Don't Touch The Crocodile

Think of an iconic brand. Any brand, tech, retail, food, any will do. Now think of the one thing in that brand that has never changed, or could never change. Maybe take a look at The Drum ’s article on brands that are too good to rebrand for some inspiration: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2024/05/06/we-ask-marketers-which-brands-are-too-good-rebrand

Point is. These brands are iconic because they’re easily recognisable. They’ve got their brand logos. They’ve got shapes of bottles, packaging styles, brand colours that just don’t change. That won’t change. Will never change. Because if they did… Public outrage. I mean think back to the outcry of 2018 when Heinz even dared to call Salad Cream… ‘Sandwich Cream’.

And you know what? Why would you ever change a single aspect of an iconic brand? There’s history behind that brand, years of development and effort from previous brand teams that have built that brand, and the audience to get that brand where it is today.

What happens though, when your audience just buys your product because it’s your product. Is that success? Because then what happens when there is a recession, or a cost of living crisis, and your audience are looking at cutting costs where they can, even to their grocery shopping, like with tomato sauce. People buy Heinz because it’s Heinz, but one of ASDA’s previous achievements was beating Heinz in a Tastiest Tomato Sauce competition (told proudly by my previous supervisor when I worked at ASDA at the age of 17). Is it still just Heinz or is it a brand that keeps going up and up in price, and now even McDonalds aren’t buying Heinz anymore. So how do you keep that audience engaged, how do you engage a new audience? Make your Barbeque sauce pink…? It made waves right? It wasn’t something people expected to be put together, and yet saw high engagement. Yet some brands, or clients do not necessarily have the connections or the courage to step out of their comfort zone and try something like that.?

We as Creatives have all probably experienced the slight frustration of when a client or your own marketing team just won’t push the boundaries ever so slightly on their brand guidelines. Like maybe adding another colour for a new product. Nope, don’t do it. Don’t touch the brand guidelines. And rightly so! That’s how they became the brand they are, their current audience needs consistency right? But again, where’s that engagement? That need to keep buying your brand's product, no matter what. In fact what about that desperation that your customer is going to miss out if they do not buy YOUR brand's product?

Take Graphic Designer Peter Saville’s experience of being told “Don’t touch the crocodile” for example. A simple instruction really from the iconic french clothing brand Lacoste. One single rule with the opportunity to do absolutely anything else to the polo shirt, but that logo, that staple crocodile shaped logo on every polo? Don’t. Touch. It.?

Well in Peter’s talk at the recent D&AD festival, he did exactly that. I mean in all fairness, it was staring him directly in the face, and no one likes being told not to do something… Of course he did answer the original brief. You have to play it safe sometimes, yet that itch was still there so he touched the crocodile and the client liked it, so then he touched 80 more crocodiles for Lacoste's 80th birthday. The risk to upheaval a chic fashion house’s reputation and logo, paid off. NUVO Magazine commented that Saville had ‘transformed the staple garment into a contemporary collectable’. And, as mentioned in another D&AD festival talk (around the power of fandoms), playing into customer loyalty, and creating limited edition content or products, helps keep fans interested, invested even, in what the brand may do next. It engages them and creates ‘Irrational Desire’ (another term from the ‘Luxury Category’ D&AD talk (see Toby Bryan I took notes)).

Peter explained that sometimes, it's ok to break the rules.? As long as you understand why the rules are there. Saville kept the iconic white and the iconic green of Lacoste. The brand was still recognisable from that Polo Shirt. The crocodile stayed in the same place. It was received well. And it took just one step over the edge, to convince the client to do it. He answered his brief and he managed to help modernise a brand that didn’t necessarily need it, but still benefited from it.??

And now, Lacoste still plays with the crocodile every now and again. They even updated the crocodile for their special edition Netflix Stranger Things 2023 collection (The crocodile X demogorgon hybrid is so cute!). So, Peter’s idea has helped Lacoste keep up to date with pop culture, jump on trends and keep their customers wanting more.

So, think back to your iconic brand, think of that untouchable item, maybe it is the shape of the logo, maybe it could possibly even be a core colour. What would happen if you changed it? It wouldn’t need to be a permanent change, but maybe something to get you or your client out of their comfort zone. Because that’s just it, getting your brand out there pays off. Marketing doesn’t have to be that hard. It can be something simple and easy staring you in the face. You just have to reach out and grab it with both hands. Commit to it. Touch it.

But like Peter, don’t take it too far. Keep it recognisable. Keep to the brand. “Don’t go somewhere that doesn’t make sense for your brand,” - Oana Vlad, SR Director, 可口可乐公司 (D&AD festival quote once again) There's a fine line between being out of your comfort zone, and falling into a black hole into a different universe. You might not know where that sweet spot is yet, but being open to getting out of your comfort zone is the first step. And if you need a little help getting there. Contact us at CYGNUS . We’ll be happy to touch a few crocodiles with you. Maybe 80 crocodiles if you’d like.?

Email our crocodile converters at: [email protected]