design:retail - June 2017 - 28

perspectives

028

The Art
of Brand

JAMIE WELSH
&
SHAUN BUSBY
CO-FOUNDERS,
WEST OF 5 STUDIOS

O PARAPHRASE "The Odd

ages create a brother-sister bond that comes
from both of us being the youngest in large
families. We felt a bond the moment we met
and we knew we were meant to be on this
path together.

Couple," can a Millennial and a
Gen X-er work together, without driving each other crazy? If
they are Jamie Welsh (Gen X) and
Shaun Busby (Millennial), the answer is a resounding "yes." They are co-founders (along
with Dale Howe) of West of 5 Studios (WO5),
a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based retail branding
company started in 2015 that works from a
true marketing perspective. We talked to the
pair about how they work together for their
clients and how WO5 is shaking up the retail
design and branding industry.
design:retail: How did you come together to
create West of 5 Studios?
Jamie Welsh: We noticed a void in the retail
marketplace where design, marketing and
build live in silos, and we felt we had the
perfect backgrounds to come together to close that
chasm. Combining Shaun's experience owning a
display company with my experience as founder
of a marketing company, we were able to create
WO5, a company that resonates and exemplifies
the Southern California beach spirit.
d:r: How is WO5 disrupting the industry? What
does that mean?
Welsh: We lead with design, a contrarian mindset
that truly is disrupting the status quo. Retail displays developed within the display industry tend to
be commoditized, almost entirely focused on cost
per display. At WO5, we believe a brand benefits
most when the first and foremost consideration
is how it will be showcased in the environment
where the customer experiences the product.
The marketing industry also does not make the
customer face-to-face brand experience a high priority. Instead, marketing people today tend to be
hyper-focused on the digital realm, with retail, retail

JUNE 2017

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collateral and displays becoming more about budget than branding. The joke in marketing is "retail
is where brands go to die." At WO5, we take the opposite view-retail is where your brand comes alive.
We take retail touchpoints very seriously and look
to optimize the brand experience through smart
design and connecting the look and feel with core
brand messaging and ethos.
d:r: You are a Gen X-er (Jamie) and a Millennial
(Shaun) team, and also have a marketing background versus design background, respectively.
How do your experiences come together to best
help your clients?
Welsh: We are yin and yang. Shaun tends to
choose the calm and cool path, and I the assertive
and engaged path, creating a constant and beautiful balance that undoubtedly gives our clients the
best of both worlds. We both share core values of
family, spirituality and a belief that the universe
truly has our best interests at heart. Our respective

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d:r: What are some things clients tend to
overlook in the process that you have to
point out?
Busby: Definitely the cost of doing really
good design is overlooked by most companies. Good design costs money, and yet it's
common for companies to want everything
in the retail space to be low budget. Many
clients also don't do the proper cost analysis
of time versus money. We do manufacturing in the United States and in China, and
when they just want it cheap, they select
China. However, it can take twice as long
to get shipments from China and this can
significantly delay getting their product on the
shelf. Because time is money, this can be the
wrong decision.
d:r: What impact do Gen X-ers have on the retail
marketplace compared to Millennials, and how
do both look at retail these days?
Welsh: We find Gen X-ers view retail as an experience that has completely evolved and changed
in their lifetime. Millennials only know a totally
open and rapidly changing landscape. We see that
Gen X-ers tend to resist the change they see, while
Millennials have a complete comfort level and
embrace it.
JAMIE WELSH IS MANAGING PARTNER AND HEAD OF MARKETING AND
OPERATIONS AT WO5. SHE HAS BEEN IN EXECUTIVE ROLES IN MARKETING AND CONSULTING FOR 25 YEARS. SHAUN BUSBY IS WO5'S
PARTNER AND DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. HE HOLDS A
MASTERS IN ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND A BACHELORS IN
TELEVISION AND FILM.

Illustration by MAXIMUMVECTOR/SHUTTERSTOCK

http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG

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