Sustainability
The Miller Group: Branding Agency in Los Angeles focused on sustainability.
Discover the best Branding Agency in Los Angeles that helps middle market companies become more environmentally friendly and ethical.
Dunn-Edwards Paints
The Challenge
Regional challenger paint brand Dunn-Edwards faced inroads from a major competitor in Northern California and needed fresh thinking to better differentiate itself.
The Solution
We don't spitball or naval gaze: we did our homework and undertook a deep dive into their product offerings including qualitative research and protracted whiteboard sessions. It turns out Dunn-Edwards is the first and only LEED Gold-certified paint manufacturer. Refreshing their “Greener By Design” platform across all channels, including digital and retail, led to successfully driving more traffic to retail and an uptick in sales.
Ready. Chef. Go! Cooking Bags
The Challenge
When a commodity bag supplier acquired an environmentally sustainable cooking bag, they reached out to us. LK Packaging wanted support with everything from product positioning, strategy, target audience and branding, to naming and distribution. And most important - results.
The Solution
We created the brand Ready. Chef. Go! resulting in a win for consumers, grocers and the environment. Consumers enjoy delicious “meals in minutes” in these compostable, biodegradable bags. Grocers realized higher margins from the program and plastic bag usage has been reduced significantly.
Resilient Palisades
The Challenge
Resilient Palisades is a community group formed to address climate and ecological issues in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Southern California. As a result of frequent power outages, the organizations set up a "Pali Microgrid" project to increase solar installations, reduce emissions, save residents money, and increase energy resilience. The organization needed to reach the approximately 3,500 qualifying homeowners in the area with informative and persuasive messaging.
The Solution
We mapped out a grassroots, multi-channel effort to reach qualified homeowners. Eblasts, direct mail, lawn signage, local retailers, farmers' markets, religious organizations and local politicians were among the channels deployed during the campaign. The effort generated hundreds of inquiries and requests for information. After only 18 months 50 homeowners have converted to solar, and dozens more are actively deliberating.
Ivy Organics
The Challenge
Mattress buying often starts with a triggering event - change in family structure, new residence, home improvements, or health issues. 78% of mattress shoppers move through a linear purchase funnel, not knowing exactly what they want, relying on the internet, word of mouth, and retailers.
The Solution
Qualitative research showed that Ivy customers tend to be “mattress involved” and “brand selectors”: careful about what they consume, search for details, and early adopters. They tend to replace mattresses with greater frequency. The ad below offers a unique point of view for the brand. We targeted organic mattress shoppers through ZIP code-targeted ads in high-profile media and increased sales by 28% within six months.
Lotus Pet Food
The Challenge
Centinela Feed & Pet, a regional pet retailer, wanted to expand its sales footprint while shrinking its carbon paw-print. The challenger brand came to us looking for a way to lap up growth and keep the planet purring at the same time.
The Solution
To meet their challenge, we created a private-label, pet food brand full of top-notch ingredients and focused on the founder’s philosophy of sustainable manufacturing. One example is the pâtés, canned in small batches in Southern California. We named the brand Lotus—a symbol of purity in chaos. The work took on a playful look with eco-friendly packaging and in-store materials, because getting noticed at retail is key to consumer preference. Today, Lotus reigns supreme as a top-selling brand in independent pet stores throughout the U.S. and Asia.
Goodwill
The Challenge
Goodwill, the established king of thrift, is an environmentally and socially responsible brand. With an armada of 80+ stores in SoCal, this nonprofit gives a boost to people in need. Here’s the twist: nearly 60% of its annual revenue comes in during the Halloween season when competition from Halloween mega stores is fierce.
The Solution
We made Goodwill synonymous with Halloween. Young people flocked to the stores and sales leaped by a delightful 38%. Goodwill hauled in more than 150,000 YouTube views; media exposure valued at more $250,000, and a few creative awards along the way. We did it all on a non-profit budget, which is to say we had to be incredibly inventive.
simplehuman
The Challenge
simplehuman's decorative, stainless steel mirrors and trash cans have a dominant consumer presence. They wanted to repeat this in hospitality where the purchase funnel is a lot more complicated and competitors’ products less costly.
The Solution
simplehuman trash cans are in the finest hotels, restaurants and resorts in the world. The brand’s advanced technology, sleek, contemporary design and commitment to sustainability set them apart from the competition. Sensor lights in simplehuman mirrors last nearly a lifetime and drastically reduce energy consumption. Dual compartment trash cans sort and recycle trash, cutting staff time. These subtle advantages became part of a multi-channel campaign that resulted in a healthy spike in hospitality sales.
PreZero
The Challenge
PreZero introduced an innovative, responsible program that closed the loop on food waste in the U.S. They contacted us to help their sales team convince grocers to switch their long-standing trash hauling contracts with traditional waste haulers to PreZero - a recycler in the UK that was turning waste into animal feed.
The Solution
We developed a series of materials for PreZero that demonstrated a more sustainable solution for turning waste into animal feed, creating a more circular economy. PreZero increased sales and distribution by 18%.
NRDC
The Challenge
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) - a nonprofit dedicated to protecting public health and the environment - planned a green building for its Southern California headquarters. The proposed building would reduce water usage by 60%, energy usage by 56%, and repurpose 90% of materials from an existing building. A terrific marriage of new technology and recycling/upcycling, and a great solution if the NRDC could raise the required $6MM to support the plan.
The Solution
Recognizing that sometimes charity is not its own reward, we developed a series of fundraising materials and donor incentives targeting prospective NRDC donors, and local community leaders. We maintained a high level of publicity in areas surrounding the new building and in the broader L.A. area. The Robert Redford Green Building became one of the greenest buildings in the U.S. and one of the first to achieve LEED Platinum certification for sustainable design.
LK Packaging
The Challenge
A commodity plastic bag distributor was about to launch a line of compostable, recyclable packaging for the retail grocery category, they reached out for guidance in positioning for launch.
The Solution
We conducted voice-of-the-prospect research at a national trade show, where potential buyers had an opportunity to evaluate product design, pricing, and utility. Even with a corporate sustainability commitment, B2B buyers need to see ROI if they are to move away from plastic. Market feedback guided messaging and led to the successful launch of a line of composable, food boxes and Grab-N-Go containers. LK increased its revenue while decreasing its carbon footprint. That's the kind of ROI smart noise can deliver.
