You know what it’s like: you’re driving to an appointment, or lighting the grill, and suddenly inspiration strikes. Next thing you know, you’re jotting notes and feeling the buzz of creativity and you can’t wait to implement your idea. This is a story like that. It’s a tale of how we don’t always wait for a client to approach us with a request. When inspiration strikes, we act first, then take our idea to the customer.
A Thought to Chew On
So here’s how it happened with Dragon. They were running very funny TV commercials that appealed to their target market. Dragon also continued the theme in print advertising. The ads had taken on a life of their own.
At retail however, Dragon gum was just another box on the shelf. To us, the campaign was just begging for displays to reinforce the brand’s messaging and graphics. We believed that by carrying the success of the marketing to retail was the final step in the process. We began with a simple wire frame sized to hold the gum to be placed on a store counter. Then we played up the graphics and let them do the work, since consumers would assuredly recognize the Dragon logo and edgy style. The result: boxes that hold the gum which are bursting out of a brick wall.
The look is consistent with the branding and appeals to the target audience, which the chief marketer describes as, “…mass consumers of media; they don’t want to be marketed to. They want to be entertained first, then sell the message.”
What Happened?
The Dragon people said they loved the idea but chose not to implement it due to budgetary reasons. Disappointing for us, yes. Yet it’s OK. We got our reward in taking an idea from concept to prototype and feeling great about the result.
Inspiration will strike again. And when it does, you can be sure that we will move fast.
