Case Studies
Duets Double-Filled Chocolate Truffles
Brand Strategy + Design
Duets
Using a state-of-the-art technique The Madelaine Chocolate Company pioneered the first double-filled chocolate truffles. Our task? To brand these delicious products, which come in four yummy flavors, from their name to their logo, packaging, website and campaign!
WHAT’S IN A NAME? / MAKING THE MOMENTS/ MORE THAN JUST AN AMPERSAND / SUPERMARKET SWEEPS / FROM THE DESKTOP TO YOUR DOOR / TIME FOR A TWITTER PARTY / THE PHOTOSHOOT
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
What’s in a name? When it comes to brand new, state-of-the-art confectionery goods – a name is everything. Madelaine created the first double-filled chocolate truffles on the market and wanted to ensure that the name was not only memorable but spoke to the unique technology they had used.
“We created a matrix of hundreds of names, from portmanteaus to evocative, descriptive and object-based names. We had so many, it was difficult to choose. Eventually we narrowed it down to five and then voted for our favorites–it was a long day!”
—Bradley Skaggs, Creative Director
“Duets” struck us from the beginning as the leading moniker. We felt that it conjured up positive and happy thoughts (singing, famous musicians, and harmony.) We also felt it described the combination of two flavors perfectly. Which later helped us to develop the brand tagline “Perfect Harmony.”
MAKING THE MOMENTS
For the launch Madelaine wanted to concentrate on all four flavors as well as the unique double-filled technology. As a completely “new to market” brand, we knew this wasn’t going to be an easy task.
“Most confectionary brands focus on one flavor for their product releases to drive the message home; but Madelaine definitely don’t do things by half. The release and equal promotion of all four flavors was integral to the product launch. Madelaine pioneered this technology and should therefore own it. Hence the introduction of The Moments.”
—Bradley Skaggs, Creative Director
The concept of The Moments relates back to Madelaine’s corporate philosophy of Sharing Every Chocolate Moment.
“After focus group and in-the-field testing we realized that each flavor had its own distinctive personality. It was coming back over and over again that Raspberry and White Truffle was a delicious treat perfect for a gift and that Peanut Butter and Raspberry reminded people of their childhood and they were unanimously popular with younger children.”
—Sam Edwards, Creative Director
Assigning “personalities” to the flavors enables the consumer to relate to situations that they can enjoy the truffles in. It also allows Duets to seamlessly “shape-shift” within the category without ever changing the core brand message.
MORE THAN JUST AN AMPERSAND
“Inspiration came in the form an ampersand–what better way to represent the perfect harmony created by two flavors coming together than a ligature—a letterform created by two letters coming together. The ampersand was perfect—created by combining the letters “E” and “T” it can be read as an “e” and forms part of the word ‘Duets.’”
—Joe Guzman, Senior Designer
The logo needed to reflect its parent brand–the much-loved Madelaine Chocolate Company–but also have a personality all of its own. We chose to lay it out in lowercase, making it friendly and approachable. Its colors echo those of the Madelaine Chocolate Company but carve out a vibrant niche all their own. These colors compliment the colors of the flavor Moments perfectly.
SUPERMARKET SWEEPS
Early sketches for the Duets Packaging, Floor Shippers and Change Makers.
“Supermarket shelves are saturated with chocolates and truffles that don’t have unique double fillings or the premium chocolate taste of Duets. Our challenge was to create packaging that lets consumers know that Duets is new and utterly unique but still remind them of the Madelaine Chocolate Company’s brand heritage.”
—Jonina Skaggs, Art Director
We polished up our comping skills creating prototypes for the Duets packaging.
On each bag of Duets, two colors represent each of the flavor combinations, making them instantly recognizable on the shelf. The color ribbons and window draw the eye to custom illustrations created by Tom Montini and the rigid structure of the packet is ideal for shipping.
The finished packaging for Duets which hit shelves this month.
FROM THE DESKTOP TO YOUR DOOR
Concept and execution!
Our task was to create an e-commerce site that helped reinforce the Duets “Moments.” Inspired by scrap books and shared memories we wanted the Duets site to have a relaxed familial feel.
“Obviously the product was at the forefront but we wanted to have a personal touch on the site
as well.”
—Sam Edwards, Creative Director
Visitors to the site can vote for their favorite Duets flavor pairing, leave comments on the Perfect Harmony blog, find their nearest Duets retailer and of course buy Duets online.
“The biggest goal for the site was enabling users to purchase Duets and locate where Duets are physically sold. The Store Locator is one of the most-used features on the site “Closely followed by the Vote for Duets campaign - which is great to know.”
— Robbie Edwards, Web Developer
Building a relationship with Duets consumers quickly led to coverage in magazines such as OK!
TIME FOR A TWITTER PARTY
Like most brands today the Madelaine Chocolate Company totally understand the importance of social media. In the run-up to the Duets launch we wanted to create a buzz and gather a following. We did this by setting up a Twitter, Facebook and Flickr account for The Madelaine Chocolate Company.
“With Duets being a completely new product - we didn’t want to reveal anything about the product until close to the launch date. We decided to build equity in Madelaine Corporate’s social media presence which would make it easier to get buzz once Duets launched.”
—Sam Edwards, Creative Director
So how did we do it? A good old fashioned Twitter party.
“Twitter Parties are similar to messageboards. “Tweeps” are given a time and hashtag (#MadChocRocks and then later #PerfectHarmony for Duets) and had to RSVP. At 8pm sharp Madelaine would start the fun and games which involved trivia and chocolate chatter. “The main goal of the Twitter Parties was to create brand awareness and excitement. Madelaine were completely open to the idea of giving away chocolate - which of course caused an absolute frenzy. You’d be surprised at just how nuts people go for chocolate.”
—Sam Edwards, Creative Director
With Facebook we encouraged users to share their moments and pictures of them with Madelaine Chocolates.
“It was a huge success - with users really interacting with the brand. I think the best part were the photo uploads from troops in Iraq who had received Madelaine Chocolate Bunnies over Easter…really heartwarming to see and also see that people were finally starting to recognize the brand.”
—Sam Edwards, Creative Director
THE PHOTOSHOOT
With the launch of a new product, comes completely new creative! SKAGGS were on hand to Creative and Art Direct the Duets photoshoot. Working with Stylist Manny Norena and internationally-reknowned photographer Jesse Goff, we captured the personality of each flavor in a series of elegant vignettes.
“Peanut Butter & Caramel is to Share, so we really liked the idea of an everyday treat that Mom might want to share with Moms during coffee morning with other Moms, hence the kitchen set up and Peanut Butter & Raspberry is to Enjoy so we wanted a more jovial setting.”
—Jonina Skaggs, Art Director
Each of the set ups in the shoot portrays The Moment we wanted to focus on. Duets really shine in these images and with supporting props you really begin to see “The Moment.”
Visit the Duets Website and try some for yourself!
