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Lejon


        They don’t make belts like they used to. But Lejon does. 


Brand Strategy 


Opportunity: Back in 1968, John Shirinian I, founded the Lejon belt company which would become a staple at department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and make belts for esteemed brands like Shinola.

I was approached because the current owner (John’s grandson) wanted the brand to grow. To move from well-known within the industry to a nationally recognized consumer belt brand.





Company Audit:
Initial investigation of the company led us to a number of learnings that would help the brand consolidate its image and story. For example, the Lejon company also owned and made belts under the Vintage Bison brand. The new strategy (and resulting verbal identity) would make the relationship between these two brands clear and align with the master brand story.



Category Audit:
The competitive landscape has changed quite a bit since their last brand refresh. We established a new competitive framework. This helped us create ownable objectives and messaging that would be distinct from competitors. While remaining authentic to the brand’s made in the USA, family-owned roots.



Consumer Audit:
Lejon’s target audience was determined to be a blue collar working class American. Research supported a beneficial role that the brand could play in their life: As not merely a belt maker, but a protector of quality American workmanship. An educator and enricher.




Strategy Workshop:
At our workshop we reviewed all research and co-created a new positioning statement. This became their north star for all following marketing initiatives and materials. 

Deliverables:
Below is a list of the interconnected brand elements provided:

  • Personality statement 
  • Tone of voice scale
  • Nemesis statement 
  • Brand challenge/opportunity 
  • Brand purpose 
  • Core benefits & product
  • Point of difference and points of parity 
  • Vision & mission
  • Category research and learnings
  • Consumer research and learnings 
  • Target audience personas 
  • Brand values
  • Positioning statement 

Execution & Results:
The brand team was immediately able to onboard media partners and vendors with a clear, compelling and consistent story. 

After this process I helped them with verbal identity and copywriting. Once those assets make it into market I will share the results. 
Mark

Hi, I’m Zane



I help brands develop their strategy and express it through creative concepts, content and copy.  

I’m your co-pilot in the oftentimes complex world of marketing and branding.

Who will help your business grow through 4 specialties:


Copywriting

Verbal Identity

Brand Strategy

Naming


Before freelance, I spent 10 years at agencies and in-house. Working within a variety of categories.

Nowadays, I partner directly with the people at agencies and brands.  

Together, we create cool new stuff:

🏆 Award-winning verbal and visual identities. Like my work on Arch Anchor and Mosaic, done in partnership with comrades at Dean & Co.

🐣 New brand campaigns and performance marketing assets. That question category norms and drive engagement. Like my work with UCLA and Guava Family.

👔 Partner with CEOs at brands like Lejon and Unique Vintage. Helping them craft a distinct brand voice and a consistent story. Attracting new customers and investors. 

Say Hello 



Clients

“Zane's ability to jump in and quickly create impactful, immediately usable work is every creative director's dream. Specifically how he helped us take dissonant insights and turn them into a solid, strategy-lead manifesto and multiple brand video scripts for performance marketing.” Reed Schmidt, Creative Director, Guava

“We hired Zane to help us reposition the brand with a new verbal identity and personality. He has a very thorough strategy process which really got to the essence of who we are as a brand. The collaboration and communication along the way was excellent. He truly exceeded expectations.” Gregg Hemphill, CEO, Nexbelt

“His ability to tie creative thinking to consumer insights, trends/culture, and our marketing objectives was unmatched by any creative I have ever worked with. It was always clear where an idea started and how he got to the final product.” Gina Colonette, Senior Social Media Manager, Philips 


Values

Belief. You can call me Ted Lasso because I believe in belief and that the customer notices said belief. Trickle down belief-onomics.

Curiosity. The act of learning and unlearning is like sunshine for the mind. Curiosity keeps me aware, humble and open to new ideas.

Adaptability. I’m gonna let Lau Tzu take this one, “A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind. The stiff will be broken; the soft will prevail.”




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