IF IT'S NOT A SUPERMARKET,

THEN WHAT IS IT?

CHALLENGE: Smart & Final is truly unique in the food retailing universe. It began as a wholesaler, supplying businesses in the dusty frontier town of Los Angeles back in 1871. Decades later, through years of evolutionary change, the company now sells directly to more regular households than businesses in stores all over the West.

SOLUTION: Tap in to the core audience of “life’s hosts,” people persons who get their passion from providing for others. Continue nourishing communities one neighborhood at a time while gowing for the future.

 

SERVICES

  • Comprehensive Brand Refresh
  • Brand Style Guide
  • Creative Development for All Advertising and In-Store
  • UX-UI for Primary Website
  • Front End Website Design
  • Comprehensive Signing Package
  • On-going Broadcast creation and distribution

THE RESULTS

We helped Smart & Final through a complete brand transformation that led to record sales increases, new store openings and they even brought the company public on the stock exchange under our guidance.

66%
Growth expanding from 180 to 300 store locations
$4.57B
Annual net sales set YOY growth
#1
Addy Award for TV Advertising

HEILBrice has been partnering with Smart & Final through a period of incredible growth and change. We helped completely reposition the brand in advance of an initial public offering, executing an in-store make-over, a new website and new broadcast support; followed almost immediately by the complex integration of a large group of locations from a failed competitor. Then we helped position the offering against by emphasizing the fact that Smart & Final is not a supermarket, but is instead something very different. A story designed for a very specific kind of customer.

BRAND MANIFESTO

THE AMPERSAND DEFINED THE BRAND

  • GRAND OPENING
  • HOLIDAY POSITIONING
  • OWNING EVERY HOLIDAY IS A KEY INITIATIVE
  • TALKING TO THE TARGET

An important part of the initiative was to get credit for the incredible savings that Smart & Final delivers everyday, as well as constructing a signature design system for the stores.

HUNDREDS OF INDIVIDUAL BRAND

STATEMENTS WERE DEVELOPED

  • FOCUS ON CHARITABLE GIVING
  • COMMUNITY-SPECIFIC BRANDING
  • HIGH IMPACT PRICING SIGNAGE
  • CARRYING THE MESSAGE DOWN THE AISLE

Our next efforts focused on perishable departments, like meat and produce. The message was, if your favorite neighborhood restaurants are shopping at Smart & Final, you can believe that your family will love it at home.

RESTAURANT QUALITY EVERYTHING

  • DISTINCTIVE AND COMPLIMENTARY TO THE DESIGN SYSTEM
  • DEPARTMENTAL POINTS OF DIFFERENCE
  • ORGANIZATION TO ENHANCE QUALITY PERCEPTION
  • IN-CASE MESSAGING

Research showed that Smart & Final wasn’t getting the credit it deserved for organic and local produce. New eye-level messaging makes the point clear.

ORGANIC AND LOCAL-FOR LESS

Smart & Final’s fleet of delivery trucks represents a significant out of home billboard showing. Now every trailer reinforces the campaign

REPLACEABLE VINYL GRAPHICS

  • TRUCK SIDE ART
  • IN CALIFORNIA, YOU SPEND PLENTY OF TIME LOOKING AT THIS

RESPONSIVE WEBSITE REDESIGN

BRAND GUIDE TO MEMORIALIZE THE NEW SYSTEM

  • Cover

When Smart & Final CEO Dave Hirz rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on the first day of trading, he stood in front of a strong, modern, successful brand smartly differentiated from its competition.

At HEILBrice, we often take on jobs that tradition agencies would never attempt. At Smart & Final, that involved naming and designing free-standing sections in every Smart & Final store where customers interested in organic and gourmet products can easily find them. Good & Well has been an overwhelming success, growing to over a dozen in-store sections and helping grow sales significantly.

HELPING CUSTOMERS MAKE BETTER CHOICES

  • BROCHURE
  • SHELF TAGS WITH NUTRITION INFORMATION
  • SHELVING DESIGNED TO LOOK LIKE A SEPARATE DEPARTMENT IN AISLE

DIGITAL BANNER ADS

SET YOUR GOOSEBUMPS TO HIGH

After establishing the many benefits Smart & Final brings to their customer, we wanted to start to focus on establishing a deeper, emotional connection. And of course there is no better time than holiday season. We are very proud of this broadcast effort that we were able to pull together with this simple, timeless idea. Focusing on the thing that brings all of our their consumers together: The Table.

SINCE 1987, OVER 7,000 COMMERCIALS SERVED