Linda McCartney Brand Awareness Vehicle
Linda McCartney and Covent Garden Soup – Possibly our most challenging design project yet?
What we were asked to do
The client wanted to get cooked samples of their products (Linda McCartney range and Covent Garden Soup) into the hands of their target customers for brand exposure at a wide range of events across the UK. They had very specific requirements for this vehicle that took even our design team a while to digest (excuse the pun).
We were given a number of “interesting” challenges:
- Provide the convenience of a drivable catering outlet but make 100% sure it’s perfect to be able to promote the food offering, maximise the opportunity for the branding and make certain the target market can see everything on offer
- The vehicle had to be rebranded easily and in a cost effective manner at each and every event to reflect either what was being served that time or to reflect if it was Covent Garden Soup or Linda McCartney – our solution allowed the entire van graphics to be changed from one brand to the other brand in around 10 minutes for one person.
- With the “tour itinerary” including a number of high profile indoor events such as the Good Food Show, the vehicle had to be an all-electric construction, as LP Gas is not allowed at some events.
- Then the vehicle needed a self-sufficient power supply for some venues. – our team provided generators suitable for the task that would mean the vehicle could operate anywhere. But not just any generator would do, they needed super silent, efficient generators which were mounted to a heavy duty slide out frame so the user could fill and maintain them with ease
A real challenge indeed and all credit to our design team and the long-suffering build team.
How we made this work
The simple answer is a lot of detailed design work with the agency and the end client to make sure we hit their rather demanding brief. The strong branding was set up so it could be quickly swapped from show to show and during events.
In addition to the challenges above a team of people was provided to work in the unit and cook the food as per the instructions on the packaging (to simulate their target client cooking the meal at home for their own family). This team was different at every event, so we had to make the kitchen area simple and basically fool proof.
The results
The end client was happy and gave us their next (demanding) project. The feedback at every event was super and the free samples handed out to the watching crowds went in minutes. The van worked, all the equipment worked, another great outcome.
