Case Study: Branding
Ok, so you hear the word ‘branding’ thrown around all the time, but have you ever wondered what a brand can actually do for your business?
Our sweetest client, Mr T’s Bees, are the perfect case study of just how powerful having a brand can be and why it’s more than just a ‘cost’ for your business or side hustle.
Let me set the scene.
It’s fair to say, that when it comes to how this honey came to be, the bees chose Mr T and not the other way round. One day they just arrived at Mr T’s 10 acre property near the You Yangs and set up their home... in the walls of his kitchen! Knowing how precious and valuable bees are to the environment and being a bit of a honey lover, Mr T decided to learn all he could about bees and carefully started to dismantle his kitchen and re-home them to a new hive - this time outside, near a small dam and lots of trees. As the months passed, the number of hives slowly grew and more bees came. There were bee stings along the way (cue blown up eyes) but Mr T and his bees now get on fine.
The bees were happy and Mr T was being supplied with an ongoing supply of fresh honey, but soon the bees were producing more honey than Mr T and his family could consume alone, so they decided to start sharing their delicious treats.
What they did next.
Mr T and his family started bottling honey in recycled jam/produce jars and selling them from their front gate to family, friends and passersby. The honey was deliciously sweet, but the recycled jars and lack of awareness weren’t enough. They always had honey leftover (not that anyone would complain because it was sooooo tasty) but they didn’t want to waste all the bees hard work. At the same time, they needed some new beekeeping equipment, more hives for their growing workers and to somehow cover their costs.
The problems presented.
Mr T and his daughters approached Ivory Edit with their hilarious and awesome story, which we fell in love with from the get-go, and the free honey on the side was an added bonus!
With his daughters spearheading the way for a new solution and wanting to help their father out, they laid out their needs, wants and plans for the growing side hustle.
They needed a brand that was fun and colourful like their story
They somehow needed their labels to be editable so they could mark which batch/season the honey came from, but still, look attractive and professional
They wanted to be able to attract new customers, but still, have the overall look and appeal be something that their dad would happily put his name to
Because the honey is 100% natural and raw, it changes flavour, colour and texture with each season, so no two batches are ever the same. How could they explain this difference to a customer quickly, efficiently and still make it pretty?!
The solution.
After a brainstorming session, we realised they needed to share their brand story asap. And to do that they needed a brand to go with it and help give it the look and impact it needed.
That included a new logo, submark, branding, collateral items and new branded labels.
For the labels, we decided that we would colour code the them to each season. One for winter, spring, summer and autumn, plus a couple for the in-between batches.
Thus eliminating the need for extra steps, such as adding handwriting/labelling each batch (and making sure their handwriting was perfect and smudge free!) This would be a quick and easy solution to their batch tracking problems.
Each label colour would change with the season and would be able to be differentiated straight away. Whether it be on a market stall, on their shelves or in the esky at the front of their property (yep! they still sell honey the old fashioned way).
We created:
A submark, which is hella cute and instantly recognisable as a bee and associated with honey.
A brand new logo, because everyone’s gotta have a name and logo to go with their brand (but you don’t need me to tell you that 😉).
Their newly colour coded labels.
Branded A-Frame for extra promotion and attention at market stalls and on sidewalks.
Branded collateral items including information cards and business cards.
The results.
So what are the results of going through a brand development session and putting a name, logo and brand to their story?
By creating a brand and sharing their (hilarious) brand story, Mr T’s Bees went from breakfast staple to gorgeous gift.
They bought brand new matching jars and branded them with their new labels so everything was uniform and looked professional, special and appealing to customers
Their honey now looked as good as it tasted
They created a higher demand for their product. Instead of customers buying it just as a condiment, they were buying them in multiples as gifts for friends, items in hampers and of course pantry staples.
For the first time ever, they completely sold out of all their stock!!
They currently have a waiting list for their next season of honey with customers asking when they can get more!
They had a fantastic and hilarious story, and sharing that experience has helped build up their brand and their sales reach.
How amazing is that! They saw an instant and positive improvement, what more could you ask for?! Except, maybe a jar of their delicious golden syrup.
Some things were just meant to be(e).
You can see more on our project with Mr T’s Bees here x
