Context
The folks at FM Core came to us with an idea that got us all fired up and excited. They had a plan that would represent the evolution of peer-to-peer hospitality, one that adds a layer of guaranteed service and property quality without the sterility of a large hotel. And when they turned up, the idea was at its infancy so we had the luxury of defining brand and product almost simultaneously.
The challenge
As with any brand that speaks to the supply and the demand side of a market, the brand we were about to work on needs to say so many different things to so many different people while remaining consistent and true to its nature.
The process
Early on, when we first sat with the team of decision makers, we understood that the brand process would have to take a few detours as we ironed out the product itself. We jumped in headfirst, researching the global market from a number of aspects. Working with tech and operations, we helped define the product while viewing the brand from the perspective of a single kind of audience. With this locked in, we worked our way upwards and outwards, building the foundations in layers.
Hours of discussions, litres of coffee, and kilos of pastries later, we had a clear idea of the shape of the brand and went about articulating it in a way that home-owners and guests alike would feel right at home with, so to speak.
With the brand fundamentals locked in, we went about committing to the creative brief, a document that the studio and the copywriting team would work with when producing the expressive elements of the brand – its visual identity and tone of voice, among other things. But how does one create an identity when we don’t yet have a name?
First stop was naming. We took the spirit of the brand and distilled it into a name that conveys active pursuit, an engaging word that is permanently on the move and that, by virtue of being coined for the brand, is wholly ownable. And like that, zzzing was born.
With a name established, the studio went on to work their dark magic, weaving a very mass-market public face of the brand that would attract guests within the reassuring corporate side that home-owners would feel comfortable with.
Once we had presented the core elements of the identity and had these approved by the board, we could proceed to apply it to all touch-points that allowed zzzing audiences to interact with the brand – from linen and uniforms to sales brochures and coffee cups and every digital touchpoint imaginable.
The result
We delivered a complete brand kit – the document that codifies all of the brand fundamentals, a brand identity bible that includes all possible touchpoints for the brand, and a suite of communication materials that allow zzzing to present a consistent and cohesive face across audiences and communication opportunities.
The next step is the app that will govern all aspects of the zzzing experience, for both sides of the market, and working from the UX up was made easier by having a clear vision of where the brand is headed and what it means to anyone who will come in contact with it.
