A few months go I was contacted by Justin Hartman of Tight Line Adventures, in Dillon MT who was interested in a new logo design. While communicating with Justin, it became very clear that Justin had put considerable thought into what he wanted for his brand identity. Below is an excerpt from one of his early messages:
“…I think the name and meaning of the business needs to be depicted in the logo somehow. ‘Tight Line’ in fishing terms means keeping a tight line connection between the rod and the fish…hence “Tight Line”. I was thinking that it may look good placed in the lettering somehow. A rod with a tight line? Lettering with a tight line? Something like that. Be creative with it and play around with the ideas. But I think it is necessary to play along with the “Tight Line” language.”
Justin also was hoping for a logo that had illustrative elements that could stand alone during his marketing efforts. It wasn’t long before I had come up with a rough logo design based on Justin’s input, along with a fair amount of creative tweaking of my own accord. The final logo design was essentially three custom graphic elements, (1) a drift boat with guide and fisherman, (2) a distinctive typeface, and (3) a trout stylized in the shape of an ‘e’.
Here is the finished logo design:
With the logo finalized, Justin was very eager to put it into use, so we got right to work designing the core elements of his identity – this included business cards, letterhead, and envelopes. By separating a few of the the graphic design elements of the logo, we were able to design an identity package that had great continuity and really emphasized the brand.
Justin’s finished identity package:
Soon after Justin’s identity package was finished, we also began designing his website and advertising brochure. These items both used the interchanging elements from the logo and identity to keep the look and feel of the marketing materials consistent. You can check out the Tight Line Adventures website at http://www.tightlinemontana.com, and you can have a look at his photo-filled brochure below:
At this point Tight Line Adventures had a very professional and well rounded marketing and branding platform, but Justin still had other plans. As a Montana outfitter and guide, Justin was well aware that his clientele often would purchase apparel (hats, shirts, jackets, etc.) as part of their Montana fly fishing experience. Knowing this, Justin choose to have his logo embroidered and screen printed on various clothing items to sell to customers, and to provide to his guides for further promotion.
Talk about branding power, these photos say it all!
Not one to miss an advertising opportunity, Justin also had us design his logo and information into vinyl decals that he had installed on his vehicle’s rear window. When taking clients on drift boat trips down the river, Justin’s truck often sits at fishing access sites for hours at a time. Having the Tight Line Adventures logo on his truck allows him to advertise to the very customers he would like to attract, at areas they are already frequenting. It also looks sharp where ever he chooses to travel, and is a rolling advertisement for his services.
Tight Line Adventures is a fine example of what to do when it comes to identity and branding. I think any business can take a page from Justin’s playbook – use your identity and branding when ever and where ever possible. Look for advertising and marketing opportunities and capitalize on them, only then will you realize the true value and potential that branding can have on your business.
If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends. Also, if you have any questions about logo design, identity, branding, advertising or common sense marketing, please give Manifest Creative a call at 406-585-9406. We would to hear from you, and discuss how we can help your business as well!
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