Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland)’s weekly pick of recent product, packaging and design launches:
- When art and brands collaborate by Hennessy;
- Dermalogica is the next brand to launch its own retail footprint; and
- VW launches its new Polo via social media this week.
A visual feast from Shepard Fairey
Contemporary American artist, design activist and illustrator, Shepard Fairey, was commissioned by Hennessy Cognac to design a limited-edition bottle, the ‘Hennessy Very Special by Shepard Fairey’. Fairey is famous for his multifaceted Obama Hope poster and ongoing ‘Obey Giant‘ phenomenological social experiment, which started out as the OBEY sticker campaign and has become a movement and commentary on the disintegration of Western culture.
Hennessy also invited Fairey to celebrate the release of his Limited Edition with a “Very Special World Tour”, already scheduled to hit 10 of the world’s most influential cities, including Maboneng in Johannesburg, where the artist will create a mural in the Maboneng Precinct in September 2014.
Invited to discover the full Hennessy experience, Fairey embarked on a journey to make his art mesh with the brand. The artist says he wanted to use every possible surface available. Lifting key features from historic Hennessy designs, as well as his own, the Very Special Limited Edition by Shepard Fairey represents the artist’s unique interpretation of “the perfect balance between tradition and innovation”.
“I like the idea of creating an intimate relationship with the owner of the Limited Edition bottle, for them to see my work and to see how every space is utilised from different perspectives: the top of the bottle, the neck, the label.”
The ‘star icon’ mandala featured at the centre of the bottle represents Fairey’s search for completeness and self-unity, with its signature Obey icon standing as a tribute to his own design heritage.
“I’ve always wanted to progress but also always keep a visual connection to some of the elements from my historic work, so that people can see that it has all been a progression of an idea and a style,” he explains.
Love this! I hope this means an end to the use of wrinkly Hollywood has-beens in brand campaigns and a revived exploration of art and brand.
Dermalogica’s new concept store
Dermalogica has begun its rollout of its new concept stores, opening its second outlet at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town in May and a third at the revamped Rosebank Mall in Johannesburg. The specialist skincare brand has previously only been available through select beauty salons in South Africa. Dermalogica’s core concept comprises face mapping skin analysis; and skin bar and micro-zone skin treatments.
To communicate this strong brand experience to customers and increase their product knowledge, Dermalogica has also used Moving Tactics to implement an in-store digital signage solution. Digital displays were installed in the main retail front-of-house area of the store, as well as in the treatment rooms.
“It is very important for us to create an exciting and memorable experience for our customers when they visit our concept stores, and we believe that using digital signage is the best way in which to educate our clients on the products and services available to them in-store. The screens will also be used to launch new products and promote treatments,” explains Claudia da Silva, operations manager at Dermalogica.
Dermalogica has also invested in social media, using Twitter to keep users updated with skin care advice on @dermalogica.
Hashtag a Polo and win
As part of the launch of Volkswagen South Africa’s new Polo, new Polo models will be cruising the streets of Joburg, Durban and Cape Town in August, giving users who tweet the correct location to play #PoloTag the opportunity to test-drive the car then and there.
If another user tweets the correct location to #PoloTag, then she or he get to take over the test drive. The top 10 participants who manage to test-drive the vehicle the longest stand the chance of winning the New Polo for a year.
The New Polo will be driving around predetermined routes in each of the cities. To access detailed information about each route and the relevant #PoloLandmarks, potential participants need to visit PoloTag.co.za or watch the promo video.
Shelf Life is a weekly column by Louise Marsland on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.
Louise has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 19 of her more-than-25-year career as a former editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing, as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. Until its cancellation, she edited the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper. She is currently the publishing editor of industry trendwatching portal, TRENDAFRiCA,for consumer insight, research and trends in Africa.
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