We have the honor of working with a visionary philanthropist, Lisa Wise of the Initiative for Affordable Housing, on branding and website development for her start-up aimed at helping low-income women gain job skills. Ritzy Rags trains women as paid employees to use traditional weaving methods to create upcycled products such as rugs and purses.

Every year, SolDesign chooses a non-profit partner for a pro bono project. Ritzy Rags was our choice in 2010 because of their local efforts and inspiring cause. (ending poverty + helping Mother Earth + producing beautiful handmade products = what could be better?)

While Ritzy Rags had begun product development and a website, we started the branding process from the beginning to create a comprehensive, cohesive identity that will spark sustainable change.

Discovery

We conducted several in-person meetings, complete with a tour of the weave house, to learn more about Ritzy Rags.

After hearing about their origins and vision, we delved into discussions about product development, launch dates, logistics and target audience. With rugs as the primary product, Lisa hoped to attract a 50+ crowd with disposable income interested in home decor.

Below are images of “practice” products:

Next, we needed to conduct some research of our own.

Brand Audit, Target Analysis and Strategic Recommendations

To gain an understanding of Ritzy Rags’ category, we researched non-profits, professional weavers, and upcycled products. In our search, we found two organizations to serve as case studies: TOMS and Women’s Bean Project.

If you share my save-the-world sentiments, you may have heard of TOMS’ mantra: “One for One.” For every pair of shoes TOMS sells, they donate a pair to a child in need. While TOMS is a for-profit company rather than a non-profit, they are an excellent example of a Movement, or a sustainable effort toward creating lasting change.

Women’s Bean Project has a similar goal as Ritzy Rags: To teach women job readiness and life skills through crafting a sellable product. Their items, including gourmet food and handmade jewelry, are byproducts of the cause; their marketing emphasizes the importance of the women before the beans.

Ritzy Rags is definitely sparking a Movement, and based on the success of the case studies above, we decided we need to market them as such. We will use social media to spread their story in the first phases, so we want to reach an audience who engages social media channels.

Redefining the target audience was one of the most exciting steps because there’s so much opportunity with Ritzy Rags’ products and purpose. We believe their cause will reach several groups of people, so we divided the new target audience into three tiers:

Tier 1: Educated, socially-minded people in their mid-20s to mid-40s with disposable income. This group is drawn to products with a story, the environmental movement, home and fashion items, and authentic marketing. They are also our brand ambassadors, or the group who will tell others about Ritzy Rags via word of mouth and social media channels.

Tier II: Here’s where Ritzy Rags’ initial target audience stands. This group is 50+, educated, and comfortable with online shopping. They have a stable income and are interested in home products, unique gifts, sentimental custom items, and meaningful causes.

Tier III: This fun group includes our teens and young adults, from ages 12 to early 20s. They are interested in bags and other wearable items, as well as trendy products that may also be meaningful.

We hope that Ritzy Rags’ awesome work will attract more people than those in the groups above, but we plan to reach out to those targets first.

Based on our discussions and research, we also crafted a positioning statement:

Ritzy Rags creates one of a kind handwoven
products from upcycled materials for the end
consumer. The products are designed by low-income
or homeless women who gain job and life skills while
learning a marketable trade. Through the purchase
of Ritzy Rags’ products, consumers ensure the
future of our community by supporting environmental
sustainability and the demand for skilled labor.

We concluded the document with strategic recommendations, including setting up an Etsy shop, and reaching out to local stores and galleries.

Now that we had a solid direction and definition of Ritzy Rags, we were ready to begin next steps: Naming and Logo Design.

Look out for an update on these steps next week!