February 1, 2010 A New Look For Local Ocean
Local Ocean Seafoods owner Laura Anderson recently commissioned Newport-based firm Terra Firma Design & Consulting to create new brand materials, revise the company’s website and implement an email marketing strategy.
Laura first approached Brian Getting and Nairne Dickey of Terra Firma about re-branding Local Ocean’s identity due to the company’s expansion into a second location at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. “I needed a new look for the space, and to communicate our company’s values in the context of the Aquarium,” Laura said. “And I wanted to work with a local company.”
After some discovery sessions and site research, Nairne created large-format signage conveying the four core values of Local Ocean’s brand: commitment to local products and the people who produce them, providing high-quality seafood, fairness in pricing, and dedication to sustainability and the environment. Other components of the project included creation of a café menu, feedback and email-signup card, and other support pieces, as well as supplemental signage designed to facilitate traffic in the café. Nairne created magazine advertising and postcard mailings to reflect the new brand. All were designed to communicate and support the brand, improve customer experience, and increase customer retention.
Next up was the implementation of an email marketing strategy that would serve Local Ocean customers at the restaurant, the fish market, and the café. Brian and Nairne worked together to come up with a way for Laura to stay in touch with the solid base of Local Ocean customers on a regular basis. Typically, once or twice a month, Laura sends out an email newsletter with updates on the fresh fish at the fish market, the local fishing industry, special events, and recipes. Nairne and Brian handle the design, MailChimp takes care of the rest. Even the Local Ocean Facebook page is put to good use.
Finally, Laura wanted to overhaul the existing website, to reflect the change in the brand and improve navigation for a more dynamic and user-friendly experience. Brian used strong, local-area-based images and clean typography to reflect the new brand, and Nairne added some photography of some of the signature Local Ocean menu items.
The new website employs a custom content management system that allow Laura to control the aspects of the website that she needs to, without jeopardizing the integrity of the site. The incredibly intuitive interface facilitates changes to content, allows for posting news items and notices, and collects email addresses for customers who want to receive e-newsletters. As with every website Terra Firma builds, Local Ocean’s new site includes an enterprise-level analytics solution that can help Laura and her staff understand how their clients are using their website, and make improvements. By measuring how clients are traversing through the site, and specifically tracking conversion goals, Local Ocean and Terra Firma can work on an ongoing basis to evaluate and improve upon the Local Ocean website.
