“What’s your favorite color?” is a common question I get asked as a graphic designer. I usually respond with, “Well, what is the color being applied to?” Colors can make you feel a certain way. For instance, I like soft neutrals when it comes to painting my walls because it makes me feel calm, but bright red for a dress because I feel fun and exciting. When it comes to building a brand, choosing the right color is so important. I frequently urge clients to step away from the “I like” mentality, as color is subjective.
Continue ReadingGaining Brand Trust in a Share Economy
The success of the share economy lies in how its brands cultivate trust. These brands focus their efforts on making consumers feel that they are interacting with people they can get to know, even if it is through the relative anonymity of the Internet.
Continue ReadingNew Traditions: The Trend of “Southern” Brands
Popular brands like Southern Proper, Southern Tide and Southern Marsh market themselves with a combination of a sense of heritage and a distinctly southern character to appeal to the collegiate and young professional market. This strategy has proven extremely successful, and these brands have become ubiquitous on college campuses and in post-grad life throughout the southeast.
Continue ReadingGoogle’s New Alphabet
This week, Google announced that it will make another step forward. For the first time, Google will be under the umbrella of another brand. The overarching parent role previously held by the Google brand is being transitioned to a newly created brand called Alphabet, a reference to all of the companies within it being “the letters” in the greater structure. This change is coming for one big reason: the founders of Google, now CEO and President of Alphabet, understand the value of brand architecture.
Continue ReadingA Thermostat to Rule Them All
A year ago, would anybody have thought that the product development we saw this year at CES would be inspired by an innovation to, of all things, a thermostat? Yes, a thermostat. This thermostat was introduced by a brand called Nest, of which I am a big fan. I don’t own one, but I do […]
Continue ReadingChubbies is a men’s online clothing retailer that I, a female customer, look forward to perusing when shopping for the men in my life. The Chubbies brand has reinvigorated shorts for men. Their aesthetic is unique – slightly tailored and boldly patterned, complete with their signature short inseam. As my brother famously says, “They don’t call them longs!”
One of the goals of the brand is to outfit men in shorts for every occasion; they have shorts for summer, winter, tailgate and formal occasions. And though the style of the shorts is notable, the lifestyle that Chubbies promotes is really what we’re all really buying into.
Chubbies has clearly defined what it is to be a “bro” in a world filled with nine-to-fivers and squares – and if you fit that description, Chubbies shorts allow you to live a double life. As they promise their customers, “When you put on your Chubbies, you know it’s time to relax, crack open an ice cold beer, and have some fun.”
This “bro” mentality is promoted through witty website copy that feels more like friendly banter among friends than standard fare copy for a website. Chubbies shorts have names like “The Khakmeisters,” “The Clubmander in Chiefs,” and “The Victory Bells.” Their tagline, “sky’s out, thighs out,” clearly illustrates when they feel is the most appropriate time to wear Chubbies shorts- always.
Not a big reader? Chubbies has you covered on their website, www.chubbiesshorts.com, with humorously epic photos. Picture a shirtless fellow on the ridge of a ski slope: his phy
sique is average, his stance is confident and comically determined, his Chubbies have an 1980s-inspired ski motif. Or, imagine a clean-cut patriotic gent running down the beach, proverbial guns blazing, in American Flag print shorts. A flag in on hand, a beer in the other, ‘Merica.
Customer communications also follow suit. If you decide to give the company a call, a real-live guy picks right up and says “Hey dude, what’s up?” No automatic, robot-voice activated customer service shenanigans. Chubbies email order confirmations flaunt phrases like “You done did it!”
Even their FAQ page is packed with branded gems such as, “Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; men wearing Chubbies are all of the above.”
The Chubbies brand is a success because they don’t just dabble in this “bro” persona, they embrace if from all angles.
In short (pun intended), the Chubbies experience is unexpectedly inspiring. Though they’re selling men’s clothing, the Chubbies concept is gender-less and timeless – fearlessly seize the day in shorts and a smile. It’s enough to make anyone want to crack open a cold one and set sail on the next schooner to YOLOland.
All images via chubbiesshorts.com
Adidas vs. Nike, Which Brand Really Won The World Cup?
Adidas vs. Nike, Which Brand Really Won The World Cup? Guest Blogger: Lindsey Freedman The FIFA World Cup, like all large scale sporting events, is every brand’s dream platform. It gives a brand the potential to be recognized on a global platform while influencing the opinions of millions. The 2014 FIFA World Cup was […]
Continue ReadingBuild Equity in Your Personal Brand
Build Equity in Your Personal Brand By Guest Blogger: Lindsey Freedman Today as I walked into work, I couldn’t help but notice the Starbucks cup in my hand, the iPhone I was texting on and the Nike fuel band on my wrist. As a society we are fixated with brands; we are walking advertisements […]
Continue ReadingBrand Collaborations: The Innovative Movement in Branding
Brand Collaborations: The Innovative Movement in Branding Guest Blogger: Lindsey Freedman Google Glass & Diane von Furstenberg, Starbucks & Duracell, Hershey & Betty Crocker, are all examples of popular brand collaborations. As discussed in our previous post on Fitbit and Tory Burch, brand collaborations are occurring more because of the potential effects on brand equity and expanding […]
Continue ReadingTaking Your Brand Online
Taking Your Brand Online By: Ashley Wiederhold The Internet is really quite a fascinating space. You can find virtually any piece of information that you may need online—and this includes information about companies that you may be considering working with. Anyone, at any time, can do a quick Google search of a business name and […]
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