Case Study : The Hiyaku Effect
CLIENT: Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products
PROJECT SCOPE: 2011 International Sales Meeting Campaign Materials
We work closely with the strategic marketing team at Quadrant, an international plastics manufacturer, by visually conveying the established brand personalities in their master brand, sub-brands, and subsidiary companies. We use those unique brand personalities to bring their proprietary technologies and materials to life in all sorts of traditional and non-traditional ways. By marrying their strategic vision with our proprietary design methodology, we create visual signatures that appeal to the part of the brain that controls goal oriented behaviors saying “Hey, we’ve got the invaluable stuff you need”.
For their 2011 International Sales Meeting, Quadrant asked us to develop a campaign based on a singular reference point, the Japanese term “hiyaku”, meaning; jump up, big growth, active, progress. Our concept was to use this term as a loanword, a word adopted from another language, and create our own term or phrase to describe the company’s persistent momentum in terms of growth and innovation in their industry – enter “The Hiyaku Effect”.
Brainstorming sessions yielded dozens of ideas, in the end a definition style was the perfect fit. It was simple, to the point, and provided an instant “snapshot” of the event’s focus. We developed an icon with a nod to the Japanese symbolism, while still maintaining the overall brand standards that Quadrant has been creating with us over the past decade. Aside from the displays and banners, what we delivered was something tangible in the form of corporate culture, motivation, unity, and celebration of the individual contributions of many. Not to mention some really cool “hiyaku” temporary tattoos, how many business meetings have you been to where flashing your “ink” was on the agenda?
We’re hoping that by continuing to do a good job we’ll learn the formula to TOP-SECRET Plastic #57, but we’re not holding our breath.
