Will emotional storytelling work for The Container Store?
Photo: The Container Store

The Container Store introduced on Tuesday a new logo, tagline — “Welcome to The Organization” — and brand campaign.

The new logo, the brand’s first overhaul in its 44-year history, features three nested baskets positioned in a smile shape alongside the company’s name. The look is designed to demonstrate that many customers feel The Container Store is their “happy place” as they seek to organize their lives.

The baskets icon is also expected to help the brand translate better on smartphone screens as The Container Store’s first mobile app arrives in March. The retailer is launching a new three tiered-loyalty program, as well.

The “Welcome to The Organization” tagline and campaign is designed to offer a more inviting and inclusive call to welcome new customers and more emotionally engage existing ones.

The update follow’s last year’s shift in brand purpose to a more emotional one, centered around transforming lives, from its longstanding functional messaging. The former tagline, “Where Space Comes From,” spoke to overcoming space challenges.

Melissa Collins, chief marketing officer, told Advertising Age, “We moved to a more emotional thinking about what it means in a person’s life to be organized — the brand purpose of The Container Store exists to transform lives through the power of organization.”

“Our charge was to take The Container Store to a more emotional place,” added Greg Hunter, executive creative director, at Preacher, the Austin-based advertising agency that helped guide the updated messaging, in a press release.  “By treating organization as a club we can all join, not a chore we can often dread, Welcome to The Organization does just that.”

The retailer is also sponsoring its first TikTok challenge, #showusyourdrawers, in a partnership with Drew Barrymore. Influencers including The Home Edit, Marie Kondo and Cassandra Aarssen, who have exclusive lines at The Container Store, are also involved in the campaign.

The Container Store is making the campaign and branding updates at a time when its sales growth has slowed following robust sales during the pandemic when homeowners tackled home projects amid lockdowns.

BrainTrust

“It’s long past due for storage companies to realize that appealing to our emotions is an incredibly relevant way to sell storage and organizing solutions.”

DeAnn Campbell

Head of Retail Insights, AAG Consulting Group


“As to the tagline, it sounds like they are after my soul. Not a winner in my book.”

Ryan Mathews

Founder, CEO, Black Monk Consulting


“We’re all humans and attached to our stuff, so it makes total sense that The Container Store move to a more personal way of connecting.”

Patricia Vekich Waldron

Contributing Editor, RetailWire; Founder and CEO, Vision First

Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Are The Container Store’s new logo and “Welcome to The Organization” tagline both winners? Will emotional storytelling relate better than functional messaging for The Container Store?

Poll

What grade would you give The Container Store for its new logo and “Welcome to The Organization” tagline?

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31 responses to “Will emotional storytelling work for The Container Store?”

  1. Jeff Weidauer Avatar
    Jeff Weidauer

    Aside from the tagline having a faint dystopian feel, these moves are all positive for The Container Store. The fact that it’s taken this long to come up with its first mobile app is mildly alarming though – let’s hope they’ve seen the future and decided to be part of it.

  2. Dr. Stephen Needel Avatar
    Dr. Stephen Needel

    I’m sure that someone is going to get an emotional lift from organizing their home if they haven’t already done this during the pandemic. But for most of us, I think it’s less about emotion than The Container Store thinks. They are the epitome of functional and they are walking away from that – I’m not sure it’s the best approach.

    1. Paula Rosenblum Avatar
      Paula Rosenblum

      Agreed. And service.

      1. Dr. Stephen Needel Avatar
        Dr. Stephen Needel

        Yes — great service too, Paula.

  3. Paula Rosenblum Avatar
    Paula Rosenblum

    I don’t love the new branding, and I agree with Jeff about the mobile app.

    What distinguishes The Container Store isn’t its logo or its commercials – it’s the assortment and great customer service. I would have thought they’d emphasize the service aspect more, not less.

  4. delp.brian Avatar
    delp.brian

    This is definitely the right angle. Wellness is a key focus for products right now, so making a case for the wellness of your home aligns with this. Organization is a major craze — even before the pandemic, Marie Kondo’s show (which The Container Store licensed) started a movement. The show itself focused on the emotional side of organizing and the feeling you get from a harmonious home. Now as consumers are stuck at home, this trend has only increased. Consider also the show The Home Edit which Walmart licensed, however The Container Store was the main store featured in the series.

  5. Mel Kleiman Avatar
    Mel Kleiman

    This is a great marketing move for two reasons:

    1. Emotions trump logic and reasoning all the time;
    2. Stories develop an emotional bond.
    1. Cathy Hotka Avatar
      Cathy Hotka

      Agreed. Look at the bounce they got during the Marie Kondo days. Container Store can tap into pride and self-fulfillment to inspire more purchases.

  6. David Spear Avatar
    David Spear

    I do think the move is a step in the right direction, although I’m not sure organizing a closet, a pantry, or a laundry room is “transformative.” And I’m alarmed to read that their first mobile app is being launched in March 2022. Apple’s first app launched in 2007 — that’s 15 years ago, which is a little frightening. That notwithstanding, I do think the emotion filled campaign can strike a chord with consumers and encourage traffic to its online and physical stores.

  7. Ken Morris Avatar
    Ken Morris

    Red pill or blue pill? Great that they’ve tried to rethink their brand. They’ve realized that no consumer wants to be sold just a product; they want to be connected, and they want an experience. But “Welcome to the Organization?” That’s got The Matrix written all over it. And in what world does an emotionally drained blue invite shoppers to come join a fun club? The #showusyourdrawers hashtag link to their Drawer Organizers landing page is okay, I suppose, but why doesn’t the landing page have at least a couple of sentences of payoff copy that includes some of their newfound emotional storytelling? Sorry, but I think The Container Store has a long way to go in organizing a compelling brand.

  8. DeAnn Campbell Avatar
    DeAnn Campbell

    Emotions are at the core of nearly everything we own; the sweatshirt that no longer fits but reminds us of college, a grandmother’s antique china we’ll never use but can’t bear to part with. Marie Kondo built an entire industry around how our stuff “sparks joy” so it only stands to reason that how we store our joy matters to us all. It’s long past due for storage companies to realize that appealing to our emotions is an incredibly relevant way to sell storage and organizing solutions.

    1. Ian Percy Avatar
      Ian Percy

      Could not be said better, DeAnn. But the connection is not with the container, it’s with our precious stuff. The story has to be about our stuff. If The Container Store finds how to tap into that reality, this rebranding has a chance.

      1. DeAnn Campbell Avatar
        DeAnn Campbell

        You’re so right Ian!

      2. Ryan Mathews Avatar
        Ryan Mathews

        Ian, as usual, you’ve nailed it. Hard to be emotional about wire racking. But the “stuff” that fills that racking? Ah — there’s the magic.

  9. Rich Kizer Avatar
    Rich Kizer

    I hope this effort isn’t just the themes and signs. Storytelling with emotion always works. But a 30-second television spot selling the story, with emotion, is bound to generate leagues of success over print. The question is which will work better: a print ad or a story on TV? Think of your favorite ads.

  10. Jeff Sward Avatar
    Jeff Sward

    I always have a bit of a “feel good” moment after getting organized. There’s a sense of accomplishment to it. It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but, hey, I’ll take an occasional small victory. If The Container Store can tap into that, it just adds a level of strength to the brand promise of being the go-to store for storage needs.

  11. Ian Percy Avatar
    Ian Percy

    Forty-four years is well past the “best before” date so this initiative is to be applauded. “Show us your drawers” is brilliant, funny and engaging. And emotional stories are always effective if relevant and done well.

    An emotional connection is usually based on something one can relate to emotionally. That doesn’t mean it requires a pulse, but it does need heart. A ’57 Chev Belaire is just a physical/mechanical/commodity thing — but, oh my, not to me. I have a hard time thinking of how one would connect emotionally to anything in The Container Store in the same way. I don’t know anyone who wistfully tells me about how they organized their drawers. Did I ever tell you about the time I saw my first ’57…

    They have good (though IMO expensive) stuff, but that’s what it is – stuff.

    1. Ryan Mathews Avatar
      Ryan Mathews

      Ian, “Show us your drawers” may be — well — cheeky, but in a era of PC policing it’s like putting a target in front of your face. At a time when everyone seems to want to be offended by something, I’m not sure I would have led with sexual innuendo. Bold — but chancy.

      1. Ian Percy Avatar
        Ian Percy

        I see what you did there….

      2. Ryan Mathews Avatar
        Ryan Mathews

        Thought you might.

      3. DeAnn Campbell Avatar
        DeAnn Campbell

        Ryan this reminds me of the “Sears catalog boxer shorts” controversy, which even inspired a song by Zoot Fenster (still on YouTube) called “The Man on Page 602.”

      4. Ryan Mathews Avatar
        Ryan Mathews

        DeAnn … so many potential tempests in so many yet to be discovered teapots … but that’s the world we are operating in.

  12. Gene Detroyer Avatar
    Gene Detroyer

    The Container Store is my go-to place for organization. Why? Because they have the best people on the retail floor. I am not sure any other retailer comes close.

    While I am surprised that they are just introducing an online app, The Container Store is the one place I actually want to go to the store, especially if I have an organizing challenge and am not sure how to solve it.

    I like “Welcome to the Organization.” It associates the word “organization” uniquely with The Container Store in the consumer’s mind. But I would not call that emotional. I would call that functional. If I have an organizing challenge, I go to The Container Store.

  13. Mohamed Amer Avatar
    Mohamed Amer

    I’m not crazy about the new tagline, but I applaud the shift to bringing out the emotional aspects of being organized. The marketing shift from functional to inspirational messaging will go a long way as long as the assortment and service offerings keep pace.

  14. Georganne Bender Avatar
    Georganne Bender

    I do not feel emotional about organizing my closets or junk drawers other than being cheesed off that I have to do it. This does not incite joy in any way, shape or form, although I do enjoy walking the aisles of The Container Store thinking about how I could organize but won’t. Most of the organization influencers’ ideas are too pretty for real life.

    I am with Dr. Stephen and Paula: The Container Store should be about function and customer service.

  15. Ryan Mathews Avatar
    Ryan Mathews

    Not for me, and I’m a loyal Container Store customer. I totally agree with Gene Detroyer about the quality of the sales associates. It’s unbelievable. So — function and service don’t quite equal emotion in my mind. As to the tagline, it sounds like they are after my soul. Not a winner in my book.

  16. Patricia Vekich Waldron Avatar
    Patricia Vekich Waldron

    We’re all humans and attached to our stuff, so it makes total sense that The Container Store move to a more personal way of connecting. Organization is more that racks, baskets and bins — it’s categorizing possessions and enabling lifestyle.

  17. Craig Sundstrom Avatar
    Craig Sundstrom

    After seeing the ad, I realized there’s a subtle pun in there … but only after seeing it, so perhaps it’s a little too subtle.

    Anyway, I’ll put this in the “might (tho probably won’t) help, can’t hurt (other than the money spent on it)” category: slogans and/or logos are occasionally so inspired that they materially affect a brand’s fortunes, but I don’t see this as being one of those occasions.

  18. Brad Halverson Avatar
    Brad Halverson

    Kudos to Container Store for this appeal. For taking the mundane and reaching higher.

    Not everyone has to love it, but every great brand makes it easy to see or feel a connection to something greater, even something inside us, like an appeal to being better. This can stir emotions.

    While the practical role of comparing the benefits and costs of storage cubes and wire racking will never go away as a consumer shopping function (we all shop like this), consumers still thirst for a higher reason to buy something.

  19. EricaRetailNCR Avatar
    EricaRetailNCR

    I think these are great moves for The Container Store. COVID-19 has forced us all to spend more time at home which has significantly increased interest in a calming space. Organization is a key component of that and The Container Store is uniquely positioned to own this space.

  20. Katie Boschele Avatar
    Katie Boschele

    The emotional connection to a company is what keeps customers coming back and creates brand loyalty. The Container Store is going after the younger market by using TikTok hashtags and trends to #showusyourdrawers. I am very interested to see if this kind of marketing helps drive new customers to their updated shopping experience.

31 Comments
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Jeff Weidauer
Jeff Weidauer
Member
1 year ago

Aside from the tagline having a faint dystopian feel, these moves are all positive for The Container Store. The fact that it’s taken this long to come up with its first mobile app is mildly alarming though – let’s hope they’ve seen the future and decided to be part of it.

3
Dr. Stephen Needel
Dr. Stephen Needel
Member
1 year ago

I’m sure that someone is going to get an emotional lift from organizing their home if they haven’t already done this during the pandemic. But for most of us, I think it’s less about emotion than The Container Store thinks. They are the epitome of functional and they are walking away from that – I’m not sure it’s the best approach.

4
Paula Rosenblum
Paula Rosenblum
Active Member
Reply to  Dr. Stephen Needel
1 year ago

Agreed. And service.

3
Dr. Stephen Needel
Dr. Stephen Needel
Member
Reply to  Paula Rosenblum
1 year ago

Yes — great service too, Paula.

0
Paula Rosenblum
Paula Rosenblum
Active Member
1 year ago

I don’t love the new branding, and I agree with Jeff about the mobile app.

What distinguishes The Container Store isn’t its logo or its commercials – it’s the assortment and great customer service. I would have thought they’d emphasize the service aspect more, not less.

4
delp.brian
delp.brian
1 year ago

This is definitely the right angle. Wellness is a key focus for products right now, so making a case for the wellness of your home aligns with this. Organization is a major craze — even before the pandemic, Marie Kondo’s show (which The Container Store licensed) started a movement. The show itself focused on the emotional side of organizing and the feeling you get from a harmonious home. Now as consumers are stuck at home, this trend has only increased. Consider also the show The Home Edit which Walmart licensed, however The Container Store was the main store featured in the series.

3
Mel Kleiman
Mel Kleiman
Member
1 year ago

This is a great marketing move for two reasons:

  1. Emotions trump logic and reasoning all the time;
  2. Stories develop an emotional bond.
3
Cathy Hotka
Cathy Hotka
Active Member
Reply to  Mel Kleiman
1 year ago

Agreed. Look at the bounce they got during the Marie Kondo days. Container Store can tap into pride and self-fulfillment to inspire more purchases.

3
David Spear
David Spear
Member
1 year ago

I do think the move is a step in the right direction, although I’m not sure organizing a closet, a pantry, or a laundry room is “transformative.” And I’m alarmed to read that their first mobile app is being launched in March 2022. Apple’s first app launched in 2007 — that’s 15 years ago, which is a little frightening. That notwithstanding, I do think the emotion filled campaign can strike a chord with consumers and encourage traffic to its online and physical stores.

2
Ken Morris
Ken Morris
Active Member
1 year ago

Red pill or blue pill? Great that they’ve tried to rethink their brand. They’ve realized that no consumer wants to be sold just a product; they want to be connected, and they want an experience. But “Welcome to the Organization?” That’s got The Matrix written all over it. And in what world does an emotionally drained blue invite shoppers to come join a fun club? The #showusyourdrawers hashtag link to their Drawer Organizers landing page is okay, I suppose, but why doesn’t the landing page have at least a couple of sentences of payoff copy that includes some of their newfound emotional storytelling? Sorry, but I think The Container Store has a long way to go in organizing a compelling brand.

4
DeAnn Campbell
DeAnn Campbell
Active Member
1 year ago

Emotions are at the core of nearly everything we own; the sweatshirt that no longer fits but reminds us of college, a grandmother’s antique china we’ll never use but can’t bear to part with. Marie Kondo built an entire industry around how our stuff “sparks joy” so it only stands to reason that how we store our joy matters to us all. It’s long past due for storage companies to realize that appealing to our emotions is an incredibly relevant way to sell storage and organizing solutions.

4
Ian Percy
Ian Percy
Member
Reply to  DeAnn Campbell
1 year ago

Could not be said better, DeAnn. But the connection is not with the container, it’s with our precious stuff. The story has to be about our stuff. If The Container Store finds how to tap into that reality, this rebranding has a chance.

3
DeAnn Campbell
DeAnn Campbell
Active Member
Reply to  Ian Percy
1 year ago

You’re so right Ian!

1
Ryan Mathews
Ryan Mathews
Active Member
Reply to  Ian Percy
1 year ago

Ian, as usual, you’ve nailed it. Hard to be emotional about wire racking. But the “stuff” that fills that racking? Ah — there’s the magic.

3
Rich Kizer
Rich Kizer
Member
1 year ago

I hope this effort isn’t just the themes and signs. Storytelling with emotion always works. But a 30-second television spot selling the story, with emotion, is bound to generate leagues of success over print. The question is which will work better: a print ad or a story on TV? Think of your favorite ads.

1
Jeff Sward
Jeff Sward
Active Member
1 year ago

I always have a bit of a “feel good” moment after getting organized. There’s a sense of accomplishment to it. It’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things but, hey, I’ll take an occasional small victory. If The Container Store can tap into that, it just adds a level of strength to the brand promise of being the go-to store for storage needs.

4
Ian Percy
Ian Percy
Member
1 year ago

Forty-four years is well past the “best before” date so this initiative is to be applauded. “Show us your drawers” is brilliant, funny and engaging. And emotional stories are always effective if relevant and done well.

An emotional connection is usually based on something one can relate to emotionally. That doesn’t mean it requires a pulse, but it does need heart. A ’57 Chev Belaire is just a physical/mechanical/commodity thing — but, oh my, not to me. I have a hard time thinking of how one would connect emotionally to anything in The Container Store in the same way. I don’t know anyone who wistfully tells me about how they organized their drawers. Did I ever tell you about the time I saw my first ’57…

They have good (though IMO expensive) stuff, but that’s what it is – stuff.

3
Ryan Mathews
Ryan Mathews
Active Member
Reply to  Ian Percy
1 year ago

Ian, “Show us your drawers” may be — well — cheeky, but in a era of PC policing it’s like putting a target in front of your face. At a time when everyone seems to want to be offended by something, I’m not sure I would have led with sexual innuendo. Bold — but chancy.

1
Ian Percy
Ian Percy
Member
Reply to  Ryan Mathews
1 year ago

I see what you did there….

1
Ryan Mathews
Ryan Mathews
Active Member
Reply to  Ian Percy
1 year ago

Thought you might.

0
DeAnn Campbell
DeAnn Campbell
Active Member
Reply to  Ryan Mathews
1 year ago

Ryan this reminds me of the “Sears catalog boxer shorts” controversy, which even inspired a song by Zoot Fenster (still on YouTube) called “The Man on Page 602.”

1
Ryan Mathews
Ryan Mathews
Active Member
Reply to  DeAnn Campbell
1 year ago

DeAnn … so many potential tempests in so many yet to be discovered teapots … but that’s the world we are operating in.

0
Gene Detroyer
Gene Detroyer
Trusted Member
1 year ago

The Container Store is my go-to place for organization. Why? Because they have the best people on the retail floor. I am not sure any other retailer comes close.

While I am surprised that they are just introducing an online app, The Container Store is the one place I actually want to go to the store, especially if I have an organizing challenge and am not sure how to solve it.

I like “Welcome to the Organization.” It associates the word “organization” uniquely with The Container Store in the consumer’s mind. But I would not call that emotional. I would call that functional. If I have an organizing challenge, I go to The Container Store.

2
Mohamed Amer
Mohamed Amer
Member
1 year ago

I’m not crazy about the new tagline, but I applaud the shift to bringing out the emotional aspects of being organized. The marketing shift from functional to inspirational messaging will go a long way as long as the assortment and service offerings keep pace.

2
Georganne Bender
Georganne Bender
Active Member
1 year ago

I do not feel emotional about organizing my closets or junk drawers other than being cheesed off that I have to do it. This does not incite joy in any way, shape or form, although I do enjoy walking the aisles of The Container Store thinking about how I could organize but won’t. Most of the organization influencers’ ideas are too pretty for real life.

I am with Dr. Stephen and Paula: The Container Store should be about function and customer service.

2
Ryan Mathews
Ryan Mathews
Active Member
1 year ago

Not for me, and I’m a loyal Container Store customer. I totally agree with Gene Detroyer about the quality of the sales associates. It’s unbelievable. So — function and service don’t quite equal emotion in my mind. As to the tagline, it sounds like they are after my soul. Not a winner in my book.

2
Patricia Vekich Waldron
Patricia Vekich Waldron
Member
1 year ago

We’re all humans and attached to our stuff, so it makes total sense that The Container Store move to a more personal way of connecting. Organization is more that racks, baskets and bins — it’s categorizing possessions and enabling lifestyle.

0
Craig Sundstrom
Craig Sundstrom
Active Member
1 year ago

After seeing the ad, I realized there’s a subtle pun in there … but only after seeing it, so perhaps it’s a little too subtle.

Anyway, I’ll put this in the “might (tho probably won’t) help, can’t hurt (other than the money spent on it)” category: slogans and/or logos are occasionally so inspired that they materially affect a brand’s fortunes, but I don’t see this as being one of those occasions.

0
Brad Halverson
Brad Halverson
Member
1 year ago

Kudos to Container Store for this appeal. For taking the mundane and reaching higher.

Not everyone has to love it, but every great brand makes it easy to see or feel a connection to something greater, even something inside us, like an appeal to being better. This can stir emotions.

While the practical role of comparing the benefits and costs of storage cubes and wire racking will never go away as a consumer shopping function (we all shop like this), consumers still thirst for a higher reason to buy something.

0
EricaRetailNCR
EricaRetailNCR
1 year ago

I think these are great moves for The Container Store. COVID-19 has forced us all to spend more time at home which has significantly increased interest in a calming space. Organization is a key component of that and The Container Store is uniquely positioned to own this space.

0
Katie Boschele
Katie Boschele
1 year ago

The emotional connection to a company is what keeps customers coming back and creates brand loyalty. The Container Store is going after the younger market by using TikTok hashtags and trends to #showusyourdrawers. I am very interested to see if this kind of marketing helps drive new customers to their updated shopping experience.

0