College Woodwork is a one hundred year old Canadian company with a well established reputation as a manufacturer of solid wood furniture. They specialize in bedroom furniture and recently introduced a new home office line. Much of their success is based on customer loyalty and repeat purchases, as well as the fact that they offer a full line of furniture, from crib to college, right through adulthood. Repeat business and customer loyalty depend, to a large extent, on maintaining a consistent and strong brand.
Faced with a looming Asian market threat and market erosion, College Woodwork asked Limelight in 2005 to develop a new brand image for its North American market - only the third re-branding in the company's 100 year history.
- Corporate identity
- Brand integration from product design to full product introduction
- Catalogues
- Trade show exhibits
- Advertising
- Point-of-Sale
- Public relations
The previous logo mark was designed to primarily fit the do-it-yourself, unfinished furniture market. With the shrinking of this market and the introduction of new, finished products we needed to alter the identity. The objective and core concept was to reflect the company's main selling proposition: solid wood. The positioning became: Solid Wood. Solid History. Solid Reputation.
There were specific product lines that addressed special market segments (i.e., juvenile) and these had no identity whatsoever. The new branding had to include these
additional lines. As part of the assignment, we helped
develop a new strategy, name and identity for the
juvenile line: Offspring.
The brand
The new College Woodwork brand is designed and managed to reflect:
- A new, lifestyle-oriented image that appeals to middle income families who are looking for quality and value (solid wood and styles that do not go out of fashion), warmth, comfort and style
- Strong POP presence to support retailers (all-new photography in historic room settings by designer Robin DeGroot of HGTV fame)
- A high- profile image for retailer showrooms
