Goal
Nineteen Forty Eight Jewelry (known and trusted in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta as Roland’s Jewelry for over 70 years) sought to rediscover and redefine its strategic brand positioning, direction and story as an intimate, Sherwood Park, Alberta-based artisan studio offering the unexpected design and responsible creation of fine custom jewelry to new audiences 15 minutes down the highway.
Situational Analysis
In the art world, 1948 was the year of the abstract expressionist. It was also the inaugural year of Roland’s Jewelry, which would grow to become a well-respected name in quality accessories, and a beloved community centrepiece built with care and attention by an honest and fair, hardworking family that never failed to look after their neighbours.
Unfussy Recommendations
Research shows that the modern creative consumer seeks to define and display their personal story in the way they live, the purchases they make, the experiences they choose, the causes they support, and the fashions and accessories they wear…and not as dictated and directed by popular opinions and trends. For these audiences, jewelry is the perfect medium for personal customization as both a financial and emotional investment that reflects the customer’s character, life story, and taste preferences. It allows them to make their mark on the world with a jewelry piece that is totally unique and “unexpected.”
Brand development was conducted with consideration of the following:
As per demographics, spending power and desirability, Millennials (and Gen Xers given age proximity) of all genders should be considered Nineteen Forty Eight’s primary audience. For this, communications should appeal to their inspired, creative nature, their heightened sense of self, their need to find purpose and support a cause, and their desire of luxurious lifestyles and experiences. Communications should also work to instil feelings of trust while emphasizing notions of support local (business and causes) and a multi-generational family legacy.
Nineteen Forty Eight can and does meet this criteria in practice and in name (as a year defined by abstract artistic expression), and must communicate this as its brand positioning and promise. It was determined that the enabling of creative freedom and control of the collaborative process in a warm, welcoming environment should be emphasized over product in messaging and visual execution.
Complete with a new visual identity and bold marketing strategy, this is the image of the new Nineteen Forty Eight… A hybrid of old and new. Of vintage lettering and contemporary, abstract representation of vividly coloured, precious gemstones in broad, bold brushstrokes. Of values and reputation polished over 70 years of relationship building and exceptional customer service re-envisioned as an intimate artisan studio offering the unexpected design and responsible creation of fine custom jewelry for truly personal experiences and powerful, wearable creative expression.
Output
- Strategic Direction and Corporate Brand development
- Internal and external communications strategies
- Messaging Platform development
- Visual Identity (logo) system creation
- Targeted advertising and marketing communications campaign conceptual development, design, and production
- Marketing collateral design and development
- Social Media and PR content creation
- Signage design and production
- Brand Standards (Playbook) / visual identity guidelines development
The brand initiative and ongoing marketing campaign development was fed by extensive internal and external research, including key stakeholder workshops, SWOT, and discovery sessions, and significant community engagement in the form of online surveys and PR / social media engagement.
Outcomes
With the client’s budget in mind and best intentions at heart, Nineteen Forty Eight dares others to break tradition and see beyond the display case for unexpected, creative interpretation of their innermost abstract thoughts and feelings through the collaborative and responsible, informal and fun custom design and creation of their next master piece of artistic ornamentation.
As taken from their brand story: Nineteen Forty Eight exists for the non-conformist…for the true original with a taste for vintage nostalgia; for glamour and sophistication; for wild, abstract invention; or for that sweet spot somewhere in between. This is the year of the humble brag and subtle flex. The year you proudly display your values and make yourself known. This is the year you wear your heart out.
