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BRAND SPOTLIGHT: LAUNCHING GSD OFFLINE, ONLINE
Hey there, I’m back with another blog for you, and I hope you’re having an amazing week, whatever you’re up to and wherever you are with your branding journey.
Now, as the title suggests, today I want to speak to you all about one project in particular – GSD Offline. I love working with inspirational female entrepreneurs, and the two behind this – Lisa Johnson of Just Own This and Carmela Weddings and Lucy Baker, owner of She Coaches Confidence, are up there with the best.
So what I’d like to do is chat to you a little bit about what it is (if you don’t know, you need to know) the inspiration behind their statement branding, their website and a few of the other elements we created to help keep their message consistent across every touchpoint. So let’s get into it.
GSD OFFLINE: WHAT IS IT?
If you’ve been here before, reading my blogs you’ll know how important your mission statement is when it comes to your branding. If not, it’s a one-line summary of exactly what your brand does, which will become the foundation and filter for everything you do – so what better place to start this blog.
GSD OFFLINE – IT’S NETWORKING JUST NOT AS YOU KNOW IT.
So what does that tell you? Well, it’s networking obvs, but it’s got a twist. And what is that twist I hear you ask? Well, let me tell you. The goal with GSD Offline is to create somewhere relaxed and informal, for like-minded women. Forget those awkward meetings and intros, GSD Offline is a place to share, develop, learn and be inspired. With micro-networks, run by ambassadors all over the country, it’s the perfect way to build your local and national network in a welcoming, exclusive environment.
The whole platform is based on 3 core brand values – again, this is so important when it comes to defining what your branding needs to communicate. And what are those core pillars?
Connect Form a relationship or feel an affinity
Learn Gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something) by study, experience, or being taught.
Flourish Grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way.
GSD OFFLINE: WHO IS IT?
Now you know the what, it’s time to find out the who. So as I mentioned in my intro the people behind GSD Offline are Lisa Johnson, certified business coach, founder of Just Own This and owner of Carmela Weddings, and Lucy Baker, a confidence coach and make-up artist.
Oh, and you of course. ‘Wait, and me? What are you talking about Nicki?’ Well, if you don’t already know, GSD Offline is an off-shoot of the amazing membership community GSD Society. And as a member myself, I can’t speak highly enough of it. Connecting with like-minded people is always inspirational, and with the energy and passion of the members it’s such a powerful network.
But despite the group’s success, and the way it continues to kick ass, Lisa, who set it up after careers in law, banking and the entertainment industry, and Lucy who studied sociology at Middlesex University began to realise that there’s just something about meeting people in person. It’s the perfect way to build your confidence as an entrepreneur, create that know, like, trust factor with potential collaborators and discuss the strategy and mindset required to be successful in an open forum.
People are craving those personal interactions now more than ever, so having an actual old school conversation with someone you genuinely want to talk to is a real joy!
GSD OFFLINE: THE BRAND
So as the mission statement suggests, this is networking but not as you know it. And because of that we simply HAD to leave the stuffy, corporate world that you normally associate with networking behind. This isn’t about suits and awkward breakfasts, this is about getting inspired, getting to know people and getting s?*t done.
This project was always going to be about creating something stand out and unique so everything from the colours, to the logo and the website had to do just that. That’s why we identified a visual style, which immediately distances the brand from the corporate world.
I’ve always been a fan of pop art, especially the work of Lichtenstein, some of which sits proudly in my living room. It’s fun, it’s modern, it’s iconic and it has that vibe of rebelliousness against everything corporate and traditional. So what better inspiration could there be for GSD Offline.
By taking a pop art route, bold, bright and vibrant colours that shout fun and confidence were a must. They also have that added bonus of being attention grabbing, which was always going to appeal to Lisa and Lucy’s ideal client. From there it was about building in patterns and textures to create that edge around such fun tones. I mean we all know what GSD stands for, right?’
GSD OFFLINE: THE WEBSITE
As I mentioned above it’s always key for everything to be absolutely on point, across every touchpoint – especially your website. We kept the bold, edgy theme in terms of colours, colours, fonts and textures to create something that’s guaranteed to catch your eye.
Combining this with featuring all the important info before the fold and using punchy, pull out quotes to fit the GSD mantra and ethos, the end result is something which makes you want to read on for sure.
Most importantly, for this website we had to absolutely nail the user experience. I mean there’s no point having something that looks amazing if no one can work out how to use it, right? And because this is a membership site the ease of use and navigation is so important. There’s a lot to take in and understand but when presented in the right way, with short, sharp pieces of information it becomes easily digestible for visitors.
That’s why, from getting to the point when paying, to understanding exactly what you’re getting for your money, becoming an ambassador or making a booking – we made sure everything was stylish and simple, without getting in the audience’s way.
And that is everything you need to know about the fresh, new GSD Offline branding. But I’m not about to leave you just yet. Before I sign off, I want to speak to you about the importance of finding and surrounding yourself with likeminded, supportive females. It’s deffo one of the secrets to success, and there are so many quotes about this out there, but here’s one of my faves –
It can be lonely when you’re running your own business, but with strong, inspirational people around you in your network then the sky is the limit, and you’ll be making it happen in no time. So what are you waiting for, get out there and check it out…now.
Nicki x
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