Finding a Pattern for Brand Building [Feat. Polina Osherov]

Five years ago, Polina Osherov saw the fashion scene in Indianapolis was virtually non-existent. The Russian-born commercial and editorial photographer became determined to work with others to grow the fashion industry in the Indy region.

The task was daunting but the grass roots efforts would pay off in a big way. Pattern magazine is now distributed across four continents and is an Addy award-winning publication. At Go Inbound Marketing 2015, Polina shared her story about how she and like-minded people built the Pattern brand from scratch.

“What you need to do is build a community,” Polina said. “You want to bring together people who share common interest. Fashion lovers existed in Indy. We just had to give them a platform.”

Let’s explore the brand-building lessons that Polina shared at our Indianapolis marketing conference.

Just mingle and connect

The movement started small. Once a month, fashion lovers would meet for a couple of hours to mingle and listen to a presentation on the fashion industry. Trust played a big role. While participants might have different ideas about fashion, they all shared a common interest and were motivated around a common cause. Another important factor was generosity, which helped Polina and her partners build connections.

Working with a variety of contributors, Polina’s group was able to launch the first edition of Pattern magazine despite obstacles like limited access to resources. The original thought was to “show a different side of Indy” as the city prepared to host Super Bowl XLVI. Pattern was launched digitally without any thought given to marketing.

The power of “true believers”

The immediate response to Pattern was overwhelming. People started asking “when’s the next issue coming out?” and started asking for printed copies. Polina and other founders were initially opposed to creating an actual print magazine, thinking that “if we start doing this mag, it’ll be a distraction and confuse people.”

Still, Polina knew there was something special about Pattern. “The reason it’s done so well is because it’s a fashion publication of a high caliber in Indy.”

The magazine helped Polina and her partners find “true believers” who rallied to the cause of promoting fashion locally. What started as 50 people in 2010 has grown to 1,400 members on Meetup and thousands more who follow Pattern through other channels.

“The magazine and related events have helped Pattern build partnerships with a lot of local organizations. It’s about stories people want to hear, they want to share. That’s what having true believers is all about.” And all the staff are volunteers.

“If we played it safe, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Polina said. “My lack of familiarity with the publishing industry probably helped me to not be scared off by all the complexities of printing a magazine.”

Raising a ruckus

A new chapter in the pattern story began last August with the opening of a retail boutique on Massachusetts Avenue in downtown Indianapolis. Polina and other organizers are using the space to tell the story of Indy: local makers, local artists and local designers; the store is not just about fashion but about all the design disciplines.

“Our whole goal is to help local fashion designers get their start in retail in a friendlier environment.”

Next on the horizon for Pattern is “Ruckus,” a 30,000-square-foot space that Polina describes as a gym for makers. The new space near the Pattern store will have all kinds of equipment for metalworking and textiles that creatives wouldn’t be able to afford on their own. Users will pay a fee to use all of the equipment, allowing them to experiment and create new things without spending a lot of money.

“We’re trying to give local fashion designers and creatives a reason to stay in Indy.” Polina says. “If nothing else, I hope you are encouraged by the evolution of the creative class in this city. We’re ready for it and it’s here.”

You're off to see the Wizard.

Polina's morning Story session was just one highlight of eight hours packed chock full of marketing insights. And whether you made it to the 2015 event or not, you'll definitely want to grab some tickets for next year's event starring Rand Fishkin, the wonderful Wizard of Moz, and 10 more top notch marketing influencers to be announced.