Branding | Onyx Group

April 29, 2010

A Bag’s Life – Case Study

The Client:

Onyx collaborated with Ziffer Stansberry Public Relations to create a brand and website for a statewide project to educate Floridians about reducing, recycling and reusing their retail plastic bags. The goal was to raise awareness of the useful lifecycle of plastic bags.

The Challenge:

The iconic plastic bag has gotten a bad wrap. The majority of people are not aware that they can be recycled through retailers who offer public collection bins outside of their stores. Consequently, the bag is often discarded after arriving home – instead of being dropped off for recycling and thus, given a second chance to be useful. While some people may reuse plastic bags around the house, they oftentimes don’t realize there are a plethora of other uses for them.

The challenge was to work closely with the client to create a high profile brand and a fun, interactive and educational website that could be used for a statewide educational campaign to attract and inspire people of all ages to recycle and reuse their plastic bags. Key requirements were an easy-to-use locator for plastic bag drop off via zip code with mapping, a mobile app, and Video Contest capabilities through You Tube, a news update feed and social networking.

The Brand:

A Bag’s Life was created to bring the plastic bag to life — giving it an identity and emotional connection. The human-centered approach to design was carried through in the copy on messaging, including the website, where the bag appears to talk in first person, and by creating facial expression imagery on the bag itself.

Design:

The colors: A light blue was chosen to keep a friendly atmosphere with the bag’s personality. An icon on the website was designed to take on a life of its own, smiling when it’s happy, frowning when it’s not. Website copy suggests that individuals should step up and do their part to address litter and waste rather than blame the bag if it’s not being recycled or reused.

The logo: The bag, with its personality, became the brand. In addition, dotted playful type was used to further bring the brand to life.

The typography: It was essential to be bold with the messaging: “Don’t Treat Me Like Trash” and “Gimme A Second Chance.” There should be no question that plastic bags deserve another life and not be needlessly discarded, when other useful opportunities await it.

Content:

The copy emphasizes the benefits for reducing, recycling and reusing plastic bags. A handy locator tab that is constant on every page allows the user to plug in their zip code and find the nearest recycling drop off site within 10, 25 or 50 miles and then Google maps drives them to the location. A Video Contest for state residents also is designed to get participation from the public and further the emotional connection, so that people could tell their own stories.

The Results:

The design was based on clear marketing objectives and resulted in a strong professional yet human-centered presence for A Bag’s Life. There was a successful launch on Earth Day at the Capitol in Tallahassee where the brand appeared on buttons, bags and even a pirate ship playground made from recycled plastic “lumber.” Several high-profile partners, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Retail Association and the Florida Recycling Partnership have joined the effort.

April 12, 2010

Doing Things Right The First Time

After moving into a new house last year, it was time for me to upgrade from the old push mower I had been using. The new house came with a much larger area to keep up with and required a riding lawn mower if I ever wanted to do anything other than mow grass on the weekends. I shopped around at different stores for a couple of weeks and determined that most riding models were just too expensive. I decided to go with a used model from a local mower dealer–which was a little awkward to drive due to the square steering wheel, but seemed to be in good shape.

I brought it home where my wife immediately laughed at me and asked if I was “borrowing the old mower from the year 1955.” When I told her that I had purchased it, she was no longer laughing. She said that it had been a mistake to purchase the mower and that I should return it or I would regret it. This is tough for me to say, but my wife was right.

I had problems with the mower from the moment I engaged the cutting blade. I ended up spending a lot of time, energy and money getting a myriad of problems fixed. The real cost of this used mower far exceeded the price of the new mower (which came with a warranty and even — a round steering wheel).

Sometimes at Onyx Group, we see the same thing happen with business owners and their corporate identity. Often we are hired to help them create a stronger brand for their business. It is most often the case that they started their business years before and have grown to a point where their current brand and corporate identity have begun to hold them back from future growth. When they started their business, they either didn’t value great creative services or didn’t understand the importance of a strong, cohesive identity that could keep up with their growth.

Now, further down the road, they see the added cost of not only having us rework the identity, but also the expense of producing all new collateral. Shirts, signs, websites, invoices, letterhead, business cards, truck decals… The list goes on and even includes the time and energy of educating employees and customers of the change. The real cost of not hiring an experienced marketing and design firm in the beginning is much more than the higher cost on their quote.

Often times, you get what you pay for. Make sure you are getting the round steering wheel and new blades first or you will spend more time and money in the long run.

August 5, 2008