L.L.Bean, one of America’s most established and honored brands for more than 100 years, requested Sub Rosa’s strategy in redefining and re-launching a younger, more metropolitan line: L.L.Bean Signature.
The project included developing the brand’s values, strategic positioning, messaging and a go-to-market-plan across digital and physical platforms.
Sub Rosa also redesigned the website UX, created an original video series, and produced a media campaign featuring actual customers aligned with the new tagline: Wear Life Well.
Client Conversation
L.L.Bean sought out Sub Rosa to relaunch the company’s more recent label, L.L. Bean Signature. As a subdivision of the brand that is both younger and more modern, L.L.Bean needed to strike a balance between old and new in order to be relevant with this metropolitan audience, while also staying true to its original consumer base.
Insights
100 years means a lot. We knew that meant there was a set of timeless qualities to L.L. Bean that would emerge to set the honest and enduring foundation for a new label perspective. It was clear that L.L. Bean was a brand to honor and celebrate, not redefine. Instead Sub Rosa found a value proposition for L.L.Bean to make an impact within the market landscape that catered to a specific, highly relevant set of consumers. By focusing on L.L. Bean’s prestigious past ( Heritage), resilient quality of goods (the Fit), and articulating the brand’s voice in a modern life (Signature Stories) we saw an opportunity for the brand to offer something significant to an untapped audience.
Our Work
Our work with L.L.Bean encompassed developing Signature’s essence and core values, constructing a strategic positioning vis-à-vis the competition and the core L.L.Bean brand, distilling a campaign tagline and the creation of a go to market plan across digital and physical platforms. Additionally, Sub Rosa redesigned the user experience on L.L. Bean’s website to fit the brand’s refreshed tone and position, as well as cast and produce a series of short films and media campaigns.
Results
Internal: A New Dimension to Culture
The project resulted in a complementary voice for the L.L. Bean brand that deepened its history as well as its roots to modern day. The new tagline, “Wear Life Well” emerged as a mantra inside the company as well.
External: New Market Growth
A previously untapped and unattainable audience segment engaged with L.L.Bean for the first time, or in some cases in a new way. The ease between which the consumer could purchase their long-time favorite rain boots, but also a shirt for their Friday night plans felt natural and pleasing.
