Welcome to the Brand Seasons® Playgroup

Posted on January 20, 2025 by Sarah Robertson

October saw the launch of the Brand Seasons® Playdeck, a pocket-sized source of wisdom and guidance to help you craft your brand strategy, style and story with substance.

As part of the campaign, I also began to sow the seeds of my first group experience, the Brand Seasons® Playgroup. This three-month opportunity to play with the card deck together is designed to help you find brand confidence alongside a community of creatives.

Whether you’re starting anew or refreshing an existing business or project, the Playgroup is your space to grow, and I’ve created the waitlist for the September round. Read on for more details.

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About the Playdeck

Two decades of knowledge in a pocket-sized card deck

The Brand Seasons® Playdeck distils two decades of experience into a beautiful, tactile tool for brand building. It offers clarity and direction, helping you move through the branding process with ease. Whether seeking alignment, refining your style, or telling your story, the Playdeck encourages connection and creativity at every step.

Crafted with care and sustainability in mind, each deck is printed on a combination G.F Smith Extract and Gmund papers, made from recycled coffee cups and offcuts from the textiles industry. All of this is packaged in a tactile, letterpress-printed box. Backers also gain access to additional online resources via QR code.

About the Playgroup

A collective of creatives, guided by the Brand Seasons® Method

As a designer, mentor, and writer with over 20 years of experience, I created the Brand Seasons® Playgroup as an extension of the Playdeck—an opportunity to deepen the work and bring your brand to life in a supportive group environment.

This experience is for creatives of all kinds—whether you’re launching a podcast, shaping your author brand, or creating a publication. Together, we’ll explore the phases of Strategy, Style, and Storytelling, and end with a reflective phase and focus on Substance to realign and prepare for the next cycle.

No business? No problem. The Playgroup is just as valuable for those in the idea phase of a new project or venture.

Client quotes

We’ll begin with an orientation session to set the tone for our three months together. This is about creating a sense of community and defining personal objectives as we settle into this shared space of creativity.

Our time together

WELCOME SESSION

We’ll begin with an orientation session to set the tone for our three months together. This is about creating a sense of community and defining personal objectives as we settle into this shared space of creativity. Together, we’ll:

  • Explore how the sessions and workshops will flow over and consider how to get the most out of this experience
  • Get to know each other and begin fostering the supportive and inclusive environment that’s at the heart of the Playgroup
  • Set intentions for your brand journey so you can identify what a successful outcome looks like for you

I’ll also guide you through the Playdeck and other resources throughout the program, ensuring you feel equipped to explore and experiment in your own way.

STRATEGY

A spring-like phase for laying brand foundations, the Season of Sowing sees us making plans and setting goals, as well as establishing our brand visionpurpose and beliefs.

STYLING

The Season of Blossoming is all about focus and action, and our attention will turn to moodboard curation, and reviewing our logopalette and typography.

STORYTELLING

The ‘autumnal’ period of the framework, a Season of Harvesting, sees us focus on refining our brand narrative, character, and messaging.

SUBSTANCE

We then transition into the brief, cosy, and reflective ‘winter’ Season of Grounding, an opportunity to root your brand in credibility, authority, and loyalty.

CLOSING SESSION

We’ll conclude our time together by reflecting on what we’ve achieved, celebrating the progress you’ve made, and identifying key takeaways to carry forward. This session is about acknowledging your growth, solidifying your next steps, and ensuring you feel confident continuing your journey independently. Together, we’ll:

  • Share insights and wins from the past three months.
  • Explore how to maintain momentum and sustain your brand-building efforts.
  • Create an action plan for the next phase of your project or business.

This is a space to honour your progress, connect with your peers one last time, and look ahead confidently.

marketing without social media

Key dates

Below is the schedule for January 2025. Integration weeks are included between workshops to give you space to reflect, process, and apply what you’ve learned at your own pace.

Note: Sessions are likely to run from 10:00–11:30. Recordings of the welcome/closing and workshop/mentoring sessions will be made available, and you’ll also have access to a bank of resources.

JANUARY

  • Thu 16th ~ Welcome session
  • Tue 21st ~ Strategy workshop + co-working
  • Thu 30th ~ Co-working

FEBRUARY

  • Integration week
  • Tue 11th ~ Styling workshop + co-working
  • Thu 20th ~ Co-workin
  • Tue 25th: Group mentoring (20:00-21:30)
  • Integration week

MARCH

  • Tue 4th ~ Storytelling workshop + co-working
  • Thu 13th ~ Co-working
  • Integration week
  • Tue 25th ~ Substance workshop + co-working

APRIL

  • Thu 3rd ~ Co-working
  • Tue 8th: Group mentoring (20:00-21:30)
  • Integration week
  • Tue 15th ~ Closing session
Client quotes

If you’re feeling called to step into this space of curiosity, creativity, and connection, I’d love to have you in this beta round of the Playgroup. This is an intimate, collaborative experience you won’t want to miss.

Using the cards

The Playdeck will be your guide throughout the Playgroup experience. Use it to:

  • Move through the cards in order, aligning with the seasons
  • Pull a card for daily inspiration
  • Explore a specific focus area like strategy, style, story, or substance

The deck is designed to work around you and your preferred approach and my hope is that you will find your flow with the cards through the process.

Ready to join?

If you’re feeling called to step into this space of curiosity, creativity, and connection, I’d love to have you in this beta round of the Playgroup. This is an intimate, collaborative experience you won’t want to miss.

Join the waitlist if you don’t want to miss out!