Project Scope
Client: Retentio Redovisning
Timeframe: 6 Months
Employer: Mad Marketing & Co.
Responsibility: Project Lead, Graphic design, Client liason
My company was tasked with branding the accounting firm ‘Retentio’ who was a newly successful emerging collaboration between two talented women.
With the increase and loyalty of clients Retentio wanted their brand and messaging to match their image. I was tasked with creating a sufficient brand identity, brand book, and merchandise, with the aid of my company’s copywriter, and project coordinator.
Challenges
- No prior brand or messaging to develop from
- An entirely un-creative industry; Any implication of creativity in a finance setting would be actively negative to the brand image
- Un-creative client; with no prior branding we would have to establish an identity by way of sourcing information from the client, and the client cannot provide and aesthetic insight over personal preferences.
- Cliche; it would be very simple to associate an accountant with generic symbolism of wealth, but we can provide a better standard of product for our client and secure loyalty.
Process
After meeting with the client and understanding their needs, we had a meeting back at the office to establish the order of events that needed to occur. Firstly, we needed to navigate the difference between what the owners of Retentio liked, against what their customers believe about them, and against what elevates their identity as a company.
After some initial desktop research into the company based on publicly available information such as reviews, logistical data, and web scraping, I developed an A3 workshop booklet that we took to Retentio and sat with their employees to get a first hand understanding of their values, their clients, and any negative connotations. Through our 2 hour workshop, we returned to the office with twelve filled in copies of our workbook containing client profiles, key words, and aesthetic tastes.
Using the combination of desktop research and the workshop data, I researched three distinctively different possible concepts. When doing this, I try not only to vary the reference material, but I take special consideration in varying the methods and aesthetic messaging of each concept. This attention to detail enables me to get a better range of needs from the client when presenting the concepts.
After settling in a combination of distinct features from each of the three concepts, I was able to start developing the initial draft of the brand book. In my brand books, I take the perspective of a freelance creative with little experience in client management, in order to decide what information is essential and how it needs to be communicated. I find this approach to a brand book ensures the potential future creative using the book has all the basic information they need to complete their project, but more importantly the client’s experience with applying the brand is easy enough that they don’t want to change it.
Deliverables
The brand book consisted of three main sections;
- Values
- Mission statement
- Core values
- Company description
- Graphic profile
- Colour profile
- Typography
- Graphic parameters
- Logo
- Hero, favicon, large, small
- Do’s and don’ts
- Tone of voice
- Positive and negative wordlist
- Appropriate copy tone examples
After the brand book was finalised and delivered, it was sent to a web developer to build their website, while we continued to work on SEM and merchandise. For the merchandise, I took special consideration to both how a product might be used, and specifically how it would increase brand awareness. After reviewing the client profiles from the workshop, I developed the following list of potential merchandise to produce, based on the behaviours of Retentio’s target audience.
- Pens – simple, but professional
- Ice scrapers
- Stress balls
- Bicycle seat covers
- Tote bags
- Standard inventory; letterheads, email signatures, backgrounds, logo files.
Client feedback
It’s fair to say this client was one of the easiest to work with from the start. While they may not have had a lot of experience with creative processes or their own aesthetic, they were very cooperative with proposed concepts, and firm in their values and dislikes.
The first confirmation of positive feedback on this project was when the external web developer used the brand book effectively to create the website. We had no questions from the developers and Retentio was easily able to express their identity without our intervention.
When following up with the client, they were so proud of their unique identity that they had purchased light fittings and other interior decorative features based on the logo and profile that was developed.
Likely based on their skill and reliability as accountants, but certainly emboldened by the secure identity and SEM, Retentio has continued to grow substantially since this project and they remain a close client of the company.