EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING · BRAND ACTIVATION
Tommy's Original
Hamburgers
Reintroducing a Los Angeles original to a new generation.
CONCEPT RENDERING A conceptual brand system exploring how Tommy’s could evolve while keeping its LA identity.
TYPE
Self-initiated concept
ROLE
Brand Strategist & Creative Director
BRAND
Tommy's Original Hamburgers
DELIVERABLE
26-page brand strategy & identity deck
THE
CHALLENGE
Tommy's has brand equity — but much of that equity lives in memory.
For generations, Tommy's has been part of the Los Angeles landscape. But heritage alone doesn't guarantee relevance with a new generation. The challenge isn't to modernize Tommy's. It's to make its legacy matter today.
Objective — Reposition Tommy's for a new generation while protecting its legacy and LA identity.
THE
CONCEPT
01 ·
BRAND STRATEGY
Brand audit · Audience · Competitive landscape · Positioning · Brand pillars
02 ·
CREATIVE STRATEGY
Creative platform · Verbal identity · Messaging · Campaign direction
03 ·
VISUAL IDENTITY
Logo · Typography · Color · Graphic system
04 ·
BRAND EXPERIENCE
Packaging · Digital · Social · OOH · Physical touchpoints
Four disciplines, not a logo refresh — the scope is what makes this a brand programme.
THE
OPPORTUNITY
An LA original with equity money can't buy.
01 ·
LA HERITAGE
Tommy's is deeply connected to the history and culture of Los Angeles.
02 ·
DISTINCTIVE PRODUCT
The chili burger and fries are a recognizable part of the Tommy's experience.
03 ·
CULTURAL RECOGNITION
The brand has a level of familiarity and nostalgia that newer burger brands can't replicate.
04 ·
LOYAL FOLLOWING
Tommy's has generations of customers who already have memories associated with the brand.
Tommy's already has what newer brands are trying to create: a real story, a recognizable identity, a place in LA culture. The opportunity is to make that discoverable, relevant and sharable today.
WHY NOW
THE RISE OF LOCAL CULTURE
Younger consumers increasingly discover brands through local recommendations, creators, food culture and social content.
THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY
Restaurants aren't just places to eat. They're places to gather, photograph, discover and share.
HERITAGE HAVING A MOMENT
Legacy brands can become culturally relevant again when their history is expressed through contemporary culture rather than nostalgia alone.
Tommy's has the cultural raw material. It needs a contemporary system for expressing it.
MARKET
SHIFT
Legacy burger brands are no longer competing on product alone. They are competing on culture, experience, identity and relevance.
IN-N-OUT
Owns: California nostalgia + cult loyalty
SHAKE SHACK
Owns: Modern food culture + premium accessibility
MCDONALD'S
Owns: Mass recognition + convenience
FIVE GUYS
Owns: Product customization + indulgence
Tommy's doesn't need to out-modernize the modern burger brands.
It needs to out-own LA.
TOMMY'S OPPORTUNITY
Own: authentic Los Angeles culture
TARGET
AUDIENCE
Meet the next generation of Tommy's.
We're designing for a new generation of LA culture seekers who value authenticity, connection, and experiences that feel genuinely local.
PRIMARY AUDIENCE
The LA Culture Seeker
Maya · 27 · Los Angeles, CA
Young professional · Socially active · Experience-driven
VALUES
Authenticity · Local culture · Personality · Community · Nostalgia · Experiences
BEHAVIORS
Discovers restaurants through TikTok & Instagram · Shares food experiences · Influenced by friends and creators
NEEDS
A reason to discover legacy brands · Experiences worth sharing · Brands with a distinct point of view · Affordable places to gather
BARRIERS
Legacy brands can feel outdated · “Iconic” doesn't automatically mean relevant · Overly polished brands can feel manufactured
SECONDARY AUDIENCE
The Tommy's Loyalist
Tom · 52 · Los Angeles, CA
Family-oriented · Values tradition · Loyal to what he loves
VALUES
Tradition · Reliability · Family · Quality · Community · Familiarity
BEHAVIORS
Visits regularly · Brings family and friends · Proud of LA's legacy
NEEDS
Consistency · Good food, done right · A place his family can count on · Honoring the brand he knows and loves
BARRIERS
Doesn't want the brand to change much · Worried new messaging won't reflect the real Tommy's · Doesn't want quality or portions to change
CONSUMER
INSIGHT
Being iconic isn't enough. Tommy's needs to become culturally relevant again.
Younger Angelenos don't necessarily reject legacy brands — they reject brands that feel like they belong to someone else's LA. They want to discover places that feel authentic, imperfect, local and culturally alive. They don't want a brand to tell them it's iconic. They want to experience why it is.
TENSION
“Iconic” can feel inherited. “Culturally relevant” feels participated in.
OPPORTUNITY
Turn Tommy's history from something people remember into something people can participate in.
THE IDEA
We're not reinventing Tommy's. We are reintroducing it.
PRESERVE
The equity people already love.
LA heritage · Chili burger · Original identity · Nostalgia
REINTERPRET
Express that equity through contemporary culture.
Visual identity · Voice · Content · Experience
PARTICIPATE
Give a new generation a reason to experience and share it.
Social · Community · Physical experiences · Cultural moments
From something people remember → to something people participate in.
CREATIVE DIRECTION
THE VISUAL WORLD
Nostalgic. Playful. Iconic. Casual.
Nostalgia without kitsch. The references are LA's own — palms, freeway signs, checkered paper, afternoon light — so the brand looks like the city it came from rather than a period.
Tommy's Red
#E1251B
Sunshine Yellow
#FFD22E
Calfornia Cream
#FDEBC8
Charcoal Gray
#2B2B2B
CHECKERBOARD SYSTEM
IDENTITY
The Logo
Tommy's already has a distinctive visual asset in its original wordmark. Rather than replacing it with something more contemporary, the strategy is to protect its recognition while giving it more flexibility across today's brand experience.
KEEP THE EQUITY
The original Tommy's wordmark remains the foundation of the identity.
EXISTING LOGOS
REFINE THE SYSTEM
Create a clearer hierarchy of logo applications for different brand touchpoints.
EXPAND THE EXPRESSION
Introduce supporting marks and simplified applications that allow the identity to work across packaging, apparel, digital and physical spaces.
PRIMARY LOGO
SUBMARK
The Typography
BRAND APPLICATIONS
The system, in the world.
A brand is only as good as the places it shows up. Packaging, environment, merchandise, and campaign all built from the same checkerboard, wordmark, and palette.
PACKAGING
FRY TRAY DIE-LINE
CUPS - LOGO + HERITAGE LINE
WRAPPER PATTERN AND TAKE OUT BAG
ENVIRONMENTAL & SIGNAGE
MERCHANDISE & FOOD TRUCK
BRAND EXPERIENCE
A heritage wall turns the brand's archive into something a customer stands in front of — history as an environment rather than a claim.
CLOSING
Preserve, reinterpret, participate — the same three moves, from a positioning map to a wall of photographs.
SCOPE
Self-initiated concept project. Unaffiliated with Tommy's Original Hamburgers and not commissioned by the brand. No results are claimed — the work was never produced. Historical photography and the existing wordmark are the brand's own; the strategy, creative direction, identity system, and applications are mine.
