How to turn a retailer into a brand

A debrief from a recent project

Welcome to the Sociology of Business. In my last analysis, Case Study: A24, I looked into how A24 can grow, by breaking the limits of its category. If you are on the Substack, join the chat. With one of the paid subscription options, join Paid Membership Chat, and with the free subscription, join The General Chat on The Sociology of Business WhatsApp group.

With the new SS25 brand campaign images, I am happy to share the project I recently worked on. I was tasked with defining the brand vision, identity and positioning for a startup footwear brand, Marc Nolan. The project grew into development of the brand system (in partnership with one of my favorite collaborators, Ion Barbu) and creative and art direction, identification of product strategy and development of marketing strategy and its execution.

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The topic of the episode 10 of Hitmakers is branding of technology. Some of the brands today are tech brands - Apple, Google, Nvidia - and we are discussing what makes them powerful, not just in terms of market capitalization, but also in terms of consumer perception and affinity. Watch our conversation below, or listen to it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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The idea I went for Marc Nolan was to capture modern prep with humor and flair. I turned prep’s lifestyle codes into aesthetic details, designed with an approachable price point in mind. The idea was to secure the visual continuity with American prep’s history and heritage, and then to also keep it going by making it contemporary. Prep codes are given the current cultural voice — like modern values and tastes spoken in the iconic language.

From the classic prep style, I took one of its most timeless attractions: its versatility and wearability that allow for both comfort and refinement. From modern culture, I took irony and non-sequitur twists.

The creative and art direction flowed naturally from the clear brand vision, identity, and positioning. Building the Marc Nolan world from scratch was fun — from model casting to props, set design, and styling. Styling-wise, I applied the modern prep look to Marc Nolan products to give them context ,and to appeal to all of the brand’s customer personas.

I also had a chance to organize the product architecture and segment product design and merchandising for maximum business and brand impact. Then I partnered with the superb brand operations talent, Ryan Iorio, to link this product pyramid with the product rollout plan, promotional calendar and marketing calendar.

Focus of our marketing strategy was e-commerce and social commerce growth, through strong brand creative, new approach to media and marketing, and operational excellence. We optimized email program (thanks to one and only Amisha Agrawal) and developed an integrated annual rollout plan that synchronized the new brand and product narrative into one consistent marketing execution.

The idea was to build a rich and convincing brand world, where no detail is too small. Everything in this world has a reason to exist, is deeply considered, and connected with everything else.

Some of the work is featured below, the selected portfolio is in the Presentations sections of the Sociology of Business, and you can head over to marcnolan.com and find Marc Nolan on Instagram to see the rest.

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