Oh hey guys, didn’t see you there. Now that I’m awake, let’s talk about branding, shall we? In this article, I’m breaking down the branding hits and misses of TWO popular sleepwear labels.
What’s up guys, it’s Alex! And this week I’m excited to introduce a new series to the Copy Posse Blog – the Brand Showdown – where two similar brands go head to head as I rate them on 5 key marketing touchpoints to reveal their overall Brand Experience score. Who will win? Wait and see…
You’ve heard me say it before, copywriting is such a huge part of a company’s overall brand strategy and that consistent messaging is absolutely critical across all marketing and customer touchpoints.
A customer’s experience with your brand DEEPLY impacts their likelihood of purchasing from you again. With over 65% of small business’ revenue coming from REPEAT customers, as a copywriter, marketer or business owner, if you are not hell bent on consistency in your branding, there could be trouble on the horizon.
Consistent brand experiences – from the ad, to the website, to the checkout, to the follow up, all the way to the delivery of your product – will build trust and credibility with your customers, and massively increase your customer lifetime value. This should be the foundational goal of any brand operating today.
And then anything you do to go the extra mile to give them a memorable, personal and even emotional experience will help you turn your customers turn into your raving fans who will promote and rave about your product for FREE and for LIFE.
Combine that with killer copywriting and you’re well on your way to iconic brand status…
And that’s what I’m here for guys. I keep it real so you can stay relevant. So, if you are a copywriter, marketer or business owner who wants to take your messaging and brand to the next level, join the Posse on YouTube where I release a new video every single week on the hottest techniques, practices, and strategies that are working TODAY…
Alright, now let’s get to it. I was inspired to do this new video series while I was shopping for Christmas presents. Like most of you I’m sure, I was shopping online and in some instances my brand expectations were exceeded, and in others I was left disappointed.
So today, I am rating TWO brands I’ve purchased from on the following 5 different branding touchpoints…
- The Hook (in this case I’m referring to the Facebook ads I saw)…
- The Exploration (the experience of browsing their store or website)…
- The Purchase (which covers the check-out process)…
- The Follow Up (so the email sequence I received after purchase)…
- And finally, The Delivery… (which is everyone’s favorite brand experience – receiving and unboxing the product for the first time).
So, now allow me to introduce the brands in this edition of the Copy Posse Brand Showdown…
In one corner, we have Kim + Ono — a handcrafted kimono company specializing in silk and charmeuse botanical print kimonos.
And in the other corner, we have Lunya — a women’s sleepwear brand that offers luxurious, functional, natural fiber fabrics and innovative designs.
Both brands have a similar USP in that they offer high-quality and beautifully designed silk sleep and loungewear made to enhance the lifestyle of the modern woman.
While Lunya has a slightly higher price point than Kim + Ono, both share a similar target audience and fall in the premium yet affordable price range.
So let the battle of the brands begin!
Branding Touchpoint #1: The Hook
In both cases, it was the ad that first introduced me to the brand.
First up — I came across Kim + Ono through their carousel Facebook ad, which features a gallery of their beautiful, silk kimono designs worn with modern clothes… Using copy that perfectly summarizes this approach to wearing kimonos:
“Inspired by history, designed for the modern woman. These kimono robes are wearable works of art to elevate your everyday.”
They do a great job calling out their audience and grab me with their unique “wearable art” USP.
Kim + Ono gets an 8/10 from me on the hook.
Now there’s Lunya. Lunya didn’t just get my attention with their beautiful, minimalist and comfy-looking sleepwear — but also with the fact that they offer washable silk. Such a brilliant USP!
“So essential, we couldn’t risk losing them to the dry cleaners. Shop washable silk.”
Soft, quality, breathable silk that gives me a massive pajama upgrade and won’t cost me a fortune to dry clean? Ok Lunya, I’m listening!
Lunya also gets a 9/10 from me on their hook!
Branding Touchpoint #2: The Exploration
Kim + Ono’s site has a clean, minimalist yet interactive design, letting their photographs do most of the talking.
However, I was a bit disappointed by the lacklustre messaging on the home page. A simple line of copy showcasing their “WEARABLE ART” USP would have been brilliant.
An instagram gallery on their homepage showcasing the products being worn in real life is a social proof feature that I appreciate.
I also like that they give you both an in-studio and real life look of their kimonos when you hover over the thumbnails on their Shop page.
When it comes to viewing an individual product’s page, it’s pretty straight-forward. It gives you a basic breakdown of the features and is easy to navigate.
Upon visiting the site, I was hit with a first-time buyer pop-up offering 10% off. Although the Sway This Way call-to-action is pretty weak.
Kim + Ono gets an 7/10 from me on their website messaging and browsing experience.
Similar to Kim + Ono, Lunya uses a clean, minimalist, and almost seamless design. They really put a lot of care into their art direction, which immediately gives you a strong sense of the perceived value of their collections.
I also love their cheeky “Good In Bed” headline on the home page.
I like how their Shop page is presented, making it easy for me to view their different collections, explore the gallery, understand the features, and choose the color and size i want without any confusion. And I love that they are size-inclusive with their models.
Upon landing on the site, you get an immediate “$20 off your first purchase”. Their copy is clear and their call to action is straightforward! I also love how they use a dollar value as opposed to a percentage to give you a really clear sense of reciprocity and value.
So, Lunya gets 9/10 from me for their website messaging and browsing experience. Oooh so far it looks like Lunya is coming out ahead.
Branding Touchpoint #3: The Purchase
Kim + Ono has a very seamless and minimal checkout page, which is easy to follow.
Also, I absolutely LOVE that their website immediately recognized that I was shopping in Canada. It features a small Canadian flag in the upper corner, all currency was featured in Canadian Dollars and I’m immediately informed that I’ll get “Free shipping to Canada on all orders above CA$200.00”. Um that’s amazing!
Another feature that I want to highlight here is their gift packaging option. You have the option of including a personalized message on the packing slip, which you can do for free; or for just $12, Kim + Ono will provide you with a gift bag, tissue wrapping paper, a note card and a floral ribbon. I love that! This is an awesome upsell that offers buyers a huge benefit. It means you won’t be scrambling around looking for a box and wrapping paper on Christmas eve or minutes before heading to that birthday party.
For the checkout experience, I give Kim + Ono a 10/10.
Now onto Lunya. As soon as I went to my cart to check out, a disclaimer popped up immediately to let me know that no exchanges or refunds are available for international orders.
I was kinda bummed about this as it’s a risk to spend this much on sleepwear and risk potential issues like product flaw or incorrect sizing. Although, I’m glad that they were very clear about it before you begin your checkout process, instead of leaving it in fine print or till after you’ve provided your payment details.
Since I ordered this as a Christmas present for my Mom, I did consider the $10 gift box option, but it didn’t give me any specifics about what was included with that. Also, I assumed that the default packaging for a brand like this surely would look good enough for me to pop into a gift bag and call it a day.
I also liked that Lunya suggested matching accessories that you could consider adding to your order. I love smart upsell placement.
Like Kim+Ono the payment process was pretty simple and straightforward with an easy-to-fill form and several payment options available.
But unlike Kim+Ono, I had to pay for shipping. A flight rate of $10 USD.
Lunya gets a 8/10 from me in this category. Looks like Kim+Ono is catching up.
Branding Touchpoint #4: The Follow Up
Since purchasing, I have received 3 emails from Kim + Ono — one to confirm my order, then one to let me know that my order is on its way, along with the DHL tracking number.
The copy for these emails was clear and straightforward, which is exactly how post-purchase transactional emails should be written! But I would’ve liked to see a little more of their brand voice in action. The emails had none of that.
I then received a few emails from DHL to let me know the status of the delivery, which was super helpful.
The third email I received from Kim+Ono was 30 days after my purchase with an awesome thank you note and request to leave a review. They also asked me to share photos of my purchase on Instagram for a chance to win $100. Super smart!
So Kim + Ono gets a 9/10 from me for their email follow up!
After purchasing from Lunya, I received the same standard confirmation sequence — one to confirm my order, one to let me know that my order is on the way, and one to confirm that my order has been delivered. Each email included everything I needed to know respectively and was designed so that it was easy to locate information — what I had ordered, how to contact them, and how to track my shipment with Fed Ex.
I have to say, mad props to Lunya’s copywriters because they were consistently creative and cheeky with their messaging and copy from ad to their store to their emails. It’s always valuable to me as a customer when even boring announcements like an order confirmation still have flare and personality!
I would have liked to see an additional follow up email, checking in on how I enjoyed the product and a chance to give feedback though.
All things considered, I will also give Lunya a 9/10 for their email follow-up! Man these two brands are neck and neck… Will they stay that way? Let’s move on….
Branding Touchpoint #5: The Delivery
Although I opted-out of the gift wrapped option, my Kim+Ono arrived beautifully packaged in a sealable bag, tied up in a satin ribbon, neatly folded with tissue wrapping paper, and even came with a beautiful thank you note from the Kim+One team.
It really felt like I was unwrapping a gift — something you’d probably experience if you shopped in an actual boutique in Tokyo or Paris!
This extra touch made the entire experience of receiving and unwrapping my parcel really enjoyable and special, greatly increasing my likelihood of sharing these photos on Instagram too!
So Kim + Ono definitely gets a 10/10 score from me on this stage of the buying experience. I felt incentivized to recommend their brand and even go back to buy more. I can’t wait to see what their actual gift-wrapped option looks like!
Unfortunately… To my surprise, this was not the case with Lunya…
For a brand that uses the words “luxurious and premium” to describe their products and puts a lot of thought and sophistication into their marketing… Delivering their premium-priced silk pajamas in cheap plastic packaging with no personal touch or branding whatsoever — definitely killed the romance for me.
I mean… this is the type of packaging you’d expect from Alibaba, which is really no surprise when you’re buying from a wholesaler or a nameless brand. I was really disappointed and felt like Lunya dropped the ball in this stage of the customer experience. Needless to say, I had to re-wrap this product from scratch before I gave it to my mother under the Christmas tree. If I left it as is, she would have thought I spent $20 on it, not the $200+ I actually spent.
Then, to make matters worse, WEEKS after my purchase with Lunya, I receive a FedEx invoice to pay outstanding duties and import tax of $21.44. Um.. I’m sorry, what? To be fair, I had to pay duties with Kim+Ono too, but they gave me the option to prepay them at checkout, which was offset by their free shipping. Which Lunya did charge me for.
So unfortunately Lunya gets a 2/10 from me in this category. 2 because I got the product undamaged and luckily it fit.
So how did these two brands fare in my Branding Showdown?
Although the product quality of both products was great, and as expected, they rank quite differently on my branding scale. We have Lunya coming in at 37/50, making Kim + Ono the clear winner at 44/50.
Kim + Ono won despite having a weaker brand message than Lunya on the front end. Yet, ultimately, they were more consistent in their customer buying experience from start to finish which has me feeling more trust and loyalty towards this brand. As a result, I’m much more inclined to rave about their product to my friends and family.
Had Lunya put some thought into their packaging and delivery experience, they likely would have won this showdown! Have you had similar buying experiences with other brands before? Share your story with me below — and maybe I’ll feature them in my next edition of The Copy Posse Brand Showdown.
Watch This Instead
I hope this post has served as a cautionary tale to ensure that you, as a copywriter or business owner, take the time to seriously consider the kind of experience you provide with your prospects and your customers at every stage of the purchase — before, during, and after.
A consistent brand experience from start to finish is JUST as important as killer messaging. It increases your customer lifetime value and will turn your customers into raving fans that will not only return to buy more, but promote your product for FREE.
Leave me a comment below if you enjoyed this post! As always, thanks for reading and subscribing! Next up, check out my video on 10 brands that NAILED their brand messaging.
I’ll see you guys next week with a new post. Till then, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!
