Hidden Treasures
Brand Comber helps businesses find their story
Like a beachcomber exploring shorelines for sea glass, shells, and sand dollars, ALAINA BIDDULPH carefully looks at businesses to help uncover their unique values.
“I’m that person that is looking through the broken shells on the beach, looking for something that is going to be their hidden brand treasure, to really bring it to the forefront, filter, and sift through and find what’s going to help them stand out and become memorable,” Biddulph says.
Brand Comber is Biddulph’s Wilmington-based brand strategy and design company. She consults with small businesses about strategies, refreshes copywriting to improve messaging, and helps rebranding through design makeovers.
“A lot of people think branding is just a logo, but it’s way more than that,” Biddulph says. “It’s really your whole entire soul of your business.”
Brand Comber’s clients are from across the country, Biddulph says. Most are established, women-owned, service-based businesses that include consultants and coaches in various industries, such as doula services, midwifery, and business coaching.
Biddulph earned a bachelor’s in visual communications in advertising and graphic design at Kean University in New Jersey in 2009, and then worked in Arizona before moving with her husband and two daughters to Wilmington in 2017.
“I’ve always been a beach girl,” Biddulph says.
What motivated you to become a brand strategist?
Biddulph: “I personally took it from my own experience building my business, where when you’re so close to something you can’t see it…I really love sitting with a business owner and helping them see what they can’t see and helping them turn it into words that are succinct, that really translate and communicate their branding into more visual and verbal brand messaging.”
You emphasize Brand Comber is a small team and not a full-service agency – tell us why that’s important.
Biddulph: “My decision to stay a small branding business is rooted in me wanting to be involved in every project, not hand it off to a giant team or outsource. I go all in with my clients. Plus, as a work-at-home mom I structure my business to fit into my life rather than grow into a big office and large staff.”
How do you help clients discover their brand message?
Biddulph: “I comb through their existing visual and verbal brand messaging to filter out the vagueness to help their brand refine and define who they are and precisely how they differentiate from competitors. Rebranding small businesses into remarkable brands through strategic messaging that makes waves.”
What tips do you have for business owners looking to define their brand?
Biddulph: “It’s very important to us as service providers to figure out what makes us different and how do we stand out from the competitor. That’s a big target for us to really help them gain the brand clarity to figure out what makes them memorable, what makes them different than their competitors.”
What drives you in work and life?
Biddulph: “Definitely my family. It’s important for me to show my daughters an example of entrepreneurship… and see the determination of building a business that really helps other businesses. It breaks my heart to see the closing signs on small businesses. I just see the memories and see their vision goes down, and it’s sad. So really everything that I do is built for helping these businesses have longevity.”
To view more of photographer Aris Harding’s work, go to arisharding.com.
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