Whether a large single segment consumer good distributed nationally looking to repackage or a small non-profit hoping to reposition itself,  Long Group has seen the need for teams to align before moving ahead with these large, emotionally charged and expensive processes.  Our proprietary process brings the team from the brand managers to the sales force onto the same page. 

Insights from our process help reduce drag and costs through next steps.  Stakeholders are much more aligned (and happier 😊 ) before looking forward to consumer research.  Because of this, the need for constant concept rewrites or repack edits are minimized.  Testing (either quant or qual) is streamlined.  Stakeholders are much more aligned (and happier) before looking forward to consumer research.

In short:

Stakeholder and influencer understanding helps gain insights and align the culture and vision, centered around an energized values based shared purpose.

Customized but often includes:

–Homework with lifestyle collages and photo journals. Photos that represent metaphors of themselves when like their best self versus and less than best self when engaged with the category.

In a fast paced, changing & noisy world, brand focus is critical. There can be brand qualities that have been forgotten or misunderstood with aspects that need to be to be identified and repaired.

To capture the relationship of the brandtoday, how it is perceived and defined, the role it plays, how it makes target consumers feel, what it does for them, what image it projects when used, what type of accessory it plays across their daily landscape.

To uncover barriers and hurdles to overcome.

To identify positioning, product and communication “stretch”  versus “keep and celebrate ” trails to energize, enrich and build.

To craft the brand story, essence, identify ways to keep the conversation relevant across targets and platforms.

The process is customized, but often includes:

Imaginary brand land collages or a day in life with the brand

Brand visualizations, relationship timelines, transformational experiences

Trend connections and gaps

Equity element associations

New equity and positioning spider charts and platforms

Target consumer hearts and minds:

Get to know and love your target consumer deeply. Get in sync with their values and goals, lifestyles, wishes and dreams, bumps and white space opportunities.  

-To build brand bridges rooted in your current or potential targets’ values, trends on their radar, lifestyle needs, passions and desires. 

-To enable everyone on your team who touches the brand  to feel empathetic and aligned with who and what is important.

-To identify and explore whitespace territory for new brand or existing brand extension and innovation.

=To help explore and inform stronger insights, brand communication and new concept development.  

Stakeholder and influencer understanding and insights to align the culture and vision, centered around an energized values based shared purpose.

Customized but often includes: 

-Homework with lifestyle collages and photo journals. Photos that represent metaphors of themselves when like their best self versus and less than best self when engaged with the category and aspects of their life.

Packaging and branding is a Long Group favorite area of engagement.

As the in store and on line shopping landscape is increasingly fragmented with small craft to widely extended big mega brands, standing out and standing for something is critical yet challenging.

To identify actionable guidelines and guardrails for branding and pack optimization that will personify the true brand essence, evoke the brand’s story, stand out distinctively, simplify navigation.

Gain insight into channel and shopper mindsets and opportunities.

Arm multidisciplinary teams with insights around branding and packaging opportunities.

To identify brand communication opportunities for extended brands to optimize SKU differentiation and family member distinctiveness/growth.

This process is customized, but usually includes:

HW: Brand shopping and navigation photo journal or how and where the brand lives, operates, misses out in target consumers lives emotionally and functionally.

Drawings and equity element semiology; packaging personifications.

New design triggers and drivers around key design brief values and goals.

Explore new designs set in typical use locations e.g. store shelf, car cup holder, back bar, desk at work.

With innovation and packaging work, we help the core team early in the process from brief development & concept development, to post qualitative refinement and launch opportunities.