Tag: Brand Strategy

Origins

Discover London

Embedded into the ground we walk on, a magical network of mycelium works quietly. It forms a resilient, fortifying foundation from which all life, Earth’s entire life force, flourishes.

In many ways, London is a microcosm of the planet’s mycelium network.

Within its biosphere a rare breed of thinker & creator, draws on the organic to create potent & pure works that nourish, inform, challenge and propel society into the future.

Origins & Early Spring invite curious guests on an adventure through fairytale gardens, towering treetops, & waterways in a quest to uncover the spores of genius – unleashing the mind unto the extraordinary power of nature – urging them to Never Stop Discovering.

  • Brand Positioning
  • Brand Strategy
  • Design
  • Film And Video
  • Influencer

01 THE ASK

Having secured a sponsorship opportunity for the Mushrooms: The Art, Design and Future of Fungi exhibit at London’s Somerset House, Origins tasked Early Spring with concepting a 3-day trip through the British capital for 30 key global retail partners and beauty influencers.

Each activity had to tactfully tie in a product benefit and pair back to who Origins is as a brand: Powered by Nature, Proven by Science; their Nature to Do Good; the focus on Inner Harmony & Outer Beauty, and finally, the global Origins story of endless discovery.

02 THE INSIGHT

The last two years have seen over 100 new skincare brands debuting in department and specialty stores. Given this sea of choice, 91% consumers admit they would switch brands to one that felt more mission-driven. What’s more, 80% say that they want to know more about how the products they use are being made. A watershed moment for Origins, they sought to crystallize their position & ethos as a brand dedicated to a more holistic & mindful approach to skincare.

03 THE SOLUTION

Inspired by their Origins’ founding motto philosophy, their growing sustainability initiatives & of course, their bestselling products, Early Spring designed & produced a 3-day trip that fascinated guests, radiating the brand, its story & products for months to come.

04 THE RESULT

Designed as a triptych, each day focused on an essential aspect of the Origins story while highlighting the brand’s hero product line. Each of the trip’s activities had a strategic purpose that dialed back to one of the brand’s pillars – their foundations in science, their philanthropic initiatives & their focus on providing consumers with a holistic experience.

Every activity had a different set design, integrating the brand’s products & ingredients in an arresting way. To highlight their founding motto, Powered by Nature, Proven by Science, we transported guests in a branded double-decker bus to Kew Gardens, the largest botanical & mycological collection in the world. Origins’ president, Julie van Ongevalle, shed light on their sustainability initiatives over a farm-to-table lunch at Petersham Nurseries. Paying tribute to the brand’s collaboration with Somerset House, guests descended upon an Origins’ green lit courtyard & dined at Spring, a restaurant tucked into the iconic landmark. We then paired the brand’s dedication to creating holistic, sensorial experiences with their driving concepts of achieving inner harmony & outer beauty to transform a trendy lunchtime spot, Wild by Tart, into a day-time spa, pampering guests with sound baths & facials. Finally, we threw a farewell party at the Conduit Club, a hub for social entrepreneurs.

Working with Estee Lauder, we ushered in a new era of social media strategy for the brand. Capturing the activities in real-time, we leveraged a host of innovative mixed-media Instagram formats, broadcasting them in near real-time. Our work paid off: Origins Taiwan sold out of brand’s hero product & e-commerce sales increased by more than 100%.

WELLFARE

A World Well Nourished

The pandemic has laid bare many of the cracks upon which this country is built, but few needs are more fundamental than our access to food. Food insecurity existed long before COVID-19, but has worsened and especially left low-income communities more vulnerable.

 

While food banks, pantries, and other community-supported programs work tirelessly to close the gap on food scarcity, it isn’t enough to cover the up to 8 billion meal shortfall America is projected to experience over the next year. And incase you missed it—we live in a country where 40 percent of our food is wasted, lost or simply thrown away.

  • Brand Design
  • Brand Strategy
  • Experiential
  • Social Content

01 THE ASK

Founder, Cole Riley came to Early Spring seeking support in solving the massive food insecurity problem the country faces.

02 THE INSIGHT

Barriers to accessing sufficient food are far too high for far too many, not only due to cost & availability but a lack of adequate education around nourishment and achievable health.

03 THE SOLUTION

Early Spring concepted and designed a non-profit, subscription food service for those in need called Wellfare. Wellfare will deliver nourishing food and drink to those who need it at low-to-no cost.

In parallel, Wellfare will produce relatable & insightful original content around what ‘health’ looks like, lifting the veil on ‘wellness’ & well-being. It will also help brands talk about the work they do with Wellfare in a meaningful way.

04 THE RESULT

The operational and creative chasm between the nonprofit world and the commercial world had to be traversed. Old-world nonprofits may have global reach, but they often fail to treat their beneficiaries with the dignity, the attention, and the care that companies show their consumers.

Early Spring imagined, instead, a nonprofit that does not ignore design, nor branding, nor quality, nor agility. A nonprofit that pays as much attention to the needs of its beneficiaries as companies do to the needs of their consumers. A nonprofit that recognizes that people in need are not just mouths to feed but people, consumers like the rest of us, who want to be healthy, fulfilled, and happy.

VEVO

Music Television The Way It Was Meant To Be

Long before the pandemic, Vevo hedged it’s bets on the proliferation of connected television. It was only inevitable that when the opportunity to personalise their viewing experience become available that consumers would prefer to pilot their own way through the music videos and artists they loved. With stay-at-home mandates, came a resurgence of the television—stadiums, stages and sets converged in the living room.

With over 40 million daily viewers in the US and 150 million globally, Vevo’s investment in connected television was paying off. The 2021 IAB NewFronts would be the place to galvanize media buyers around the platform, but the traditionally glitzy in-person event would now be experienced behind a screen.

Vevo tapped Early Spring to develop a fresh perspective on a brand narrative to launch at the IAB NewFronts and collateral its sales force would use to secure ad dollars.

Early Spring pulled back the curtain of Vevo’s staggering numbers, drawn to explore the science behind the emotional & cerebral connections triggered by music videos.

We sought to get to the heart of why music videos are the optimum medium for cultural influence.

  • Brand Positioning
  • Brand Strategy
  • Design
  • Film And Video

01 THE ASK

Leverage Vevo’s growing viewership, content & capabilities to capture advertisers’ attention & a lion’s share of their dollars.

02 THE INSIGHT

When watching music videos, we are more likely to feel positive about and recall ads.

Music activates the part of the brain that is crucial to processing & registering emotion, the amygdala. When processing music the amygdala releases chemicals responsible for bonding, trust & intimacy. Further, when the brain copes to processes the compounded stimulation of music and simultaneous visuals, recall is improved.

03 THE SOLUTION

Early Spring joined forces with DLA productions to script, direct and shoot a digital NewFronts Presentation for Vevo.

Beyond that, we restructured Vevo’s internal sales deck integrating a narrative approach to bring the brand to life for media buyers.

04 THE RESULT

Madonna’s Vogue. Beyonce’s Formation. Kendrick’s Humble. Drake’s God’s Plan. Wet Ass Pussy. 

Visually arresting, these manifestos shock & awe the mind, flooding it with emotion. They dare to rewrite the rules of how fame, power, freedom & beauty come to be & their very potential.  

More than a creative mark of excellence, Vevo is the petri dish from which culture takes shape & evolves. It is a laboratory for cultural experimentation, where creators provoke the antiquated &, in turn, synthesize a new way of being, of doing, of interacting with one another. 

By leveraging music videos’ ability to create lasting impact, Early Spring positioned Vevo as the gatekeepers of culture, inviting brands to its platform in an effort to permeate society on a molecular level.