The neat thing about working at IDEAS is that we get the opportunity to work on so many great projects that are nothing alike. One day we’re doing an eLearning course for Hill-Rom, a major innovator in the medical technology field, providing medical equipment and health care solutions to enhance outcomes for caregivers and their patients with more than a million of their hospital beds in use around the world. The next day we’re doing post production on made for TV movies for Lifetime or direct to DVD movies for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Then the next day we work on marketing for Children’s Cooking Utensils.
The Head Chefs are a revolutionary new line of children’s cooking utensils by Fiesta Products that are “Cool Tools For Kids”. The client asked us to create a suite of communication tools to be used at their trade show that would assist them with buyer relations, media relations, and brand support for their product launch.
We started by using our 2-day STORYJAM™, as a starting point of a total BRAND RING™ concept for the products. From the STORYJAM™ session, we were able to develop the core story of the brand and create names and character traits of each product. We began production of 3 key products necessary for a successful launch. These products included a character-branded web site, a product video that included a 30 second 3D CGI animation and original production with the creators of the Head Chefs, and a full-color print piece for distribution at their trade show.
We created a web site that included descriptions of each product as characters, giving each of them a back story. Downloadable audio interviews with each of the 5 characters are available for users. The 30 second animation was also utilized in the web site. A unique spot on the web site was created to accommodate the future development of age specific games for children and a “Vote for Your Head Chef” allows visitors to participate in naming their favorite. A store locator allows consumers an opportunity to find retail locations where they could make their next purchase. The video includes interviews of the products’ developers and was integrated into the 3D animation to promote the whimsical and mischievous brand of the Head Chefs. The animation was so well received that we were asked almost immediately to translate it into several languages including Japanese, German, and French.
In the end, this is one of those projects that you just shake your head and say “wow, that’s really cool.” It’s not the largest project we have ever done or even the most visible one, but my 5 year old will tell you, the products are some of the coolest things we’ve ever been involved with.
