At the start of 2020, I decided it was going to be MY year. Just like everyone else on the planet…

I’m a people person, I get my energy and motivation from being around others.  I have a million and one ideas constantly buzzing around my brain that I want to develop. That’s why I decided to map out some people that I wanted to work with, in 2020, to make my brand as strong as possible. 

I truly believe that we all have room to learn and that fresh eyes can be a total game-changer for any business. So, when developing WIZZ&CO. I sought the help of some experts. 

The steps that I took to strengthen my brand...

1. Defining my “why”, purpose and values

2. Defining who exactly my ideal client is

3. Market research

4. Branding research and inspiration

5. SWOT analysis

6. Defining my goals

7. Defining my brand pillars

8. Working with a designer to create a visual identity

9. Developing a content strategy with a marketing expert

10. Planning how to launch my brand and shouting about it

I am obviously familiar with these principles since I work with brands to develop their own strategies to stand out. However, doing it for other brands and doing it for your own brand are two very different ball games. Stepping outside of your position within your business to see clearly can be challenging. I help brands to envision pathways to progress, and getting the help of experts allowed me to develop clarity on my vision.

Stage One: Mindset and Mission 

I started the first stage with a powerhouse coach Poppy Delbridge. She focuses on mindset and with her TV exec background comes a wealth of media knowledge. Her ‘Raising Recognition’ group programme helped me cement my mission, brand pillars and goals. Poppy does for people what I do for brands: Help them to stand out, build a powerhouse profile and, ultimately, make more money.

During the coaching programme, my new coaching family helped me realise I should use the power of the name Wizz in the brand name. The use of “&” stands for inclusivity: I love working with other people, it gives me energy and inspiration. WIZZ&CO is also more than a company; it is about collaboration, community and a collective. 

WIZZ&CO’s values are Innovation, Creativity, Inspiring Action, Empowerment and Disruption and our mission is to working with innovative brands and retailers to scale and stand out. We want to share our knowledge to create, develop and grow brands’ sales, engagement and advocacy.

This is more than ‘sales development’. It is how the consumer interacts with luxury brands, what they expect, how to communicate with them and how to create advocacy with a resulting commercial benefit. 

Stage Two: Brand identity and communication

Having admired Araminta Marketing digitally for a long time - particularly for the transformation I had seen of Chimera Recruitment’s digital channels, I knew I had to work with them. Dubbed the ‘A-TEAM’ for a reason, one of her collaborators Alexandra Lunn was aligned to develop the visual identity.

Minty and her team honed my mission, values and goals into a structured strategy we can implement with our team or with hers.

Alexandra had huge patience as we worked through the visual identity, creating multiple options to develop the final concept. The team of designers and typographers at Alexandra Lunn Studio created a bespoke typeface for me as I was keen to create something that was disruptive and stood out. 

I wanted the visual identity to evoke a sense of excitement through the bold colours, movement through the merge of colours, and clarity as the colours start to create shape and forms. The typography also creates a sense of movement, and collaboration.

At the heart of it all, I have to practice what I preach.

The final stage was collaborating with The Brand Whisperer on a press release. After all, it’s all well and good rebranding, but what’s the point if you don’t tell anyone about it?!

Creating a press release isn’t that different to pitching to a buyer: You need to ensure you're presenting journalists with something that’s of interest to them, so research and tailoring this to their objectives is crucial.

Final thoughts

Collaboration is integral to WIZZ&CO whether it's who we partner with on client projects, our team, network or how we develop the business.

If you have any questions on the process or want help developing your brand to stand out and scale, simply drop us an email. If you're not sure - go on and do it anyway, we love to chat!

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