As stewards of the EarthGrains brand since refreshing its brandmark and packaging in 2006, our team has been involved in the continuing evolution. We have guided their many line extensions, point-of-sale pieces, a promotional partnership and an EcoGrain revolution.

The EarthGrains brand recently found itself at a new juncture. A reformulation provided an opportunity to refine the packaging to improve shopper findability on shelf and condense the product line to focus on the strongest flavors. Based upon an ever-changing consumer health outlook, we took this opportunity to add an on-pack nutritional messaging system and put an increased emphasis on the flavor. The EarthGrains brand has always stood for an all-natural approach to bakery bread. We improved upon the transparent brand story to highlight the lack of artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

Everfresh created a “mom approved” line of economical fruit juice drinks with an all-family appeal. PKG used a fun and festive graphic approach to appeal to kids AND moms. The fruit illustrations, along with a strong vitamin C message, remind mom of the healthy contents. The project was carried out through roughly 50 SKUs, including bottles, cans, in-store signage, coolers and fleet graphics for Everfresh’s other juices.

With the growing popularity of meatballs as both a side and main dish, PKG worked with Perdue to create two new meatball products to fit within their expanding frozen product line.

Utilizing the existing architecture of the frozen products, the flavor banners and photography were designed to create a more distinct and ownable look—creating shelf separation and visibility in the freezer case. The inherent benefits of turkey, as well as the use of all natural ingredients without preservatives are clearly highlighted for the shopper in the photography and packaging communication.

Senseo, a long-established brand in the single serve coffee market, continues to refine their product lineup in an effort to increase shopability and aid findability on shelf. With this refresh, a new flavor system was established and the packaging graphics were simplified to create clarity across their packaging system.

OPPORTUNITY:

Sara Lee® took the opportunity to develop new packaging for their Hearty & Delicious® brand to overcome longstanding consumer misperception that Sara Lee products are less nutritious and more “dessert-focused.” By positioning the brand as “more nutritious,” Sara Lee hoped to introduce the “taste” message to nutrition-focused consumers. Also, it was an opportunity to align the brand within the flavor/color framework established by the competition, enabling Sara Lee to refresh the look and feel of the Hearty & Delicious product line while consolidating SKUs from nine to four.

STRATEGY:

Define the Hearty & Delicious brand as healthy and flavorful by finding a unique way to display a new nutritional system and differentiate various health claims while communicating flavor cues. New packaging should showcase a premium-priced product with a savory taste and universal appeal. And the packaging should be contemporized to what a consumer might expect from a premium bakery.

SOLUTION:

PKG highlighted the Hearty & Delicious brand’s improved nutrition and great taste, prominently displaying new, revised ingredient cues and appealing product images—“aspirational” sandwich images that differentiate the line from the competition. By creating a clean and easy-to-read nutritional claim system and aligning the brand’s flavor colors with those of the competition, the redesign helps shoppers find their favorite product quickly and easily.

RESULTS:

The new line—and packaging—is generating excitement among the Sara Lee sales force and within the Sara Lee bakery community. And, results in testing at shelf show the product holding its own against the competition. This new line will launch in retail channels in October 2011.

Moms with kids are always looking for a nutritious white sandwich bread. Sara Lee and PKG worked together on a national relaunch for Sara Lee IronKids White Bread to create packaging that would appeal to kids, but convey increased nutritional benefits for mom. A healthy, active child on the front of the package pulls in shoppers and a prominent nutritional message completes the sale. Use of white and red in the color scheme ties-in with Sara Lee’s bread portfolio while the prominent blue separates this nutrition-focused product on shelf.

How do you introduce a distinctive ethnic product to a crowded US snack market? With bright color, eye-catching graphics and hints of its exotic origins. This product, specially seasoned popcorn with native Indian ingredients, has a unique flavor profile conveyed through vibrant sari patterns and authentic color combinations. The brandmark was developed to add a casual and friendly balance and incorporate native Indian flower illustrations that hint to the natural ingredients in every Cobra Corn product.

The redesign of a classic! Interstate Bakeries presented us with the challenge of increasing shelf presence, unifying their brand architecture, and simplifying the consumer shopping experience. Aside from a new and uniformed look, all of the items in the treat segment were given the same red and white logo coloration for easier readability. Breakfast products were given a sunny yellow and red logo treatment.

Consistent locations of flavor identification, as well as more contemporary illustrations and photography, successfully unify the previously disjointed brand.

Developed for the club market, these two flavors were repackaged in large re-sealable bags. Appealing to club consumers interested in easy entertaining, we leveraged the bagel crisps as the perfect accompaniment to dips and toppings.

The New York Style logo, was slightly simplified while its dynamic sub brand ‘Bagel Crisps’ and flavor banners were enhanced to ease legibility in the club environment. A familiar New York City map, was incorporated into the background design for subtle reinforcement of the brand’s authentic roots.

Pop Weaver, one of the largest suppliers of popcorn for theater chains, wanted to bring their product to the retail arena. We designed a new retail brand for them conveying a mark of quality. Packaging was created for microwave popcorn boxes and snack bags showcasing the fun and joy of eating popcorn through fluffy kernels in motion. Consistent packaging architectures and bright blue backgrounds help the bold brand block stand out in-store while supporting the position of a trustworthy product at a good value. The product line was later translated for international markets and is sold in nearly a dozen countries worldwide.

Tablecraft, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of kitchenware, wanted to create a new line of barware for one of their largest retail partners, Wal-Mart. They wanted to attract a young, hip audience moving into their first homes and looking to outfit a home bar with accessories reflecting their personality.

We created a bright, vibrant packaging system adaptable to every packaging shape and style. Our tagline, “Everyday Essentials for the Well-Tended Bar” reflects aspirational goals of our young adult audience, while playing off the diffused nightclub-like background to complete the “work hard, play hard” balance.

This new product challenge was one we were glad to take on. In 2009 when Intertape Polymer Group developed new technology for painter’s tape that prevents leakage, we rose to the occasion. We developed all aspects of this new product including the product name, positioning, structure development, packaging design, retail displays and even sell-in materials. Our approach to the entire Bloc-it system clearly communicates the premium positioning and illustrates the technological benefits differentiating it from its competition on shelf.

We were presented with the challenge to position a new line of 34 dry erase boards as a premium, consumer-facing system for home and office use. We conducted a competitive analysis of the dry erase board category to understand the product communication and marketing support opportunities as well as examining premium home organization tools and kid-friendly creative products. We recommended renaming and rebranding the Expo boards line to target the home user, separate kid’s products, create an opportunity for growth in the category and to unify branding in a bilingual marketplace (US & Canada.) We created new brand names, logo development, packaging design and communication, environment and usage photography, as well as sell-in materials for the sales force, and consumer facing web tiles for retail websites. The product lines were very well received, laying the groundwork for a refresh of Expo’s website and consumer messaging.

With the launch of new Expo Washable markers, we created a brand and package to highlight that learning can be fun for kids of all ages. Our communication strategy conveyed to Mom that she can now feel confident that the learning and fun of dry erase can continue at home without the worry of staining little hands, clothing, carpets or other household surfaces. We developed the Washable brand mark, barrel art and packaging to continue the crisp “washes clean” visual across all brand elements.

OPPORTUNITY:

Re-launch Expo’s dry erase board accessories product line to drive distribution and sales among key retailers and drive distribution and sales in the industrial channel.

STRATEGY:

Reposition Expo White Board Care as a premium consumer-facing product line for household and classroom use, as well as industrial use.

SOLUTION:

Develop new logo and brand name for the line, updated packaging design and communication, sales force collateral for retail-sell-in, and web tile for Expo home page and retailer websites. Master creative to be adapted for merchandising, web pages, print ads, and all other marketing support.

RESULTS:

The product has launched across US and Canada reaching a new audience of retail consumers.

Sharpie identified an opportunity to create a design-driven product catering to their fanatic user—a trend-setting quality conscious consumer who desires the benefits of an attractive, modern design without losing the legendary functionality that the Sharpie brand is known for. The ultimate goal was to produce a premier look and feel for the new Sharpie Stainless Steel Marker utilizing Sharpie’s brand equity to create a premium price point permanent marker ($6.99) for the Sharpie portfolio (Regular Sharpie $1.99). Justifying such a jump in price weighed heavily on the new design features.

We responded by creating a new look for Sharpie that pulled equity from the existing brand colors, while elevating them with a more premium look to match the increased price point. This product was expanded from two SKUs (marker and refill) into an evergreen gift pack perfect for holiday giving and beyond.

HomeCare Labs had a line of cleaning products that felt dated and institutional, and wasn’t selling through as quickly as they would like. We were challenged to refresh the brand with a consumer-friendly look and unified system across all of their cleaning products.

Our response played off the consumer tag line, “Unbeatable Clean,” telling a visual story of a consumer’s counters/sinks/glass/etc. becoming clean with a flourish. We developed a clean, friendly brand mark that would appeal to any modern shopper and help build a sense of trust in the product.

Stream smearlessly! This trademarked tagline led the way for our work on this new Uni-Ball “anti-smear” product launch. We were tasked to instantly convey the smoothness of the new Jetstream 101 ink system in a unique and ownable way, while highlighting the anti-smear technology. Our work on the this new product launch lead from positioning development and tagline generation to packaging, collateral and sell-in material for the trade.

OPPORTUNITY:

Activate the Expo brand by licensing “The Biggest Loser” television property and creating new branded dry erase board products.

STRATEGY:

Leverage the inspiration for at-home diet programs provided by NBC’s The Biggest Loser by creating and marketing a new product that makes tracking diet goals and progress easier.

SOLUTION:

Launch created two new dry erase board products that are perfect tools for consumers who follow the at-home “Biggest Loser” program or are fans of the television show. By creating two unique dry erase boards for meal planning and exercise training, Expo has the opportunity to sell twice the amount of product to consumers.

RESULTS:

Products have gone on sale at Amazon.com and national retailers, and you can catch this season of “The Biggest Loser,” on NBC.

During the Easter season Jelly Belly® finds its greatest competition against other jelly bean brands. To maintain Jelly Belly’s position as the favorite Jelly Bean brand among consumers, Launch created a mystery flavor promotion to raise awareness and sales. Consumers were challenged to guess the mystery flavor with packaging overlays built into their many different flavor SKUs and weighted bags. Target® specific packaging was created to fit-in with the retailers in-store guidelines, generating high interest and a 94% increase in sell-in from previous promotions.

To generate a lift in sales, State Fair® Brand Corn Dogs and LAUNCH created a consumer promotion irresistible to their Mom target. The Dream Home Promotion gave consumers a chance to win $500,000 toward a dream home. Packaging played an integral role across an integrated marketing campaign built almost entirely around owned media. Front-pack overlays clearly communicated the chance to win the grand prize, creating a stopping power in the frozen food aisle. The back of packaging continued the message by further outlining how to enter the game and the many prizes available to win. In-pack game codes disrupted shoppers by falling out of Corn Dog boxes, prompting them to go online and enter. Additional support for the promotion included a mobile microsite, FSIs with mobile overlays and a website refresh for the State Fair® Brand.