Happy Sunday, fam!

Welcome back to another edition of Sunday Postcards!

Jess is off getting hitched this weekend, so it’s your girl– Haylee from supercult, a female-founded brand studio for bodacious brands. I’m back again taking over the Sunday Postcards. 

On October 27th, I presented the case for why marketing needs brand. I shared examples of how brand strategy and identity form the foundation for effective marketing. 

We touched on consistency, recognition, loyalty, and perceived value, and I pinky promised I’d be back to talk about one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE brands. We're talking major, major, major brand crush

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BRAND CRUSH: BILLIE

I remember seeing Billie pop up years ago, and since then, I really can’t get her out of my head. Billie was launched in 2017 by Georgina Gooley and Jason Bravman, with Little Troop responsible for the brand identity.

While the unexpected color palette stood out immediately the brand crush I had for Billie was fueled by their mission and their brand storytelling. The brand was initially built to challenge the pink tax, ever heard of it?! BOOO.

According to this article  on Paper Mag, “The pink tax is Among the many ways women pay the price for not being men, the "pink tax" is perhaps the most literal one. According to the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, women pay anywhere between 10 to 15 percent more than men for personal care products, carving a significant dent in their budgets.” 

The Billie website reads, 'It started when we noticed that women were overpaying for razors that had been designed for men, while also being shamed for having body hair. So we flipped the script, remaking the razor for womankind and highlighting gasp fuzzy pits and happy trails.’

The Billie story

Billie takes a stance and has a strong position—they’re differentiated before we even see the visual identity, let alone the marketing. This foundation is essential. Knowing what a brand stands for and ensuring that difference is culturally relevant is key. Once the core of the brand is built, the visuals and marketing can naturally align. 

Jumping into visual design and marketing too soon is a common pitfall I see young brands fall into. Sure, sometimes you need to go to market to collect data, but it’s best to have an overarching vision and position. A cool package design isn’t enough—you need that story.

Notice that here, the story isn’t about the founders. There is a time and place for the founder story, but I believe it’s an addition to the brand story. The brand story here: a razor and body care brand flipping the script for womankind.

Brand Strategy → Visual Identity

A strategy without an identity falls flat. Let’s take a look at the brand identity and how the strategy sets the stage for a stellar visual style.

The Billie logo

Little Troop describes the logo as a blend of minimalism and pop: 'A straightforward sans-serif with exaggerated proportions, referencing the movement of a razor. Color brings the logomark to life, with 90s nostalgia reimagined for a new audience.'

I love the 90s feel in the branding. While this style is more common now, I think incorporating it into the brand identity and photography made a splash back in 2017. Billie was one of the first brands I knew to embrace this style early on.

The Billie color palette

I love that Billie uses bright pinks, reds, and a poppy lavender color and doesn’t shy away from pink while fighting the pink tax. The color palette was described as bold yet feminine, with daring pops of color. Back in 2017, this palette was both unique and daring. Today, we see more and more brands using bold, stacked colors, especially in CPG, where brands need to stand out on the shelf.

Billie’s commitment to color alone speaks to their overarching strategy of flipping the script. While advocating for equality, they celebrate joy and disruption in the razor category. They truly nailed a reimagined razor brand—this sparkly lavender razor is in my bathroom as we speak. 

I mean, sparkles? Love you, Billie.

Hairy Photography? I’m here for it.

We really start to see the Billie story come to life in the photography. Hairy photography for a razor brand? Weren’t we all used to the old razor ads for women, where there was a sense of embarrassment about being… well… human? You’d see a woman shave her legs, and then suddenly, she’s on a beach with a shirtless, six-pack, fake-tanned man serving her a Mai Tai. Rolling my eyes so hard right now… Billie enters the chat

“We’re making feel-good body products without the feel-bad body pressures they usually come with. That means offering a great shave when you want to go smooth while being proudly pro-body hair too.” -mybillie.com

Billie is a women-first brand, which means they don’t place shame on women for choosing whether or not to shave certain areas. These images might feature women with body hair, but don’t confuse that with a lack of style and straight-up pizazz.

Visual Identity → Marketing

In my last Sunday Postcard takeover, we talked about consistency, recognition, loyalty, and perceived value. Billie hits on all of these principles. They have a defined target audience, a solid disruptive position, and have done the foundational work to be instantly recognizable in their marketing, and social media. Talk about unmistakable storytelling and creative direction!

Let’s take a look at some of their marketing materials and talk about how the brand foundation shows up.

Video

Check out this piece of video content,—Billie highlights that they were the first women’s razor brand to ever show body hair. Paired with the song Tomboy by Princess Nokia (a personal favorite), every Billie video I’ve seen is highly styled, often with a light vintage glow and a Gen-Z-meets-millennial aesthetic. Every step of the way, the brand strategy and core identity show up—from the video styling to the song choice (read the lyrics!) to the body hair representation and verbal identity. The messaging is picture-perfect.

Social

Billie’s social media speaks to their target audience so well, from memes to product shots to quirky verbal identity quips. Billie isn’t afraid to be Billie; they own their visual identity and the foundation on which the brand was built: a razor and body care brand flipping the script for womankind.

Nostalgia! Wit! Bedazzled razors—but most importantly, the branded content reminds women that it’s okay and celebrated to be a real, glamorous, fun human being.

They consistently execute their brand strategy, verbal identity, and aesthetic so effectively that we know them, love them (I do, at least), and recognize them daily. 

Billie’s marketing would fall short without its strong story foundation and clear, cohesive visual and verbal identity. 

We can all learn a little something from Billie! Have a meaningful concept, develop a story and position, execute on visual and verbal identity, and allow the brand foundation to influence your marketing every step of the way. 

There is a pushback and a sense of irreverence in the Billie brand, and it shines through in the marketing materials. In a world where women have been shamed or taught to be embarrassed about their body hair, Billie is painting the town red.. And pink.. and lavender and sparkles. 

Want to be friends? Follow me on LinkedIn and check out supercult.

Thanks for joining me on this brand crush journey!

Haylee

Have a Marketing and/or CX-related question for me?

UPCOMING EVENTS

1. Come to NYC on November 14th for SheInnovates 2 in NYC! If you are a woman in ecommerce, this one is for you. Grab your ticket ASAP, we are almost sold out! Snag your tickets here. (and did you see we booked Marg Josephs, a real housewife AND a baddie entrepreneur!)

Interested in working together for consulting, events or content?

👐 BONUS CONTENT 👐

This week, I dropped an awesome episode with Melissa Seligmann of Thingtesting!

Be sure to follow along on my YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

👐A WORD ON THIS WEEK’S SPONSOR

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