From a therapy room in Deni to a national movement
Brand, Website, Launch Strategy
& Campaign
BIG HUG
AUSTRALIA
A therapy practice built on the belief that the right support, delivered with dignity, changes everything.
From inside those therapy rooms, a question kept surfacing.
What if calm could be worn like a cape?
That question became Big Hug Australia - and Australia's first wearable weighted sensory cape, Little Hug. A therapist-designed product built for mealtimes, haircuts, outings, transitions and all the hard in-between moments that families navigate every day.
When Lucy came to us, she had the vision, the lived experience, the professional credibility - and nothing else. No brand. No name. No website. No way to communicate what she was building without it sounding clinical, niche, or too hard to explain.
Lucy Horne is a speech pathologist, a mum, and the founder of Deni SPOT -
We built it all. Together.
Lucy didn't come to us with a half-finished brand that needed tidying. She came with a product concept that didn't exist yet in Australia - and needed an entire world built around it before it could be taken seriously.
The challenge wasn't just branding. It was translation.
How do you take something rooted in occupational therapy and deep-pressure research - and make it feel warm, accessible and instantly understood by a tired parent at the end of a hard day?
How do you build a brand that speaks to families without sounding clinical, and to professionals without sounding fluffy?
How do you launch something before the product even exists - and make people want to be part of it anyway?
The idea was clear. Everything else needed to be created from scratch.
what wasn't working:
The Real Challenge
- No brand name, logo or visual identity
- No messaging framework or positioning
- No website or ecommerce setup
- No social media presence
- No launch strategy or campaign
- No way to separate Big Hug from Lucy's existing work at Deni SPOT
- No clear language to explain the product without defaulting to therapy-speak
This wasn’t about “doing more marketing”.
It’s about creating calm, supporting families, and making space for connection in the moments that matter most.
The shift came when we stopped trying to explain Big Hug and started telling its story.
Lucy's background - therapist, mum, regional founder - wasn't just context. It was the brand's greatest asset. The fact that this product was born in a real therapy practice, from real experience, in a regional NSW town, made it more credible and more human than anything a polished startup could manufacture.
We built the brand around that truth.
Warm. Calm. Grounded. Quietly confident. A brand that felt like a trusted friend who happened to know exactly what they were talking about.
And critically - we built it as a movement first, a product second. Because Lucy was launching something that didn't exist yet in Australia. The community needed to believe in it before they could buy it.
The Turning Point
what it looked
like
what it
actually needed
"We need a logo and a website"
"I just need help explaining what it is"
"It's a sensory product for kids"
A foundation strong enough to scale - from one product to a national brand
Messaging that made people feel something before they fully understood the product
A movement - inclusive, dignified, and built for every family, not just those with a diagnosis
A clear, values-first recruitment message
"Can we keep it simple for now?"
The Video
We built Big Hug to feel understood before it was sold -grounded in real experiences, calm language, and a brand families could trust from the very beginning.
Every decision was made to build trust before it built sales.
Strategic Focus
Trust before attention.
Clarity before
promotion.
Connection before conversion.
Key Decisions
We started with naming and positioning.
Big Hug. Everybody needs one. Simple, universal, impossible to argue with. Not clinical. Not niche. Not just for one kind of family. The name and tagline did the heavy lifting - making the brand immediately understood and emotionally accessible before a single product image existed.
We built a visual identity that felt nothing like therapy.
Teal. Calm. Minimal. A brandmark that could be read as a smile, two heads leaning in, or a cape - all at once. Rounded, soft, flat illustration. No harsh edges. No medical aesthetic. A brand that looked as good in a family home as it did in a clinic.
We wrote everything in Lucy's voice.
The website, the social content, the email sequences, the launch copy - all of it written to sound like a trusted professional having a real conversation. Not a sales page. Not a product brochure. Something that made parents feel seen before they felt sold to.
We built the digital infrastructure from day one.
Website on HighLevel. Ecommerce backend. CRM. Email capture and nurture sequences. Google Analytics, Search Console, Tag Manager. A Calm List instead of a sales funnel. Everything set up to grow - not just launch.
We created a launch campaign built on story, not product.
The Hug Experiment - filmed, real, emotionally powerful - gave the brand proof of concept before the product was in hand. Social content, video, and a phased launch strategy designed to build a community of believers first. Because when you're launching something new, trust is the product.
We were there when the award came.
In the midst of building Big Hug, Lucy's first business Deni SPOT won an NSW State Business Award. That recognition wasn't separate from Big Hug - it validated everything. The founder behind this brand had already been acknowledged for building something extraordinary in regional NSW. We made sure that story was woven into Big Hug's identity.
The Vibes
- Brand strategy, positioning and naming (Big Hug Australia)
- Logo, brandmark and full visual identity system
- Illustration and icon system
- Brand guidelines
- Website design and build (GoHighLevel)
- Ecommerce setup - product listings, payments, pre-order structure
- End-to-end copywriting across the site and all launch materials
- CRM setup and email nurture sequences (the Calm List)
- Social media content, templates and launch campaign
- Video production - including the Hug Experiment
- Launch strategy - phased, community-first, story-led
- Google Business Profile, Analytics, Search Console and Tag Manager setup
- Digital infrastructure and domain setup
What We Delivered
Over 6 months, we delivered:
tangible results
intangible impact
A complete brand world built from nothing - name, identity, voice, digital home
A live website with ecommerce infrastructure ready for presale and launch
A growing community of early supporters who believe in the mission before the product ships
The Hug Experiment - filmed proof of concept that shows the product's power without a word of explanation
Award recognition for the founder mid-build, woven into the brand's credibility story
A brand that speaks to parents and professionals equally - warm enough for families, credible enough for allied health
Lucy can share the brand with confidence - it looks exactly like what she imagined
People get it straight away, without needing it explained
Big Hug feels like a movement, not a product launch
The mission that was always clear to Lucy is now clear to everyone who encounters it
A regional idea is being taken seriously on a national stage
Key Outcomes
The Takeaway
Big Hug is proof that the best brands don't start with a product.
They start with a truth - something a person knows deeply, from experience, that the world needs to hear differently.
Lucy knew that calm should be accessible. That sensory support didn't have to look clinical. That a family navigating a hard mealtime or a dreaded haircut deserved something dignified, beautiful and actually useful.
Our job was to take that truth and give it a home.
A name. A mark. A voice. A world.
And to make sure that when someone found Big Hug - whether through social media, a Google search, or a friend's recommendation - they felt it immediately.
Not a product page. Not a therapy service.
Something that felt like exactly what it was named for.
FROM AN IDEA IN A THERAPY ROOM TO A BRAND READY FOR A NATIONAL LAUNCH - WE HELPED LUCY BUILD SOMETHING THE WORLD HADN'T SEEN BEFORE.
A hug. From someone who gets it.
"Big Hug started as an idea in the therapy room. Now it feels like a brand that truly reflects the families we support and the calm we want to create."
"From an idea to something I’m truly proud to share."
If you’re tired of throwing things at the wall and hoping they stick - let’s talk. Whether you need strategy, content, a website, or all of it wrapped into one clear plan, we’re here to help you show up, stand out, and grow with purpose.
Let's make your marketing matter.
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