I'm a Brand strategist & designer helping multi-passionate entrepreneurs build brands that look like them while being strategic enough to scale. Fine arts background, eldest daughter energy, and a firm believer that brands take way longer than a week to build.
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When the online experience falls short of the in person one (and how to fix it)
Published 24 days ago • 5 min read
2ND EDITION | ISSUE #149
Mid-set, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
Next to me - a fellow concert lean in.
She pointed at my old, scuffed and dirty cowboy boots and yelled over the band (we were in the second row) “Those are Awesome! If those boots could tell stories - you’d be in jail”.
My new favorite compliment of all time.
And honestly, she isn’t wrong.
If those boots could talk - they could tell you about the time I snuck into the pit at Craig Morgan the day after my 18th birthday, and then got pulled on stage - beer in hand, asked how old I was, only to grab the microphone and confidently say “21!”
If these boots could talk - they could tell you about how last summer, we got front row seats for free to John Cougar Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, and Willy Nelson - and how Kyle, my fiancé, went viral for getting heckled by Mellandcamp himself.
Unfortunately, neither of those stories have much to do with marketing or branding.
But the rest of the story from the night my boots got the coolest compliment ever...
The night of Hoochenanny Music & Whiskey Festival ⎯ can teach you a lot about how simple your branding can be, how much the audience's experience matters, and how to clearly communicate the value of the in-person experience online.
Hoochananny Music & Whiskey Festival: Getting Your Branding Right the First Time
From the typography choices to the festival experience itself, everything about Hoochananny felt so legit that my group had no idea this was their inaugural year—until we overheard a bartender mention it hours into the event.
Here's why they made such a great first impression.
Smart positioning that attracts without alienating. The whiskey theme gives them clear differentiation, but they were smart enough not to let it limit their audience. Offering variety in both music genres (from country to rock) and beverage options meant they could test what resonates while building their audience and brand recognition.
They prioritized the experience over everything else. Lots of places to sit, ample shade, diverse food options, clean bathrooms, organized parking, and easy entry/exit. Basically, they solved for all the friction points that make people never want to come back to a festival. And—they communicated all of this in their pre-event marketing emails, setting clear expectations about what attendees could expect.
But then there's their website.
While the in-person experience was so well thought out, their website told a completely different story. It had DIY or "we put this on the intern" written all over it.
The in-person experience not matching the online one is the #1 reason people come to me for web design, so I recorded a quick audit of where their site was falling short after attending the festival myself.
The lesson? You can nail 90% of your brand experience, but if that first digital impression doesn't match, you're leaving money (and credibility) on the table.
Naming not only the festival as something memorable and descriptive of the experience, but also naming all of the different experiences within it.
Sure, you could call the beer tent - a beer tent. But Lager Land is way more fun.
Naming is definitely something that you want to get right the first time (especially because changing it and building the awareness again later on is a lot of work).
Naming should go beyond your brand name itself - to your individual processes. products, and offers.
Not only does this make your brand more memorable, but it also makes it so much easier and more natural for you to market and talk about them.
Here's a free resource from 26 and then some, where you can get free feedback on a name you are working on.
I also like building in public and opening up the conversation on threads.
If you need even more help, consider working with a copywriter who has naming services like Lexicon Copy Co.
From a design standpoint, they chose two decorative fonts. , just three colors, and used them everywhere.
It was honestly a masterclass in just how simple your brand identity could be while still being effective and instantly recognizable.
Now, if I were designing their brand, I would have 100% used more color. Especially a branded pop of color.
When you think digitally having a signature pop of color helps you to draw attention and highlight sections of copy - or draw the eye to a button, a CTA.
I break down exactly how to create your own signature pop of color - while keeping your brand colors super simple - and knowing exactly how to implement them in The CJ Brand Color Kit.
When I said that they used the fonts everywhere, I mean it.
Even Staff t-shirts had the branded font Spelling STAFF across the back of them. Every banner, all the merch - was all on brand.
This is one of the easiest shifts you can make to create more recognition in your brand.
Set your brand colors and use them and only them.
Not just in Canva and posts - but also on your instagram stories.
Same goes for fonts - choose yours and stick to them. Pick which fonts are similar on socials and only use those.
If you need more help with your fonts and brand identity guidlines as a whole you can check out the 2D Design Masterclass where I break down font selections and how to create a standard for how your brand looks on all platforms.
i'm currently.....
Watching
We’ve been digging into our DVD collection, and I didn’t realize how much I miss previews, owning a movie, and the bonus features that come with it. So far, we’ve watched The Vow (a personal fave), Holes, and next up is Surfer Dude.
If you watch my Instagram stories, you know that I've also been on Dahlia watch - circling my beds, waiting for blooms, and collecting seeds in hopes of growing all my own flowers for our wedding next year.
Not to mention - Crysallis watch! We've got a monarch about to open up any day, and checking on it is one of my favorite parts of the day!
Listening
Hoochananny kicked off what I have been jokingly referring to as our “summer concert series”. One of the things I love about seeing live music is discovering new artists from the people who open.
New artists I’ve found this summer so far include Cristina Vane, and The Band Loula - next week we’ll be seeing The Lumineers for the second time, so it's about time to start listening to them on repeat to get ready for that show.
Promoting
I am in an era of not putting all my eggs in one basket + just trying to talk about my stuff while life is finally winding down after a busy summer that was a rollercoaster of emotions.
I’ve got a couple of 1:1 spots I’m looking to fill for September. A done-for-you brand identity spot in Brand Brushstrokes, and a done-for-you web design spot in The Signature Site.
I’m also itching to chat strategy, whether it's for your website, your brand’s next pivot - or all of the above. I’ve got 6 beta spots open for my 60-minute Studio Session strategy calls at $60 off right now :)
Where strategy meets storytelling – your Monday morning dose of brand foundations that grow with your vision.
I'm a Brand strategist & designer helping multi-passionate entrepreneurs build brands that look like them while being strategic enough to scale. Fine arts background, eldest daughter energy, and a firm believer that brands take way longer than a week to build.
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