PALLADIUM SHOES
Today, we understand how virtually anything can go ‘viral’ if it connects. But before viral was a thing, we were tasked with the introduction of Palladium, a well-known European brand of hybrid athletic shoes and boots, to the US. Through our talks and research we found the brand most appealed to advertising-adverse ‘urban nomads’ too worldly for popular brands.
Build retail distribution, build brand awareness and generate sales - without the benefit of traditional advertising support. Although the internet was still a baby, we found a group with similar interests playing an online/on land GPS scavenger hunt - geocaching.
So we launched our own game - Palladium Geocaching. Quickly claimed and renamed ‘Palcaching’ by the online community. In six months and five cities, we drove an average of 109 players into each of 36 retailers, where the final cache resided within the Palladium shoe display. See More. The winning formula? Understand and listen to your customers.
DILWORTH COFFEE
In 1989, Dilworth brought serious coffee to North Carolina, supplying small-batch, ethically-sourced beans to independent shops and distributors. Over three decades the business grew on the strength of turn-key supply, equipment, and training. But distribution and retail presence never translated into consumer brand awareness. Dilworth was the coffee behind the counter, not the name people asked for.
With the 30-year anniversary as our excuse, the job was to prove to a "newer is better" coffee culture that Dilworth still had plenty of worthwhile wisdom to share. So we channeled our inner Dude and gave the brand a voice: stubbornly agreeable, self-aware, and funny, wrapped around vintage photography and a "fill it how you feel it" point of view.
We built the whole system to carry it: packaging, retail, social-first content, e-commerce, print, cups, and experiential. One irreverent, human voice across every touchpoint, distinct enough to finally make Dilworth a brand people remember, not just a bag they buy.