Sweaty Mama brand refresh

We were asked to undertake a brand project for Sweaty Mama, from considering the name and working up a refreshed identity to creating a series of assets for franchisees to use going forward.

Ultimately, with many key franchise territories available for Sweaty Mama, Premier Education Group was looking to support existing franchise businesses and achieve ambitious growth.

We love getting our teeth into branding projects, whether it’s creating a brand from scratch or reviewing an existing one, so we relished this opportunity!

Before getting underway with any creative, we first made sure to get under the skin of the Sweaty Mama brand. We did this by holding a one-day workshop with team members from OneAgency, Sweaty Mama and Premier Education Group.

This workshop was crucial in being able to interrogate all areas of the business: what it was, what it aspired to be, its values, target audiences, business objectives and of course, the all-important SWOT analysis.

As part of this session, we discussed the brand name, and the pros and cons of keeping it or potentially changing it. We were all in agreement that, due to valuable brand heritage that has built up since 2016, the name should remain.

We knew the brand needed to appeal to both potential class attendees but also new mums who were looking for a family-friendly, flexible new career. Our aim was to elevate the brand to attract quality franchisees while also exuding the friendly, welcoming nature of the classes.

Armed with insights from the workshop, we were able to kick-start the brand development process, producing a ‘sketchbook’ of ideas alongside four options worked up to show colour palette, photography examples and how the brand worked on merchandise.

We worked closely with the client to make refinements to the favoured routes, before the final typography-led identity, with a striking coral and blush colour palette, was chosen.

Developing the visual identity is one thing, but having a strong brand personality that permeates every social post or blog is equally important. With this in mind, we developed a comprehensive tone of voice document, containing guidance on messaging, tone, and even persona profiles.

The document draws out the brand’s inclusive nature, the fact that babies are welcome at classes and that the brand embodies community: how Sweaty Mama brings mums and mums-to-be together in a safe, welcoming space, to workout and feel great.

These copy guidelines ensure that any content produced in the future is consistent and is in-line with the objectives for both key audiences.

To make sure the brand is supported by strong imagery, we attended a Sweaty Mama class to capture real mums working up a sweat with their little ones.

Not only did we take a photographer along to obtain a whole host of imagery from the class, but our in-house videographer got some fantastic footage. On an incredibly tight timescale, our team managed to capture a range of content, including plenty of smiling mums and babies, as well as a valuable interview with the franchisee.

As part of the brand development process we’d considered the style rules for videography, so our videographer was clear on ensuring plenty of natural light was used throughout, along with happy faces and neutral tones where possible. This was important to reflect the authentic, friendly nature of the brand, and how Sweaty Mama is all about creating welcoming spaces for new mums.

Using the footage, we created videos for each target audience; one video highlighting the benefits of franchising with Sweaty Mama, and one talking about the classes on offer and community feel.