BUILDING AN ONLINE BRAND
By Ben Gross, Senior Designer at www.i-com.net
Background
One of our clients Ski +Trek approached us with the ambition of becoming the top online retailer for outdoor & adventure clothing. We sat down and discussed their business and noticed two key problems. Their brand and profile was outdated, causing them to reach a plateau in their sales. Also, the platform on which the original website was developed was restrictive and inflexible, causing problems with the site’s search friendliness and making it difficult for them to update the site with promotions and offers they were running. Previous brand imagery shown below…
Research
Through in-depth research, we discovered the personality of the brand was modern, exciting, sophisticated, community-centric and uniquely enthusiastic about the products they sell. Ski + Trek’s proposition is to sell premium goods at fair prices. The market the firm is in is very competitive, which means going up against established brands such as Helly Hansen & Snow + Rock, so it needed an identity that would be striking, helping it stand out from its competitors. The website, which would be the main sales tool, needed to be robust, efficient and convey the brand’s values.