Our goal is to convey your authentic differences in ways that resonate with your audiences.
There is always a gap between what people think about you and who you really are. Good brand strategy identifies the gap, and then brews up a way to close it. The most difficult thing, and the most powerful thing, is to communicate—both non-verbally and verbally—what you do and why it matters. Elixir’s expertise is capturing what’s essential, and transmitting the defining aspects of a brand. We shape what will live in people’s heads and hearts.
BRAND POSITIONING
From an internal perspective, what your organization represents to you internally is complex, but to your audience, it must be simple and instantaneous. A great brand is one where there is total alignment between the two perceptions. To accomplish this, we help organizations understand how they are currently perceived. Then we develop positioning—how you’d like your organization to be perceived relative to competitors. We then create a value proposition—why someone would want to buy what you offer.
These inward-facing tools are the essential precursors to creating memorable customer-facing communications that authentically represent you and only you.
Our “North Star” process gets everyone on your team on the same page. It yields the foundation for mission and vision statements, elevator pitches, and communication strategies.
BRAND STORY & NARRATIVE
We approach messaging with a few principles in mind: clients are best served when their message is true, and expressed in a way that is authentic to them—coming through in such a way that would not be applicable to their closest competitors.
ELEVATOR PITCHES
These are plainspoken, concise sentences, that describe the essence of something to another person. A solid elevator pitch is the best piece of communication one can have. Ironically, these are often informed by industry outsiders, a beginner’s mindset, and non-verbal people.
VALUE PROPOSITIONS
A statement that articulates why someone would want to part with money to buy something, or time to attend something or listen to something, etc. First, one must be precise around the audience, and then, one must identify why someone would value whatever it is on offer.
NAMING
Given how hard it is for two people to name a child, it’s to be expected that inviting people to name an organization, product, or initiative can be complex. During a naming assignment, Elixir’s team of writers and design-thinkers brew up viable names on your behalf. We approach naming in rounds and are typically able to land names in one to three rounds. Primary obstacles include (1) naming in industries where desirable word combinations are already trademarked; and (2) forging consensus among many decision makers on your team. While we will have done cursory vetting, your legal counsel would need to do formal due diligence.
Our advice on naming: great names are made, not born. Unless you are a single decision maker, do not expect to love a new name right away. It might be a tepid kind of love at first, but when the chosen name is brought to life through brand identity, we can promise that it will take on a life of its own. Once you have a direction for a name you like, your legal counsel will secure the trademark and Elixir will embark on brand identity.
OUR PROCESS
Definitions of “brand” abound. The one we find most valuable: what your diverse audiences think and feel when they hear your name or see your product.
At Elixir, we focus on “our customer’s customers.” We need to know who they are and what they think about you today—what they expect, or need, or want from you. We also need to know what you want your customers to think about you tomorrow—before we can design anything for them.
Many years ago, we brewed up our North Star process out of necessity. Too often, we were asked to create design based on strategy documents from branding firms that distilled a client’s essence beyond the point of pasteurization. Frequently, the attributes described—though accurate—could just as easily apply to the closest competitor(s). The documents left no trace of idiosyncrasy (the most valuable differentiators) from which to tailor the most fitting solution.
Our North Star process enables internal consensus: a shared, actionable roadmap based on collective insights. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, our designers influence the strategy process as much as the strategy informs the design process.
To deliver for our clients, we rely on both strategy and design. Depending on the project, the proportion varies. Some assignments require only a few hours in a conference room, listening to you and to our guts, before we proceed. Other projects warrant research: one-on-one interviews with current and prospective customers, followed by workshops and what we refer to as “brand design prototyping.”
This, in a nutshell, is how we think. Strategy (which really just means “what we are going to do”) is inextricably linked to design. Design is inextricably linked to strategy. Many firms say the same thing—but we have been told countless times that our holistic approach sets us apart.
COMPLETE NORTH STAR PROCESS
This diagram represents our complete process in which Research occurs before Design. For certain assignments, a draft “North Star” (a single piece of paper encapsulating what we want our target audience to think and feel in the not too distant future) can be created in a single kickoff meeting.
A
Audience Definition
You tell us who your audiences are and who your competitors are.
B
Conservation Outline
We collaborate with you to create a conversation outline that informs a free-form telephone conversation (interview). Our questions are open-ended and intentionally simplistic.
C
Telephone Interviews
Interviews are one-on-one, never focus groups. We listen intently.
D
Interview “Simmering”
We sift through what we have heard. We distill what each audience thinks about you – and your competitors – today. We are always gratified by the brand insights we are able to gain by listening to relatively few interviewees.
E
Interview Documentation
We consolidate and share the complete interviews (preserving anonymity). Depending on the assignment, we may batch responses by question.
F
Workshop 1: Today
What do your different audiences think and feel when they hear your name and see your product today? We identify neutral, positive, and negative perceptions that fit “on the head of a pin” in their minds.
G
Workshop 2: Tomorrow
What do we want your audiences to think and feel in the not-too-distant future when they hear your name and see your product? We harness positive perceptions and reframe “negatives” as we draft your “North Star.” We share draft versions of verbal tools (elevator pitch, story/narrative, messaging) that align with your North Star.
H
Workshop 3: Tomorrow Manifested
The Elixir team presents for discussion brand design prototypes of significant touchpoints and refined verbal tools.
I
Final Workshop: Pre-design Tools
We present the aligned foundation for your communications: your working North Star; working narrative; working elevator pitch; and brand design prototypes (which serve as the preliminary brand visual guidelines).
Design Phase
Now we can “make” whatever you need: logotypes, websites, brochures, presentation decks, packaging, business systems, signage, etc. Note: Once we have executed a couple of key communications, we use them as a basis for your brand visual guidelines – a tool you can share with other communications partners.
Unlike the firms generating brilliant strategy or the ones crafting beautiful design, we are hell-bent on delivering both. We’d love to work with you.