Hi there! Our job is to create brands that pull clients to you rather than push a product or service. We turn brands into tools that sell, over and over and over again. Our blog shows off some of our work and hopefully a lot of our personality. It doesn't say it all, so if you want to know the 'how' give us a call on 09 281 5591.
Aside from that, enjoy.

a killer of a brand – part 3

With a name like Killer and hook ‘Look, Live, Love, Legend’. The rest of the brand needs to continue
with this promise.

Covering off each of the 5 key messages developed throughout the strategy phase the language maintains a challenging tone, edgy yet celebratory. Combined with the typography – boldly stacked
and cropped off the edge of the page the language creates a resonant, in your face appeal.

Themes include:
– Integrating the word ‘Killer’ and similar themes into the language reinforces and expands the name
- of the salon. Truly ownable to Killer Hair.
– Celebrating the creativity and differences of hair and customers by weaving in colours and styles.
– Challenging… your style portrays who you are and who you want to be. The messages combine your
- look with your attitude and a bit of humour.
– Embracing sayings and clichés with a twist.

Leading with language rather than beauty shots begins to defy the conventional salon style and set
Killer apart as a leader.

a killer of a brand – part 2

In my last blog I promised you the Killer hook. ‘Hair to die for, what a fantastic experience and now
I can go and rock my world’ – or rather, this is how it was originally strategised. The spark is there,
it is the fuel for the final expression.

The Killer hook is expressed as an organic crest made up of the words look, live, love, legend. It’s not
just a symbol to put on collateral but a way of life that infuses the whole salon, staff and customers.

Their mission is to deliver a Killer experience through Killer hair and Killer attitude. They are not everyday.

Killer people need to:
LOOK. To see what needs to happen for the client and each other.
LIVE. When they live they are passionate, they live the brand and the customer experience.
LOVE. What they do, to love hair and what this does for their customers.
Do all of these things and they are a LEGEND.

And the customer:
LOOKS great.
LIVES the experience, Killer becomes part of their life, they leave with hair that reflects and enhances
the way they like to live.
LOVES their hair and the Killer experience.
Leaves feeling like a LEGEND. They have hair to die for and are ready to rock their world.

This is the creed Killer people live and deliver every day. It reflects their values of self belief, empathy, intimacy and expertise. By doing all of this they create an iconic experience for their customers, one
that encourages loyalty and creates a following.

A killer of a brand – part 1

Two energetic high achievers, Steven and Mimi Kelly, have a hair salon on the city fringe hidden away in an old Masonic lodge. You may even think you had come to the wrong place as you climb the stairs.

So how to draw more clients to Killer and get the business really pumping?

That is where ellen&ellen come in. Our job is to turn Killer Hair into a destination brand. Not just a place where you go for great hair, but somewhere to also enjoy a great experience. Not hard with the people that work there; all individuals, all people people and all are great at what they do. But they need to know how to harness this collective force and make it work harder for them.

Our first stop was brand strategy. We found out what makes them tick, their highs, their lows, their pain points. They have an incredibly loyal following and no wonder, but still there was a need to find out how to really grow the business and how to get everyone on the same page.

First stop to work through their goals and define their purpose, then develop a brand story that is truly representative of Killer, something they can live and breathe and articulate easily. A brand that is contagious.

The logo needed to reflect their passion for hair, be unique to them and to the hair industry. Not a hard edged sans serif font that could belong to anyone. We made paper hair shapes and worked them to create an individual logo ‘hair do’. It is full of movement, friendly and vibrant. And it is just the beginning of the journey.

Follow the Killer story in a series of blogs planned for the next year, from logo inception through to launch and following up with business results. Coming soon, the hook.

It’s time to reinvent the Christmas card once again, the end of the year comes around quickly these days. This year QBE came to us with an idea of the sort of thing they wanted so we shook it up a bit and reinvented it. Our summer fun kiwi sits on his towel and is able to be dressed in an ensemble of your choice. He was also used on the giant advent calendar at Wynyard Quarter where anyone can grab a card to take away and make. So if you have time, head down to Wynyard Quarter, check out the advent calendar and grab yourself some fun.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Christmas party season is in full swing and the QBE fiesta is sure to be a highlight. We designed a bright mexican themed invite for the event complete with removable moustache and flower for guests to wear. The spanish-english read ‘Hey muchacho! Come and celebrate Creesmas Mehico style. De salsa weel be hot and de cerveza weel flow. Pop out el moostacha and wear to enter de fiesta.’

If you’re attending the party watch out for Mary and Simone before they go loco!

Endeavour Solutions don’t just sell business intelligence software, they make sure it works for your business needs, they are your software partners. A partner company to an existing client Greentree, we knew that they had potential to be a great client. The fact they understood the value of brand, already had a future strategic plan in place, as well as providing a unique service meant that the journey would be a good one.

Our job was to give all this ‘oomph’, meaning and presence in a busy marketplace. We discovered Endeavour positioning to be ‘the go to guys’, they are special in their ‘trusted’ and ‘make it easy’ qualities. These revelations are quite simple, but the trick is to say it in a unique and ownable way.

Taking the hard out since 1986. This is what Endeavour do, they take the hard out by installing systems that make businesses easy to run, providing a painless transition. For the first time in the company’s history everyone at Endeavour is able to articulate the most compelling reason their clients work with them. It was so easy, they picked it up and ran with it.