Julie is a pleasure to work with and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her services.
In the beginning – brand review
For small businesses, the concept of branding can sometimes feel a little out of reach. As a result, many business owners just ‘get on with it’ and start selling their product or service and the identity of the company evolves over time. This can be fine to start with, but when you want to grow your business or target a niche market then you need to stop, reflect and determine whether your brand matches your aspirations.
This is how I started out working with Neil Geddes on his bespoke fine jewellery service. Neil came to me looking for copywriting support for brochures, but after we’d met and discussed his plans for the business I recommended a different approach – a brand review and refresh.
Neil offers a luxury, bespoke fine jewellery service, but there was a disconnect between the image he was conveying through his brand and the reality of his high-end service. See below for image of his website before we started working together:
We therefore embarked on the process of completely reviewing and revamping his brand, which included:
- Brand review – to determine positioning statement, brand values, voice, strapline and key messages
- Rebrand – working with Rich Chappelow we presented various design options to elevate Neil’s brand and to fit the values and target market identified through the brand review. These included logo options, colour palettes and photography styles.
The brand that Neil selected was more elegant and refined and fitted his updated brand values perfectly. See below for example of new branding:
Marketing plan
With a revitalised brand and the imminent opening of a new boutique, Neil felt that a marketing plan would support his business going forward. The marketing plan that I produced for him included a range of recommendations to drive business growth and to incorporate his new brand throughout the business.
Bringing the brand to life
To create a luxury brand that felt unique and that made an impact, photography was going to be crucial. I enlisted Sacha Ferrier (an experienced commercial photographer and photography artist) to compose and capture some exquisite close-up images of Neil’s beautiful jewellery. The resulting images really set the tone for the rest of the marketing process and inspired everyone involved in the project.
Website
Our brief for the new website was to create a simple, impactful and, most of all, beautiful site. I wrote the web copy for the new website and the team at Zest Design & Print built the site around the new copy, branding and photography. The finished product has a truly unique feel to it that showcases Neil’s fine jewellery and bespoke services:
What’s next …
The boutique launched successfully in 2017 with PR support from Alex Mason.
We’ve since been following recommendations in the marketing plan to support Neil’s business growth and aspirations.
“Julie quickly grasps the marketing brief and effectively communicates key and targeted messages across a seamless brand voice. Her professional opinion and approach is exceptional. Julie is a pleasure to work with and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her services.”
Julie Waite Marketing 