Shelf Life: HKLM’s thoughts in a bubble

Cheryl Hunter (shelflife at marklives.com)’s weekly pick of all things new — product, packaging, design, insight, food, décor and more!

• A new identity for HKLM
• Snap a selfie, save a life
• Jack Daniels celebrates Sinatra

Branded thoughts

Brand and communication design shop, HKLM, has launched a new brand identity in line with the company’s evolution, making it a little more playful and adventurous in a changing industry. CE Dr Sean McCoy explains the move to Shelf Life.

When HKLM opened its doors in 2003, its biggest asset was the reputation of the four founders. They called the company Harwood Kirsten Leigh McCoy, and its sole identity was the full company name, together with a logo comprising an orange thought bubble and the acronym HKLM. Speed ahead to 2015 and McCoy says the company has grown and evolved beyond its founders.

“We decided to drop the full company name and use only the orange thought bubble with the HKLM acronym,” explains McCoy. “Some 13 years since inception, the HKLM brand and identity have become well-known within our industry and the markets in which we operate.

“In keeping with what we advise clients and the advent of an increasingly digital world, we felt it was time to rejuvenate the brand, reflective of an evolving and dynamic proposition to market. With this refresh we felt that we could begin to be a little more playful and adventurous.”

While keeping the foundation of its identity intact — the HKLM name, the colour orange and the thought bubble — McCoy reintroduced the payoff line “New Brand Thinking” as a retrofitted challenger positioning for the ever-changing industry.

“This led us to search for new, innovative and fun ways in which to demonstrate the concept of ‘New Brand Thinking’ with our thought-bubble logo. The solution is an extended range of 28 differently illustrated thought-bubble logos that appear together with a simple copy line [which] describes the idea behind each different logo. The concept is also fully expandable and accommodates ongoing ideas and creativity.”

The HKLM identity is now a dynamic thought bubble that continually changes, and internal systems have been programmed to ensure that each time an employee sends an email, a different thought bubble will appear with the email signature. The same principal of a kinetic and changing identity carries through on all the digital collateral, from electronic letterheads to digital presentations. The idea is currently being further extended into posters and wall murals for the HKLM offices, and greeting cards and gifts for clients.

www.hklm.co.za • Twitter • Facebook

 

Selfies save lives

This month, international beverage brand Cintron has launched its annual global campaign “Selfies for Survivors” in South Africa in support of the PinkDrive initiative that provides mobile testing facilities and education on breast-cancer awareness. Every selfie uploaded to social networks using #CintronSelfie will see a donation of R10 made to PinkDrive.

Says Chelsea Brehm, director of business development and marketing for Cintron World, Inc, “It’s an incredibly easy mechanic and a simple yet powerful way to get people involved in support for women fighting breast cancer and we are calling on all South Africans to get involved. Just include a dash of pink (this can be anything from lipstick, a tie or a t-shirt), snap a selfie, upload via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram using #CintronSelfie, and the PinkDrive will gets the much-needed funding to keep their wheels turning.”

In a selfie-centred culture, Brehm hopes this platform would resonate with people to be part of a greater cause.

www.cintronworld.com • www.pinkdrive.co.za • Twitter • Facebook

 

Jack and Sinatra together again

The rarest limited-edition Jack Daniel’s Whiskey ever produced — Sinatra Century — arrives in SA this month to celebrate the year that Frank would have turned 100 years old.

Sinatra Century, produced in collaboration with the Sinatra family, is a celebration of the relationship between Frank Sinatra and Jack Daniel’s: When recommended by friend Jackie Gleason, Sinatra fell in love with the taste of Tennessee Whiskey and it quickly became his signature drink. During performances, he kept a bottle of Jack Daniel’s on a nearby stool on stage in what became an invaluable (and unsolicited) endorsement of the Jack Daniel’s brand, long before ‘brand ambassadors’ and ‘influencer campaigns’.

In 1998, he was buried with a flask of Jack Daniel’s in his pocket.

A selection of previously unreleased Sinatra tracks, entitled “Sinatra Live at the Sands in 1966”, accompany the specially designed 1l Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Century bottle, which is enclosed in a luxury gift box inspired by the legendary singer’s signature style.

One hundred barrels of Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Century have been made and captured in individually numbered bottles, with only 136 bottles destined for SA and available at select liquor merchants from R4 999.99.

www.jackdaniels.com • Twitter • Facebook • #SinatraCentury

 

 

Shelf Life is MarkLives.com’s weekly column covering all things new. Notify us of yours at shelflife at marklives dot com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.

Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison.

 

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