The "why" and "how" behind Off-Menu (which might surprise you)

Hello friends! Been a wild past few weeks. Wrapped up several projects, kicked-off brand identity for Off-Menu, and believe it or not a skunk sprayed my dog.

🦨 ‍💨🐕

Today I want to walk you through the "why" behind Off-Menu & how we want to show up in the world.

After 15 years of working with startups, my main take away is that most companies struggle to break out because they’re not building something memorable. 

Memorable is a high bar. It’s what distinguishes the category defining brands we know & love from the startups we've never heard of. 

No matter how great the innovation, if something isn’t memorable, no one is going to give it the time of day. 

This is why we’re building Off-Menu.

Our goal is to build uniquely memorable brands that help startups break out. 

But anyone who’s ever tried to sell brand knows this is a tall ask. Why? Because most companies think they have an execution problem when they really have a value proposition problem. 

This false premise makes them (naturally) want to cut time & costs on discovery to move straight into design. But anyone who's learned the hard way will tell you: A beautifully designed "confusing brand promise" can set you back a lifetime.

So we’re building an alternative approach, one that’s hospitality-inspired.

We believe the best hospitality exists when someone surprises you with something thoughtfully amazing; something you didn’t even know you wanted. The kind of experience you’d never find on a menu. 

That’s what we aspire to do for our clients. To get to know them better than they know themselves. To make them feel seen. So we can help them express what makes them uniquely memorable across every touchpoint of the brand. 

What makes Off-Menu uniquely memorable is how we help teams figure out & tell their story. We custom design every engagement to unpack a team’s vision & understand their customer’s aspirations through ways they could never imagine. 

For example, this one time we gave travel agents polaroid cameras to capture their definition of luxury to better articulate what makes them uniquely special. 

We specialize in surfacing unspoken human truths from unexpected places; the kind that once experienced, you can’t unsee.

We then use everything we learn to provoke you with new opportunities that change the trajectory of your business.

All before packaging everything together seamlessly into a differentiated narrative; one that gives your team shared direction for how to build a brand people fall madly in love with. 

We call this narrative-driven design. 

First we figure out what makes you memorable. 

Then we build what makes you uniquely special into every touchpoint of your experience. 

Resulting in an unforgettable brand; one that gets people talking.

A memorable story doesn’t just give customers something to fall in love with—it also clarifies the opportunity for the team working behind-the-scenes. 

Story is such a high leverage investment because it gives your team a framework for how to deliver a truly differentiated experience people talk about. 

Think of it more like an operating system than a one-off campaign; one that helps teams prioritize new features, copy, & goals to make their brand unforgettable. 

That’s why instead of being known as a “design” shop, we want to be known for what we do best—helping companies figure out what makes them uniquely distinct & memorable.

While I feel really good about our positioning, this is going to be painstakingly hard because we’re solving a problem most companies don’t realize they have. 

For us to win, we need to change the way clients view our work. 

“Make it memorable” isn’t just our message to clients—it’s our North Star as we build the company, to ensure every touchpoint of the Off-Menu experience feels carefully considered & special. 

Just like a memorable hospitality experience, we hope the journey we take clients on will be the highlight of their career. 

I’m curious to hear what resonates & where you have questions. And give us a follow on Twitter if you haven't already.

(Shoutout to Camille, Zach, & Tom for their feedback on old drafts)