A Luxury Brand Design Project
THE CLIENT:
The client for this project was Marilyn Rose of Marilyn Rose Interiors, in Locust Valley. Marilyn has been an interior designer, world traveler, and overall aesthete for many years. Not only is she an extraordinarily talented designer, she's absolutely hilarious - her bon mots leave me cackling out loud in the middle of our meetings.
THE BRAND:
Marilyn's brand, first and foremost, is old-world, classic luxury interior design. If you have a Locust Valley estate or a Park Avenue penthouse that you need decorated to the nines with the best furniture, finest finishes, and most impeccable details, you call Marilyn. Marilyn also has an online shop where she sells unique vintage pieces and modern home accessories.
THE OBJECTIVE:
The primary objective with this branding project was to define Marilyn's brand as a luxury interior design firm and set her apart from the competition. The secondary objective was to offer an affordable luxury item that Marilyn could list in her online shop - if a fan of Marilyn's couldn't afford a pricier vintage piece, they could instead purchase a more affordable luxury item branded with Marilyn's business name.
THE ITEM:
After some brainstorming sessions with Marilyn and Stacey, we decided that a Marilyn Rose Signature candle was the best item to reach our objectives for this branding project. I asked questions like:
- What do you want this item to say about you? What words do you want your target customers to think of when they see it?
- What accessories do YOU like having in your home? What accessories do you like to add in your interior design projects?
- What are the values of your business? How can we find something to offer that reflects these values?
Marilyn loves the look of candlelight, but is sensitive to strong scents - it was imperative to her to create something that she would actually use in her own home. It was also important to her that the candles be made in the USA - Marilyn tries to support American-made businesses and products as much as possible. We wanted everything about this candle to reflect the brand identity of Marilyn's business - that is, to say, "beauty, luxury, grace" when target customers saw it.
THE INSPIRATION
We spent a few weeks selecting every aspect of the candles, from the scent to the wax color to the container to the gift box they come in.
Marilyn wanted a Lily of the Valley scent, to honor both her mother's favorite flower and her dog, Lily Rose.
Keeping our brand message and Marilyn's inspiration in mind, I created a mood board to reflect what we wanted to convey with the luxury candles.
I designed the labels and had them printed by Printing Plus of East Setauket, my favorite local printer.
THE ROLLOUT
When the candles officially launched, we implemented the strategic email and social media marketing campaign that I had designed at the beginning of the project. This campaign has transitioned into part of Marilyn's regular social media and email marketing schedule to continually remind target customers about the luxury Marilyn Rose Signature candle.
I'm so thrilled about how gorgeous this branding project came out! Contact me if you're interested in working with me on branding and marketing your small business!
Marilyn Rose Interiors Luxury Candle Mood Board - designed by Bonnie Bryant O'Connor