Growing a Brand from Roots to Social Media Recognition

Project Overview

Client: FloristStock NZ Shop Co
Project: Business Identity Build and leveraging Social Media platforms
Timeline: 24 months

Overview

A small independent foliage grower, initially cultivating foliage for a florist partner, sought to expand and develop their offerings for the flower market. Introduced to the project, Dayne agreed to help establish the business identity and construct a marketing plan.

Dayne collaborated with the grower to finalize the business plan and align marketing goals to target the flower market auctions. The marketing budget focused on increasing business-to-customer awareness via social media, enhancing product branding, and establishing sales introductions to wholesalers for future growth.

This focused effort helped the brand gain visibility, with a strategic plan that extended to branding for administrative tasks, reusable product packaging, and creating sales references to introduce the business to wholesalers for future growth.

Objectives

• Develop a cohesive business identity, including logo and identity icons.
• Create business cards and branding for online admin templates (invoice, newsletter).
• Design business icons for social media platforms.
• Establish a marketing strategy that capitalised on customer awareness through digital channels.

Business Identity Creation:

• Developed a cohesive identity that messages the company’s ability to supply to the industry.
• Created a memorable business name to stand out in a busy sector.

Brand Establishment:

• Gained recognition from customers for the types of foliage grown and offered.

A Direct Marketing Problem Solved:

Beginning from scratch, the grower and myself meticulously defined the target market, identified potential marketing avenues. Leveraging the social media platforms the growers customer uses, online channels, email/messaging tools, and simple dedicated landing pages, we were able to implement a campaign rollout, prioritizing customer engagement, influencer outreach, and algorithmic relevance.

Throughout the project, utilization of various technologies to streamline the ‘doing’ and measurement, including different visuals for social media engagement, email marketing automation, data analytics, and A/B testing frameworks were needed. Creating conceptual ideas into communication products while adhering to budgetary constraints, monitoring performance metrics, testing, and implementing iterative improvements based on data insights, culminated in achieving marketing objectives and produced sustained business growth.

Collateral Implementation as Needed for Marketing Strategy:

• Created and deployed various marketing materials across multiple channels to support brand communications and promotional efforts.

Challenges

The primary challenge was working within a tight budget to build a business identity while also devising a marketing plan to suit the niche market of flower market auctions. Also, developing this during tough economic times was a daunting task. Through ingenuity and budget management, the business gained traction and established itself as a reliable foliage supplier to the market.

Outcomes

• Auction Sales Growth: A 20% increase in auction sales was recorded after the implementation of the new marketing strategies.
• Customer Engagement: A customer database was developed, allowing for better tracking of purchasing patterns and preferences.
• Market Insights: The access to trends from customers’ businesses provided valuable data, informing future product decisions and ensuring the grower’s offerings were aligned with market demand.

Hard work and long hours paid off, leading to a self-sustaining business. Various new foliage products are now in development for future seasons.