BRAND _ PRINT

TEA COLLECTION _ THE WORLD ACCORDING TO TEA

One of my first tasks as Copy Director at Tea, even before I created our voice guidelines, was to create a brand book. This internal document served as a Bible, a compass, and an on-boarding crash course. It didn’t contain the details and depth of the voice and design guidelines we later created, but it did immerse readers in the world of Tea. It made them feel the way we wanted them to make our customers feel.

TEA COLLECTION _ WELCOME TO OUR WORLD

If the brand book (above) was our internal evangelizing tool, this mailer was our external brand outreach. Customer research showed that once Tea customers connected with the true essence of the brand—the global inspiration, the goal of inspiring connection and curiosity—they were well and truly hooked.

DROPBOX _ CUPCAKE

At Dropbox, “cupcake” is a corporate value, shorthand for the goal of creating surprises and delight for employees and users alike. “Magic within our walls translates into magic outside of them,” is how the company puts it. So the design arm of Dropbox created a “Cupcake Kit,” to woo prospective employees with an inside look at the company’s culture, mission, and values.

TEA COLLECTION _ SAY IT UP FRONT

Catalogs are a great way to convert new customers, and we took advantage of the opportunity to introduce ourselves on the inside front cover. The message varied from season to season, but two themes remained constant: global exploration and little citizens of the world.

TEA COLLECTION _ CLAIMING THE NAME

Tea Collection makes clothes "for little citizens of the world."  The brand is constantly taking a moment to explain to prospective customers that they don't actually sell tea, the drink. We told the story a little differently in the 2016 holiday catalog, sharing both the why behind the name of the brand and connecting little citizens of the world with something they all have in common.

TEA COLLECTION _ MAKING CONNECTIONS

Tea Collection is clothing “for little citizens of the world.” Parents who love Tea feel a strong connection to that tag line. They’re not just buying cute clothes for their kids. They’re making a statement about what they believe in. During the 2015 season, I created “little citizen cards” that we would include with each purchase. The cards contained a handwritten sentiment that connected customers to Tea's brand values: imagination, connection, curiosity, adventure, exploration. The cards were designed to elicit an emotional response, to make people say, “Oh yes! I think so, too.”