SANDOVAL
brand voice strategy, creative content direction, e-commerce copywriting, product names and packaging copy, seo-optimized site copy.
the brand story
SANDOVAL is scent with vision. After enjoying wild success with his O.G. California-made, all-natural essential oil room sprays, founder Michael Carbaugh leaned into introducing scent into any and all daily rituals from burning powdered incense before welcoming company to ridding gym clothes of their je ne sais stank. In 2022, he arrived at a creative crossroads, and decided it was time for a complete brand and voice overhaul. He was ready for a SANDOVAL that embodied his truest self.
the project
From our first kickoff call, Carbaugh made it clear that he drew inspiration from everywhere — the Mojave Desert, Peter Hujal self-portraits, the afternoon stank of his first ground-level New York apartment, and the velvet voices of 80s and 90s late-night radio hosts. My goal was to turn that vision into words that explored a new definition of scents – that great fragrance shouldn’t mask our natural scent but transcend it.
the results
To capture the essence of SANDOVAL, we used language that speaks to three “self-s”: self-exploration, self-definition, and radical self-experimentation. We also explored copy around the word “amalgamation,” which Carbaugh repeatedly used in describing his process. These are not “aspiration culture” scents, these are scents that unite the many parts of our rituals and ourselves. The resulting brand and product copy encourages curiosity in the everyday and a willingness to break a few rules.
You’ll notice the site and product copy steps away from standard “marketing copy” practices (we play a lot with CAPITALIZATION that reminds you it’s OK to experiment with everything, language included). We play with the idea that our reality depends upon how we use our senses — and that those senses are as personal as we allow them to be.
All images courtesy of SANDOVAL.
