Creative Priority's First Concept Brand

For years since Creative Priority’s inception, the agency has worked with a myriad of well-established and smaller brands to reposition them as the Urban Outdoors. When Mike, CEO and Founder of Creative Priority, was asked to rebuild a brand called Roamers and Seekers, he immediately realized the potential to repurpose the brand as an expression of product crafted for the Urban Outdoors.

Roamers Brand : The Vehicle is Born

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Photography By: Titus Anthony and Logan Kruse

Documented By: Kaidyn McClure

Featuring: MIKE LYNCH, CEO and FOUNDER of Creative Priority Brand Management

In 2016, Mike Lynch became involved with a brand called Roamers and Seekers based out of the United Kingdom. He was first asked to come on board as a United States sales help then quickly stepped into a more leading role. After directing a successful commercial in the UK for the brand, the team working with the factory asked Mike to become the new Creative Director and transition the brand’s creative direction.

Mike pitched a new identity for Roamers and Seekers based on a simple lifestyle concept, ‘a product of life on the road.’ This re-branding led to the redesign of the retail store and apparel. Quickly thereafter, Mike and the developing CP team designed an entirely new brand for the U.S. market, Roamers Brand, which ended up taking over the global brand. Mike’s desire to blend global fashion with the outdoor industry inspired Roamers design.

It wasn’t long before Roamers became a product of Creative Priority. The development of the brand organically took to the road encouraged by a committed internal drive to create everyday.

“I was on a mission to blend product that could stand for a new generation of product, ultimately bringing to life the trendy, fashionable, sustainable, utilitarian concept that Roamers embodied. I was also on a mission to deploy what Creative Priority stands for - craft, culture, and modernity - and when we launched the AW18 collection of Roamers, we realized the potential for this brand to become our leading example of Urban Outdoors.”

“When I set out to recruit a designer, I immediately thought of Kelsey Van Patten. I met Kelsey, KVP, in 2014, because Kels needed help on manufacturing consultation and she reached out to Creative Priority to get in touch with more global manufacturers. We worked with her on a few projects and quickly realized how passionate and driven she is, along with discovering we have a similar eye for style and design. I knew one day I’d want to work with her on a design level. So in 2018, I gave Kelsey a call and told her that I finally had a project for us. Before I even gave her the details, she was in.”

Mike and KVP immediately started sampling product, brainstorming color theories and mood boards, and creating collection themes. Their first theme was AW18 Getting the Glimpse, followed by SS19 Blending Blues, AW19 Tumble Dry Low, and SS20 Hang Dry.

Over weekly espresso, they created a visual hierarchy on a system of storytelling and established the four pillars - Approachable, Minimalism, Boundless, Spontaneous - the four things one needs to be a modern consumer, and to be a ‘creative.’  Both Creative Priority and Roamers embody these pillars.

SS19 Blending Blues

SS19 Blending Blues

SS19 Blending Blues

SS19 Blending Blues

Once Mike and Kels completed the physical design of the first line, it was time to develop the story behind Getting the Glimpse. Mike invited Titus to become CP’s in-house photographer and content generator for the agency. Together, they gave the brand visual love.

AW18 Getting the Glimpse. Snap by Titus Haug.

“I told Titus I’m taking a road trip up to Big Sur - we’re building a brand. He hopped in the van and off we went.”

The AW18 collection theme, Getting the Glimpse, was all about reliving an epic moment; consistently roaming through memory banks to create or recreate adventures.

“The way I see it, an adventure can be shaping a new board for a close friend; drinking champagne on a balcony in France; getting outside with a couple buddies at the skatepark; or simply meeting someone new who later rocks your world for the better. It’s about relishing in all the moments, no matter how big or how small; sometimes the small ones are the best ones.”

AW18 Getting the Glimpse. Snap by Titus Haug.

AW18 Getting the Glimpse. Snap by Titus Hang.

“There was so much magic on the Big Sur trip. It was AW18 that brought the team into fruition.”

AW18 Getting the Glimpse

The female talent for the collection shoot was Jen Yih, a good friend of Kelsey’s, who later became Creative Priority’s Marketing Manager for the next year. Frank Chor stepped into Partner and COO, helping take care of the existing business that was Creative Priority so Mike could commit to building Roamers. Shortly thereafter, Nick Fitzpatrick joined operations and Logan Kruse came on as Assistant Creative Director. Logan could speak to the customer in a way that was far from cookie cutter, but also approachable.

AW19 Tumble Dry Low. Snap(s) by Logan Kruse. Conceptual Marketing by Creative Priority.

“Roamers was this perfectly raised child until Logan came along and added attitude. The dude finds a way to protest and consent through content that’s moody, energetic, empowering, and approachable all at the same time.”

AW19 Tumble Dry Low. Snap by Logan Kruse.

Before long, Roamers was backed by a talented group of creators to drive the brand forward. Roamers became known as an elevated experience, factory direct, transparent, responsible, stylish, and technical, which forced the Urban Outdoors into becoming a talked about industry.

AW19 Tumble Dry Low. Snap by Logan Kruse.

“People believed in me, and people believed in the brand. What I loved about Roamers is it was just the physical embodiment of what our agency is.”

As the first creative A to Z brand, built from scratch by the agency, Roamers was a culmination of ideas brought to life. It was Creative Priority’s conception of branding; a true figment of Mike’s imagination that blossomed into CP’s imagination.

“We took this team and put it into Roamers. This brand was this brand because of the group of people that made the magic happen. It was a product of its evolution that continued to evolve creatively and professionally.”

AW19 Tumble Dry Low. Snap by Logan Kruse.

With significant elbow grease and creative motivation, the CP team turned the brand into ignition. The agency is excited to bring the same energy and hard work to future consulting projects and continue building brand stories for humans to love and experience. Roamers was only the beginning of the Urban Outdoors; the start of a journey full of countless creative endeavors, sustainable approaches, shared experiences, and change.

“I remember back to a moment during a taxi ride through London after a long work day. It was raining. I was exhausted, gazing at the seat in front of me. The driver looked in the rear view window, caught my attention, and asked me if I ever pause and take a second to look out the window. This single moment led to the trademark for the brand, Journey Well. Today, it is the force - the intention - behind everything we do at Creative Priority.”