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jude connally
A brand DNA guide can be a really beautiful thing. For Jude, it can now be that organizing, go-to guide for all things Jude Connally.
When we first began working with Vera Bradley, the brand had earned a loyal following, but it needed to remain nimble, as the pace of e-commerce continued to accelerate, and the reality of audience fragmentation became undeniable. The brand had begun as a stylish solution to boring luggage and handbags, so it was against Vera Bradley’s nature to become stagnant in its marketing efforts, so our challenge was to keep Vera Bradley fresh while remaining true to its brand.
BMDG has been working with Vera Bradley since the 1990s, when Susan Britton, our co-owner and CCO, served as Vera Bradley’s executive design director. The team at BMDG continued to help grow this local company into a beloved national brand with season after season of emotionally resonant imagery, a distinct “girl’s best friend” tone of voice, engaging storytelling, and solid strategy.
For more than a decade, BMDG touched nearly every aspect of Vera Bradley’s marketing and advertising—from foundational development of its brand DNA, mission, and purpose statements to market positioning; from development of product stories and seasonal campaigns to fresh, exuberant creative content for print and digital; from ads and billboards to emails and social media—and everything in between. The steady influx of work, and the rapidly growing love for the brand, required us to work at a fast pace, be inventive on the fly, and keep up our creative energy as we collaborated with Vera Bradley’s internal team year after year.
“Sue Britton developed Vera Bradley’s first tagline—“To Be a Girl’s Best Friend”—and she drove our branding imagery and seasonal go-to-market strategies. Their photo-art direction and copywriting skills have always been outstanding. They listened carefully to understand my vision first and foremost and that made all the difference in creating visuals and headlines that resonated with our fans and elevated the brand."
Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, Co-Founder of Vera Bradley
A brand DNA guide can be a really beautiful thing. For Jude, it can now be that organizing, go-to guide for all things Jude Connally.
In today’s fast-moving world, heritage brands face a key challenge: how to stay relevant while holding onto the trust and recognition they’ve built over generations. By adapting to new needs and trends, they can continue to thrive - and maybe even surprise us along the way.
For generations, brands have relied on big ad agencies to spend big media dollars to reach audiences. At BMDG, we believe this top-down approach is no longer effective, especially considering the seismic shifts in the marketing landscape.