Inspiring Women Media
Challenge
With the inaugural Most Inspiring Women of Austin publication debuting winter of 2020, Inspiring Women Media had the opportunity to forge a compelling brand identity that reflected and amplified each of the successful, inspiring, and beautiful women featured inside their publication. To build this brand and elevate its social media presence, we assembled the top social media strategists, copywriters, and designers from our Collective. Inspiring Women Media sought to build a distinct, memorable brand that resonates with its audience of smart, successful, and inspiring women. As a new media outlet, breaking into the Austin publishing scene was no small feat for IWM and a solid visual identity was paramount to its success. With their Most Inspiring Women of Austin book set to publish in Winter of 2020, IWM needed to quickly build a brand and visual identity, in addition to a social media strategy to help them gain a following of more like-minded women while also generating buzz for its forthcoming book launch.
Solution
Services: Brand Identity (logo, color palette, typography) Website Design & Build (Squarespace) Instagram Strategy Instagram Post Design & Copy Color Palette We began by creating a color palette and a set of logos for IWM that captured its essence as an envelope-pushing and forward-looking, yet feminine, brand. We settled on the palette below since aqua is a vibrant tone that evokes feelings of reinvigoration and can be connected to a higher self-esteem and love for oneself. Looking at this color gives a feeling of serenity and stability, and is a color that encourages reflection and focusing on one’s own needs, thoughts and feelings, while orange is associated with meanings of inspiration, creativity and determination. As a color that is both stimulating and vibrant, the color orange can create physical effects such as a boost in aspiration, stimulated mental activity, and increased contentment. Orange also helps aid decision making, and enhances happiness, confidence, and understanding. Bringing these two colors together creates a natural balance for the eye, in addition to the energy evoked by the combination given that one is more energizing and action-oriented while the other is more calming and reflective. Much like the balance of a woman's femininity. Logos + Style Sheet We first created a wordmark for IWM to use as its primary logo. Wanting a clean and sophisticated look, we chose a sans serif font that is appealing to the eye without being distracting. The "O" in women is a different color to symbolize the individual woman as part of a whole movement. The "O" also inspired the circle-shaped lettermark which IWM uses primarily for social media. In this version, the "W" represents the individual woman. We then packaged up her new brand identity into a stylesheet with clear guidelines and use-cases for all elements. Instagram Strategy We began by analyzing a few of IWM's competitors in order to get a better sense of what currently exists and how IWM can chart a prosperous course through all the chatter. From there, we gave them recommendations on their voice and tone when posting, and then built out a comprehensive engagement and content strategy that included successful engagement tactics and four key content pillars to help IWM effectively tell its story while also maintaining a diverse mix of content that helps grow and engage with its followers. Building off of that, we created a custom content calendar for IWM leading up to its book launch. Instagram Post Creation Using the strategy as our guiding light, we then got to work creating the actual instagram posts. Working closely together, our social media copywriter and our graphic designer/illustrator created 48 complete posts for IWM to use over the next several months. See a sampling of these posts below.
Results
With a consistent brand and clear plan for their content calendar and strategic creative assets, IWM is poised to build an impressive following in the coming weeks and for the foreseeable future. Having laid a solid foundation for its brand, IWM is fully prepared to carve out a name for itself as one of the leading media contenders in the Austin publishing scene. In the end, IWM increased its competitive advantage by building a distinct, memorable brand that consistently outperforms its competitors and seamlessly connects with its audience. And by creating a space for women to connect with each other and share their stories, IWM sparks inspiration, motivation, and innovation among its audience every day.
Clover Collective, LLC.
Tina + Brionne founded this brand-building collective on one core principle - the community is more powerful than the individual. Clover Collective is a diverse group of brand-builders who believe in the power of community. By bringing together the most talented creatives from every field, they're able to solve big...
Want fresh marketing stories in your inbox?
Get the weekly email that makes you a marketing genius.
Stay informed and inspired, for free.