What’s a BOLD Session, and Why Your Brand Needs One
Maybe your business is changing fast and your brand isn’t keeping up.
Or your brand hasn’t been touched in a long while and it shows. Maybe your brand suffers from multiple personalities, with many well-intentioned but fragmented attempts to build an identity. Or you might have a brand spankin’ new company that doesn’t have an identity yet.
Whatever the case, an ill-defined or uninformed brand identity can make it difficult to be efficient internally, or resonate with your audience. For complex problems, we present a BOLD solution.
WHAT IS A BOLD SESSION
The BOLD Session is where we break ground. It’s a time for your team to pause and get radically honest about what you do from an operations, product and brand perspective. Part brainstorm, part audit, and all strategic; we explore where you’ve been, how it’s going, and where you’re headed. We learn more about the ins and outs of your branding, and hear from stakeholders who don’t always get a seat at the table.
When all is said and done, we get a 360° view of your brand, and you get a brand messaging document and visual identity that is uniquely yours, and reflective of your team’s real needs.
WHY IT WORKS
It’s accessible
We can do it remotely, in-person or hybrid. It takes place virtually, with a well-documented process that tracks what was contributed and by whom. Even if a teammate can’t attend the session in real time, it’s easy to weigh in after the fact.
It’s collaborative
We hear from different parts of your business. Often marketers get scraps of feedback from the people on their team they try to serve/represent, but there’s not always a cohesive place to discuss these learnings and make sure they get applied. We provoke and invite discussion about the various needs and how we can address them.
It’s democratic
You’re given time to digest, think, and contribute in writing, and “upvote” the ideas that make sense to you. This allows insights to shine through without reliance on the charisma or seniority of the contributor. This process rewards thoughtfulness over loudness.
It’s ruthless (in a good way)
The ideas that don’t get support from the team don’t get captured in what we deliver. The objective isn’t to capture every single thing your brand does well, and personify everyone who’s ever taken notice. It’s time to edit and put a stake in the ground. Speak now, or forever hold your peace vibes.
HOW IT WORKS
Part One | Brand and product: What’s on offer?
It’s very possible, and extremely common, to be too close to your brand to see the big picture. With ruthless empathy, we take a step back and re-centre the consumer. Who are you to them? What piques their interest? How are you uniquely beneficial to them?
In this first session, we lay the groundwork for what follows. We cut to the emotional core of your brand, learn how it works in a practical sense, and then craft an irresistible brand story that gets people on your side.
We get —
A comprehensive and cross-functional understanding of your brand
You get—
Compelling brand messaging that tells people who you are and why they should care.
Case study: Sororal
Sororal is a women-owned, women-led travel company. They curate tours for women, and connect their travellers to other women-owned and women-led experiences. Sure, all purchases are emotional, but in Sororal’s case, their brand identity, history and ethos is a major selling feature of their product. Through a competitive analysis of other players, and a frank discussion of their goals, we were able to arrive at the “why” that guided their strong yet understated brand identity.
Part Two | Your audience: who cares?
At this stage we take a step outside the box and consider your brand from all angles. In our last session we discovered who you are and what you stand for, now we hone in on who’s listening. Who’s your unique audience? What are they passionate about? What challenges do they face, and how does your brand help them? We take what you know about your consumer, and contextualize it in the how, when and why they connect to your brand.
We get —
A comprehensive and cross-functional understanding of your brand
You get—
Compelling brand messaging that tells people who you are and why they should care.
CASE STUDY: Trexity
Trexity is a courier company that helps small businesses compete with big box stores by connecting them to same-day delivery. In parallel, they connect drivers to the businesses needing delivery. These are two very different audiences connecting to the app with very different needs. However, they’re served by the same brand and web assets. Together with the Trexity team we explored the common ground in their needs: accessibility, simplicity of UX and the promise to offer a flexible and trustworthy experience. We took these insights into their brand refresh and the redesign of their new and improved website.
Part Three | identity: How will you stand out?
Everyone loves this exercise for its striking visuals and fun, fast and furious process. We look at your visual brand to figure out what’s working, what needs working on, what we need to create, and what we should leave behind. If you don’t have a visual identity yet, in the case of new brands, we provide visual moodboards and examples to react to. Armed with our knowledge of the story you’re telling and who’s listening, we’ll explore your personality, identifying the tone of voice that will best be heard over competitive noise.
We get —
A look at how your branding is supporting your objectives (or not), and a feel for your personal taste.
You get—
Distinctive moodboards with well-informed approaches.
CASE STUDY: Lab2Market
Lab2Market is a program that helps students in STEM make science their business. Offered at universities across Canada, they guide up-and-coming entrepreneurs at every stage from business plans to fundraising rounds. Their visual identity needed to convey that they have the authority and expertise to offer meaningful support, while also appearing youthful and modern enough to keep up with innovation. We explored brand attributes and brand elements to arrive at this clean, confident visual identity.
We believe that a BOLD Session can be valuable at many ages and stages of your brand. Time and time again, we’ve heard from happy clients who’ve uncovered new insights and truth about their brand, and felt more connected and supported by the resulting brand work than ever before.
It’s a good day to get BOLD! Book a call with us or drop us a line to get started.