How might we make H-E-B® better?
Stone Oak Market
Local. Bold. Genuine.
Program Management + Brand Strategy + Creative Direction + Design Development
As the in-store brand design leader, I collaborated with several teams and managed the project from launch to final installation. We delivered over 1500 branded pieces with over 500 new messages, including new departmental signage, super-graphics, posters, and wayfinding system.
Frame the scope
Project Brief - After 15 years, the H-E-B was overdue for an in-store brand image update. They tasked our team with the reinvention and for me to lead it.
Objective - Re-imagine the H-E-B® shopping experience.
Outcome - A new and improved branded in-store customer experience.
My Roles:
Project Leader
Brand Strategy
Creative Direction
Design Management
Vendor Coordination
Before: Understand the needs
Discovery Process:
Community culture audits
Business Stakeholder interviews
Customer shop-alongs
Competitive landscape analysis
Feedback Themes :
Level up the visual appeal
Re-imagine the experience
Increase the customer awareness
Reframe the problem
Moodboard - How might we build a more delightful in-store experience by leveraging H-E-B® values? After foundational research, I developed a moodboard inspired by collected insights. It served as our creative compass throughout the design process. I highlighted the three key brand attributes customers rated highest and used them to reimagine the H-E-B® experience as BOLD, GENUINE, and LOCAL.
After: Craft a better experience
H-E-B® represents service, value, wellness, quality, freshness, organics, and local. Most importantly, H-E-B® personifies Texas. The reinvention involved re-inventing a 75,000-square-foot store with more than ten departments.
The Results
This project was full of firsts: the first H-E-B® update in 15 years; the first time our in-house design department led a reinvention; the first time I led an in-store experience, and the first time H-E-B® received national recognition for excellence in-store design by the American Advertising Federation and Communication Arts.
After the successful launch of the new customer experience, our leaders ordered the update for 300+ stores.
