Case study
For 150 years, Bloomingdale’s has been a cultural touchstone, the backdrop for countless scenes in TV shows and movies. It is in the handful of names you think of when you think of the most famous department stores in the world, and their creative team opened their doors for us.
A shorthand for luxury across generations.
The Lexicon
Voice strategy, Nuance, Luxury, Touchstone, Gilded Age, Icon, Like No Other
Evolution and trust
The curves of its logo can be summoned by memory, and its brown bag is an iconic shopping symbol.
But when you’ve been so famous for so long, it can be easy for the world to set your identity in stone. The Bloomingdale’s style guide needed to evolve. That evolution takes great care, and trust, which is why they approached Antonym to guide the process.
We owned the creation of a new brand foundation and comprehensive editorial style guide for Bloomingdale’s—their definitive tone-of-voice resource for all internal and external communication.
An expert translator
We even crafted a pithier mission statement to focus the internal thinking, and feeling, about Bloomingdale’s identity (without sacrificing the elements everyone loves).
We worked as an expert translator to craft an updated voice strategy, with a process that drew out what the stakeholders love and care for about the brand and why it's so meaningful to them.
We reviewed inherited brand words to see if they still feel current, adding nuance and authenticity to the copy in an effort to be inspirational on behalf of the brand.
True collaboration is the only way to find the emotional core of the brand.
You’re not starting something new, you’re building off generations of ideas and working with loyal gatekeepers of the brand who have years of investment and experience.
The brand and voice work we do is very therapeutic for brands. It's how they get to know themselves, so a willingness to meet them on their terms is imperative.
Therapy for brands
The Antonym Effect
The Bloomingdale’s team perspective is essential, so we found a way to work within their comfort level while still creating change.