Who Are You?

Does Your Advertising, Communication and Brand Image Tell Consumers What Your Store’s Really About?

Jodi Zippo had a problem the autumn before last. She owned a Norwalk store in Englewood, Colo., that found itself without product after the manufacturer's bank closed it down in fall 2008.

Determined to stay in business, Zippo decided that November to re-brand her operation as BellaLu Home & Design that November. Not only did she face the challenge of lining up new vendors in a hurry—Zippo had to spread the word on a new retail brand. Add in the economic malaise that struck at the same time, and one might think the effort was doomed. Norwalk has since reopened under new management

As it happens, BellaLu is alive and thriving. 2009 was tough compared with the prior year, when sales were up 65 percent before the Norwalk implosion—"We didn't have any product to sell for five months," Zippo noted. But in 2010 BellaLu Home & Design's sales are 70 percent ahead of last year.

Zippo credits the simple act of staying in business when so many other competitors in the higher-end, design-oriented segment closed their doors for some of that success. But another factor was the store's ability to establish a brand-new brand through a combination of image-based and promotional advertising that has struck a chord with Denver-area consumers.

"We've had to expand our staff and we're absolutely swamped now," Zippo said.

SIMPLE HONESTY As it sought to spread its new brand, BellaLu teamed with Monarch Advertising for a series of advertisements that began running last spring. Monarch has been developing what it calls "Simple Truth" advertising campaigns, which look to make a store's promotional advertising stand out from the pack through combining those spots with institutional, brand-building advertising. The idea is that sales and other price-driven advertising gets its own, individual context in a sea of competing ad messages, including those of other furniture stores.

"You can take any business in the world and ask 'What makes you special?'," said Bruce Armbruster, partner and creative director with Monarch Advertising. "Ninety-nine percent will say quality, service and pricing. How many times have you heard that? You have to delve deeper and ask what you really mean by that. Give me a story, give me an example.

"We're going into stores, turning on a camera and talking to employees, owners and customers, and asking them what's special about this business. The best commercials I've ever done are the ones I haven't written. An ad person can't go in and pretend they know more about the business than the people who work there."