The Coach Approach

The Coach Approach

Code name:
The Coach Approach (may also be the forever name, we’ll see!)⁣

What it’s all about:
As you all know, we have a deep love for super small business. For many years this was our namesake when we were “MicroBrand”. One person shops. Solopreneurs. Owner/Operators. Tradespeople juggling different hats from their mobile office. Jugglers. Cat herders. The two-phone’rs. The steel toed marketing managers. You get the idea… ⁣

After years of working, and talking with these groups and developing amazing relationships with so many great clients, we’ve become hyper-aware of two key challenges that are universal:⁣

First, business owners have a persistent desire to do more to push their businesses forward. Marketing, social media, advertising, branding, etc. It can be overwhelming. ⁣

And second, resources are limited. Budget yes, but also the time and knowledge to keep consistent action in their marketing and branding efforts. ⁣

Because of the first, we know there’s a deep need. ⁣

Because of the second, we are unable to contribute in all the ways we want to. We have conversations that go unfinished. We have brilliant ideas that never see the light of day. We have efforts that only make it halfway. ⁣

The Coach Approach addresses these challenges and increases the reach of the businesses we work with and the value we add. ⁣

We’ll be offering both a group format and 1:1 coaching to empower and provide marketing and branding guidance to small business owners. ⁣

Starting with a core group in December. ⁣
Everything will be online and we’ll help get your thoughts and efforts aligned, and push forward to kick off 2021.⁣

Apply here and we’ll be in touch with details and more!

How are you keeping things fun and productive with your team?
Reach out or send us an email at hello@mbrand.ca

A Softer Path – Tee Shirts

A Softer Path – Tee Shirts

In some recent research into sustainable gear lines available we came across one in particular that we wanted to give a little shout out to. They’re called Freeset, and they have a pretty cool story.

The shirts are handmade by survivors of sex trafficking in Kolkata. This opportunity for employment provides access to healthcare, literacy education and key social services.

When we came across this company, we got pretty excited about their approach, and in reaching out to them to see how we could learn more about trying their shirts for some upcoming projects, we were thrilled to discover that there’s an independent representative who carries their product right here in Victoria, and a larger one in Vancouver, so access to their product is fairly straightforward, which we’ve found to be a bit of a challenge with some of these cool producers.

We love the idea of buying locally and regionally first of course, but that seems a little challenging still in the garment industry, so we default to looking at something cool and intentional where we can make a difference. This company fits the bill in that regard for us. We talk about sustainable ethically produced gear over here as well, check it out.

How are you keeping things fun and productive with your team?
Reach out or send us an email at hello@mbrand.ca

You might see us sitting in your lobby like weirdos.

You might see us sitting in your lobby like weirdos.

Some of the work we are most passionate about involves bringing brands to life in public spaces, and designing experiences that people will engage and interact with. When dreaming up solutions for this kind of project, you might find us spending a little time sitting back and watching the space.

Not just going through the motions of an experience once ourselves (though we’ll likely insist on doing that too!), but watching how others are experiencing it. Where are things flowing? Where are they not? Where is there opportunity for an improved user experience? Where is there opportunity to make the interaction shine just a little more for your customers / clients? Where is there opportunity to reinforce your brand expression and create some energy? Where is there opportunity to tell your story?

It’s amazing what you can learn about a public space (or any other user experience for that matter) by watching it in use. All kinds of interesting patterns and issues and scenarios arise that we’d never see if we only asked our clients about it, or if we only ever look at it from “behind the counter” so to speak.

So, if we’re working with you and it’s possible to do so, this is an area we might ask about, or insist on doing in order to provide the best solutions possible.

We’d love to see how we can help fully bring your brand to life and improve the experience and flow of your business! Reach out. Let’s have a virtual coffee and discuss your project and how we can help. Cheers!

Other Ideas You Might Enjoy

Do Good.

Do Good.

We aren’t gear providers, yet we work on a wide range and growing number of gear projects these days. We keep running into a similar issue over and over again: garments are made in unsustainable and damaging ways, and clients are seeking something different. Something better. A softer, more intentional way.

So we spent some time researching ethically sourced and produced garments made from organic and sustainable materials. We came across a number of really cool companies producing garments and gear in beautiful ways. From reclaimed materials in Canada to companies specifically created to lift women out of human trafficking in Kolkata, there are some really cool things happening in this industry.

Price points are improving as these products become more in demand, and as consumers, businesses can continue to influence this by making the choice to purchase with intention.

Ask your shirt printer or brand partner what they have available for ethical and sustainable products. If they aren’t currently carrying or working with anything in this area, challenge them to do so, and let’s all create a better tomorrow.

INTENTION ATTRACTS RETENTION

Whether it’s team uniforms or promotional garments for your gift shop, people are increasingly drawing to gear crafted with intention and purpose.

We’d love to see how we can help fully bring your brand to life and improve the experience and flow of your business! Reach out. Let’s have a virtual coffee and discuss your project and how we can help. Cheers!

Flip Your 9 to 5

Flip Your 9 to 5

Flip Your 9 to 5 is a concept brand for a little pet project of ours that we have in the works. We’ll keep things a little quiet on this one for the time being, as we don’t want to spoil any surprises of course, but here’s a little teaser of some of the fun stuff we’ve come up with. 🙂

POSTER LOVELINESS

Over time, the Flip Your 9 to 5 brand will come to life in a number of ways, possibly including these ideas for posters, stationery, etc.

We’d love to see how we can help fully bring your brand to life and improve the experience and flow of your business! Reach out. Let’s have a virtual coffee and discuss your project and how we can help. Cheers!

Other Ideas You Might Enjoy

Packaging Matters!

Packaging Matters!

Packaging is wildly important to the success and viability of a product. This seems fairly clear and obvious, yet there are countless poorly packaged products on shelves that have not taken the basics into consideration when being prepared. And when small businesses are making packaging decisions, it’s a bit of a rabbit hole.

While researching a recent compostable packaging project for Karma Coffee Roasters for example, we discovered that a lot of the packaging available on the market is single use, disposable, cheaply produced, and very generic. Even the ones that on the surface are described as compostable or recyclable often have valves or fasteners that will not break down or come off the packaging easily to be recycled.

These traits aren’t signs of a quality product, intentional company, or people who care. They are the traits of something unsustainable and finished that cannot go on.

While the exact packaging recommendations and directions are still in the works for this client, we thought we’d share a couple of the concepts we created.

We learned a tonne on this project and would love to discuss packaging your products for success!

Bringing it to life

Applying the Karma brand to our concepts for the packaging was fun and vibrant. We created a series of custom icons and colours specific to each roast and ensured there was a consistent and harmonious expression across the full line. We’re looking forward to seeing this roll out!

We’d love to see how we can help fully bring your brand to life and improve the experience and flow of your business! Reach out. Let’s have a virtual coffee and discuss your project and how we can help. Cheers!