5 Things I Like About This New Lola Red Brand
Kel and I just launched a new brand for this amazing PR firm Lola Red, who manage to be both really nice and really badass at the same time.
If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out now at www.lolared.com.
Here are 5 things I like about the new brand:
1. Lola Red
I thought Lola Red was a really cool PR company when I worked with them as a client, and now that I’ve worked with them on a rebrand I know it for sure. They came into the project with a very clear idea of how they wanted to show up, and what made them unique—they are smart, they are creative, they work exceptionally hard for their clients, and they fit seamlessly as an extension of a team.
It’s a lot easier to work on a brand when the client 1) has a clear idea of what makes them unique, and 2) actually walks the walk about it.
2. The flamingo
Kelly was making custom stationary when she tried the big flamingo design, and once we saw it we knew we had to at least try it on the main image of the website (often called the hero image).
I think this image works so well because it’s obviously visually striking, and because the flamingo literally standing out is not all that subtle in its parallels to PR, but also because the reason that flamingos are pink, and therefore stand out even more, is because they eat shrimp (as I’ve learned from my friends’ kids).
I think that says that it is your behaviors that make you stand out, and that’s something you have to earn, not fake.
3. The logo
Lola Red came to us with the logo in hand from a talented designer Ivan (along with a lot of other concepts, shoutout Ivan!). I very much enjoy the angular notes of the script contrasting with the consistent circles, and it was really fun to be able to build off a solid foundation from another creative.
4. The “Work” page
One of my strengths in the website development process is repeating repetitive tasks, which means I got to set up all of the case study pages. One bonus is that this meant I got to read all of the case study pages, and let me tell you, PR firms get to do some cool things.
I mean, they have TWO ties to Star Wars. They’ve worked on Red Bull’s human-powered Flugtag flight events. They rep cheeseburgers via Smashburger.
And, they work for CATAN. If you don’t know CATAN, it’s a board game that you can also play online, which comes in very helpful when there is a global pandemic and you aren’t allowed to see anyone in person. Kelly “Longest Road” O’Connell and I are fans of this game, and actually one time I was visiting Lola Red and I met a person from CATAN and they gave me a pin and now we wear it on a varsity jacket like we lettered in board games. (Also, I learned from the case study that CATAN is capitalized per their house style, which I think is fun).
It makes me happy that Kind & Funny is related to all of these cool companies thanks to Lola Red.
5. The “Magic Hour” process
When we reveal a brand’s website, we do it in what we call the Magic Hour, where we walk through their original needs and how we incorporated those into the project. This was the first Magic Hour that I was in charge of running, and I was a bit nervous about it. Luckily I got great advice from other agency partners that we have in our network about how to make sure I was creating in-person energy in an online meeting.
So, before our meeting I dressed up in the new brand colors and started shadowboxing along to the Creed II soundtrack. This helped me calm the butterflies and made sure that I was leading the Lola Red team through a meeting that can have lots of emotion. Ultimately it was a nice moment of growth for me because I was sharing something that Kelly and I developed together, and I was proud of it, and so it turned out to be a whole lot easier to tell them why we did what we did.
Best part is, Lola Red’s fans seem to like it too!
Do you need a new website or brand from Kind & Funny? Set up a free and easy fit call to get started! jed@kindandfunny.com.