This semester-long branding and marketing commmunications project began as a request for proposals for the fictional corporation Catapult Resource Management. Catapult is a for-profit corporation in British Columbia specializing in the collection and recycling of waste materials to create and market new products.

 

I chose to market a boutique men's "wetshaving" brand towards a primary audience of men aged 18-33. The luxurious but affordable act of wetshaving is one that's beginning to regain traction in the modern world, preaching values like ritual, care, and actually enjoying shaving.

 

Combining the somewhat intimate knowledge I have of the sector with market research helped inform me towards a clean, unified brand identity. 

 

All images are sourced via a Creative Commons license with attributions available upon request.

A brand is defined by more than its' look and collateral. Recast demanded a very specific sort of retail experience - helpful, yet relaxed, intelligent and sales-driven but casual, and most importantly - educational. Research determined that educating customers and overcoming switching anxiety (in relation to sharp blades) was a huge factor in the brand's influence.

 

Some brands looked to for inspiration include Apple and DAVIDsTEA, in the high product knowledge factor of both companies and the approachability and friendliness of David's.

A major part of the retail experience was the copy and language the brand used, helping contribute to the casual and educational mood evoked.

This language carries through to the product lines themselves - Veneer, Alloy, and Synth respectively meaning recycled wood, metal, and plastic.

Advertising became the final (but certainly not least) face of the brand. Tone and deployment were critical to project the character that was originally envisioned. Two stages were created - one to emphasize the recycled nature of this luxury product, and the second to draw parallels between a customer's sense of ritual and the brand's own ideations of ritual.