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Branding: Western-Style

To view the copy on this website, go to www.stetson.com


One of the main benefits of being a freelance creative consultant is that every once in a while a really fun project lands in your lap.

Just around this time last year, I was contacted by Stetson Hats. Long known for their signature cowboy hats, they are now branching out into some very cool modern hats, apparel, home furnishings and even men's eyewear.

Working with a branding agency, the company identified the key attributes associated with the Stetson "brand DNA": authentic, honest, American, quality, rugged and individual.

Next came the branding website, which was not an e-commerce site for ordering online, but more of a statement of "who we are and what we stand for."

Stetson's art director, TJ McCoy, had already mapped out the site and had chosen all the gorgeous photography. It was up to me to capture the brand in words - to convey a fresh new American approach to fashion grounded in 140 years of tradition.

The best way I've found to do this is to do a full immersion in the subject. And so, I read articles on the "New American West", watched Western movies with my 7-year-old son who was fortunately going through a cowboy phase, and I also read a lot of fashion magazines for other traditional American brands such as Ralph Lauren's Polo, etc. A lucky break came when on a trip to Las Vegas for another client's conference. I got to see firsthand how prevalent cowboy hats are out West (I live in Brooklyn, NY) and how they stand for a certain individual, rugged personality type. From there, I did a matching game - connecting the products in the photos to the Stetson branding qualities personified in the images.

It was great fun to capture the whole Stetson brand with the simple words "Go West" on the home page of the website - and to come up with phrases like "the unbridled individuality of the American spirit."

Take a look for yourself through the site (I wrote everything but the fragrance section) and see what a little copywriting inspiration can do to bring your brand personality to life.

Need help with your website or branding initiatives? Bring Karen in for a creative consultation.

Karen's ClickZ Columns on B2B Email Marketing