ANNAPOLIS, MD
AFTER ZACHARY’S JEWELERS burned to the ground on Black Friday 2005, it reopened just 10 days later in a more prominent location a few doors down Annapolis’ Main Street. A prosperous holiday season followed. Owner Steve Samaras was hesitant at first to renovate the former Banana Republic into which the store had hastily moved based solely on a strong holiday season after such a well-publicized fire. The outpouring of support from the community had been remarkable, and he wanted to make sure the increased sales were no anomaly brought on by the sympathy of the community. So he held off any decision to remodel until he was certain the store’s revenues could support it. That renovation and rebranding of the store was completed in November 2007. The store’s new interior is meant to evoke the maritime feel of Annapolis, which is home to countless pleasure boaters and the U.S. Naval Academy. And the store’s marketing materials and colors — formerly featuring a contemporary motif in red and black — needed an update to match. Samaras’ sister, Evangeline Ross, handled much of that marketing transformation, which included a new logo to reflect the upscale casual feel of the store and to draw upon the color scheme of light blue and gold. “You will see in our new logo some elements of the old,” Samaras says. “We didn’t want the transition to be stark and abrupt.” In fact some changes were consciously not made: The store still uses black shopping bags and still wraps gifts in its traditional gloss white paper with red ribbon. “We were willing to change the logo, but we were not willing to change the box,” Ross says. In the store’s transition to new colors and logo, it continued to use the old logo and colors in ads that featured the renovation, using themes that hinted at an unveiling of something new and precious. By the 2007 holidays, Zachary’s brand was fully transformed, and the store ran a barn-door-style ad with its new interior featured and new marketing image on the cover of Annapolis’ most popular local magazine. — RALF KIRCHER
BRAND COMPONENTS
UNVEILING THE NEW
A postcard for a renovation sale combines the visual interest of the new floorplan with the old and new store logos. An ad run in local publications contains a mix of the old store’s colors and logo with its new logo to draw a connection between the two and generate interest in what was to come.
GRAND OPENING
Ads for the store’s grand opening contained elements of the store’s old marketing look with its new logo, part of the transformation to its updated look.
USE OF LOGO
The store unveiled its new logo on all collateral — letterhead
, business cards , notecards , envelopes , boxes and bags.
PARKING METER RELIEF
Due to the ever-crowded downtown parking and fierce patrol by the city’s meter maids, Zachary’s sends employees out twice a day to put quarters in expired meters, along with a note placed on motorists’ windshields. It costs the store $10 to $15 a day, but it has generated more than 100 thank-you letters from people sure to remember that simple thoughtful act the next time they’re in the market for jewelry.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
A Valentine’s Day love letter promotion video on YouTube (www.youtube.com/zacharysjewelers) in partnership with a local radio station drew 1,700 hits and 400 guests to see the $5,000 shopping-spree winner announced.
BARN-DOOR AD
For the holidays, and only weeks after the store’s grand opening, Zachary’s secured a barn-door ad on the cover of the area’s most read publication, What’s Up Annapolis. The ad shows off the store’s new look and features some of its prominent designers.