BRAND MESSAGING
Tempest needed updated positioning, clearer product value propositions, and audience-specific messaging.
Applying simple brackets to the mission also inspired expanding the idea to communicate that Tempest’s products were Made in USA. It had the effect of connecting other thematic ideas across multiple categories. I applied it to various brand extensions and categories that Tempest drove — like Search & Rescue, Industrial Equipment, and Fluorine Free Firefighting Foam.
STEP 1: REINFORCING THE MESSAGE
Tempest had applied several missions statements over the last 40 years with varying effect. Our team in Fresno decided that we wanted to communicate a mission that honored the original yet expressed it as simply as possible.
STEP 2: SHAPE THE BRAND
The next step was to shape how Tempest described itself to sales agencies, product dealers / resellers, customers, and end users:
Our mission is to protect first responders.
Every product we make is Built-in-America tough. From welded & powder-coated frames to fire-rescue saws and ventilation apparatus.
For four decades, TEMPEST has proven to be the trusted leader in the design, manufacturing, and distribution of high-volume, high-speed ventilation around the world. Our commitment to quality and safety is found in every product we build, all proudly American-made and guaranteed.
Learn more about us at www.tempest.us.com.
STEP 3: HAVE FUN WITH IT!
We created a mascot to be used on tchotchke’s and fun easter eggs awaiting discovery by customers.
“Teddy Tornado” is simply a fun personality we shared and I generated a series of activities for him to be engaged in. He appeared on stickers, as a site icon, various challenge coins, notepads, notebooks, caps, and other swag. He also appeared as an Easter egg on the multiple apparatus Tempest built.
Teddy even began to generate his own fan club, so much so that Teddy may or may not have appeared on a competitors apparatus on display at a trade show.
