The Spark that ignites success: EightySeven’s unique approach to branding.

The most beloved brands have something in common. They understand that at our core, humans are not always rational. We’re deeply emotional creatures. Even the most stoic of us are, at least in part, influenced and driven by our feelings.

Joy. Nostalgia. Passion. Confidence. Safety. Feelings like these are powerful. Of course, more rational attributes, like prices, features, and reasons to believe are also important contributors to a brand’s story and success, but when they’re presented with the right feeling, they can become all the more compelling and persuasive.

That’s why identifying the feelings that can resonate with your audience – and help your brand spark an emotional connection with them – is so essential to building a brand that can actually stand out and be remembered.

At EightySeven, we help brands find that spark – that strategically informed, creatively inspired, emotionally driven catalyst that people can connect with, and the brand can deliver. It’s the feeling that powers, guides, and unites the entirety of the brand experience to deliver lasting value for a business and its fans.

This is how we design brand solutions with a focused vision that sparks success.

Focus Makes Sparks Fly

Core strategies, mission and vision statements, company culture and service standards, brand actions, activations, storytelling, voice, logos, colors, fonts, photography styles, and yes, products and services, are just some of the tools a brand can use to manifest its spark. And when these tools work together toward a clear objective, it brings a whole new level of cohesion, consistency, and authenticity to the brand experience.

(87)BrandFocus is our method of focusing a brand’s efforts to spark clarity of purpose, creativity in execution, confidence in decision-making, and deeper connections with key audiences. It’s a collaborative workshop that brings leaders and stakeholders together to make progress. It also allows our team to get up to speed and identify opportunities for the brand, the brand team, and the people they want to reach. These discussions focus on clarifying the eight core elements of successful brands:

(01) Vision — What is your vision of your brand’s future? Too small? Let’s make it bigger.

(02) Foundation — What are the essential defining elements of your brand and culture?

(03) Feeling — What feeling do we want to spark in people?

(04) Values — What does your brand stand for? Against?

(05) Audience — Who are we trying to spark a connection with?

(06) Positioning — Where is the white space in the marketplace?

(07) Formulas — What combination of pop-culture references captures the vibe?

(08) Commitment — How will you activate and deliver a new brand?

This allows us to evaluate the brand, its competition, and its audience through a number of lenses. We explore, experiment, question, and discuss the brand’s past and present, while aligning on its goals for the future. In doing so, we surface insights and identify opportunities for the brand team to bring their vision to life.

The result is a more focused vision for the future, a more united and aligned brand team, a stronger foundation for the brand to grow from, and a distinct brand Spark to set it all in motion.

Ideas That Catch On

A brand’s Spark is more than a slide in a PDF or a simple message. It’s a mission, a purpose, a roadmap. It’s the brand’s heart and soul. This core idea is woven into every aspect of the brand’s narrative. It informs brand expressions and illuminates opportunities for the brand to carve out a specific role in the lives of its audience.

To accomplish this, a Spark needs to be true and relatable, and it needs to be as succinct and straightforward as possible if it’s going to ignite. Ideas will never catch on if people can’t understand or remember them.

The Spark is where the entire brand experience begins. It becomes a guiding light for the brand, informing every decision, strategy, and creative expression that follows. It’s what makes a brand not just seen and heard, but felt, so it can nurture the connections that transcend transactions.

Fueling the Fire

Brand Sparks will fizzle and die unless they’re tended to. Without action, they’re just empty words.

A brand’s actions stir the emotions that make the Spark authentic and allow it to catch on with audiences. Every aspect of the brand experience — from visual identity to messaging and real world actions — needs to be conceived with this in mind.

The goal of a Spark is to inspire brand behaviors that reflect and reinforce the brand’s essence. These behaviors demonstrate to audiences that this brand is the real deal – it’s authentic, it has a role to play in their lives, and it’s worth remembering.

Think about it. Whether it’s funny or impactful, badass or cute, when your favorite brand does something in the world that sparks a positive feeling in you, you notice.

Brand sparks channel creativity, clarity, and connection, inspiring authentic opportunities for  brands to live up to their deeper purpose and forge deeper relationships with their audiences. They shift the narrative from product to purpose, turning customers into fans in the process.

Lighting the Way Forward

Beyond inspiring more cohesive and compelling brand experiences, brand Sparks also deliver lasting value in their ability to inspire action, encourage innovation, and foster a sense of collective purpose for the brand and marketing teams that will carry the torch forward.

The right Spark can bring brand teams together. It can create new opportunities and challenge the inertia of “the way we’ve always done things,” mentality, encouraging growth, igniting change, and empowering those teams to leave a lasting legacy.

Where There’s A Spark, There’s Fire

Now that you know how it works, here are a few examples of the Sparks we’ve fanned in the past.

MiSide → Supported → Here To Help With Every Side Of Life.

Rollie Nation → Inspired → Step Beyond.

Kleer Brand → Seen → Skincare That Cares.

DoDilly → Relief → Compliance Due Diligence Done For You.

Login Poop Bags → Responsibility → Nature’s #1 Choice For Your Dog’s #2.

Every brand experience is an opportunity. Finding your brand’s Spark could be the key to unlocking its true power and potential. We can help you discover and design the one to help your brand truly connect with your audience and transform your business for the better.

Let’s get together and make those sparks fly.