Brand Starter Kit for a new co-living space in London

Lena and her husband are looking to open a co-living space in London by the end of 2023, targeting entrepreneurs, freelancers, and other professionals aged 25-45—ideally mid-thirties. People will live there because it is an experience, not a necessity. The goal is to create a brand that will express that and allow it to expand to multiple properties around London eventually or even globally. The brand for the venture needs to evoke positive emotions and intrigue people to learn more about it.

Tasks: (1) brand positioning, (2) naming the venture, and (3) designing the core elements of the brand identity.

Requirements: Short and sharp, we will replace presentations with conversations. So, close collaboration and brief exchanges rather than one or two presentations with ‘big’ reveals.

Proposal: The estimated investment to deliver the three tasks of the Brand Starter Kit is £6000. We might want to allow an additional £2500 for a copywriter for extra support, e.g. the naming and the tone of voice aspects (TBC). All prices exclude VAT.

For

Lena Rantsevich

co-living venture

London, SW6 1EA

For questions, please contact Stephan Hammes at 079 6619 5576 or mail@stephanhammes.com

Initially, only the first two phases, discover + define and design + develop, are required and need to answer the following:

The third phase deploy + drive is not include and can be discussed once the Brand Starter Kit is delivered.

01 discover + define

Value proposition, basic brand strategy and messaging

1. Research briefly the competition and audit their visual and verbal brand expression.
2. Hold a Brand Sprint as an in-person workshop or as several Zoom sessions to determine the business goal, vision, values and purpose, as well as the customer journey and competitive landscape.
3. Define the value proposition based on the customer segmentation, their pain points and desired gains
4. Devise the brand platform (identity & positioning) based on differentiation and value proposition (similar to the GearGroom case study)
5. Summarise the results in a brief deck for sign-off

Before the Brand Sprint, you will receive an introduction with a set of questions to prepare, making the sprint more effective.

In a sprint, once a segment’s time is over, we move on to the next one, and anything unresolved will possibly be picked up in a follow-up call.

02 design + develop

Naming and key brand assets

1. Hold a naming sprint developing themes (30min), then names (120min) for each theme, weighted voting (30min) and initial vetting (aka “pub test”).
2. Propose two design concepts based on the outcome of the sprints using stylescapes. These panoramic poster-like layouts give a flavour of the overall look and feel. (see example below)
3. Develop the core brand elements of the selected route: symbol/mark, logotype, colour scheme, typography, and graphics/imagery style.
4. Tweak and finalise the core brand elements for sign-off
5. Create a brand palette as final deliverable to ensure consistent future use (see example below)

Stylescape

Brand palette

03 deploy + drive

Application and initial web presence (not included in the Starter Kit and to be discussed after brand identity is done)

1. Apply the signed-off brand elements to business cards, the space and the initial online presence, such as profile elements for social media.
2. Design a one-page website with basic functionality, e.g. collecting email addresses from prospects.

Alternatively, the landing page can be built using a leading specialised provider allowing, for instance, A/B testing to refine messaging, offers or online advertising and integration with a CRM system.

Brand activation plan (not included in the Starter Kit and to be discussed after brand identity is done)

1. Write a communication plan to create brand awareness and drive lead generation using a lean marketing approach (see the end of the proposal).
2. Devise content platform and calendar for all relevant channels and set up analytics to provide monthly stats
3. Conduct audience research and build trials for multiple audiences based on user behaviour and trends
4. Plan and manage online advertising on relevant online platforms
5. Monitor social management and ads to ensure they are gaining traction
6. Create monthly reporting and insights

Positioning, naming and designing the brand assets for the new co-living venture

The estimated prices for each phase include all research, strategic and creative work, and project management. Third-party costs such as copywriting, illustration, image licences, photography or printing, and travel outside London are extra and agreed upon beforehand. Full terms and conditions

Preliminary Timing

Successful Collaboration

For the successful execution of the brand starter kit for the new co-living venture, open and trusting cooperation is crucial and required. That also means that all shared information and developed results are treated confidentially. Due to our close and regular collaboration, it is only necessary to document the essentials and not create any further reporting. Any postponements or additional work will only take place after consultation.

“Stephan Hammes is all about clarity. To that, he adds a superb depth of perception. The two years we’ve worked together have been both a pleasure and an education. His thoughtful deconstruction of our ideas led us to an atomistic understanding of our offer, from which he built our brand. Through that, he shaped the company, represented by the striking and beautiful design he is known for. Always calm, always on the money, always on the company’s side by thinking on the customer’s side. You may think you know your company now, but the design confidence and message precision you’ll get from Stephan’s work is of a significantly higher order.” — Bill Brannigan, Entrepreneur

Next Steps

1. Stephan presents the proposal to ensure all is clear.

2. With the scope and timing determined, you get a formal estimate.

3. Agree on a date and format for the Brand Sprint, i.e. either in person or as Zoom sessions.

If you have questions, please get in touch with me.

Warm regards Stephan Hammes

Stephan learnt his craft working primarily for the automotive sector (Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Toyota and SEAT ) and F1 (RedBull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso and VodafoneMcLaren) and cultural sector (Victoria & Albert Museum, The British Society of Theatre Designers, and the University of the Arts London). So, he is used to a rigorous design process, attention to detail and delivering high quality. As creative director and designer holding an MBA from Imperial College, he handles projects independently and collaboratively from conception to execution for big brands and SMEs. Currently, he is also consulting start-ups on business models and branding. Experience on LinkedIn

Brand development overview

An overview of all the aspects ideally covered in comprehensive brand development. However, the degree and depth to which they are tackled can vary.

Lean marketing approach

A sequence of build-measure-learn cycles from target customer to channel continuously refine the marketing effort cost-effectively.