Working alongside ambitious and inventive founders, we were onboarded in the early stages of a business to help craft the model through our lens of brand positioning and customer experience. We use deep market research, client workshops and iterative structures to deliver a brand system and inform the operating model. Though scope may vary on a case by case basis, depending on scale and offering, we create the minimum viable foundation for launching a new brand and developing an ongoing communication system, considering competition, capacity and investment.

One of these projects, an outlier as a startup, was the local franchise of Japanese streetwear brand A Bathing Ape (BAPE©). Although an established brand globally, its presence and go to market strategy in the region needed to be localized. The franchisee, a subdivision of a larger organization, operated independently and therefore can be considered a startup with several limitations. We worked closely with the client team to discuss the relationship between sales, operations and communication, as well as corresponded with the global team on brand guidelines and areas of divergence. We onboarded local creative teams and community members to support relevancy of the brand, and helped carve its voice in the region.