What makes an image more than a picture?

When it tells it’s own story. Even if that story is different for everyone.

When it sinks into your soul and leaves you in awe.

When it makes you feel something, like carefree joy.

Or a quickening pulse.

When it speaks to you personally, motivating you to call a loved one…

…evoking a fond memory…

…or urging you to wonder.

What makes an image an effective marketing tool? 

When it speaks so loudly, no words are needed.

September 21, 2015

Everyone talks about brands these days. Product brands, corporate brands, sports figure’s brands, personal brands. Even people who don’t know what branding is, talk about branding. Let’s get right down to it. Managing a brand is simply managing a reputation. And as we all know, reputation is everything.

So, let’s break it down.

We need to manage our reputations. We’ve all known this since we were little kids as we tried to “fit in” by wearing Guess jeans or styling our hair like Farrah Fawcett. OK, maybe I’m dating myself just a bit. But think about it, pretty much everything we do personally and professionally is all about managing our personal reputation. Business is no different. Just think about how we want customers and potential customers to think of us and act accordingly. We want the rest of the world to bestow upon us the reputation we desire. We do everything we can to EARN that reputation.

Why do we do this?

— Because we want to establish trust through the promise we provide

— It builds loyalty so our customers come back to buy our products over and over again

— And it creates a measurable difference by creating market value and therefore our business grows

Seems pretty simple, right? Not really. It takes hard work, attention to detail, consistency and a willingness to stick to your promise and not waiver. And I hate to SHOUT here, but please remember that communicating your reputation with strong marketing and creative strategies is critical. Too many try to reinvent reputations over and over again with the changing winds or because they become bored. All this causes is confusion, distrust and a less than stellar reputation.

So do what you do, do it incredibly well, communicate it and your reputation (brand) will follow.

December 5, 2013

Burke Ranch Outfitters faced an enviable problem. The business was so stable and established that the existing logo didn’t necessarily reflect the image of the current owner/operator. Wendt was hired to develop something fresh and unexpected, while maintaining the outfitter’s solid reputation for quality, honesty and abundance.

Wendt wanted to deliver something beyond the client’s expectations, a logo that would unequivocally represent the forward thinking that is at the foundation of Burke Ranch Outfitters while providing a not-so-literal image of what they were about. We developed an interpretation of a trophy mule deer in the negative space that was created between the “B,” representing Burke, and backwards “R,” representing Ranch. The logo will be unveiled during this season’s hunting season.

by Brenda Peterson
November 27, 2012

Does it take a bunch of winos to come up with an incredible wine brand and identity? Perhaps.

So a friend of mine, Bob Delong, who just happens to be a wine distributor, comes to me with this opportunity to develop a brand and label for a boutique wine that will be distributed exclusively by Vintage Sellers in Great Falls. Being someone who enjoys a good glass of wine, I jumped at the chance to work on this project. It’s not every day that we have an opportunity to create a brand and identity from scratch. Especially for such a fun product!

The first order of business, gather the amazing Wendt creative and strategy crew to brainstorm! I knew it wasn’t going to be hard to explain the product. We just happen to have a few folks around here who enjoy tasting, collecting and drinking wine. It does happen to be a regular topic of discussion around the water cooler at Wendt. Lucky me.

So we gathered to come up with an identity that was befitting of this Cabernet Sauvignon…the biggest challenge we had was that we hadn’t had the chance to actually taste the wine. Gene Betz, owner of Vintage Sellers, did a little tasting with some of his clients; unfortunately I was out of town that week so we were flying a little blind. I did have the chance to visit directly with the wine maker, Tom Baer from Solana Cellars in Shandon, California. He is a great guy, can talk your ear off about vino. He was a great help along the way.

One of our goals was to make sure that this wine had a Central Montana focus. We discussed the attributes of our area, clear blue sky, the river and yes, our notable wind. We bantered about the color of a Cab, rouge, crimson, garnet, currant and red. If you’ve never sat in a creative session like this you know it’s a great deal of fun. There is no right or wrong answer. It’s just a free flow of thoughts…each thought feeding the next. Each person responding to the energy in the room. Once we had landed on a direction we were especially fond of, we then started working on the label identity. Kara Smith, our Senior Art Director, took the project. She gave graphic life to our vision. It’s a beautiful reflection of our area and an exceptional representation of the lush wine inside the bottle.

Here is our Inspiration for Current: Plays off the current in the water and the wind as something strong, powerful and ever-moving. With a strong current, you are just along for the journey, the current will decide the path. This word also evokes the images of the color red and the richness associated with that color.

And the wine description on the label:
THE MONTANA CURRENT: Flowing over untouched rocks of crimson and chocolate, or persuasively moving through our dramatic skies. Whether in the water or air, a strong current chooses the path of your journey. Unwind and enjoy the journey the Cabernet has planned for you.

Many of us buy products because of identity and packaging. This wine will certainly draw you in for those reasons, but will keep you coming back because of what’s in the bottle. Pick yourself up one (or two) at Vintage Sellers. You won’t be disappointed.

And look for more Wendt identity inspiration – there may be another wine or two coming soon.