Blackcoffee. A Brand Agency - WHA T'S ST ANDING BETWEEN YOU AND THOSE PREMIU M CU STOMER S YOU CRAVE - Black Coffee Studio.
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Blackcoffee.
A Brand Agency.
W H AT ' S S TA NDI NG BE T W E E N YOU AN D
T H O S E P RE M I UM CUS TO M E RS YO U C RAV E.
A Luxury Blend
Selecting roasting and brewing coffee beans is an art.
A tradition we borrow from when we work to define,
articulate and craft the perfect brand.
We spend our days tweaking, blending, creating and testing
until a brand comes to life to tell a story … perfectly. And
often the adventure starts with a conversation and a great
cup of coffee.
So take a moment, brew a cup of your favourite blend. And
then fueled by the power of caffeine and desire to build a
better business, get down to work.
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 2
Nice to meet you.
I’m Shannon Larkins,
The brand barista over here at
Blackcoffee Studio.
Over the course of 15+ years, I’ve grown Blackcoffee Studio out of
this love for brand. Brand when done right is magic that compells
buyers to become evangelists. But too often brand is misunderstood
and sloppily done. That’s what happens when strategic plans gather
dust while the creatives fuss about pretty pictures, creating
something wholly unaligned with the original vision.
At Blackcoffee we carefully choreograph each step from
strategy through creative execution ensuring the magic happens.
Nice to meet you.
BE SO GOOD THEY
CAN’T IGNORE YOU
STEVE MARTIN
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 3
Get ready to roll out the red carpet
for your premium customers.
Why?
Because that red carpet is the
difference between having a
business or a brand.
Plenty of businesses offer a premium
product or service...but they’re not brands. HAVIN G A BRA N D MEANS
HAVIN G PERMIS S ION TO
A business provides a service. Money CHARGE WH AT
changes hands. The transaction’s over. YO U’RE WO RTH.
A brand provides an experience, rolling out
the red carpet for anyone with the moxie to A brand means demand, profits, and
show up. customer loyalty go up.
And that’s just the beginning. From that The only thing going down is your name, in
first encounter with a brand - no matter history
how brief - you sense it. Everything feels
deliberate, thoughtful, intentional.
People know a brand experience is more
valuable. They’re eager to pay for it
- because you’ve assured them you are the
best.
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 4
Brainstorm
Step One
Use this space, a white board, or your favourite
notebook to brainstorm your brand. Write
down every step of your customer
interactions from marketing materials and
website, to your sales and onboarding
process, client meetings and final good-byes.
When developing a brand, or transitioning
from a business to a brand, it’s important to
look at each point of your business and
ensure it’s operating at the optimum level
of quality and service.
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 5Brand Development When developing a brand, or transitioning
Step Two
from a business to a brand, it’s important to
look at each point of your business and
ensure it’s operating at the optimum level
of quality and service.
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 6To start developing your brand, ask
yourself these questions:
1. Is my product or service offering How can I improve?
the highest quality it can be?
Yes
No
2. Is my customer service at How can I improve?
the highest level it can be?
Yes
No
3. Is the experience I offer my customers How can I improve?
at the same exceptional level as my
product and services?
Yes
No
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 74. Do I have a vision and supporting values for my business that speak to a
higher purpose?
Note: Aligning business goals with a vision and values helps you attract clients who share these
values, and those are the clients you want to attract.
My vision for my business is:
My values that support this vision are:
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 8A brand strategy is critical to business
success. It provides a clear vision of what your
brand stands for, its competitive advantage
and the experience you want to create for
your clients.
Brand Strategy Your brand strategy becomes the master
Step Three
campaign plan directing your next steps from
visual identity and logo through website
design, social media and every step of the
customer experience.
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 9Articulate your brand strategy using using the three metrics identified below. Refer to the Brand Alignment chart on page 11 to help you work through your strategies. Esteem (How is your brand regarded?) Relevance (How do you meet your client’s needs?) Differentiation (How will you stand out from the competition?) Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 10
Brand Alignment
Brand
Knowledge Strength
How well known are you? BRA ND STRENGTH = DI FFERENT IAT ION + R E LEVANCE
Brand success starts with a point of differentiation. And while standing out and
being unique is critical, overall brand strength cannot be determined until you factor
in relevance.
ESTEEM
How are you regarded? A brand that's different without being relevant has no value. Similarly, a brand can be
relevant but not stand out.
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com
DIFFERENTIATION
What makes your company, product or service unique? Brand
Stature
RELEVANCE BRA ND STATU R E = ESTEEM + KNOWLEDG E
How do you meet your client's or customer's needs?
Equally important to the strength of the brand is the stature. Is it held in high regard
and is it widely known?
A brand is most threatened if the esteem pillar is weak. While a brand can overcome
Brand Promise a lack of recognition (knowledge) through a strong engagement campaign,
A tangible benefit that makes your product or service desirable. overcoming a bad reputation is much more difficult. In the first case, the brand is in
perfect position to convince consumers to get to know it better. In the second, too
much knowledge is a dangerous thing. Clients might say “I know about you and I
don’t like what I know.”
11State your brand promise. Through your brand and the strategy you develop you are promising your prospective clients a premium experience in exchange for a premium price tag. It’s important to understand what you are promising so you can work hard to keep that promise in the days, months and years ahead. My brand promise is: Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 12
To be a premium brand you must
communicate through words and visuals
with a clear commitment to premium
Brand Creative aesthetics. Strong aesthetics connect
Step Four
emotionally and all people value emotion
over information.
Sadly businesses most often struggle
because they fail to represent the amazing
Strategy and creative work together to
perfectly articulate your brand so the right services or products they offer. Your brand
people can see you, hear you and want to aesthetic must be a stunning visual and
choose you. verbal representation of your brand if you are
going to attract your premium customers.
Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 13The first step is getting into the head of your target audience and understanding how to connect emotionally with them. 1. Who are your preferred customers? How much money do they make? What do they have in common? Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 14
Where do they work? What stage in life are they at? What adjectives would they use to describe themselves? Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 15
2. Create a mood board that highlights the feelings you want your customer to experience when interacting with your brand. What emotions do you feel when looking at the mood board? Do these emotions feel like they would appeal to the audience described previously? (If no, adjust your mood board.) What style of fonts are represented with your mood board? Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 16
What colours are most prominent? Explore colour psychology to read up on how your colour palette might impact your clients. Brainstorm words that convey the emotions listed above. Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 17
3. List brands that you feel are similar to your brand. What about these brands would connect with your audience? 4. Hire a designer and share your brand strategy and brand creative ideas. Have the designer choose the perfect colours, the precise fonts and design a logo that is unique and compelling. This is a critical step. If you try and DIY your brand creative your premium clients will feel it. But if you get this piece perfectly aligned with your strategy, you will have the right fonts and colours to go on and design a website, sales materials, social media covers and any promotional work you choose to do. PS. Take your time and shop around. Not all graphic designers are created equal. Make sure the designer you choose is willing to work with you, to hear your strategy and create something special. Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 18
Congratulations! Developing a brand takes patience and commitment. But it pays off when those premium customers find you and keep coming back for more. I’d love to hear how it’s going. Send me a note to Shannon@BlackcoffeeStudio.com. Don’t be a stranger. And remember, I’m over here … in your corner … cheering you on! Copyright 2018 · Blackcoffee Studio · www.blackcoffeestudio.com 19
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