Country Ace Hardware Case Study
Event Marketing | Logo Refresh & Brand Identity | Graphic Design | Social Media | Email Marketing
GRAPhic Design
Honoring Your Community Through Graphic Design
We’ve worked on a lot of design projects with Country Ace Hardware, but one of our favorite projects was designing reusable bags that honored Grand County and Country Ace’s community of neighbors.
The design included a number of Granby badges from the Granby Chamber that highlight the amazing things to do within Granby, along with a collage of hardware-store, Country Ace, and outdoor icons. “Grand County Proud” was a unifying statement that Country Ace’s neighbors truly exemplified, so it seemed like the perfect addition to our Grand County-themed shopping bag.
Details
Event Marketing During a Global Pandemic
Like 2020 had before it, 2021 came with an ‘ACE hardware bucket-full’ of new challenges for businesses – including hardware retailers. While many events didn’t survive the threats of the pandemic in 2020, businesses and their customers were ready for events in 2021, but not sure where, when, or how to start.
In 2021, we supported Country Ace in relaunching their Grand County-famous Ladies Night event. Their marketing mix was robust and included everything from custom event graphics, digital listings, and social ads to in-store branding like banners, flyers, and TV feed graphics. VIP tickets sold out a week ahead of the event and, despite an early-in-the-season snowstorm with horizontal winds, the night ended with record sales and high praises from the Country Ace’s neighbors!
Logos & Branding
Establishing a unique brand identity while leveraging the resources of a major hardware retail powerhouse
In 2020, we met with Country Ace Hardware to refresh their well-known, but dated, logo and to create a brand guide that would support the creation of a consistent brand identity throughout their marketing and advertising mix for years to come. We started the project with a few considerations:
- Their original logo was already well-known throughout the Grand County area
- Their brand identity wasn’t defined, and they were going by multiple brand names
- We wanted to leverage the power of the ACE brand, while creating something that was uniquely identifiable
Through a series of drafts, we embarked on a graphic design journey that took Country Ace Hardware’s brand into 2021 with a bang! The final logo was, at its core, a refreshed version of their original logo – the one that their neighbors had grown to love. Along with a new logo, we provided a brand identity guide for Country Ace and their stakeholders to use as a tool to consistently represent the Country Ace brand across all channels.
Original (old) Logo
(Some of) the logo concepts Mojo Presented
Final Logo
Social Media
Quality over Quantity
Country Ace had established Facebook and Instagram profiles when we began our partnership. Thanks to support from a local marketing group, their channels were active – they were posting multiple times per day – but the content wasn’t generating engagement from their followers.
After evaluating their social accounts, our goals were to:
- Increase the engagement rate on the accounts by posting more relevant and valuable content
- Showcase Country Ace – the brand, the team, & their unique value propositions
In 2021, we reduced the # of posts shared on the account by 8% overall – in alignment with our focus on quality over quantity. With support from the Country Ace team, user-generated content from their neighbors, and story-focused marketing, we grew their engagement by 136%, compared to the previous year.
We come from a small town (Flagstaff-proud) and love working with like-minded business owners, team members, and communities! Despite the geographic distance, we love visiting and learning more about cities like Granby – a close relative to Flagstaff with similar values and relaxed ‘vibes.’ If you’re interested in growing your business and you’re looking for a partner who understands how important your community (your neighbors!) is, we hope you’ll contact Mountain Mojo Group. We’d love to help!
