Brand Identity / Application

Homegrown “A gathering for female rural business owners”


Winner
Submitted ByTown of Minto

Homegrown is a first-of-its-kind one-day forum for female-identifying rural business owners in midwestern Ontario. Part pep rally, part summer camp, part business conference, the purpose of Homegrown is to provide a gathering opportunity for rural women entrepreneurs to hear the stories of other women business owners, fill their cup with support and encouragement, build personal and business connections, and celebrate the creativity and resiliency of rural business/living.

The event was organized by Launchit Business Exploration Centre, a business resource centre managed by the Town of Minto based in Wellington County that connects business owners and the business-curious with the space, people and resources they need to be successful. Creative Worth Branding and Design was hired to create all branding, marketing components, and the website for the event.

The target audience for Homegrown was female-identifying rural business owners from Northern Wellington, Huron, Perth, Grey and Bruce Counties. Our goal was to attract business owners from a variety of backgrounds, industries and experience levels to demonstrate that our rural communities are ripe with women who are running businesses of all shapes and sizes, and that sharing our stories of challenge, growth and success is a powerful way to develop stronger rural communities.

​​The brand promise for Homegrown is “bloom in good company”. Motivational and aspirational, Homegrown’s brand promise builds on the event’s core purpose of growth and connection. For a plant to bloom, it requires the right conditions: strong roots, healthy soil, water and sunlight. Similarly, a small business requires strong values, connection to community, and support resources to thrive. As a brand promise, “bloom in good company” encourages women to connect to the community of other rural female business owners (“good company”) so their business can grow (“bloom”) in a healthy and supported way.

The brand messaging and visual identity build on the brand promise and core theme of growth to share the features and benefits of attending a Homegrown gathering. Since rural communities typically have a reputation of being old-fashioned and boring, the brand voice, tone, and visual identity of Homegrown aims to be savvy, in-the-know and modern, while maintaining an approachable down-to-earth vibe.

In addition to a logo suite, website, and Instagram profile, the brand was applied across all elements of the event from the venue selection, panel topic themes, t-shirts, local food selections, sponsorship guide, signage, etc. Examples of these applications can be found in the attached brand guidelines.

The goals of the event were achieved with 100% of survey respondents saying:

  • The event helped them connect to other female rural business owners
  • Said they would recommend Homegrown to other female business owners
  • Said Homegrown provided good value for the cost.

Feedback included comments like:

  • “I feel refreshed, inspired and empowered! Thank you for this event!”
  • “Today I felt support to think about evolving my business”
  • “I feel inspired to grow in different ways than I thought possible”

Sustainability was very much top of mind when planning the event. To have a sustainable rural community you need to have a sustainable business community and more and more we are finding that women are the ones starting businesses in our communities. This event was all about supporting those women entrepreneurs not only in their businesses but in their community and as people. Showing they have a supportive network of organizations and fellow business owners and being able to bring them together was key. We are proud to say that based on the feedback from attendees and sponsors that this event will be sustainable and will be brought back in 2025. Smaller events are also being planned to continue to momentum.

Homegrown Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdJegxDGbpM

 

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