This month’s edition of Home Furnishings Business features some of the biggest names in the furniture and branding industries, including our own Jason Pires, as they talk about the evolving landscape of branding in the furniture industry. In it, Jason points out how the nature of branding has changed and come to encompass everything, even B2B brands:

“Don’t ignore the fact that you’re a brand, whether you think of your company as being a brand or not. There are companies that are consistent with what they do, and those that just open their doors and expect business, or when they do advertise they don’t have any vision in mind, no attention to position, mission statements or brand objectives [...] Whether you like it or not, people will have an image of your business, and if you don’t react to that you lose a lot of value.”

Furniture Branding’s 8 Rules of Branding also make an appearance in the magazine.

To read the full article, head on over to Home Furnishings Business. To request the full version of our 8 Rules of Branding, click here.

The recent Las Vegas Market confirmed for me that attending furniture markets is a great way to network, spend some quality time with current clients and learn about what is happening in the industry in terms of designs, trends, and general developments. Markets let you put your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the industry, sample the moods and attitudes of various companies, and experience a realistic cross section of the where the industry is headed and why.  During the Las Vegas Market I gained some extraordinary insight, especially valuable to those affiliated with the furniture industry.

Me with designer Stanley Jay Friedman (L)

This time at market, there was one subject on everyone’s mind – the economy. With the US going through one of the most unpredictable periods of its economic history, most businesses remained cautious about their strategies, not venturing into unknown territories or investing in anything except the very essential. For furniture companies, this usually translated to focusing their resources on maximizing their ROI and hoping to weather through the rough patch. Even special guest speaker, President Bill Clinton, spoke of how we have to “get back to work on getting this economy started”.

Most companies at market this time were expanding their product offerings to distribute their risk. Manufacturers were offering a wide variety of products and styles to maximize their chance of business with retailers. Retailers on the other hand were also offering a wider range of products to consumers, so as to not miss a trend or fad in the market.

The obvious downside of this strategy is a severe case of brand dilution. If your brand is not focused, it makes it impossibly hard for you to communicate your unique values to your customers. Because of a scattered brand image, your customers will not be able to form a positive association with your company – essential for any lasting business partnership. The solution to this dilemma is a) understand your market and b) sticking to what your company does best. By offering a range of products that fall outside your brand values, companies risk trying to seem like doing too much and end up gaining little to no market share. Of course, this doesn’t mean that an outdated brand image must continue to be used. A brand must be relevant to its main customer base. If it is not relevant, there is little association with the brand and it must undergo and overhaul.

As bleak as all this may sound, this was not the case universally. Some companies sought to capitalize on the tumultuous market by solidifying their presence through innovative branding.

Oi Furniture - Environmentally Friendly, Modular Furniture

Oi Furniture, founded in 2006 focuses on making environmentally-low-impact cellular furniture. It’s pretty cool, but what’s cooler is the overall branding. From the the socially responsible business objective to the bright vibrant colors that adorn the product to even the name, a universal phase of catching someone’s attention. It should come as no surprise then, that Oi Furniture is a result of an internal project by a branding agency based in Canada.

In a time when no one is willing to spend, success lies in laying the seeds of brand recognition. By engaging your target market today using social platforms, you gain positive association. You also gain brand loyalists. These people may or may not have purchased your product, yet believe in what you have to offer and advocate it. And we all know how effective reference through WOM is.

One of many Quick Response (QR) codes used for engagement at Market

Eventually, the Las Vegas Market this August was in many ways at a crossroads. It remains to be seen whether companies will adopt social media, focus their product offering and branding – the sooner it comes around the better it will be for everyone.

This July we were invited by our good friends at Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics to attend their first-ever Endless Beauty event. This invitation-only event, on the iconic Sunset Boulevard in L.A., was to mark the 15 year anniversary of Youngblood and educate the cosmetics industry on Youngblood Cosmetics and mineral cosmetics, in general. Present in the attendees were celebrities, industry-leading makeup artists and media professionals.

Celebrity makeup artist James Vincent

All day long, attendees were treated to presentations from guest celebrity artists such as James Vincent, Victoria Stiles and Orlando Santiago, product demonstrations and even some exclusive product previews. It was indeed an exciting place to be for a fan of Youngblood.

Endless Beauty was exciting brand engagement by Youngblood Cosmetics, a premium maker of mineral cosmetics. By holding the Endless Beauty event, Youngblood gave its target audience the opportunity to experience their brand on multiple sensory platforms. By bringing their brand to their primary and secondary markets, Youngblood created a meaningful (and fun!) platform of interaction. Mineral cosmetics are a healthier and more natural alternative to regular, petroleum based makeup. Not only do they play nice with all skin types,  they actually help in the recovery of skin that has undergone severe medical procedures.

Founder Pauline Youngblood with Youngblood Cosmetic's Mexico Distrubition team.

MVC's very own Jason and Marioly

Hello everyone!

As we previously spoke about, we at MVC have been working with Dream Rides 4 Kids, a Los Angeles based non-profit organization dedicated to instilling self worth in at-risk teenagers. After our initial photo shoot, where we captured some of the most exotic cars ever made, we worked with our client to produce a strong brand platform to help launch the company.

At the heart of the DR4K brand, lay a balance waiting to be struck: How do you bring together the vision and ambition of a non-profit organization with the adrenaline-pumping, organ-displacing-speed and energy of an exotic car event? The more we looked at the challenge, the clearer it became: DR4K was something special. So we got to work on making a unique brand identity for it.

We started with the logo. Since Dream Rides 4 Kids was essentially a non-profit organization, the logo had to convey the professional yet compassionate facet of its existence. At the same time, because the event revolved around riding in the hottest cars ever made, it needed to possess the thrill and edge people have come to expect from high-end automobiles.

After a lot of creative development, we finally came up with a logo design that suited these requirements.

The client loved the striking yet simplistic design of the logo; it was a success. The DR4K logo is now being used on all promotions and communications across all platforms, just as it was intended.

For the furniture industry, The Las Vegas Market is one of the biggest events of the year. With Market right around the corner and hundreds of awesome brands waiting to be noticed, we thought it would be a good idea to use the power of social media to showcase them. This brings us to #LVMpulse, a social media initiative designed to be a unique source of insight for professionals in the furniture industry. All throughout Market, starting from Sunday, 31st July, our creative director Jason Pires will be tweeting about the latest trends and best designs live from the Market floor.

You can follow him on @jason_pires to get regular updates on the hottest trends or tweet using #LVMpulse to join the conversation as well!

On the 29th of June, our friends at SESAC Latina hosted the annual SESAC Latina awards 2011. MVC’s creative team attended the event which was held at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It was an evening to remember as we rubbed shoulders with some of the hottest Latin stars around and watched them receive awards for their work. The event also had several amazing musical performances by Joey Montana, Erika Ender, Samo and Carlos Baute. We also got a chance to take some photographs from the event, which we shared for you here.

SESAC Latina and their parent company SESAC are one of the fastest growing performing rights organizations in the country, helping artists collect their due royalties on their work being performed. Being one of the smaller performing right organizations, SESAC differentiates itself from the larger competition by really focusing on nurturing relationships with its artist roster. By creating a warm and welcome environment for their client base, SESAC has not only managed to grow, but it is now the fastest growing organization of its kind in the United States!

Negociaré Con La Pena

One of the biggest names in Latin music, Pepe Aguilar has just released his latest album Negociaré con la Pena.

Mock up of album artwork

Although currently only available in Mexico, the album is already making quite the impression there.

"A masterpiece for the senses and feelings, CONGRATULATIONS! You hit the jackpot"

"The CD Case of #NegociareConLaPena by @PepeAguilar IS SUPER CHARMING!! UNIQUE!! Can't wait to have it!"

Some more reactions on Facebook

And here is Pepe in an interview discussing the new album and its unique packaging:

MVC would like to congratulate Pepe on the successful launch! It was a pleasure working with Pepe on the new album artwork and design. Be sure to check back with us in the coming weeks as we discuss more details of the project. Will you be buying the new album when it comes out in the US on September 6th? And if you’re lucky enough to already have it, what do you think of the album and the package design?

By Powell Slaughter
Originally featured in Home Furnishings Business Magazine – April 2010

Relationship marketing, which extends retailer-customer communication beyond advertising in recognition of the benefits of customer satisfaction for the long term, is new ground for many furniture retailers.

“A lot of what people are doing with relationship marketing depends on their customer base and value proposition,” said Jason Pires, principal and creative director of MVC Agency, a Los Angeles-area marketing agency specializing in brand development, design and advertising for the home furnishings, cosmetics and fashion industries. “If they’re selling on price alone, most of the relationship building is quite simplistic. There might be loyalty being established, but basically they’re selling on price. For retailers emphasizing quality, style and sophistication, it’s a lot more effective for them to use relationship-building techniques.”

It all boils down to what Pires calls a soft-sell and a retailer’s effort to associate the brand with certain images and values.

He cited some examples of services associated with this “holistic” approach. Southern California retailer Pampa Vivienda offers a staging service to outfit homes for sale on the real estate market.

“It does an interesting job of equating the value of purchasing a quality home with quality furnishings,” Pires said. “These are typically homes selling for $1 million-plus. It’s a soft approach to marketing, and it establishes the product with the target demographic.”

And since many of the current home owners bought at the top of the real estate bubble, staging also is a needed service.

“It’s important to have a great-looking house to show if you’re looking to get the best price,” Pires said.

In-home consulting is another service that encourages customers to relate with a business.

“All this can be tied into communications in general through e-mail blasts, Twitter and Facebook,” Pires said.

Special events, especially for higher-end retailers, can help tie stores to the image or values they want to project. Pires cited the example of a retailer that staged a mini-photo gallery event with edgy, artistic, modern photography.

“That’s exactly the kind of store they are,” he said. “If you can translate that event into what’s available at the store in terms of furniture, that can be an image builder.”

Fundraising and benefits tied to current events such as the relief effort in Haiti, or to causes important to your store’s demographic can help define a retailer’s place in customers’ minds.

“You can go a couple of ways—find things that are relevant to what’s happening out in the world,” Pires said. “On the other hand, you might want something tied into the values you believe are important to your customer base. … It depends on what people are passionate about in your region.”

Freebies such as an in-home consultation, or even a salesperson’s offering to sketch out a customer’s room to help choose appropriate goods, help build links.

“In my business, if it’s a difficult sell, I will typically say ‘Give me a chance,’” Pires said. “I’ll give them a taste of something for free, maybe a couple of Web site changes they can track for effect. … Then we might be able to move into ‘Phase 2.’ Go the extra mile to give them a reason to come to your store instead of shopping for price alone.”

While relationship marketing is particularly applicable to higher-priced stores, promotional retailers shouldn’t completely ignore its possibilities.

“Even if consumers are going to you for price, that’s still a relationship, and if the store is junky or the in-store service or delivery is terrible, they won’t be back,” Pires noted. “Those experiences go back to creating loyalty, and loyalty is a relationship. You can pursue a loyalty program, but it will be futile if the experience at your store is terrible.

“It’s cheaper to maintain a client than it is to find a new client.”