Case Study
SAPJACK
A 10-STEP PLAN TO A SWEET AND SUCCESSFUL BRAND LAUNCH!
As a new brand looking to stand out in the highly commoditized maple syrup category, SAPJACK (formerly The Maple Guild) came to Tiny Bully for a full re-brand development. With a heavy focus on research in order to gain a better understanding of consumer motivations and purchase drivers, Tiny Bully collaborated with SAPJACK to develop an updated foundational brand strategy that would ultimately be reflected across all consumer-facing assets including packaging, digital initiatives, point-of-sale materials and much more.
The following is a step-by-step process of how our tiny team researched, developed, and launched a new maple syrup brand:
STEP 1 –
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
Tiny Bully worked with SAPJACK and a
research partner to develop a quantitative survey with the goal of gaining a better understanding of what motivates consumers to purchase one maple syrup brand over another, how they view the overarching maple syrup category, to gain a better understanding of the industry as a whole, and more.
STEP 2 –
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Following the quantitative test, Tiny Bully took the findings and developed positioning stimuli that would be used in a qualitative test. Each set of stimuli needed to capture distinct visual and messaging differences in order to be able to test identity concepts, as well as territories. Additionally, each stimuli needed to incorporate learnings from the previous quantitative round of research.
STEP 3 –
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Utilizing the concepts developed from the findings in Step 1, SAPJACK conducted a qualitative study (i.e., focus groups) with the goal of digging deeper into the quantitative findings for the purposes of informing the rebrand.
Tiny Bully developed the stimuli that were utilized during this qualitative round which included packaging concepts, communication/mood boards, and brand naming concepts. These were shown during focus group sessions, with the goal of determining breakthrough, recall, memorability, consumer insights, and more. These stimuli were used for directional purposes – not final options.
STEP 4 – Foundational re-positioning
Tiny Bully then used the findings and insights from the qualitative research to zero in on the most ownable, resonant, and differentiating territory with which to reposition the brand. These learnings also helped guide decisions regarding messaging, identity, and more.
Tiny Bully began to develop the higher-level directional insights, along with the elements that would be most ownable, to begin building the foundation for SAPJACK updated brand positioning. These elements included:
- POSITIONING STATEMENT
- UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION
- REASON TO BELIEVE (BRAND PILLARS)
- BRAND PERSONALITY DIRECTIONS
STEP 5 –
BRAND PERSONALITY & CONCEPT BUILD OUT
Following the foundational re-positioning phase, Tiny Bully began to build out the positioning further through the lens of
different, ownable brand personalities. The goal was to explore SAPJACK’s differentiating promise using distinctly different voices and visual identities, including packaging concepts.
STEP 6 –
CREATIVE TESTING
Utilizing the concepts developed in Step 5, Tiny Bully partnered with SAPJACK and a research agency in order to determine if the new creative packaging was resonating with true, 100% maple syrup users. Two packaging/identity directions were tested during the process, which ultimately helped inform our final creative.
STEP 7 –
PERSONA DEVELOPMENT
Taking the results and learnings from the previous research phases, Tiny Bully developed two personas for SAPJACK that would be used to tailor the marketing plan to the audiences most likely to buy and evangelize the brand. The marketing plan would be focused on maximizing efficacy and efficiency by strategically targeting two types of maple-buying consumers.
Qualitative research and demographic reporting helped us arrive at these two audiences.
step 8 – CAmpaign & brand identity development
With a solid foundation, Tiny Bully then moved into full campaign development with executional examples of how the new brand would look and feel, including on-pack, digital ads, in-store displays, and more. Upon finalization, we moved into the last step; bringing the brand to life through an amplified marketing plan.
step 9 – marketing plan development & launch
Tiny Bully led the full marketing and amplification plan development, with the goals of driving brand awareness and trial, while strengthening the SAPJACK equity. The strategy and tactics development aimed to reach, resonate with and drive sales of a truly differentiated brand that cannot be replaced by other “100% pure” competitors.
Tiny Bully spearheaded the strategy and executional elements, delivering against SAPJACK annual quantifiable goals, including:
- PACKAGING
- PRODUCTION
- WEBSITE LAUNCH
- DIGITAL PROPERTIES INCLUDING SOCIAL, BLOGS, EMAILS, ETC.
- PUBLIC RELATIONS
- DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT
- PARTNER PROGRAMS
- SHOPPER MARKETING
step 10 – KEEP GOING
Post-brand launch, the Tiny Bully team dug in and started churning out assets to help the SAPJACK team truly deliver on its brand promise. The work entailed not only launching a new e-commerce website with associated content strategy and SEO optimization but also supplementing the launch by offering up an animated short video that helps further explain the SAPJACK difference to consumers.
Additionally, the team orchestrated the transfer of existing social media profiles for the previous brand and then worked to update the messaging, creative and monthly strategy to further resonate with the new brand voice.
Our tiny team also got to work establishing an email marketing strategy that delivered not only important information about our brand, but offered up unique buying opportunities and engagement campaigns to both new and existing subscribers of The Maple Guild umbrella.
Lastly, in addition to ecommerce, our team has worked diligently to support SAPJACK by creating more in-store buying opportunities using programmatic marketing campaigns.
Today, SAPJACK can be found in more and more grocery stores throughout the country (including Sprouts, Walmart, Stop & Shop, Wegmans, and HEB), with distribution only continuing to grow.
The brand is also the proud winner of three awards in the 17th Annual Davey Awards announced by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts: “Best Use of Animation/Illustration” and “Art Direction” for the website we launched and a Silver Award for “Best Homepage.”
VISIT SAPJACK.COM TO SEE MORE OF OUR WORK TOGETHER
