Outerwear for the Inner life. Pointing a classic brand towards new horizons.
Design and photography by prAna.
For two decades, prAna crafted apparel pulling from its rich heritage in rock climbing and yoga. As the company moved into outerwear, the challenge was to find a voice that reflected the way you wear it as much as the ways it’s made. To point towards a new direction that stayed true to its roots while advocating its expansion into new markets.
We conducted in-depth interviews with prAna’s founder as well as its lead designer to extract the essence of their philosophy and approach. We also took extra care to get inside the mind & heart of the prAna customer: Who they are, what they care about, and why they’d be drawn to this new line.
The result was the 10 storyboards above, each building on the last, telling a story about the new outwear line and where it’s headed. The company rolled them out as sales materials for the reps to pitch to the wholesale market, as well as blown-up posters throughout prAna headquarters and in flagship stores.
The outerwear launch was one of the most successful in prAna’s history, exceeding already-high expectations. Wholesale buyers quickly understood the new line’s differentiating factors and were eager to add it to their collections. The language and style changed the way prAna staffers talked about the brand internally as well. The head of sales for prAna said: “The positioning was perfect. It was profound. I heard people tell me ‘This makes sense now.’ It was like all the elements fell into place when they saw the positioning.”
It’s often the simplest ideas that resonate, and, infused with a little character, a few well-chosen words can set a brand on the path to the next big thing.
Client: prAna
Project: Product Launch Positioning
Services: Copy writing, brand positioning
“This is a testimonial for my favorite two copywriters in all the world, Alison and Matt. They’ve been writing copy for us for three years now and have nailed the complex essence of our brand, prAna. We offer sustainably made apparel for active lifestyles. We have a rich heritage in outdoor sports like rock climbing and have been deep in the yoga market for two decades. Our brand communications often convey our values associated with sustainability, wellness, social causes, fair trade and mindful living. We have a roster of diverse athletes, outdoor adventurists, climbers, yogis, artists and activists who have incredible stories to tell. Ours is a complex brand that can transcend demographics, markets, product categories and geographies, and we have to keep our core followers intrigued while reaching out to a new audience.
What I am saying is that the copywriting assignments at prAna are quite difficult and we consistently count on Matt and Alison to do the heavy lifting for our brand messaging. They have a collaborative approach and refreshing communication style that’s empowering. They have a knack for pulling out the nuggets when we get rambling during interviews. Our conversations are always stimulating and they don’t miss a thing. They turn these random thoughts into our consumer facing voice that connects to our values and deeply resonates with our audience. They ‘get it’ and are a lot of fun to work with. We hope to be able to count on them for many more seasons of compelling brand story telling.”
Beaver Theodosakis
Founder, prAna
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Brand Positioning + Copywriting |
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prAna clothing |
