MICHAELS ARTS & CRAFTS
Brand Transformation
Breathing new life into legacy retail
Michaels, an arts and crafts retailer famous for their coupon-heavy newspaper flyers, was facing some major headwinds. With Amazon and Walmart increasing their presence in the space, they needed to get out of the coupon wars and establish a new reason for customers to choose Michaels.
We worked with Michaels to completely rehaul their brand. Armed with a new brand purpose, design system, and marketing campaign, we awakened a side of their story that had laid dormant for decades- their supplies were the catalyst for endless creativity- their brand could be a catalyst for the entire creative process.
The results speak for themselves. At the height of “the retail apocalypse”, in a year that saw 52 legacy retailers file for bankruptcy, Michaels found its future as a private company thanks to an unsolicited $5B offer at a 47% premium.
We also won some nice hardware for our work. A Silver Cannes Lion in the Business Transformation category and R/GA’s first-ever Gold Effie.
Renewed purpose
We took the Michaels brand down to the studs and redefined their purpose to more closely align with their core audience. “We’re here for the makers” and it’s accompanying brand principles became a rallying cry for the organization. The ethos helped informed new revenue streams, guide merchandising strategies, and shifted the entire organization’s perception of who they could be for customers.
Dynamic design system
We developed a brand system that put makers and their needs at the center of the story. At the heart of the system was a layered design style that allowed us to feature attributed maker art in every branded artifact, highlighting people, trends, and seasons throughout the year. We also started speaking directly to makers with a tone that respected their passion and expertise.
Maker-first mentality
If we were truly going to be here for the makers, we needed to bring them into the fold in meaningful ways. We partnered with dozens of makers to help shape product lines, give classes, and develop patterns. We celebrated their unique brand of creativity in every piece of marketing and supported their small businesses along the way.
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