Banneker came to us as an idea and a founder with conviction: a heritage watchmaker named for Benjamin Banneker, the self-taught astronomer and almanac author. No brand yet, no store, no audience. Just a story worth telling, and someone who trusted us to tell it right.
Benjamin Banneker was a self-taught astronomer, mathematician and almanac author, born free in 1731. A watch brand carrying that name has a high bar to clear before the first sale.
Our job was to build a brand equal to the story: an identity, a voice and a look that felt like heritage from day one, not a startup playing dress-up. Everything downstream, the promo video, the store, the marketing, grew from getting that foundation right.
So we built the whole thing: the identity, the promo video, the website, and the BigCommerce store it still runs on today. We consulted on the products themselves. And when it launched, we didn't hand it back and walk away. We ran it.
The crest, the wordmark and the heritage-driven identity the whole brand stands on.
A promo video that told the founder's story and gave the brand its voice.
Art direction across photography, packaging, campaigns and every product launch.
Designed and built the BigCommerce store that still runs the business today.
Hands on the products themselves, consulting on the watches as they came to life.
Set the strategy, developed sales concepts, and ran all the brand's social, organic-first on almost no ad budget.
Worked directly with the factories to place and manage product orders.
Ran fulfillment for more than 10,000 orders, from the warehouse to the doorstep.
Merchandising, pricing and the day-to-day of actually running the store.
As COO, the operational side too, down to the quarterly financials when needed.
Investor decks and materials through several stages of growth and fundraising.
Helped establish the brand's 501(c)(3) and the mission behind it.
From the signature square face to the "Nice" diver collection in bold color and wood, Banneker's watches were built to feel like heirlooms, not fashion. i3 consulted on the line and shaped how it showed up everywhere: on the dial, in the box, on the shelf, and on the store.
Each release got the full treatment, photography, packaging, product pages and campaigns, so a new collection landed like an event.
i3's Dave Herda came on as project manager on the very first investor pitch, served as the brand's creative director, and grew into its CMO and COO, working hand in hand with the founder and CEO through several stages of growth and fundraising.
That meant setting the marketing strategy and running all the brand's social, working directly with the factories to place orders, handling fulfillment for more than 10,000 orders, and covering the quarterly financials when the business needed every hat covered. Brand and operations, run by the same hands.
We built the brand organically first, on content and substance, and spent almost nothing on ads. The store went from a concept to more than $500K a year in watch sales in about four years, doubling every year for four straight years, on an estimated 150x return on what little we did spend. Two decades in, we're still building it.
A year in watch sales, from a standing start of zero.
Annual e-commerce growth, four straight years of doubling.
Estimated return on the little we spent on ads.
Orders fulfilled end to end, from the factory to the doorstep.
It starts with the investor pitch and a promo video, with Dave Herda leading as project manager. Banneker is still just an idea and a founder with conviction.
Banneker becomes an i3 client and the brand takes shape: the identity, the crest and the website, built to feel like heritage from day one.
The BigCommerce store launches, and i3 runs the marketing, social, e-commerce and fulfillment behind it.
Grown organically to more than $500K a year in about four years, four straight years of 100%+ growth.
Dave Herda grows from creative director to CMO and COO, working with the factories, running fulfillment and the financials alongside the brand.
A 501(c)(3) established, new lines like Lady Banneker, and a partnership two decades in.
From a blank page to a brand that runs itself, i3 has done it before. Pull up a seat at the table and let's build yours.