Prairie Surf Media: Evolving the Brand
In The Field
August 9, 2024
Erin Cooper
When Prairie Surf launched their groundbreaking media business in Oklahoma City, we were proud to develop the brand—visuals, logo, messaging, the works.
But as time passed, the structure of Prairie Surf shifted, with diverse offerings from each sector of the company. As they’ve evolved, Prairie Surf Studio and Prairie Surf Creative now offer distinct services, with Prairie Surf Media serving as the parent brand.
They approached Cooper House to solidify and clarify this hierarchy.
We often see this need among innovative businesses—the initial brand needs to adapt and evolve as services and offerings expand. As we re-entered the Prairie Surf world, we worked with their team to develop a system by which we could delineate each sub-brand while remaining cohesive, straightforward, and staying true to the original brand.
We started with the color palette, expanding the primary brand palette into a series of mini-palettes, one for each sub-brand.
Along with those refinements came logo lockups custom built to incorporate sublines. We also streamlined the messaging, using a unified structure with slight variances based on offering.
Finally, in light of all these small adjustments, we needed to ensure the Prairie Surf team would be able to carry these brands forward consistently. So we adapted their brand guidelines, adding details for color, logo, and wordmark usage.
Just because a business evolves, it doesn’t mean a rebrand is in order. Often, it’s best to maintain brand equity by leveraging your existing brand while adapting its essence for the future.
