Insights

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategies boast higher margins while enabling brands to own their story and customer data; allowing them to small-batch test new products and increase customer reviews. As an emerging brand, it may be appealing to cut retail expenses completely and shift funds to a direct-to-consumer approach. But is a direct to consumer strategy right […]

Direct-to-consumer provides ample opportunities for emerging brands. With more channels and ownability over the process, DTC gives you the opportunity to experiment with your business model as well as product offerings based on consumer insights.  Bringing bold and interesting flavors to their respective verticals, Daily Harvest and Mobcraft are two direct-to-consumer CPG brands that center […]

As an emerging brand, it’s hard to ignore the saturation of large-scale brand success. With marketing, manufacturing and legacy on their side, big brands have the ability to roll out new flavor SKUs and praiseworthy campaigns without breaking a sweat. In contrast, as brands like yours are trying to disrupt consumer habits, deciding where your […]

If you’ve found yourself tasked with creating customer profiles for your brand or organization and you don’t know where to start, it’s important to first remember two key things: Customer profiles do help inform product development, messaging, media placements, empathy, customer experience and more Customer profiles do not answer your shoppers usage patterns, provide or […]

Embarking on a rebrand or packaging redesign can be a daunting task. After all, it’s literally your identity we’re talking about here. It doesn’t have to be that intimidating, though. And with some expert help, the benefits are sure to far outweigh any discomfort. Follow these suggestions, and I guarantee you’re going to make the […]

Back when the main marketing channel was television, advertisers had the luxury of their messages landing on the eyes and ears of captive audiences. Now in a world dominated by media—with the average consumer encountering up to 10,000 ads per day—creating messages with mass appeal means paying money just to take up space. Since the […]

Short answer: Nope, that’s not for us. Thousands of emerging CPG brands all gathered in one place to show off and talk about their product…and it’s not for us? Yes, exactly. Because we recognize our value doesn’t lie in walking the floor of Expo West just to say we’ve been to Expo West. As strategic […]

More and more, food brands are growing or pivoting their product offerings to meet new consumer trends (we hear mushrooms are all the rage). With a new product, you walk a fine line of maintaining the brand quality and values your current customers know and love AND delivering products new customers are looking for in […]

The right meal can make you feel peace at the end of a stressful day. It can make you feel loved when you’re far from home. It can make you feel inspired and delighted when your mind is completely drained. And in a world where being healthy feels unattainable in the best of times, consumers […]

Marketers everywhere are scrambling to adjust their consumer targeting strategies ahead of the death of the cookie. Big brands are exploring D2C models, niche brands are opening proprietary pop-ups, and new retail media networks are being launched every month.  Retailers like Kroger and Walmart have long been players in the media network space, and others […]

2021 saw almost a third of consumers more likely to try new products over the year prior, and 2022 promises more of the same. From supply chain woes to social justice movements to family budget constraints, staple brands are now fighting with their emergent counterparts for coveted space in kitchens and cupboards. In fact, almost […]

If you’ve felt like your marketing communications in the last two years just aren’t landing like they used to, you’re not alone. Like it or not, the pandemic has had a permanent influence on how and where shoppers are purchasing the products they need to make it through the week. Digital reliance and omnichannel shopping […]

Over 50% of all purchases are made spur of the moment, with no prior planning. It’s a huge opportunity for emerging brands to capture those impulse purchases, but first, we need to understand what emotions trigger impulse buyers. The beverage category in particular is a great case study of the impulse moment. Research shows that 57% of consumers […]

While product innovation has always been a way to stir up interest, the last 18 months has seen an even greater demand for variety from food and beverage brands. 80% of consumers state they are craving something new from their favorite products, with millennials in particular looking to nostalgic brands to revive their favorite childhood […]

With all the recent changes in tracking consumer data, the conversation around marketing and advertising has changed drastically. While email and SMS are now considered table-stakes for any strategy, we believe the most effective direct marketing happens where and when people shop—and for food and beverage brands, this means shopping list marketing. In order to […]

Following a year where celebrations were intentionally small and largely took place at home, shoppers are looking to the 2022 holiday season as their “do-over.” With an estimated  7-9% increase in holiday spending this year, there’s plenty of opportunity for CPG brands to be part of this year’s fun.  Customers are on a mission to […]

Here’s the thing very few brokers or growth consultants will tell you: Scaling your distribution too fast can quickly ruin your entire brand. While the opportunity for growth is exciting, if you can’t advocate for good placement or stocking full product lines, your brand runs a high risk of being overlooked on shelves. And going into […]

Rebrands are a second chance at a first impression. Rebranding allows companies to evaluate, refine, and organize priorities within their business: what is important to them and why, who their audience actually is, how to engage them, etc. Rebrands should be a reflection of that soul-searching. But change is hard, which is why rebrand launches […]

Skidmore’s journey through this pandemic has revealed some wonderful new things about our teammates, our adaptability, and what we can do when we’re turned loose to get creative. In the first week of quarantine, we quickly realized everything is different now. Our studio leaders stepped back and took a good hard look in the mirror. […]

Reflecting back on how our Skidmore team navigated the first week of social distancing, we found that we stumbled onto a few gems that really helped us have an unexpectedly great week. We wanted to share what we’ve learned in the hopes that there are some helpful nuggets you can take with you to improve […]

Happy New Year, folks! Last year marked our 60th anniversary, so 2020 means we’re entering a fresh new decade as an organization as well. We’re grateful for the past six decades of business and hopeful for what’s to come. Re: 2019, it proved another action-packed, though slightly chaotic, year. We won new clients, made new […]

As an emerging food or consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand, you might feel like getting that first order from a big retailer like Whole Foods or Walmart means you’ve made it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a huge accomplishment—and one worth celebrating—but it’s just the beginning.   While having the right messaging and packaging design […]

This interview was originally posted on Jon Dwoskin’s “THINK Business” podcast. Drew isn’t your typical finance guy. As owner and president of Skidmore Studio, he’s a thoughtful strategic partner, relationship builder, and fierce advocate for the studio’s creative team. He’s passionate about helping good organizations grow through branding and fostering a workplace that’s happy, healthy, […]

Originally posted on JGA.com as a guest post by Skidmore Studio President, Drew Patrick. Back in the day, shopping was a simple affair. People went to the store to buy things. Then the internet happened. In order to keep up, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers rushed to create an online experience for their customers. Most didn’t do […]

We, a branding studio, have a fresh new brand identity ourselves. This includes an all-new Skidmore Studio logo, visual identity, and website.  Our creative studio based in downtown Detroit is in its 60th year in business. As we approach a new decade of growth, our leadership team felt a rebrand was imperative to reflect the […]

Skidmore Studio welcomes Peter Fezzey to the team to direct all account and new business efforts. Fezzey joins the studio with 15 years of experience in strategic partnerships and business development. At Skidmore, he is responsible for building new business relationships, developing client growth strategies, promoting the studio’s services, and overseeing internal project teams to […]

Skidmore Studio was recently recognized by Michigan Celebrates Small Business as one of the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch in 2019, an awards program recognizing advocates of small business in Michigan. Companies who are selected to receive this honor are a remarkable group of second-stage companies. Defined as having 6 to 99 full-time-equivalent employees and […]

In 2016, the folks behind Michigan Farm to Freezer trusted us to redesign the core piece of their brand identity: their packaging label. At the same time, the Michigan-based processor of fruits and vegetables moved their freezing facility from Traverse City to Detroit to expand their reach. Two years and a whole lotta growth later, […]

Does speaking internet count as being bilingual? If so, we at Skidmore Studio are skilled translators capable of guiding you and your brand on a journey through this vast territory of garbled, unstable language. The slang, memes, and writing style of the web are incredibly important tools in any modern communicator’s kit of parts. The […]

There’s a lot to be thankful for this year. We have a new owner. We’ve experienced 200 percent growth in office dog attendance. And every time we step out the front door or take a walk around town, we see how Detroit has gotten a tiny bit more vibrant. One of the best things about being […]

A little over nine years ago, Tim Smith asked me to play a round of golf. I accepted even though I didn’t care much for the sport. I figured I’d follow his lead. But, just two holes in, I could tell he wasn’t much of a golfer! “We could’ve just gone to breakfast,” I lamented. […]

We have some big news to share here at the studio: Our current president, Drew Patrick, is officially the owner of Skidmore Studio as of today, Oct. 1, 2018. He purchased our almost-60-year-old legacy studio from our dear friend Colleen Smith, wife of former owner Tim Smith who passed away unexpectedly in January. While the […]

Think about the last time you went out to eat with friends, or the last time you invited someone to your home to share a meal. If there were more than three people in your group, I’ll bet one of them had a dietary restriction or food regimen that limited your dining options. And I’ll […]

Here’s an idea that may be controversial: You should be investing more time and effort (and therefore $$$) into your brand than your marketing. Sure, we’re a little biased (we’re a branding studio, after all), but the data backs it up. “Media in Focus,” a report on the effects of mass marketing produced by Google […]

This week our Xenith rebrand was reviewed the much loved and feared Brand New site by the folks at Under Consideration. It’s a strange/scary experience to release your work into the wild, and having it analyzed by respected peers in the design community takes this feeling to a whole new level. Thankfully, we were in […]

As one of the most important brand–customer touchpoints, a brand’s packaging needs to stand out from the competition, while also answering how the product solves a customer’s needs. Here at Skidmore, we use the “Stop, Hold, Close” method – a process for getting the most out of that sliver of time a customer spends contemplating […]

Nothing better than kicking back with a beer bursting with flavor AND personality. Luckily these cans we designed for Eastern Market Brewing Company contain both. Check out a piece from Packaging Strategies Magazine on the design!

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Recently I was asked, “What makes a really good client?” My initial reply was to spout off a series of thoughts I developed over the years working with clients of all shapes and sizes. Statements that were primarily from the studio’s perspective, like…They need to be big thinkers. They need to have a budget. They […]

The Skidmore candy drawer is basically our water cooler – and this close to Halloween, it’s packed full of treats. Which is why this episode of Branding Bites is all about candy packaging. Watch as Shawn and Kacha break down the packaging tricks that sell our favorite treats. Rather read than watch? Check out the transcript […]

Menus are everywhere – the cozy chalkboard at your neighborhood café, the oversized menu at the local burger joint, the minimalist menu at your favorite upscale restaurant. Big or small, simple or complex, beautiful or merely functional, menus are arguably the most important touchpoint between a restaurant’s brand and its customers. However, as pervasive as […]

Sports teams straddle the line of brand and entertainer, with most of their success depending on the unpredictable rise and fall of the season. They can always depend on their core band of brand loyalists to show up rain or shine, but is there a way to appeal to fair-weather fans on a cloudy day? […]

As different delivery methods battle it out for who can grow the fastest, it’s no wonder about 20 percent of people in the US order food delivery at least once a week. Now, there’s no limit to what cuisine you can eat from the comfort of your own home any given night of the week […]

Most brands these days are learning how to walk the walk and truly uphold their brand values, but can they talk the talk? In this week’s episode of Branding Bites, Shawn and Kacha share their knowledge on how to better identify, talk to, and connect with your audience. Rather read than watch? Check out the transcript below! // TRANSCRIPT Kacha: Welcome to Branding Bites, […]

We all love to root for the underdog. It’s why the Rocky films have grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide. Rocky Balboa, one of the most beloved underdog movie characters of all time, beat Apollo Creed, Mr. T and that huge Russian dude, with a simple philosophy: Don’t play by their rules. This “upstart” attitude holds […]

You can update the menu, redesign the interior, and launch a new advertising campaign, but unless your restaurant keeps its logo fresh, you’re going to miss out on new and returning customers. As a communications tool, everything about your logo – from the decision to use a serif or sans-serif font – sends a message […]

Loyalty programs have been around forever, as has the question of whether we, as marketers, are making the most of this opportunity to retain our customers. The answer: Usually not. This week we take a look at restaurant loyalty programs with an eye on improving the customer experience and program effectiveness. How can your brand […]

Detroit has been featured in some of the country’s most respected publications and topped lists of America’s hottest food cities. And as Detroiters ourselves, we can confirm: the food is incredible. But there is also much to learn from the brand building efforts of some of Detroit’s most successful restaurants and chocolatiers. In this week’s […]

We’re taking a quick look back at 2016 and helping marketers plan for the year ahead in today’s episode of Branding Bites! Tune in to watch Shawn and Kacha share their insights into restaurant branding opportunities related to employee ambassadors, digital ordering, loyalty programs, and more. Rather read than watch? Check out the transcript below! […]

We enjoy a special guest this week as Sara joins Kacha in the hot seat to share strategies for Instagram Live, menu item branding, and more. Click play for their answers to questions including: How can restaurants make use of Instagram Live? (at :30) What has made HopCat a success with millennials? (at 2:13) How […]