NEW BRANDING: THE LAZY BEAR
“Imagine how they’d feel if you told them that they aren’t just laborers, but Craftsmen, experts in an artform that requires as much physicality as it does skill? What could that do for how they see themselves?” My client taps the sides of his coffee cup lightly as he considers what I’ve just suggested, just one element of the new brand narrative strategy I’ve designed for him.
One of his key problems, as the owner of a budding moving and logistics company in Miami, is the high turnover rate of his full-time movers, and the low-self-esteem of those that stay. Frequently with backgrounds riddled with hardship, his team of Miami movers does not regard themselves as valuable, trained individuals critically important to this growing business. They see themselves as a former doctor that escaped Venezuela and now moves boxes, or a young Honduran man that never learned to read and now struggles to find dignified employment. But what if we could tell a different story? What if we could convince them that they are so much more?
A new story is the strategy.
What if we could tell a story, both internally and externally, that my client is so much more than a moving company? And that by extension, that the men within it are so much more than simple, replaceable laborers? What if they were part of a company that stubbornly believes that they can revolutionize an industry and change not just how they operate, but how the industry is perceived in the eyes of consumers by setting a new standard that stems from their belief that they are Artisans of their craft, the dependable Companions of their clients as they embark on their new life change, and the careful Custodians of everything their clients hold dear during jobs? With a new story and new archetypes, this is possible.
When Carlos approached me for new branding and content strategy, we went over all his current problems – or antagonists. We also established who he and his company are, from his values to his mission. Only once we know all these elements can we begin to craft a content strategy that all his communication and his branding can rest on.
STATUS QUO
“We decided from the very beginning that we weren’t going to operate like other moving companies. Founded by a registered nurse in 2020, The Lazy Bear was always going to run on that experienced foundation of quality, attention to detail, and accountability. Training would lay the foundation of our services, and we dedicated time to hand-selecting and training the team of full-time staff that are the backbone of The Lazy Bear.
We stubbornly believe that we can revolutionize an industry and change not just how we operate, but how the industry is perceived in the eyes of consumers, through innovative standards that aren’t commonplace today. To be an industry leader in both operations and training, to set the example that other logistics companies strive to follow.”
DESIGN CHOICES
Carlos wanted elegant branding for his company, and while we agreed that the sophistication of his branding should reflect the level of his service, we also had to be realistic about who the brand was. The Lazy Bear is not a bank or a law firm, and despite being a high-end white-glove service still involves hard work and sweat, so we did not want to go in a pretentious direction with this logo. Once the brand was identified as having The Craftsman as one of its archetypes, we wanted the brand to reflect pride in their craft with a nod towards vintage, when things used to be done by hand with care and extreme attention to customer service.
So their branding reflects the vintage influence – the logo is clean and modern but with elements and fonts that have an authentic, hand-made feel to them.
The logo also adamantly had to be a bear, so we honored the client’s wishes to have a bear that looks powerful and dignified, trustworthy even, so that the client knows they are in good hands with The Lazy Bear movers. We considered several alternatives where the bear appeared lazy but opted not to go in that direction.
We also opted to go with a color scheme that brought in a rich copper orange as their bold accent color against a sea of black and white with some touches of light beige.
In the second phase of this project we will tackle their website design as well, and update the look and feel to align more with the new branding.
Overall, this brand was incredibly fun to work with and we are thrilled with the final result, along with their content strategy rooted in their new story.
SOME PEEKS INTO THEIR NARRATIVE STRATEGY
While we cannot show you the entirety of their content strategy rooted in their unique story, we can show you a couple slides. One of their brand archetypes along with an overview of their client journey with their archetypes as well.
BRANDING IN ACTION
Below are some mock-ups of how their new branding could be seen in action, in both print and digital forms.
CONTENT STRATEGY
While a different agency is now handling their social media, we provided them and The Lazy Bear with a complete guide to their social media content, including tone and voice, content ideas, and look and feel of said posts. Below are some examples of the types of posts we recommended, and include caption guides in our client presentation to give them the tools to achieve their social media goals.
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