Marsh Branding | Work | The Power Agency

Work / Marsh Furniture

Crafting a crafter’s brand

Marsh Furniture, based in the furniture capital of central North Carolina, was started way back in 1906 – at a time when cabinetry was still considered furniture. Fast forward to 2019. The granddaughter of the company’s founder was stepping away from her executive position, ushering in a new era of productivity and efficiency that would ensure operations for another 100+ years.

So, Marsh turned to The Power Agency to help solidify their messaging and their brand identity.

Building a strong brand foundation

Power’s Insights & Strategy team conducted extensive stakeholder interviews that included everyone from the CEO to hourly line workers. Combined with research on competitors, customer analysis and a marketing materials audit, we had the foundation we needed to craft a brand story that was authentic, relevant and unique.

Interview Sessions

Stakeholders

190

Pages of Transcripts

Cheerwines consumed

The wheel of fortune

Once the methodical research and meticulous analysis stages concluded, it was time for the chaos of creativity to take over. Though one of the mandatories was keeping the Marsh logo intact, there was plenty of opportunity to show off design chops. Working closely with the I&S team, our designers were able to use a bit of company lore as the key piece to an entirely new look and feel. Since the 1930s, Marsh cabinetmakers have used iron-wheeled handcarts to move wood panels from area to area. And those same carts are still in use today – a testament to the longevity of expert craftsmanship.

The Power creative team applied that same craftsmanship perspective to the identity work, hand-drawing the wheel as an iconic representation of the whole brand. From there, we selected typefaces and colors that reflected the ideals of expert technique, dedication to quality and unsurpassed talent.

The ultimate guide

Combining everything together, including recommendations for logo usage, audience messages, photography and video standards, advertising examples and more, the resulting Brand Guidelines provide an exhaustive roadmap for the future of Marsh Furniture.