decisions. When your brand tells a great story, you are speaking to the underlying reasons why a consumer might buy your product or service. A successful brand story goes well beyond just talking about the product, it’s about making a connection with your audience.
It humanizes your brand
In a heavily digital world, the human element can sometimes get lost behind a brand. Think about the emotions, values, and ideas your company offers to consumers and incorporate those elements into your brand story. A great brand story is always authentic and knows how to relate to consumers on a personal level. When consumers see that your company is made up of real people, it helps to build trust and customer loyalty.
It makes your brand unforgettable
Your brand story can give your company a unique edge and stand out in the crowded marketplace. With so much competition in the digital space, it can be very difficult for brands to stand out. It’s not enough to have a good product or service, you need to have a story that sets your brand above the rest.
Studies have found that storytelling will not only increase your brand favorability to your audience, it can also be up to 22x more memorable than facts. So rather than just sharing facts about your product, tell a story that clearly communicates your company values.
Using storytelling to get to $1 billion
The Dollar Shave Club exploded into the retail market with the launch of a hilarious video that creatively told their brand story with a direct aim at one of the biggest razor blade providers in the world- Gillette. This startup company tapped into a 30 billion dollar industry with Gillette owning about 70% of it. In March 2012, this video was released and went instantly viral – getting more than 12,000 orders in the first 48 hours. Just five years later in 2016, the Dollar Shave Club was purchased for $1 billion.
The Dollar Shave Club brand story was ingenious because it not only built a brand that inspired customer loyalty but it also simultaneously disrupted the brand story of a massive company. The Dollar Shave Club proved that brand storytelling isn’t about the massive budget, it’s about the strategic brand narrative – one that communicates a meaningful message that immediately resonates with consumers.
Millions around the world are saddened by the recent passing of rock n roll legend, Eddie Van Halen. Over the years, the Van Halen band has achieved worldwide album sales of over $96 million with all but one of its albums hitting Number Six or better on the charts. Outstanding success by any means.
Van Halen was more than a band; it was a BRAND. One that offered constant quality, volume, excitement, and attitude. Eddie Van Halen showed us what it takes to build a lasting brand, and many businesses today can learn from his example.
Brand Consistency
To have consistent branding, a business must hold true to its core values, vision and principles. Branding that stays consistent even when a company undergoes change, shows consumers who you are and what you stand for. Consistency results in a brand that people will trust and loyally follow.
Even with three different lead singers, Van Halen created a distinctive sound and brand consistency over the years. With his dedicated leadership as CEO, Eddie Van Halen acted consistently on decisions and maintained control from behind the guitar. Eddie Van Halen grew his brand and fan base by showing consistency and staying true to the original vision of the Van Halen band. Van Halen was always about the music and never wavered from producing awesome rock n roll.
Brand Evolution
It is essential that your brand has the ability to evolve and take risks to stay relevant. Testing organizational limits is part of understanding your brand’s full potential. Van Halen had three different lead singers over the years which proved the band’s ability to evolve and continue to grow a loyal fan base. While replacing the iconic lead singer David Roth with Sammy Hagar was a risk for the band, Van Halen music continued to soar high on the US charts (all four of Van Hagar Albums hit #1).
In 2009, Van Halen was able to capture an entirely new audience with the release of Guitar Hero’s: Van Halen. Now that teenagers thought listening to Van Halen was cool, it opened a whole new landscape for the band. This new fan base purchased music, tickets, merchandise, and helped Van Halen reach a whole new generation of fans.
Brand Quality
Consumers expect the quality of a product to align consistently with your brand. Eddie Van Halen poured his life’s experience and expertise as a guitarist into designing a product that would line up with the quality of rock music that Van Halen was known for.
The Wolfgang guitar design and development process took over two years of trial and error research. This intense process included multiple prototypes that went through a full year of hardcore, in-concert testing by Eddie Van Halen during his 2007-2008 world tour. The final product of the Wolfgang guitar revealed a first-class instrument with outstanding durability and quality.
When asked about the Wolfgang guitar, Eddie Van Halen stated, “It’s not a fad, it’s 35-40 years of my knowledge of what makes a sweet, sexy, toning, quality, indestructible instrument.”
Eddie Van Halen will always be remembered as an amazing guitarist with a memorable brand.
Every business has its own unique mission, brand voice, and goals. Knowing how your business differentiates from competitors is an important step, but knowing how to clearly communicate that to your consumers is what really sets your business apart. Successful businesses must not only build a strong brand, but they must also take a cohesive approach to their branding.
What is cohesive branding?
Cohesive branding is showing consistency in your brand across all platforms to ensure that your business is immediately recognizable to consumers. Your audience may encounter your brand in various places such as your website, social media channels, landing page, digital ads, commercials, brochures, etc. To resonate with consumers, a strong brand must keep the same tone of voice, colors, graphics, and fonts consistent across all marketing platforms and materials.
Why a cohesive brand strategy matters
Makes a positive first impression
Creates a memorable brand
Increases trust in your brand
Builds brand recognition
Increases conversions and sales
Building a cohesive brand marketing strategy is crucial in a competitive marketplace. If a business fails to communicate consistent branding to its audience, you could leave prospects feeling confused with who you are and what you do. Strong, consistent branding builds recognition, trust, and credibility for your business.
Everything you need under one roof
If you are looking to build and strengthen your brand the right way, partnering with Spectruss could be exactly what your business needs!
Spectruss is a full-service, all in-house marketing agency with over 10 years of experience working with numerous brands and businesses in various industries. We are a team of specialized individuals whose mission is to create stronger, more cohesive brands for businesses.
As a full-service, all in-house agency, we offer everything your business needs for branding, marketing, promotions, and advertising under one umbrella. This not only keeps your brand consistent, but it also saves your business both time and money.
Capabilities:
We tailor our services and packages specifically for each business based on their unique needs and goals!
Strengthening your brand during COVID-19
Creating a cohesive brand that consumers trust is crucial to the success of a business, especially during uncertain times. Through strategic brand marketing strategies, we helped our client, RefinedLooks, continue to grow during the global pandemic. In four months during COVID-19, we increased the number of consultations and booked appointments by 90.2%!
If you’d like to learn more about how Spectruss can help strengthen your brand, give us shout! We’d love to talk with you.
In this podcast special, Sam Silvey chats with CEO of Chattanooga Whiskey, Tim Piersant, about all things regarding brand authenticity and strategy, overcoming obstacles, the effects of COVID-19, and other important topics. Tim shares the inspiring story of Chattanooga Whiskey and its 10-year journey of establishing its brand in the marketplace.
Listen now to understand more about how Founder and CEO of Chattanooga Whiskey triumphs through adversity as his company turns global.
How it Began
In 2011, Chattanooga Whiskey was founded by Tim Piersant and his partner, Joe Ledbetter, two friends with a vision to reform the ban on distilleries in Chattanooga, TN. Before 2013, it was illegal to distill whiskey in Hamilton Country due to the decades-old prohibition laws. With a mission to bring back “Whiskey to the People”, they set out to overturn those laws and began the Vote Whiskey campaign. Utilizing a broad marketing strategy centered around empowering the Chattanooga community, the successful Vote Whiskey campaign gained huge traction across the city. In May of 2013, the laws were overturned. Not only did the Vote Whiskey campaign open the doors for Chattanooga Whiskey, but it also created significant economic opportunity for all of Chattanooga, TN.
Following this milestone, Chattanooga Whiskey became the first distillery in the Chattanooga area in over 100 years. In 2015, they began the process of crafting their own unique bourbon whiskey recipe. After four years and over one-hundred recipe variations, Chattanooga Whiskey perfected and released the first ever Tennessee High Malt, a local whiskey that celebrates Chattanooga’s rich distilling history.
Brand Authenticity
Over the past two decades, white labeling in the spirits industry has become so common that finding a truly authentic brand with a real story is very rare. With the momentum and name recognition that came from the Vote Whiskey campaign, keeping the same white label product would have been an easy solution for Chattanooga Whiskey (the product was already doing well in several states), but that was not the Chattanooga Whiskey way. They were born to be trailblazers, so instead, they decided to be true to themselves and create a completely unique and entirely new bourbon recipe – the Tennessee High Malt. Although creating a new product was a significant risk, it was a risk they were willing to take to be an authentic brand.
In the video, Tim Peirsant shares the story of Chattanooga Whiskey’s recent launch in Kentucky and how it was received in the market. Kentucky consumers are known for their appreciation of bourbon, so it was important that Chattanooga Whiskey stood out as a unique brand. By sharing their authentic story of how Chattanooga Whiskey created the only Tennessee High Malt, it gave them a better chance to succeed in a market like Kentucky. Chattanooga Whiskey is a progressive brand because they not only have a true authentic story, but they also deeply believe that their flavor is unique, better, and different.
Brand Strategy
Tim explains that markets operate very differently in the spirits industry – some are independently driven while others are chain driven. This is important to take into consideration when building relationships, utilizing marketing resources, and implementing marketing tactics. An important strategy for Chattanooga Whiskey is to invest heavily in consumer education. Rather than using a “Spray and Play” tactic which would spread them far too thin, Chattanooga Whiskey has taken a more focused approach to share their story and build relationships the right way.
Even though naming a brand after a community can be limiting, Chattanooga Whiskey has gained major brand recognition across the United States. They are the only real branded Chattanooga product that is available in a third of the country. Chattanooga Whiskey is already available in nine different states and will soon be in twelve.
COVID-19 Challenges
Although whiskey is somewhat of a “recession-proof” product, the industry has faced some very difficult challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic. Big whiskey brands produce and sell approximately 80% of consumed alcohol. Although craft distillers only make up for a small fraction of sales, they are a huge economic and market driver. Tourism and social activity are major factors for the local spirits industry as they grow and build their brand. With COVID-19 causing the shutdown in the hospitality industry, distillers across the nation are suffering. A recent study found that 60% of craft distillers were doubtful that they would survive in the next one to two months.
Chattanooga Whiskey has been fortunate during these unprecedented times due to its growth, price point, and amount of time they have been in the industry. Because Chattanooga Whiskey is a retail-centric brand, they have been able to weather the storm and continue to grow. Chattanooga Whiskey has seen a 62% increase in sales compared to last year, whereas 42% of distillers are going out of business.
In a fast paced, digitally-run world, it is becoming increasingly harder to grab the attention of consumers. If brands want to stand out in this highly competitive market, they must get creative with their messaging and their marketing strategies. Customers are looking for authenticity in a brand and one of the best ways to establish this is with user-generated content (UGC).
UGC is content related to a certain brand that is voluntarily produced by individuals with the potential to drive conversation and build engagement. If a customer has a great experience with your brand, they are inclined to share that experience with their peers. Word-of-mouth referrals are extremely profitable for businesses because it provides authentic information from previous customers, boosting brand credibility and recognition.
The power of user-generated content has proved to be so beneficial that brands are integrating this into their marketing campaigns.
Share a Coke With…
When Coca Cola launched its “Share a Coke” campaign, people went crazy over the personalized bottles. Coca Cola changed its traditional label to “Share a Coke with” followed by a name. This multi-national campaign, which used 250 of the country’s most popular names, aimed to have people find a coke bottle with their name on it and then share it with friends.
To keep the hype going, Coca Cola asked customers to share pictures of themselves enjoying a coke with their personalized bottles on social media. This lead to massive amounts of user generated content, raising awareness and increasing user engagement with the brand. This massively successful campaign resulted in Coca Cola’s customers stepping into the role of advertiser.
The Royal Wedding
We all remember the highly anticipated royal wedding of American TV star Meghan Markle and Prince Harry of England in 2018. The lavish royal weddings of the past have always been real affairs, but this time, things were a little different.
Along with sending traditional reporters, the BBC news channel also sent 50 people from the general public to watch the wedding and share their experiences on social media. This built a connection with the public by providing them with a way to view the wedding through the eyes of every day people.
The individual stories shared from these 50 viewers were a form of user-generated content. The BBC news used this strategy as a way to attract more viewers and engagement from the public.
People trust the opinions of peers which is why it is so important for brands to incorporate UGC. The more trust and transparency a brand can establish with its customers, the stronger the brand will become.
Every company starts off with just an idea. Imagine an idea that can be brought to life surpassing your wildest dreams. That’s how Spectruss treats every design project. We are passionate about creating beautiful designs that proudly reveal your brand to the world!
Our in-house creative director, Justin Aragon, has a Bachelors degree in Architecture from the University of Tennessee. His background in architecture has helped shape his career as a designer. Our creative director says, “My architectural training and knowledge of the classics have helped me identify and incorporate the qualities of timeless design to every project.”
Our design team keeps your brand cutting edge, memorable, and consistent across all mediums. From classic, to modern, graphic heavy, to a more minimalistic approach, the Spectruss design team works in every style to ensure a brand aligns with your company. Whether you’re needing a logo, graphic work, branding voice, web design, or all the above, the creative minds at Spectruss can’t wait to take your idea and turn it into a beautiful, timeless brand.
Here’s just a few of the designs we’ve created. Love what you see? Let’s talk!
Check out some helpful tips for better business branding online. While some may seem more intuitive than others, remembering and refreshing on helpful tips could spark a new idea!
Create a Visual
People like to look at visuals over long bodies of text. Create visuals for your business to get people attention online with eye-catching colors, a logo, interesting photography, etc. When on social media platforms, pictures carry much farther than text and can get to a wider reach of people. Make sure to not only set up pictures for your business but to regularly update them with new visuals to keep people interested. As time goes on, people may get concerned if the visual content has not been updated over time and wonder if you’re still open.
Be on Social Media
Why for some people social media is second nature, for others it is not. If you haven’t joined a few social media channels for your business, consider starting that today! Social media is a great way to let people know about your business without even asking you any questions over the phone or stepping into your store/office. The top platforms to start on are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Consistency
If you decided to start sending out weekly emails, monthly parties, daily blogs, etc., keep it consistent. Try your best to keep up a maintainable schedule of consistency in what you do. While this can be helpful for yourself, in that it keeps new content and events coming regularly, it can also keep others thinking about your business. If they come to expect to see new content from you every week, they are thinking about you every week.
Don’t Please Everyone
It can be extremely tough to please everyone online. Some people are unpleasable. This is something you must remember. With social media being a way that people can voice their opinion without showing their face, this has led some people to be completely unpleasable. Handel situations calmly if there is a problem. Remember the type of voice you want your company to have and use it. If a comment or rating is upsetting, see if there is a way to resolve it without changing a positive persona.
Reach out to your Community
Consider ways you can stand out in your community. Join in local events in your city or post regular helpful tips on the web, there are many ways to get involved. Look for ways for people to keep you in their thoughts. When you reach out to your community, your reach out to all their friends and family who could also be potential customers in the future.
Be Trendy
Consider if your company actions are too dated for the present face of your brand. Is it time to switch to email questions over phone calls? Could people get digital, paperless coupons over physical ones? While every company is different, it might be time to look at what the kids are doing these days and see if you can jump into some of the latest trends.
Know who your Selling To
If your customer base is mainly people in their 50’s and 60’s, you may not be needing to create content for teenagers and young adults. Find out who your target audience is and what their trends are. While teens might be more likely to get online at noon during school lunch, an adult may not be online to see your new content till 6:30 after a long work day.
Share Information and Knowledge
Keeping the business secret recipe can keep you above your competition, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help with some of the small things. Use your knowledge and share tips and advice among the community to show just how much you know and why people should be interested. This can help make you look more reputable and knowledgeable.
