Naming

What’s in a name? When it comes to brand new, state-of-the-art confectionery goods, a name is everything. “Duets” struck us from the beginning as a name that conjures up positive and happy thoughts (singing, famous musicians, and harmony). It describes the combination of two flavors perfectly, helped us to develop the brand tagline “Perfect Harmony.”

Naming, Strategy, Identity, Advertising, Collateral, Packaging, Website, Online Marketing

Strategy

The release and equal promotion of all four flavors was integral to the product launch. We introduced the concept of The Moments, assigning “personalities” to the flavors with which the consumer can relate.

Naming, Strategy, Identity, Advertising, Collateral, Packaging, Website, Online Marketing

Identity

The identity needed to reflect its parent brand—the much-loved Madelaine Chocolate Company—but also have a personality all of its own. Inspiration came in the form an ampersand. What better way to represent the perfect harmony created by two flavors coming together than a ligature? We chose to lay it out the type 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.

Naming, Strategy, Identity, Advertising, Collateral, Packaging, Website, Online Marketing

Advertising

Printed advertisements ran in trade magazines and introduced Duets to the market. In 2010, Duets were awarded the NCSA New Product Award.

Naming, Strategy, Identity, Advertising, Collateral, Packaging, Website, Online Marketing

Packaging

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. On each bag of Duets, two colors represent each of the flavor combinations, making them instantly recognizable on the shelf. The colored ribbons and window draw the eye to custom illustrations created by Tom Montini, and the rigid structure of the packet is ideal for shipping.

Naming, Strategy, Identity, Advertising, Collateral, Packaging, Website, Online Marketing

Website

We designed and implemented an e-commerce site that helped reinforce the Duets “Moments.” Inspired by scrap books and shared memories, the Duets site has a relaxed, familial feel. 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 main goal for the site was to provide an e-commerce platform for Duets and enable users to locate stores where Duets are sold. The Store Locator is one of the most popular features on the site, closely followed by the Vote for Duets campaign.

Naming, Strategy, Identity, Advertising, Collateral, Packaging, Website, Online Marketing

Online Marketing

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 and Duets. Since Duets is an entirely new product, we didn’t 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. 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, and since Madelaine were completely open to the idea of giving away chocolate, the parties helped solidify their reputation as a much-loved brand.

Naming, Strategy, Identity, Advertising, Collateral, Packaging, Website, Online Marketing