This is the first entry for the Print Identity Studio course at RISD. Who am I? I am a previous graduate from the Illustration department at RISD who woke up one day and realized illustrating Star Wars Jedi battles and sexy vixens is awesome and insanely fun, but I wanted to try my hand at something different and grow as an artist. This is my first dabble in marketing and identity branding and, coincidentally, my first 'blogging' experience. For our first assignment we are to gather information about our selected company, which in my case is Utrecht Art Supply, and re-brand the company: create new logos, marketing materials, the works. Below is the entry for our first part of the assignment- to collect information about the company and examples of their current logo and marketing materials.
Calling the Corporate Office
I have to say, when I called the corporate office in NJ to try and conduct a mini interview for information regarding the company I hit a dead end. No one would return my call or emails. Not only that, when I went in to the store to try to speak to the manager she was 'never there', and when I asked them if they could give me any written background information (such as mission statement, ect) on the company they kind of looked at me like I was crazy. Seriously?? Come on guys, its art supplies, not national security secrets. Here is the information I was able to gather from online sources to answer the list of questions we need to answer in order to familiarize ourselves with the company and begin the re-branding process:
Questions
1.)what is the history?
Utrecht was founded in 1949 by two brothers, Norman and Harry Gulamerian, on Utrecht Avenue in Brooklyn NY. Originally called 'Utrecht Linens" as this was the only product they sold, The brothers started the company because they could not find quality linens locally for their paintings and decided to take matters into their own hands. in 1957 they expanded their sales to include Gesso and various pants, and today the company produces almost every type of art supply imaginable as well as carrying various other reputable vendors such as Winsor and Newton, Strathmore, and Gamblin.
2.)Where are they located?
The company headquarters is in Canburry, NJ, and they have 37 retail stores nationwide. There is still the original store in Brooklyn, as well as a vast online store where you can buy any of their products as well find informative demos and instructions.
3.)Who runs the company?
The new CEO of Utrecht is Michael Ippolito, former president of Ballard Designs (a home furnishings retailer). The majority owner of Utrecht is Topspin LBO, a private equity fund that makes controlled investments in 'established' small business based in Long Island, NY, and currently headed by Stephen Lebowitz.
4.)Who are the competitors?
The major nation-wide retail competitors are Pearl Arts, also based in NY, Dick Blick Art Materials, and Jerry's Artaramma. There are various other online-based competitors including Art Supply Warehouse, Cheap Joes, and New York Central Art Supply. Locally for RI, the two major competitors are Jerry's and the RISD store.
5.)What are the sub-brands?
Utrecht does not currently have sub-brands, just its own brand of products. It does sell various other retail brands in store and sells its company products in various retail art stores across the country.
6.)Are they owned by anyone else?
Topspin LBO, as mentioned above.
7.)What do they say they do?
Utrecht's mission statement is essentially "striving to be a resource any artist can trust to provide high quality art supplies and high quality professional advice".
8.)What do they really do?
Utrecht is pretty faithful to their mission statement. They do offer a wide variety of both beginner and professional products that are decent to expert in quality. As a customer myself I can attest to this as I have used their products. After reading various customer reviews on several consumer report sites the general public consensus is though Utrecht is smaller than some of its competitors (mainly Jerry's and Pearl arts, which are giant warehouse-like retail and online stores), it is renowned for its sense of professionalism for the arts.
9.)Who is their primary audience?
The 'serious' artist. They cater to a range of art students, professionals, and beginners. Unlike some of their competitors *coughcoughjerryscough*, they are not a 'craft' store. You won't find fake flowers or cheesy paint by numbers here.
10.)Who is their secondary audience?
Officially I could not get a statement from the company to answer this question, but from my experience and knowledge of the company I would say their secondary audience would be hobbyists, such as model painters, ect. It is common knowledge that art supplies at craft stores such as Michaels and A.C. Moore sell art supplies at list price, which is an insanely high 'suggested retail' price that no one EVER actually sells it for. Often times you will go a store, including Dick Blick, Jerry's, and Utrecht, and see a sign that says "50% off LIST price". Looks good, eh? To the wary consumer, I advise you not to be fooled by this. It's not a sale at all, but a marketing ploy to try and suck you in to thinking you are getting a deal when you are actually paying regular retail price for the product (which may or may not be a good deal depending on where you are shopping).
11/12.)What is their current identity? Who designed it and when? What are the old identities like?
Well, I have no idea who designed the current branding for Utrecht. I was not able to locate that information online nor get a response from the corporate office. After many google and yahoo image searches I was also not able to find any store photographs or former logo's for the company, only that it was formerly known as 'Utrecht Linens'. As far as I know, these are the only logos for the company:
13.)What does their website do for people?
Their website is great. It's clean, it's easy to navigate, you can shop or find helpful tips and information on things like stretching canvas or new paint techniques. They have a 'ask the professional' section where you can email for advice and each store locations has their own individual store blogs where they post updates, promotions, highlights on local artists, store and local art events, and the ability for consumers to leave comments. Hell, you can even be a fan on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. It's like a Club Med for artists.
14.)Do they have a building with a sign? More than one?
37 to be exact. You can even buy t-shirts, hats, and probably a defibrillator to use with their emblem on it when your older have respiratory problems from inhaling too much turpentine fumes and over the years.
15/16.)What is the primary expression of their Identity? Where else does one find an expression of this identity?
Utrecht's logo is a solid red shape of a paint palette with the word 'utrecht' written in script inside (look above for image). A paint palette is a common symbol associated with art, and says (to put it simply) 'hey, look at me, I'm like Van Gogh'. It represents what they sell and who they cater to, which is going to make my job much harder because personally I think its clear, simple, and to the point; everything a successful identity should be.
17.)Who designs their ads, brochures, marketing materials, catalogues, ect. on a day to day basis?
*sigh* I have yet to discover this information. Apparently, its a giant secret. Elusive as bigfoot or the Lockness monster.
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