Creating a new positioning and brand strategy to support the iconic lo-fi beats YouTube channel as it enters its new stage of growth.
BRIEF
While the brand enjoys substantial love from its audience, its strategic foundations had never been defined before, leaving the path forward unclear.
We set out to define a new brand strategy, positioning, and messaging to provide internal clarity and drive sustainable long-term growth.
Challenge
Lack of brand ownership
What began as a deeply personal music curation channel under Bas van Leeuwen's (the founder) creative direction, has grown to a point where it is now being defined more by distribution platform algorithms than by Chillhop's own vision.
Lack of clarity
A “known” but undefined brand vision resulted in a lack of focus, leaving the team unclear about which business verticals should be developed or prioritized.
We gathered information from the team, the audience, competitors, and cultural trends.
We conducted desktop research, carried out user and key stakeholder interviews, held a team workshop, and surveyed their audience database.
“I would rather have a smaller business that’s true to our vision than a huge company optimized for the algorithms.”
BAS VAN LEEUWEN / CEO @ Chillhop
The Chillhop Music brand is cherished by its audience, but it didn’t hold the same reputation among mature artists.
The Raccoon was so popular that there was no room for the artists’ personal brands to shine.
Alienating artists was not a sustainable approach for the brand in the long term.
KEY INSIGHT
Chillhop Music is not a record label,
it's a creator brand represented by a raccoon.
We broadened Chillhop's category from a record label to a media company, placing their characters and storytelling front and center.
Results
Growth & Virality for the Chillhop IP.
The new positioning as a media company enables Chillhop to explore their IP with freedom and try visual collaborations, which gave them a few viral videos and grew their following.
Increased Employee Satisfaction
Internal business restructuring provides employees with new growth opportunities, a heightened sense of ownership, and a clear direction to follow.