Brandfolio™
Revealing your brand from the inside out.
About Martina Riley Creating harmony between life and style, Martina Riley designs with you in mind. Our goal is to re-imagine form, function and style to deliver the finest quality, hand-crafted shoes and accessories to suit real life — your life. This means that quality, comfort and style are the defining characteristics of every Martina Riley purchase.
Brandfolio™
Brand Platform
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Your brand is made up of four elements, all of them inform everyone’s understanding of your organization. Brand Essence: the underlying truth
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Brand Positioning: unique differentiation
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Brand Promise: the commitment
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Brand Personality: the way you do it
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Martina Riley & Luxury
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Brand Platform Successful sprinters understand the importance of a good start. It’s where big races are won and lost. And the same is true in business. That’s why a brand platform is important to your organization. It starts you cleanly out of the blocks by defining who you are and what you are about. A brand platform puts your team members on the same page and provides a common jumping off point so there is stability within the company, how you deliver your product/services, and your communication to the outside world. A brand platform establishes consistency…which builds trust…which breeds success. Many businesses fail to establish it. Without a clearly defined vision, common set of standards, and a company culture where everyone understands the offer and how it differentiates the organization, they lose traction…waste movement…miss handoffs…and fall behind. With the Brandfolio™ you lead the field with your eye on a clear goal, you know what’s needed to reach it and, move with fluidness and a strong sense of teamwork. Measure decisions against what does and does not fit with your brand. Use the Brandfolio™ as a guideline to hire, promote internally, develop selling strategies, deliver effective marketing campaigns, and maintain a vibrant vision that strategically moves you forward.
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Brand Essence Brand essence refers to the core values and beliefs that motivate and inspire members of a business. It’s an inherent quality, like DNA, that begins with top leadership and resonates throughout the organization so it exists both individually and corporately. Like a fine wine has subtle qualities in taste, brand essence is the flavour of your organization. Although intangible and hard to define, its reality is demonstrated by the common statement often made after an employee is dismissed: “She/He wasn’t a good fit for us.” Because of its shared nature, brand essence fosters a company culture that generates enthusiasm, unifies employees behind common goals, and mobilizes for greater productivity. Brand Essence serves as a litmus test for all activities, transformation, and growth within a business. It guides your focus, informs your actions, and underlies your brand promise. When all decisions are made with the brand essence in mind it ensures an organization is living its absolutely unique brand.
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MARTINA RILEY
brand essence The duality in life is the very aspect of life which formed a vision for Martina Riley and it is embodied in the essence of the company through the word harmony. Harmony between one’s life and lifestyle defines each as a separate entity, when in fact Martina Riley sees the harmony between life and style as one unified lifestyle. At Martina Riley your Life + your Style = your Lifestyle.
MARTINA RILEY creates harmony between life and style.
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Brand Positioning Of the four elements in the brand platform, your brand position is the only one shared externally for public consumption. It’s typically a one or two sentence statement that clearly differentiates you from the competition by expressing your points of differentiation. It reaches beyond the standard marketing speak of quality, innovation, and service, which actually are the points of entry for any business. Brand positioning is an important jumping off point that often mentions your industry or the product/service you offer. It inspires your marketing materials so they are consistent in what you say and how you say it. When properly employed, those materials will retain the quality and feel of your positioning statement.
In addition your positioning statement must be: • Relevant — to your organization and all stakeholders. • Accurate — it reflects who you are. • Defensible — there is proof to support your claim.
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MARTINA RILEY
brand positioning This statement is the brand’s key message – it is the over-riding statement that sets MARTINA RILEY apart from all that is not “MARTINA RILEY”. This statement should be understood by all employees and partners who represent the brand. Above all, it should be known and understood by all those working for the various MARTINA RILEY divisions – so that one coherent positioning statement is reflected throughout.
MARTINA RILEY honours the needs of customers, by creating designs that are in harmony with life.
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Basis for this positioning: MARTINA RILEY is being built on recognizing there is an inherent duality in life. In knowing that people live several priorities in one day – that the demands on their life and the lifestyle they wish is not solved in one way. Honouring this duality through harmony surfaces as the approach most consistent with the vision of the company.
Positioning Scorecard: Is this positioning OWNABLE?
Yes, while competitors are focusing on heritage, youthful design, and material innovation, Martina Riley is focusing on life – this focus is differentiated and therefore ownable.
Is this positioning RELEVANT?
Yes, this positioning is relevant to all MARTINA RILEY clients, products and services. A focus on addressing the needs that come up as a result of the inherent dualities in life is very relevant.
Is this positioning CREDIBLE?
Yes, MARTINA RILEY recognizes and honours the multiple demands on people’s lives – it is complex and real and therefore credible.
Is this positioning DEFENSIBLE?
Yes, as this positioning is based on the true reality of a contemporary life, this is not something “made up’ or imagined, it is lived day-to-day by millions of people around the world.
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The positioning statement can inspire other statements for use in marketing and sales while still embodying the essence of the brand: Martina Riley honours the unique and varied needs of customers, by creating designs that are in harmony with life. Martina Riley honours customers’ needs, by creating designs that are in harmony with life. Martina Riley honours the unique and diverse needs of customers, by creating designs that are in harmony with life. Martina Riley delivers enrichment, well-being and refinement by providing products that meet customers’ needs. Martina Riley delivers design that enriches and refines a life lived in harmony.
These taglines may be used as a starting point to develop taglines for marketing, sales or publicity as needed:
MARTINA RILEY designs in harmony with life MARTINA RILEY in harmony with life MARTINA RILEY live in harmony MARTINA RILEY life lived in harmony
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Brand Promise The key ingredient to forming a lasting relationship—any relationship—is commitment. That’s what the brand promise establishes with all your stakeholders. It’s related to your core values and how you want your organization to be experienced. It sets expectations, both internally and externally, and ties a knot that holds everyone together. Internally, it establishes the goals for your team members, executive leaders, and stakeholders. It’s what you all aspire to—generally not specific to your industry, but inherent in your identity. Externally, it sets expectations and allows customers to know where your business stands, as well as what they stand to gain through association with your brand. Your promise is not related to specific deliverables, but your overall approach. It’s how your brand satisfies expectations, gratifies desires, and fulfills needs. Your brand promise is specific, and yet it’s the broadest claim you can make that is readily substantiated and therefore believed. It binds you to your customers and gains their loyalty in return—which further strengthens the relationship.
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MARTINA RILEY
brand promise This promise is succinct and clearly aligns with our positioning. Without a commitment to at least consider reshaping a form or rethinking a purpose we will be unable to honour our customers’ needs through our product designs. At Martina Riley we Reshape and Rethink: Form Ideas Flow Purpose Function Conventions ‌and so on
We promise to reshape and rethink form and function.
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Brand Personality Your organization is made up of individuals with distinct personalities. Collectively, they also form a personality on an organizational level. Brand personality is this sum of individual qualities that create a distinct impression of the brand, both through its communications and in the actual experience of interacting with the brand. It’s validated by the organization’s culture and values, the intrinsic quality of service, and the customer’s perceptions. Consider, for example, if you described yourself as…
Worldly, exciting, and fun or
Meaningful, approachable and skilled Each suggests unique images. How they are presented will involve differences in colour palette, designs—even the language and voice you speak. Brand Personality creates a match between who you are on the inside with how you present yourself to the outside. It is embedded with these three elements: • Core — Values and beliefs that are inherent in the company culture. • Aspirational — What you constantly strive for. • Subtle — Supports and enhances the other two.
Brand personality inspires a way of living for your team. It’s reflected in your culture, values, quality of service, customer perceptions, and unique identity within the marketplace. Keeping it ensures that you stay true to your own identity while distinguishing yourself from others in the market.
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MARTINA RILEY
brand personality The MARTINA RILEY brand personality is a summation of qualities that create a distinct impression— through its communications and interactive brand experiences. It is validated by the company’s culture and values, the intrinsic quality of service, and the customer’s perceptions. These qualities form the look, feel, and sound of MARTINA RILEY brand communications. When creating communications materials and customer experiences, they should be reviewed against the personality attributes detailed in this document. Strive to understand and work with these qualities in spirit, rather than legalistically. This will support a clear, consistent perception of the MARTINA RILEY brand. It also makes the brand easy to recognize and distinct from what is not “MARTINA RILEY”.
Responsive Imaginative Focused 22
MARTINA RILEY
responsive “You know that term “lifestyle brand”? I never really got it until I discovered Martina Riley. Whenever I say to myself: ‘I only wish there was such and such’ there it is, from Martina Riley. It’s like there’s this real live little Martina and she’s out there watching me and responding to my life’s needs.” – Martina Riley customer talking to a friend
responsive we are
insightful, attentive, empathetic, perceptive
we are not
unwilling, disregarding, quarrelsome, indifferent
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MARTINA RILEY
responsive To exhibit this trait:
1. Ensure designs are inspired by needs and not trends 2. Take a holistic approach in design – look to the individual, the community, the environment and the globe 3. Listen
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MARTINA RILEY
imaginative “What I like about the company is that they started with the end in mind. They established a vision to become a lifestyle brand rather than tripping into it. They also have stayed true to their original inspiration, bringing an element of innovation into everything they do.”– MARTINA RILEY investor
imaginative we are
inventive, innovative, enterprising
we are not
commonplace, distasteful, mundane
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MARTINA RILEY
imaginative To exhibit this trait:
1. Honour the promise: reshape ideas, rethink function in every effort you make on behalf of the company 2. Be inspired by multiple sources – outside of fashion, in the arts and sciences, in domestic life and family 3. Challenge boundaries 30
MARTINA RILEY
focused
“Entering a saturated lifestyle brand marketplace is not easy. Martina Riley hit the market a year ago and their products are really speaking to women’s contemporary values. Martina Riley says they are not about luxury per se but about “refinement in living achieved through finding a balance or harmony in life”. This is not a luxury (or inessential to life), it is intrinsic to living life to its fullest...” – fashion magazine article
focused
we are
pointed, bold, ambitious, enterprising
we are not
erratic, diluted, jaded, indifferent
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MARTINA RILEY
focused
To exhibit this trait:
1. 2.
Have purpose: know who you are, what you are doing and why – action for the sake of it is unacceptable Set expectations before embarking on a task or relationship
3. Stay connected to your roots and your customers’ lives 34
MARTINA RILEY
& luxury
Luxury has become an overused word and designers are trying to redefine it. We are coming through a marketing push where “affordable luxury” is being presented to the masses as an attainable goal. Brands like TRUMP don’t even use the word anymore. A review of several dictionary definitions of the word luxury reveal the word is not a good fit with the Martina Riley brand.
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Luxury is often defined as “something inessential for living or a foolish indulgence�. At MARTINA RILEY we deliver enrichment, well-being and refinement by providing products that meet our meticulous principles of design. When we do that we know we are contributing to a life lived in harmony. This is not inessential it is intrinsic.
MARTINA RILEY is not about luxury. MARTINA RILEY is the embodiment of a life lived in harmony.
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MARTINA RILEY
Design Principles At Martina Riley we don’t believe there is anything foolish, worthless or inessential about these principles of design – and so they are not luxuries they are quintessential to fulfilling our promise to create harmony between life and style.
• Styling • Craftsmanship • Detailing • Materials • How the Martina Riley product makes you feel • How the Martina Riley product becomes a seamless part of your life
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MARTINA RILEY
this is our luxury
When we fulfill our promise: to create harmony between life and style, then we know we are giving our customers: Comfort Delight Gratification Well-being Enrichment Prosperity
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