Brand assets and food packaging design

Blockbuster

Of course, it had to be first in our priorities of rebranding old brands. Side note, can you believe Netflix offered Blockbuster the chance to buy them in their early days and they laughed in the founder’s face? Bet they wish they had, or they wouldn’t be appearing on our long-lost brand’s re-branding blog… 

This is a super interesting one because let’s face it, they would have to change their entire business model… dramatically. We’re thinking of an online subscription model like Netflix where you can watch the latest or classic films and series, but your subscription allows you to go into a physical Blockbuster shop too. The new and improved Blockbuster shops will sell film, series and game merchandise (think Redbubble), film soundtracks on vinyl (yes, we’re thinking retro) and of course yummy SNACKS but not just sweet, savoury food too. Being an online member gets you huge discounts in-store with the occasional free goodies redeemable by an in-app QR code. Going to Blockbuster would be an experience once again and a Friday night pre-film essential pit-stop.  

We think the best way to get the footfall through the door is firstly to play on the retro and pure nostalgic aspect of Blockbuster, re-creating the atmosphere of its heyday but also to make it the go-to place for quirky snacks, good eats and Instagramable film treats.

Branding notes

Retro with a modern twist, 3D and including a super powerful ‘B’ icon to be used for the App cover. We would keep the original colour scheme and the original logo but bring it into 2022 and make it 3D. We’d have a super quirky, Memphis design (pictured above) and an 80’s theme with the famous blue and ochre to be used on all food and drinks packaging too.

Marketing focus

Social Media – Their newsfeed needs to be jam-packed with imagery and short tail videos of people in the Blockbuster stores amongst all the nostalgia, having a good time. It also needs a professional food and beverages photographer to capture the insane food on offer and encourage people to get off their sofa, put the JustEat app down and get Blockbusters instead. The employees need to be social media savvy and really represent the brand. Huge focus on TikTok and Instagram reels with confident staff acting as in-store influencers. 

Colour Palette

Tammy Girl 

Back in the early 2000s if you wanted to look like a real groovy chick then you would be banging on the door of this place. If you get the pun, you’re our friend. It was trendy, fun and it was affordable.  

Our vision here is an ASOS-type retailer that stocks multiple brands as well as their own Tammy Girl label, but with a twist. They only stock brands that are focused on sustainability, ethical working conditions, fair trade and using eco-friendly or recycled materials. This will be a big aspect of making this re-brand successful. We think they need to represent how modern brands should look and have their priorities light years ahead of other retailers. 

This will be an online retailer with some physical pop-up stores that give indie boutique sellers their own rails as well as newly branded Tammy Girl clothing, consisting of on-trend items that give a nod to the ’90s and early 2000s, which Tammy Girl was oh-so-famous for.  The goal would be to remain fun and fashionable but to stay clear of novelty items and clothing pieces. When rebranding old brands it’s important people take the new and improved brand seriously, not as a gimmick. 

Branding notes

Y2K is a huge vibe right now; we’d be crazy not to jump on this, as it aligns perfectly with the brand. We’re thinking the original Tammy Girl purple should remain but now with green included to represent the brand’s ethical approach (colour palette pictured above).

Marketing focus

Influencer marketing. Influencers are such a powerful tool, especially in the uber-competitive fashion industry. We think influencers would be a key contributor in rebranding old brands successfully. Content creators who have an 80k – 200K following, who have grown organically, build up a hugely loyal and engaged following. Followers trust the judgments of the influencers. The way they interact with their following on stories and by replying to comments and DM’s is super personal. This often works better and is much more cost-effective than approaching influencers with a million followers. We think a good match is lifestyle 20-something influencers who also promote fashion, as this represents both aspects of the Tammy Girl brand. Examples are Sydney May Crouch, Liv Wooldridge, Georgia May, Gemma Louise Miles, and Amy Rose Walker. 

Logo design

Woolworths 

Nostalgia times a million. The toys, CDs, Ladybird clothing and of course, the pick ‘n’ mix!  

I think the reason Woolworths didn’t survive is that it was never somewhere you went specifically for something; it sold a random range of things. It also had the same red branding which we associate with value stores, but it wasn’t actually that great value for money. It wasn’t super expensive, but it wasn’t really a place you went to for a bargain either.  

So, how would Woolworths compete in today’s day and age? When rebranding old brands it’s important not to deviate too far away from the original set up however, there was a reason that it closed with £385 million pounds worth of debt, soo… we think the pick ‘n’ mix element needs to remain but on a much larger scale. We would re-market as a re-fillable environmentally friendly store. It would be the future of shopping, with all household essentials available in huge containers and zero single-use plastic packaging. Shoppers must bring their own reusable containers or purchase in-store and are charged for the weight of their goods. There are lots of independents doing this right now and the concept is growing however, with Woolworths being such a much-loved brand that British consumers have a huge nostalgic affection for, the marketing for this could really take off and make this sustainable way of shopping mainstream once and for all.  

Branding notes

The red simply cannot stay however the original font can, surprisingly the font was already sans serif. The new branding should be simple, white text with a dark background (pictured above). Mainly, we want to include lots of imagery of the store on all promotional materials to showcase the new concept. The website will be clean, functional and modern but not animated.  

Marketing focus

Social Media and Traditional – newspapers & magazines.

We’re thinking smart here. There was a hoax revival of Woolworths in 2020 which went viral on Twitter, so of course social media would be heavily used for marketing the re-brand but we think the British Media will love this story and it will make headlines instantly. Free headlines and articles mean not having to pay to buy up ad space. The focus will be making sure the new Woolworths brand has pre-written content, images and interview questions prepared to hand over instantly to the media making sure all facts about the brand’s new vision is correct. 

Woolworths should aim to promote making small changes to the British public’s daily routines and the traditional shopping structure. It should showcase how even the smallest changes can have a hugely positive impact on the environment via the use of statistics. The use of these statistics should be consistently used across all adverts. The idea is to add a shock factor with dramatic statistics, encouraging people to come into the store just to re-fill one or two items, fall in love with the concept and slowly get further onboard. The right campaigns would make this possible.