Well done to our friends at Carmody Groarke for their Yellow Pencil at the recent D&AD Awards.
These guys are the fantastic architects behind the Studio East Dining Experience, created in partnership with Bistroteque, ODD and Yellow Door for Westfield Stratford City.
After lots of hard work from the global team, Power Bike has finally launched to critical acclaim.
ODD have been working on the global launch campaign for almost a year and it’s release represents the most innovative product in the vibration training category since inception. To find out more read the article that featured in the Evening Standard here.
We’re very proud to have made the Design Week Top 100 agencies in 2010/11.
Odd has created the branding and campaign for new Power Plate product Power Bike. Appointed directly on the strength of redesigning the main brand last year, Odd has created an identity and a suite of communications which will launch ahead of the new product next month.
Power Bike’s makers claim a patent-pending pedal-and-crank system drives 21 per cent more ‘pedal distance’ than a conventional bicycle. Each revolution creates a mechanical vibration which generates greater muscle activity per stroke. The new bike is a ‘deviation’ from the company’s core exercise product, according to Odd creative director Nick Stickland, who has looked to communicate ‘the fitness levels of professional cyclists’ through the new brand.
Power Plate has worked with professional cyclists including the Rabobank Cycling Team to develop the product and Stickland looked to communicate this across creative materials.
The brand is very ‘design-led’, Stickland adds, so an ‘aspirational premium aesthetic’ needs to be expressed. Art direction by Odd and photography commissioned to Reis Thorpe will lead the campaign, which is inspired by the values of ‘elegance, premium and tech’, says Stickland.
Helvetica Neue type and red-on-black colourways have been used to emphasise precision. The technical values have been expressed by using ‘science and diagrams to show the quality of the machine’, says Stickland. Long exposure shots demonstrate the three cycling positions and ‘vibration technology’, he adds.
ODD have been appointed as lead creative agency by footwear manufacturer Dr. Martens, as it prepares to relaunch as a broader British fashion brand.
The brand is set to roll out its biggest ad campaign to date ahead of the launch of its autumn/winter collection.
The integrated push, which will include digital, print and outdoor, is being devised by marketing agency ODD and will feature celebrities, models and photographers. The ads will continue to focus on creativity, music, fashion and self-expression – the four “key pillars” already in use in the brand’s advertising.
The relaunch is intended to add a “modern twist” to the British heritage of the brand as it targets markets in Asia and the US.
Simon Jobson, marketing director, Dr. Martens, said: “Dr. Martens has been associated with British sub-cultures for 50 years. It is time for the brand to become more mainstream.
“There is a lot of equity and goodwill surrounding the brand and people are always keen to get on board, including major talent.”
He added that the object of the campaign is to target those consumers who have a “story” or have had an “experience” involving the brand. He said: “It’s amazing how connected people who have grown up with the brand feel about it.”
Jobson joined Dr. Martens in November last year from Lacoste Footwear, where he was international marketing director. Prior to this, he worked at fashion brand Kickers as head of marketing, and held several marketing roles at Umbro.
In March last year, Dr. Martens unveiled a major digital push to mark its 50th anniversary. As part of the activity, devised by marketing agency Exposure, it invited 10 contemporary bands to record cover versions of classic tracks. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club covered folk song Dirty Old Town, while The Raveonettes created a version of the Stone Roses’ ‘I Wanna be Adored’.
The brand also released limited editions of its classic 1460 and 1461 boots to mark the milestone.
Dr. Martens was hit by controversy in 2007 after it ran a print campaign featuring dead rock stars, including Kurt Cobain, wearing its boots in heaven. The agency behind the work, Saatchi & Saatchi, was then dropped by the brand because Dr. Martens had not commissioned the activity.
The first Dr. Martens boot in the UK was produced in April 1960. The cherry-red, eight-eyelet 1460 boot was designed as sturdy workwear.
Odd is working with Reebok on a project for trainer range Reebok Classics, which will see the consultancy design look-books across print and online platforms.
According to creative director Nick Stickland, the consultancy was appointed directly in October 2010 and selected for ’target projects – with no pitch involved’.
The first look-book project is being undertaken ’with the view to open up a wider remit’ for Odd, Stickland says.
Stickland says Reebok is showing ’an appetite for design-led thinking’ and has shown that it will ’embrace the world of design’ through Odd’s proposals.
The multi-channel look-books will project the values of ’energy and the street’, says Stickland. He is unable to reveal full design details, but says there will be strong use of colour and design expressions which explain ’the notions of street culture’.
A moving image or filmed solution is likely to form the basis of the online autumn/winter look-book, says Stickland. He expects onand off-line work to be complete in ’60 days’, ahead of an undisclosed launch date.
’We are now executing concepts for the shoot,’ says Stickland. He says the image pictured hints at the ’urban vibe’ and gives ’clues as to how we’re injecting colour into the story’.
Although the look-book range is aimed at stockists, buyers and suppliers, Stickland says Reebok is ’undecided’ if there is a consumer benefit.
He says, ’As with any look-book, a lot of ranges don’t get bought, so there would be a smaller version if it were designed for consumers.’
Odd has been appointed by the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex to develop communications for brands across its entire portfolio – which includes Goodwood Revival and Goodwood Motorsport.
Odd creative director Nick Stickland says the consultancy won a pitch in November against up to five other consultancies and was brought in to address ’long-term strategic and creative thinking’ around the brands.
The consultancy is looking to take a ’design-led’ approach across the different brands associated with Goodwood (whose crest is pictured), including all motorsport and horse-racing channels, says Stickland.
He says, ’[The client] is hoping to prescribe consistency across all channels – whether that’s internal communications, outbound communications, digital platforms or apps. This is a sea change we’re seeing in all our clients.’
As part of the brief, Stickland says Odd will make sure the client is ’using digital technologies in the correct way and targeting the right audiences’. This could mean developing apps for each event, says Stickland.
The individual identities for the events are not under review, but Stickland says the brands will be tied together with two themes – ’history and legacy of events’ and ’the quirks of English humour’. This will be mixed with ’a contemporary aesthetic’, he adds, tied together through graphic and typographic solutions.
Goodwood ’houses and runs’ all the events the consultancy will be working on, according to Stickland, giving Odd full control of the portfolio.
Here’s a quick glimpse…visit back soon to see more of the campaign.
Following the award-winning brand identity we created for Casarotto back in 2006, we’re pleased to have given their online presence a facelift and the new site is now live.
What a lovely surprise it was to receive this months issue of Computer Arts magazine.
We are very proud to have been named as one of their ‘Top 50 Design Agencies to work for’.