Messaging, brand identity and packaging design for a private label brand

Boardwalk is a private label brand with over a thousand professional cleaning and food service private label products. It’s sold nationwide through tens of thousands of distributors and resellers. Branding inconsistency executed across the product line had taken a toll and channel partners did not have tools to sell it effectively. The entire Boardwalk brand was underperforming.

The brand strategy

Essendant, the supplier that created and sold Boardwalk was committed to improving the quality of the product line, which aligned with a new brand strategy. Knowing the brand needed an overhaul, we started with a messaging platform and tagline that resellers could easily communicate to their customers. “Do More Across the Board” spoke directly to customers and distributors who needed more options, and more solutions to solve professional cleaning and food service issues. We knew the name “Boardwalk” was not going to change, and the word is very popular, rooted in imagery of seashores and amusement parks. Rather than run away from boardwalk perceptions, we decided to use strong wave imagery to reinforce the idea of seashores, motion and movement forward.

The visual identity

We created an original logo with a wave forming the lowercase “b.” Elegant, simple and strong, the logo became the starting point of a brand identity that aligned across multiple products. We not only developed the design specs for the product labels of all shapes and sizes, but we designed the outer shipping boxes and containers, so the brand could be identified in warehouses. 

Imagery was a big part of telling the brand story, therefore we organized and art directed many photoshoots at multiple locations focusing on the brand in action throughout very different situations. The images became an important part of a photo library of resources. 

An easy to navigate website helps users  find products based on industry or environment. We added a resource section for distributors and resellers to download marketing materials to help promote brand awareness accordingly. The sales tools included, ads, insert sheets, banner ads, website theater artwork and an extensive photo library. 

The boardwalk brand strategy has worked. The brand is consistently represented across multiple product lines. However, it’s also being sold as a solid option to name brand products and can be seen everywhere from airports to schools, breakrooms, cafeterias and hotels.