How Compound Studio Builds Successful Brands From Scratch — Podcasts (2022)

This episode Shopify Master is part of our collaboration series with YouTube channel Learn with Shopify. In the coming months, we will be releasing bonuses Shopify Master podcast every week, focusing on tips and trends specifically for entrepreneurs.

Shane Vitaly started his entrepreneurial journey on a backpacking trip in Bali. During that time, he will start designing and selling rings that will eventually lead him to discover Vitaly, a futuristic jewelry brand named after him. Today, Vitaly is the co-founder and CEO of Compound Studio, where he has become an expert in brand building.

Over the past 12 years, he and his team have conceptualized and launched two other jewelry brands—Jam dan Warna and Etah Love—and have plans to launch another, Every Heart, in August 2022. These four different brands live under Compound Studio , the Toronto-based accessory design studio developed the future-focused brand DTC. Developing each individual brand has led to endless lessons about the art of brand building.

The Jam and Color brand embraces wild ruggedness and combines the brand’s images of dessert landscapes and back roads.

“Each successive launch has been better than the previous one,” Vitaly said. “And that’s because we take everything we’ve learned and we make sure it applies right from the jump. There is definitely a formula, but that formula is always evolving and improving. “

In this episode Shopify Master podcast, we sat down with Shane Vitaly to discuss the brand building pillars he used to bring Vitaly, Jam and Varna, Etah Love, and Every Heart to life. From building a distinct brand identity to finding brand inspiration from unexpected places, his advice is essential for entrepreneurs looking to build a brand that stands out.

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Focus on creating a distinct and targeted brand identity

Vitaly suggests that some brands don’t do branding at all. Instead, they “combine”—creating a visual identity and brand experience that tries to appeal to everyone. In most cases, this means not attracting anyone.

“When we started thinking about the brand, we really focused on the identity,” says Vitaly. “I find a lot of people, they come out, and they just want to reach everybody.”

Across all four of their brands, Compound Studio has created distinct brands with specific target markets in mind. For example, the Vitaly brand appeals to electronic music lovers while the Jam dan Warna brand is definitely rock and roll.

The Jam and Color Foundation collection draws inspiration from the Earth, including barren landscapes and jagged rock faces.

Here’s what Vitaly had to say about creating a brand that resonates:

• Don’t try to reach everyone: “There are so many brands out there now…they’re saying, ‘we’re going to sell to everybody.’ We never took that approach. Our approach has always been to really define who our audience is, and then go after them.”
• Think through archetypes: “If this is our customer, we call Amy, what does Amy wear? What is he doing? Does she get up and go to SoulCycle? Get her a Starbucks? If so, what will the person wear? That’s how we built it. We started building a product line, to speak to that person.”
• Design for your dream icon: “With the early Clock and Color, we had a few people that we consulted. One of them, interestingly enough, is Travis Barker…Eight years ago, I said, ‘this is someone I really respect, and I think we can build a brand that will speak to someone like him.’ So we started designing products that we thought he would look good on.”
• Ignore the competition: “If I start to see that the market is really saturated, I know that by the time I can produce a product that looks like that, I’ve already missed the window.”

Get brand inspiration from unlikely places

While Compound Studio’s brands all have strong online presences and communities, social media isn’t where they go for brand and product inspiration. When looking for the next trend, Vitaly turns away from existing trends and competitors and towards the novel and exciting.

Etah Love, Jam and Warna’s sister brand, is clearly bold and fearless.

“To find out the trends. I honestly just spend time walking around the city,” says Vitaly. “I find it to be the most authentic picture of what’s happening in the world right now. So that’s my kind of market research.”

Vitaly looked to three unlikely sources for brand inspiration: architecture, the outdoors and music. A penchant for finding ideas offline is evident throughout their branding and products—one piece from Vitaly’s jewelry collection was inspired by the suspension cables that hold up a bridge while Etah Love’s piece features dancing mushrooms as an homage to fungi.

Crafted from sterling silver, Etah Love jewelry features a fantasy inspired by the struggle between love and hate.

Music is also a current that flows through all their products. “I find that music is a big indicator of what’s going to happen in fashion,” says Vitaly. “If I start to hear that grunge is trending a little bit, it’s a pretty good indicator of what’s going to be trending in terms of product flavor.”

️Articles and advice for building a brand that customers love

Building a strong and recognizable brand includes your voice, visual identity and brand values. Learn how to build a brand from the ground up—even if you’re on a budget.

Build a brand team with a mindset that resonates with people

In the early days of Compound Studio, the entire team worked across all four brands. However, this becomes challenging as the team grows. Team members feel stretched across multiple priorities and want focus. Also, people naturally gravitate to their favorite brands.

Vitaly’s brand focuses on the future, with early collections inspired by clean architectural lines.

“Certain people identify with one more than the other,” says Vitaly. “So we started trying to wrap them around a little bit.” Today, Compound Studio embraces the split and has separate creative teams for each of their four brands. Their upcoming brand, Every Heart, was conceptualized with its own team from scratch.

“…[Every Heart] was the first time where we really launched the brand from a really silent jump in terms of the team,” said Vitaly. “We brought in a president, we brought in a separate creative director, we’ve never done this.”

Finding the right people to shepherd and work on the different brands has strengthened each brand. “We have all different brands, and they all have their own identity. And even if you look at the team, it’s pretty clear,” said Vitaly. “There are big differences team to team.”

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Building a brand from the ground up is just one of the many subjects covered in this week’s episode of Shopify Masters with Shane Vitaly. Follow to learn more about the following topics:

• Build a network of influencers and stylists to collaborate organically.
• Take a data-driven approach to building a retail expansion plan for their brand.
• Choose business partners with complementary strengths and weaknesses.

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source: https://www.shopify.co.id/blog/compound-studio