Kinetix

CHALLENGE

Start over. That’s the mantra of this fitness and nutrition company, and what we did for KINETIX Living (click here to view old website). Starting with their ubiquitous old brand based on “living”, something long ago usurped by the likes of Martha Stewart, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and others, we needed to create considerable distance from them.

The new brand needed to bury the old, soft, lighthearted and inauthentic and rise up with a bold, gritty and genuine voice that implies sports and athletics, and better represent the idea that this is a credible program for people who are serious about making real physical and life changes.

Speaking of people making real physical changes, for those of you who know us, you also know we are really into our food (foodists.ca). Over the years, our bodies haven’t exactly been exempt from the effects of our epicurean passions, so we found ourselves smack in the middle of the target audience and prime candidates for a complete immersion into the brand. Fortuitous really, since immersion into the brand is a key part of our process.

With a complete revamp of the business model coming in a short six months, the brand was just the beginning. We were also needed to translate the company’s new vision to an enterprise class web application and iPhone app.

APPROACH

Our goals were lofty, but not unobtainable:

1. Position KINETIX as the most cutting edge / current health & fitness company out there
2. Tighten the brand and related elements and create a great platform
3. Develop and convey our story in an emotionally connecting way, driving love and inspiration of the brand
4. Connect with our current and future community
5. Be ahead of the ‘wellness’ industry to enable us to grow into THE health & fitness brand

How’d we do it? Well, we started with research, then more research. In fact, the entire studio enrolled in the KINETIX program to get first hand insights into the company and the program. We literally lived, ate and breathed KINETIX. The other key was assembling a team for the software and mobile application development with Thirdi Software and Atimi Software. A finely developed process and tools for source control, issue tracking software, and project management were critical.

A new brand essence emerged from our Discovery process: Rebel. Ignite. Commit. The idea behind this was simply that this company was going to rise up from their status quo, burn down any paradigms in their way, and commit to a new way of doing things—this is exactly what they wanted of their clients. This gave way to the development of the new logo and brand filter, through which we would weigh all new work to ensure it was on brand. Additionally the Kx icon served as the inspiration for a new system of symbols used throughout the KINETIX program.

In tandem with the brand development, work was well underway on content and information strategy for the website and iPhone app. Working with this was no ordinary website either: Once a user was signed in, data was seamlessly synced to their iPhone or other device (and back), allowing them to track their fitness and nutrition, communicate with a coach and reference handy meal and restaurant information. The iPhone app is essentially a ‘coach in your pocket’, taking you through each day’s exercise routine step-by-step.

RESULTS

When the client applauded after we revealed the brand work, we knew we were on the right path. If success of the project was measured by Starbucks and YUM! Brands joining the program rollout, or when the iPhone app was approved and posted to Apple’s App Store in days instead of the weeks that is the norm, then we achieved our goals. However, nothing is quite as salient as when we hear things like:

“Industrial Brand and their partners are a tsunami of talent, passion and creativity. Beauty is skin deep however and IB goes beyond just the look of a brand to unearth the core values and key strategic positioning that will help a company differentiate itself in a crowded marketplace. IB is flexible and creative in their problem solving and didn’t flinch at helping us launch a new brand, new website and new digital app in a crushingly brief time line. Speaking from both the strategic goals and visual brand consistency that we required, IB delivered on all fronts.”—Lou Maxon, VP Brand Experience and Design, KINETIX