Industry Spotlight: Young, Wild + Friedman
Jun 23, 2020
Industry Spotlight, by Faryn Maya Seiden
Who They Are: Young, Wild & Friedman is a family-owned business that creates sensory kits and activities for kids. The brand started as a blog in 2017 by Julie Friedman, inspired by her research into the benefits of sensory play to help calm anxiety and encourage language development for one of her children. Today she can hardly keep the kits in stock, and has built a loyal customer base of monthly kit subscribers and fans.
What They Do: The brand has grown organically, building a loyal following through Julie's blog and Instagram. Her early content showcased the creative activities and crafts she did with her kids, and eventually her own kits once she launched her business. Her business strategy is to launch a new themed kit each month, giving customers the option to “subscribe and save” through a monthly membership plan.
Why We Love It: This small business keeps their digital marketing simple, focusing on high-impact lifestyle content for Instagram and Facebook and an email newsletter to announce the launch of new sensory kit themes. Their communications around COVID-19 have been straightforward and relevant to their business -- they have acknowledged the implications on their website and through emails keeping their community informed about supply shortages and order delays.
What We Can Learn:
- Adaptable Business Model: Young, Wild + Friedman adapted quickly to the growing demand of families with kids at home during COVID-19, shipping orders in alternate packaging and passing the cost savings along to their customers. They have also been transparent about the need to reduce their staff and delays in shipping times.
- Less Is More: They keep emails to the email newsletter database to a minimum, saving them for important moments like the launch of new kit themes and announcements when kits are back in stock. We expect this tactic keeps the list engaged and minimizes unsubscribes.
- Strong Visual Identity: The brand identity is light, colorful and fun. It is consistent and cohesive across the website, social media and email.
We also LOVE the sensory kits and gift them to our favorite people! Keep up the good work, Young, Wild + Friedman! 🌈
