Branding: The Integrated Shopper

“Our brand is very important to us,” says Melissa Childers, corporate recruiter for Crate & Barrel, “so we’re very specific about how things look to our customers and prospective employees.” But Childers isn’t referring to stores or catalogs; she’s discussing online job application software.

Crate & Barrel emphasizes that its brand promises to be the best place to find contemporary home furnishings. But it conveys this with more than mere logo consistency. It begins when customers pull into the landscaped parking lots. In-store sales staffers clearly are brand representatives, which is why Crate & Barrel wants to control its brand identity to perspective employees. Customers’ purchases are packaged in signature black and white cube boxes, which of and by themselves are a fashion statement.