Brave Branding
A lot of companies in the construction industry have conservative branding because they need to communicate things like reliability, trust, and dependability. Also, the products and services that are marketed are not particularly exciting. The TCS founder, who is a seasoned construction professional, knew this very well and saw an opportunity to position TCS as a unique player on the market. He imagined a bright colour palette to represent a brave brand that goes against the norm. Our team took that direction and created an authentic brand that is easily recognizable in a sea of sameness.
Brand Expression: The hero graphic is made up of core products from from a variety of suppliers to help appeal to professionals and DIYers, our two audience groups.
One Brand, Two Voices
As a lead designer on the team, I collaborated closely with a VP of Marketing and Business Development to define the brand promise and values. With a tight launch timeline on the horizon, I also crafted visual concepts and aligned them with the brand narrative that was developed simultaneously. It was a constant push-and-pull that eventually landed on something cohesive. The brand’s relatable character welcomed both of our audience groups and used humour to make caulking fun and memorable. The professionals got the TCS Pro-Services portal with great prices and high quality products that other professionals stood behind. And, the DIYers felt confident that they could find everything they needed in the e-commerce Shop section and complete their weekend project within budget.
Web Presence: With professional caulkers being the core target audience at launch, the main website thecaulkingstore.com allows easy access to the Pro Services portal.
Design and Copywriting
If I had to pick which one is more important, then I would pick copywriting over design because of how our team was able to demonstrate its effectiveness. I watched how a talented writer weaved words together to create something that got planted in the subconscious of our audience after just one glance. Powerful and brave advertising was critical for our nascent TCS brand, and we accomplished that with 75% writing and 25% design & layout. My direction resulted in clear visual hierarchy that emphasized key parts of the message and helped convey the brand’s cheeky character and double meanings.
OOH Advertising: Our brand awareness campaign generated a lot of buzz on various online channels and drove warm leads to the physical TCS store.
Brand Touchpoints
Everyone knew that TCS was going to make a splash on the market. To turn that into reality, the team devised a strong marketing plan that was backed by a deep understanding of the industry. From sponsoring karting events to pro NASCAR drivers, the word about a new and exciting store that does things a little differently was starting to spread. To prepare for paid OOH advertising and other physical marketing materials, I used social media posts to stress-test and refine the brand’s visual language. After finalizing a tradeshow booth, tradeshow video, and an outdoor tent, the brand foundation had cured and the design process became a lot faster and easier to manage. Together with our junior designer, we developed a vinyl wrap for the TCS work van, sales campaigns, packaging design, and an exterior TCS office/store exterior building graphics to raise brand awareness.
Environmental Design (Concept Art): Due to the TCS office and physical store being at a different level than the adjacent road, the solution was to position the logo as high as possible to provide maximum visibility.
Teamwork and Communication
Building positive relationships with people is paramount to me, and this is how the team was able to meet tight deadlines and produce high-quality marketing materials with various suppliers. I responded quickly, asked critical questions, and followed final art requirements for smooth production process. I also got involved with e-commerce platform strategy where I researched and presented e-commerce solutions that fit company budget. Shortly after launch, we welcomed new team members and I became a brand ambassador by educating them on best branding practices. To keep design concepts strong and maintain the fearless drive behind the brand, I scheduled daily meetings with our junior designer and provided creative direction for packaging design.
Event Branding: TCS sponsored a hole during a golfing tournament and a many marketing materials came together to create a delightful user experience.
Paving The Road Ahead
TCS is split between two audience groups and that polarity presented one of the biggest challenges to me during the design process. Each audience group requires different language, different visuals, and even a different e-commerce experience on a different online platform. To keep the visual language of the brand consistent for both groups, I created a shared graphic asset library that the team could use when developing art for social and other touchpoints. To compliment the asset library and to boost team productivity, I also put together a brand standards deck that helped quickly answer any brand related questions.
Brand Guidelines: The document was created in PowerPoint so that everyone can have access with full app functionality, share with ease across the company, and even make updates if needed.
Outcomes and Impact
TCS saw a successful launch. Our online channels aggregated good numbers and we received positive feedback directly from the audience. The OOH awareness campaign got noticed on the streets of Toronto and was called brilliant and hilarious on Reddit, Instagram, and Facebook. One comment read:
Absolute genius way to market your business. People will never forget it!
In addition to positive reception on the internet, the TCS t-shirts were very popular at the The Buildings Show and helped us raise money for the Movember foundation while promoting the brand.