Case study
Cécred, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s groundbreaking haircare brand,
engaged Antonym pre- and post-launch to build and codify their brand, audience, and tone of voice strategy—including by-platform nuances.
Antonym also devised a complete storytelling strategy and crafted copywriting for the brand book, website, paid advertisements, emails, and launch messaging and press release.
How to focus on equity in the space, not celebrity
We also knew we’d need to do deep, strategic work to ensure that our messaging and positioning made that abundantly clear.
We banished buzzwords; established a complex hierarchy of RTBs across all products, consumer targets, positioning angles; delivered authentic—not angled—brand and founder stories establishing Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s proven equity in this space; and drilled all copy down to its most concise, sharpest edit, leaving no room for fluff. Just pure, raw, can’t-deny-them facts.
Building the founder’s story
We collaborated daily with the Cécred team to hone brand and founder storytelling, tone of voice, content and consumer journey strategies, name support for key brand touchpoints, and product RTBs and storytelling.
Cécred is untouchable as a brand name. But “sacred” as a concept needed a careful touch so as not to tread too religious—or too precious.
We helped Cécred build a messaging framework around sacred spaces, crafting authentic stories tied to Black salon culture, Black hairstylists, and Beyoncé and her mother’s long-held equity in holding safe hair space for Black folks. We worked with Director of Education Dr. Kari to create moving lifestyle content that breathed ownable life into this distinct brand pillar.
Deliverables
A reason for being
We translated Beyoncé’s vision into an ownable, concise, heartfelt founder’s statement.
Brand voice strategy
Devised a brand-defining voice for an industry-defining brand.
Style guide
An end-to-end brand style guide encompassing voice positioning, tonality, lexicon, syntax rules, SEO + GEO optimization strategy, and guidelines for every platform and touchpoint complete with carefully constructed examples.
Copywriting guidelines
Customized writing guidelines to ensure everyone knows how to executive brand voice.
The Antonym effect
“The awards and recognition we’ve received is based on work we’ve done together. Antonym's work is excellent and reliable, and we’re able to recommend Antonym to a peer who needs strategic help without any hesitation.”
Jesse Holthaus Buxton, Head of Digital