Swift Lift: Making the Practical Feel Profound
How we branded and launched a category-first hunting product using a delicate semi-endangered bird as an (effective) mascot.
Challenge
Enter a crowded outdoor category and convince our audience that they need another vehicle accessory.
Insight
People who enjoy the outdoors tend to enjoy their space. Buying a cargo carrier with a built-in winch is as much about independence as it is about utility.
Solution
Market the Swift Lift as a gateway to unfettered mobility. At the same time, expand the target audience beyond the typical middle-aged male to include anyone interested in the outdoors who might need an extra, well, lift.
What’s a Swift, Anyway?
No, it’s not a Taylor reference. A Swift is a family of bird known for spending the majority of its life aloft. Its near-constant movement and aerial acrobatics made it the perfect brand ambassador for a product designed to help outdoorsmen and women pick up and go — literally.
Inspiration was taken from the Chimney Swift: a bird who spends the vast majority of its time aloft, making them a perfect brand ambassador for a device whose primary function is to lift.
The logo needed to be simple, iconic and memorable. We illustrated a top-down view of a Chimney Swift with implied upward movement (lifting) as the icon and paired it with an extended, but soft slab serif typeface.
How to Stand Out: Not Camouflage
In a category dominated by shades of green and clay, we sought out a sky-inspired color palette that would set us apart from competitors. The clean, elegant, avian mark — an expression of how the product makes you feel, rather than what it helps you hunt — further differentiates it from adjacent accessories. Secondary logos subtly underscore one of the product’s other advantages: It’s American-made, headquartered in St. Louis and designed and manufactured in Redbud, Illinois.
The color palette was derived from the Chimney Swift itself and where it spends most of its time, in the air.
Secondary logos were designed to used as brand accents and on wearables.
Tone-on-tone illustrations were used to build out the brand’s visual identity and showed up on packaging, collateral and the website.
Keep it Simple, Smartass
The tagline, “Pick Up and Go” is so straightforward it’s (almost) clever. A familiar idiom and a practical description of the product’s function, it speaks as much to what it does as what it allows you to do. Plus, it looks great on a hat.
The brand came to life via swag, packaging and collateral as orders came in and product began to ship.
The Website: From Brand-Building to Product Specs
Launching a brand new product and a brand new brand meant the website had to do a lot of heavy lifting, swiftly. (We can’t help ourselves.) We had to quickly convey ethos, function, and value in a way that was arresting, but still familiar enough to feel trustworthy.
We leaned heavily on motion to illustrate product benefit, both in a reel of the Swift Lift in-action, and via 3D model for a deeper dive into material, weight, versatility, and other specifications (more on that later.)
For seamless e-commerce, the site drives to a branded Shopify storefront where the sales team can easily add new products, customization options, add-ons, and more.
A fully responsive marketing website and online shop went live right at the beginning of hunting season as the brand made its initial push into the market.
Video, animation, parrallaxing photography and 3D were all used to bring the site to life showcasing the versatility and key features of the product.
Check out the live site
swiftliftoutdoors.comThe Assets:
How does one film a hunting spot when it’s not hunting season? With roadkill (no), a haunted house prop (nah), a semi-legally slain nuisance animal (maybe, but no), a very precise taxidermy shipped in from out-of-state (YES).
We spent three days shooting motion and stills of the product in action, making sure to depict multiple use cases beyond hunting and multiple users beyond the prototypical hunter. Outside of the lifestyle assets we captured, we also tapped a 3D artist to model and light the product, giving us a base we can easily customize, color, and embed for 360-degree viewing.
The :60 brand spot was used at events and on the website to tell the Swift Lift story. It was also used as a key asset for a paid media campaign launched during the opening of hunting season.
Custom photography was shot highlighting its multiple use cases.
The Debut: Show and Tell
Once the product design was finalized, marketing materials were complete, and the site was live, it was time to test demand. Initial sales were all direct-to-consumer, made at live events where buyers could see, touch, and test the product.
Having a presence at multiple events helped the team get the word out about the launch of Swift Lift.
The Social Network: Activating the Influencers
In addition to the authentic connections being made at events, we tapped a small, curated network of hunting and outdoor influencers to use the product in their content and further drive genuine connection with our audience. This resulted not just in rippling awareness, but a massive (and growing) bank of brand assets.
An influencer campaign helped get the product in front of our core audience and jumpstarted our marketing push.
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