Melanzana
Background
Melanzana is an outdoor wear brand from Leadville, Colorado. Founded in 1994, "Melly" is rooted in its local community and has established a strong brand identity without relying on traditional advertising methods. They reside in Leadville, manufacture in Leadville, and sell their items--exclusively in person--in Leadville. It's been that way since '94, and that's how they like it.
Year
2024
Deliverables
Identity Refresh, Ad Lobs, P.R. Strategy
The Challenge
Melly has developed a reputation for being "exclusive" primarily due to the process of in-person shopping by appointments (that are often months out). After conversations with Fritz at Melanzana, we learned that this is far from the approachable and friendly brand image they're trying to promote. Melly should be synonymous with the friendly and competent "dirtbags" of Colorado: the wake-up at 2 am to climb crowd, not the brand-new-Arc'Teryx-wearing-tech-bro section of the market.
The Solution
Melanzana has not reevaluated its logo since it was hand-drawn in the 1990s, and it has no established brand conventions. We created new brand conventions and a few ad lobs and generated ideas for brand outreach. All our choices remind the local community why they love the brand and seek to move public perception away from notions of exclusivity.
