If you, like me, have an obsession with watching YouTube vlogs, there’s no doubt in my mind that you’ve heard of the Our Place ‘Always’ pan. Noting that this brand is on top of their influencer marketing game would be an understatement—I’d argue they’re on top of the influencer marketing industry. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Introducing: Our Place.

…a.k.a. the proud creators of the Always Pan.

Both as someone who spends her work days obsessed with all things Marketing and as someone who spends all of her free time being the ultimate shopaholic dedicated to fawning over anything with beautiful packaging, I have to say: Our Place knows their stuff.

In order to succeed as a product-based brand in this digital day and age, there’s a secret sauce that your business needs to have. And that secret sauce is made up of 3 things:

1) Aesthetically pleasing packaging or product appearance. No one is going to post about a product on their Instagram story if it doesn’t look like the most beautiful thing their followers will see all day. (After all, isn’t the point of posting on your story to show off to others and make them jealous? That’s a Psychology lesson for another blog post.)

2) Messaging that immediately attracts their desired audience. They know who they’re talking to, which means they know exactly what to say to get those people listening, and to keep them interested, engaged, and ready to purchase.

3) Creating FOMO like it’s their damn job. This is where the influencer and social media marketing comes in. Humans always want what other humans have. Especially if what they have is visually appealing, seemingly makes life easier, and is juuuust expensive enough for us to think they’re more successful than we are.

Our Place has completely mastered this formula—somehow convincing all of us to spend $145 on a single pan—and while it’s clear that the majority of the hype has come from their influencer and social media marketing skills, I’m going to break down how their website has contributed to their success.

This brand is the perfect example of a business that doesn’t technically need to have a website this good. Their website could look like a simple Shopify template and people would still purchase their expensive ass products because their favorite YouTubers and Instagrammers told them to.

However, because Our Place understands the importance of multifaceted marketing—aka they know that they can’t only count on social media to do the heavy lifting—they’ve chosen to invest in brand messaging, website copywriting, and branding that absolutely kills it.

But before I move on to their website copywriting strategy (and wins!), can we have a little commotion for this brand name?

Nothing screams “inclusive cookware brand” like ‘Our Place.’ Whoever named this brand deserves a round of applause. Think of all the ways they can use their brand name conversationally in social and email copy by simply signing it “from Our Place” and referencing things like ‘coming over.’ It’s so inviting, I’m obsessed.

(Although, not gonna lie, I do have a problem with their URL being fromourplace.com. URLs like that are confusing, and pointless when they’re big brands like this. I can’t speak for their web development team, but I’m willing to bet they earn enough revenue to purchase the “www.ourplace.com” domain. But I digress.)

Why Their Homepage Works

As a website copywriter, I’m a sucker for a solid homepage. The first thing you see when you land on Our Place’s site is the image below—with a twist. The copy under “your new” actually rotates, listing out all the different uses of the Always Pan (e.g. spatula rest, fry pan, steamer, etc).

This is a great headline for a simple e-comm website, because it doesn’t waste any time. Customers are there to shop, and Our Place is making it exponentially easy by addressing their #1 best-selling product immediately at the top of their homepage, with a CTA button directly to its sales page.

Next, they showcase some of their reviews from publications like Bon Appetit and Oprah Magazine, to casually let you know they’re legit. Then comes the must-have mission statement.

See what I mean about that Our Place brand name being perfect? Welcome to Our Place. Ugh, we love a double meaning. Anyway—moving on.

This is where Our Place tells us what we want to hear: their goal is to bring people together (aw, so sweet), they’re tailoring their products to ‘the modern multi-ethnic kitchen’ (appealing to the masses), and they’re committed to sourcing their products ethically (a sustainability moment always wins us over, doesn’t it?).

Next up is the Always Pan diagram—scroll down to the product descriptions section for more on this—and then a bold statement about how they’re going to make your life easier, a couple shoppable product shots, and a final CTA to follow them on social.

The homepage has all the good stuff you’d expect from a product-based business:

• Clear, benefit-driven, keyword-rich headline
• Social proof from trustworthy sources
• Messaging that resonates with their target audience
  • People who prioritize inclusivity
  • People who value ethical production and sustainability
  • People who care about the aesthetic appeal of their cooking supplies
• Plenty of options to shop their both their best-sellers and lesser-known products
• Final call-to-action to interact with them outside of just their website
• Minimal design with visual elements that aren’t overwhelming

 

Inside The Perfect Product Descriptions

An e-commerce brand is nothing without its product descriptions. And Our Place sure as hell knows how to work their product positioning. They have two main products: the Always Pan and the Perfect Pot. They sell other things, too, of course—but they’re marketed as somewhat secondary. No one is heading to the Our Place website to buy a set of plates or a spatula.

They’re typing in that URL with the Always Pan in mind—maybe the Perfect Pot, too, if they already own the pan, or if they (like me) live for a matching set—and they’ll likely add the other items to their cart as an afterthought.

When you visit www.fromourplace.com, you’ll see that their navigation bar has 6 links, with “Shop, Always Pan, Perfect Pot” being the first 3, positioned from left to right. This is no accident.

The consumer’s eye naturally travels to the top left corner of the website navigation, and reads left to right. By giving each signature product a sales page of its own, Our Place is signaling to the consumer that those two products are their specialty; that they’re worthy of extra attention.

Naturally, the consumer is intrigued, and clicks on the Always Pan.

THE SUCCESS OF THE ALWAYS PAN SALES PAGE

Immediately they’re met with a large photo of the product, with a plethora of photos and videos showing them how it looks in all different situations.

Next, they’ll notice the highly-rated 4.5ish-star reviews from tens of thousands of customers. Their eye will then travel to the words “cult-favorite” used to describe this desirable-as-hell pan.

The product description goes on to say that the pan ‘replaces 8 traditional pieces of cookware’ and finishes by telling the reader that it ‘looks pretty good, too.’

Then, below the ‘add to cart’ button, they list out all 8 pieces this pan allegedly replaces, and lists out all the different tasks you can do with the pan. Let’s break down why this description is so effective.

1. It’s conversational. It sounds like an actual human wrote it. This is the biggest copywriting lesson to learn from—no one wants to buy from a company that doesn’t write like they’re having a conversation with a friend.
2. It’s direct. There’s nothing confusing happening here. No big words, no industry jargon, nothing to contemplate. No strange product names, nothing left up to interpretation.
3. It’s concise. Short, sweet, and to the point. No one’s going to read a long ass product description. (Honestly, not many people even read the product descriptions at all. Especially the ones written about a product they already know they want, like this one, thanks to all that strategic product placement on Instagram and TikTok and in vlogs.)
4. It makes you believe that you’re getting a serious deal. The reason they mentioned the pan replacing 8 other tools was to justify the price. $145 for a single pan sounds wicked expensive until you learn that it’s in fact not just a pan—it’s also a fry pan, saute pan, steamer, skillet, saucier, saucepan, non-stick pan, spatula, and spoon rest. And you can braise, sear, steam, strain, saute, fry, boil, serve, and store with it. (Are some of those words fluff, saying the same thing twice? Yes. Does it work anyway? Yes.)

 

With a quick scroll down, you’re brought to a visual element designed to do everything the product description just did, in case you glazed over that. (See point #3.) This diagram showcases just how versatile the product is.

(Again, I’d like a little commotion for this product name and all the great copywriting opportunities that go with it, like ‘designed for everything and always.’ Genius!)

I mean, who doesn’t love a diagram that shows you how cool a product is? Visual elements like this make for the ultimate skimmability, because it only takes a quick glance at the image and those little blurbs of copy to understand the message they’re trying to convey.

Scroll past that visual and you’ll find a quick element of social proof: the classic “featured in” rotating testimonial slider. Our Place’s is impressive, of course, boasting brands like Vogue, Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times.

Then, positioned right above all 19,740+ reviews, you’ll find Our Place’s low-hanging fruit: what I like to call the add-ons.

Our Place was so smart to add those other, smaller products in addition to their signature best-sellers. Who cares if a set of 4 drinking glasses is $50 if you’re paying $145 for a single pan? Their website makes their products seem so desirable that those little add-ons are no brainers. *Adds to cart!*

Plus, you can’t beat that catchy copy: “Table’s all set. Just add folks.” I mean, it’s perfect. The table-setting pun mixed with the ‘all set’ meant to mean “you have everything you need.” The casual use of ‘folks’ instead of ‘family’ or ‘friends’ in an effort to accommodate all types of gatherings. Like I said: perfect. 

ABOUT THE PERFECT POT

You can’t name something The Perfect Pot without positioning it as a perfect product, which is exactly what Our Place has set out to do with this page.

Similar to the Always Pan, the product page is a traditional one, with a large photo of the product itself and several different images and videos showcasing it in lots of varying situations. Their description boasts that the pot ‘combines every single pot and then some,’ and they go on to say that it ‘does everything from boiling to baking, crisping to steaming.’

And, of course, they’ve told you all that this pot can replace, just as they did on the previous sales page we looked at. Same deal with the visual diagram illustrating all the benefits of the pot, with some catchy copy at the top—one pot, one million possibilities—strategically drafted to help you imagine all that the Perfect Pot could do for you.

Now that they’ve communicated all that value, you’re getting ready to spend $165 on a single pot. But you’re still not sure. They convinced you with the pan—after all, that’s the one all your favorite influencers have and love—but you don’t know if you can justify buying the pot, too. Which brings us to…

THE SCIENCE OF THE BUNDLE

Ah, the bundle. Or as Our Place calls it, the Home Cook Duo. When you purchase both the pan and the pot together in this bundle, you save a whopping $60—dang, what a deal!

…until you remember that you just spent $250 on one pot and one pan. But whatever. They’re supposed to replace all your other kitchen stuff and be totally worth it and make your kitchen look sexy, right? Right. Or at least that’s what Our Place is banking on.

Bundling products is a tale as old as e-comm time, and it’s extremely successful. Everyone loves a deal, even if the deal isn’t actually that great, because what we really love is thinking we’re getting a deal. The sweetness of the deal doesn’t actually matter.

As long as we know that it’s an option to purchase the Always Pan and the Perfect Pot separately and spend $310, or purchase them together and spend $250, the fact that we’re spending a crazy amount of money on two kitchen items is irrelevant. Because we’re “saving money” (even if we’re not).

BENEFITS OVER FEATURES

The most important copywriting tip to implement when writing product descriptions is to prioritize benefits over features. Any Copywriting 101 lesson will tell you that no one cares about all the features of a product if you don’t first tell them about how it’ll benefit them; how it’ll make their life better.

Our Place does a great job of equally showcasing both, and—even better—making the features sound so good that they turn into benefits. It’s clear that the benefits they’re trying to show off are convenience, value for the money, and aesthetics.

And they’ve succeeded.

Effective Email Marketing

Similar to Haus, Our Place’s email marketing is what ultimately convinced me to make my purchase. In mid-October, they sent an email creating some serious urgency about their most popular colors selling out before Christmas, and they paired that information with a practically irresistible sale.

Of course, this was a recipe for a marketing success story.

I first opted in a while ago, half because I knew I’d eventually be writing this case study, and half because they offered to give away a free Always pan. Plus, the opt-in form was a pop-up, and everyone knows—or at least, now you do—that pop ups are a zillion times more effective than any other kind of lead generator.

When they emailed me a few weeks ago, they knew what they were doing.

They made me want the product by telling me that everyone else loved that color so much that it sold out extremely quickly. They put me in a shopping mood when they mentioned Christmas. They convinced me it was worth it when they told me that they bundled their pot and pan, and even more worth it when they reminded me about all the functions of the duo. Then, it was hook-line-and-sinker when they told me about the sale.

Naturally, I headed straight to their website and purchased the gorgeous beige pot-and-pan set for $60 off.

(Except I should have waited for their Early Black Friday Sale, where the pan is $99 instead of $145.)

While I do credit this email with being my motivation to purchase, the email wasn’t solely responsible for my decision. I’d been seeing the Always pan online for over a year, and that brand awareness was high. I’d watched my favorite influencers unbox it, cook pasta in it, and proudly display it on their stove.

And most recently—quite literally one day before opening this email—a girl I follow on social media posted a stunning photo of that same pot-and-pan duo on her story, and I screenshotted it and sent it to my best friend, telling her I needed it immediately.

Our Place was on some Raven Baxter shit, because when I woke up the next morning, that perfect-storm email was in my inbox, ready for me and my new apartment’s November move-in date.

The lesson here is not actually about email marketing, though. It’s about brand activation, brand awareness, and touch-points. I’ll explain.

Everyone knows that the beauty of influencer marketing is that the products are shown in the best light, completely idolized, in a setting that is created to feel natural, like a friend telling you about something they just bought at the mall and are certain you’d love, too. However, that’s not the only reason this type of marketing is so successful.

The sheer amount of times you see a product is what really matters.

This is called creating brand awareness. Why do you think billboards exist? And magazine ad spreads? And commercials? There are no call-to-action buttons on those advertisements. You can’t immediately make a purchase directly from them. There’s no swipe-up link.

These brands are simply paying for ad space simply so you can see them, in hopes that when you do come into contact with them—whether in-store, or via an Instagram ad, or a sponsored video, or a blog post, or a Google result—that you subconsciously recognize their brand as worthy of a purchase.

Because that’s how it works, isn’t it? I’m more inclined to buy something if I’ve heard of it before.

And I’m even more interested in purchasing something that someone I like and trust has recommended.

I pick up Mrs. Meyer’s soap at Target because I know that my best friend uses it and loves it. I always buy the Ziploc bags instead of the generic ones because my mom says the quality is noticeably better. I bought a Simple Modern water bottle because I saw it and remembered that Tinx swore by it, even though I didn’t need a water bottle at all.

That sense of brand awareness is deeply rooted and deeply powerful marketing, and Our Place understands the benefit of mixing brand awareness with word-of-mouth marketing, influencer marketing, and conversion-friendly website copy. It’s a recipe for success, no pun intended.

(Although I’m sure the phrase “recipe for success” has likely appeared in at least one piece of Our Place‘s marketing collateral at some point. The Always Pan does everything, so of course it’d be the perfect pan for cheffing up success, right?)

So, what can we learn from Our Place?

THE MAIN TAKEAWAYS:

Good websites are always important, even when your social media marketing skills are off the charts. Their bomb website allows them to target the audiences that they wouldn’t otherwise reach, because it does all the hard work of convincing the skeptic (as opposed to influencers doing that work for them).

Messaging matters. Nowadays, we’re a lot more stingy with who we support—no one wants to be the asshole who buys from a brand that doesn’t care about ethical production, sustainability, or inclusivity.

Differing your marketing strategy is a must. Our Place knows how valuable it is to market across all channels, from YouTube and TikTok to Google Ads and in-store placement (yes, the Always Pan is available at Nordstrom).

In conclusion, I fully plan on posting my Home Cook Duo on my Instagram story practically on the daily, and I bow down to Our Place‘s marketing (even though I don’t forgive them for their shitty URL). Use my link for $10 off any Our Place purchase!

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If we haven’t had the chance to *virtually* meet yet, hi! I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:

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