BRAND IDENTITY & WEBSITE
Forever Collectibles is the off-off-off-Broadway show of sports gear and memorabilia. If there's a brand out there with a bigger inventory of zany products, I've yet to see it. Having traditionally sold through third party retailers, they realized they needed to start competing in the DTC space. Working directly with the CMO, I helped them create a pronounced, ownable brand voice and identity from scratch, which we decided was clever, slightly cheeky and centered around fans.
How the love of sports connects fans everywhere. It also touched on how, with energy and dashes of humor, FOCO.com would carry that promise throughout their communications. This became part of the writing style guide I developed for them.
Because it shaped their communications, but it also served as a reference for their team of writers to follow as they developed the, no joke, thousands of product descriptions available for purchase on their site.
Which informed all the rest. Descriptions had to strike the balance of being entertaining and fun, but rich with keywords.
“Odell Beckham Jr. only needs one hand to make amazing catches for the New York Giants. You can try building this Odell Beckham Jr. BRXLZ Mini Player with one hand, but it’s probably a lot more convenient to use two. Go ahead. No judgment here, friend.”
“Rob Gronkowski scores touchdowns for the New England Patriots. Rob Gronkowski spikes footballs. You can spike this Rob Gronkowksi Plush Studd when Gronk scores touchdowns. Don’t worry, he’d appreciate the irony.”
“Your garden is a kingdom. And King James rules. This LeBron James Gnome is the lord of the lawn, baron of the backyard, and the grand poobah of the garden. Add him to your lineup and show off your Cleveland Cavaliers fanhood. King’s decree.”
We applied the same tone and style to promotional items like banners and other collateral.
The site launched in June 2017 after almost 2 years of work.