Hello fam!

I hope you are all out there thriving and surviving Q4. I took a bit of a break this week to have a little pre-moon in Yosemite, and out touching trees and mountains.

Here is evidence…

And while I am out taking my little break, my homegirl and baddie on all things brand design, Haylee Jordan is filling in for this week’s Sunday Postcard.

I have mentioned this before, but in addition to my agency OLC, I am also in the process of building my very own CPG brand. Without giving it all away….I am building a sleep supplement and the baby has a name, a vibe and a whole brand strategy atm! Shout out to Haylee from Supercult for helping me get this moving along.

Heading back out to touch the trees, take it away Haylee!

Thanks Jess! Hi everyone! I’m Haylee from Supercult 👋, a female-founded studio for bodacious brands…

and I have a confession...I am not a marketer. GASP

Leave that to Jess and Open Late Collective, please.

I work in visual storytelling—brand design, to be exact. If marketing is the lead singer, branding is the bass holding it all down. Brand writes the script, marketing plays the part. If marketing is the sweet sauce, brand identity is the protein keeping you sustained, baby!

Ok, this is getting weird, and I’m running out of metaphors...but you get it.

Marketing cannot exist without a brand, yet they’re often confused. To market something, you need to know what makes it different. To market something, you’re going to need a story. That’s brand—the story, the emotion, and the culturally relevant difference made visual.

So, how is brand the bass player of the marketing band? Let’s get into it…

The Brand Identity Blueprint

First and foremost, let’s talk about Consistency

A strong brand creates a consistent experience across all customer touchpoints. Every interaction—whether it's a website visit or an Instagram story—should feel like it’s part of the same experience. Consistency builds trust and reliability, allowing customers to feel familiar with your brand over time.

Consistency = Trust 🤝
Trust = Sales 🤑

We all know about Coca-Cola, perhaps the most consistent brand of all time? It’s that Coca-Cola red Pantone color…

BUT- I have my eye on Siete foods. The brand is so consistent. From package design, to sales channels to social media. You know you are looking at Siete. A HUGE part of this is their color palette and the ever present heron.

I love this photo, the seasoning is on brand of course- but the styling of their photography echoes the brand colors as well. Oh, and if you haven’t heard, they also got acquired by PepsiCo for $1.2 billion this month.

Recognition

When a brand is consistent, it becomes more recognizable. Think about your favorite brands- how do you know you are looking at their ad or their social post without seeing the logo? It’s in the color, the consistent typography, the tone of voice, the style, and even the lighting of the photography.

Recognition can be crucial when consumers make purchasing decisions. There is a lot of noise—it’s best to cut through it as often as you can. Repeated exposure within the brand confines helps solidify brand recognition.

I am thinking of a brand with a sans-serif typeface, minimal color and lots of clean white space…You already know it!

Loyalty

When your brand continues to deliver on your brand promise, you create loyal brand ambassadors. Have you ever tried a new coffee brand, a lipstick, or even a new pair of stellar sunglasses and started preaching from the rooftops?

I was at a brunch recently, and someone started passing around their Lindberg sunglasses and preaching like we were at a Sunday service. “You will not believe how nice these sunglasses are! Try them on! Everyone! Here—try them on. Look at the lenses! The coolest part is that you can’t break them.”

I tried them on and shook my head—there was no denying it. They were niiiiice.

“AMEN,” I said to myself.

Your customers become loyal when your brand delivers on its promise and aligns with their desired identity.

Now that is brand turned marketing.

Perceived Value 

Al Ries said, “Pour a bottle of Gallo into an empty 50-year-old bottle of French Burgundy. Then carefully decant a glass in front of a friend and ask for an opinion. You taste what you expect to taste.” Then he dropped the freakin’ mic.

A strategic brand can change perception and create perceived value. Layers of meaning, emotion, and identity allow customers to pay premium prices. A visual + verbal identity can reframe a regular ol’ commodity and create a lifestyle and community around the brand worth a kajillion dollars. Wouldn’t you like a kajillion dollars?

Take a look at our rebrand for Sovi Wine Co.

We evolved the Sovi brand identity and packaging design to reflect the quality of the wine and the brand’s commitment to sustainability. This was achieved through strategic positioning, tone of voice, and refined packaging design featuring foils, varnishes, and debossed printing.

Brand strategy and identity are all-encompassing tools that can guide an experience, pivot an entire strategy (hello, rebrand!), or add a new dimension to your marketing strategy. It’s the roadmap, the personality, and the foundation of all marketing efforts.

And that’s that on my takes. Thank you for having me this week!

I’ll be back on Sunday, November 10th with a breakdown of one of my absolute favorite DTC brands and how they navigate everything from strategy to identity, and wrap it all up into marketing. 

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

- Haylee

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

UPCOMING EVENTS

1. Join me online and a STACKED line up of 15 other industry experts and leaders on Nov 4th where we chat about the “one thing” that is our must have tactic for BFCM. RSVP here!

2. League of Originals is hosting a DOPE AF summit in LA on November 7th. If you are a brand founder, or operator, I got a special treat for you! Use code ABOVETHEFOLDGA at checkout for 50% off your ticket

3. 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!)

👐 BONUS CONTENT 👐

This week, Jess was joined by Maddie Vance, Customer Success Manager at Linkedin. Ever wanted to know the jams behind the revival of Linkedin and its new take on being an influencer and content marketing platform? This one is for you.

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