OVERVIEW: The aim and objective of this project was to create a campaign for an ‘unsellable thing’ that counters its negative stigma and market it as a highly commercial product. The task included producing a project proposal, style guide and suitable mediums that are required and employed in modern advertising strategies.
In a group (and as group leader), we selected Dog Meat as our topic. Initially we wanted to target this product to the upper-class but it would be a struggle to sell big chunks of dog meat in plastic like lamb cutlets and minced beef. So we decided to market the dog meat in the form of a pâté because that type of product is perceived to be more affluent and cultured in nature rather than plain cuts of meat.
TARGET AUDIENCE: The campaign’s target audience would be mature, cultured, well-travelled adults with a high income, professional occupations and successful careers that would be accustomed to fine dining and willing to experience a unique cuisine that would be a talking point in their exclusive circle of friends at social events and intimate dinner parties.
BRAND BACKGROUND: Then we started generating a background for the brand, even though dog meat traditionally comes from eastern countries, we believe it would be harder to sell a Chinese or Korean brand in Australia due to the stigma and stereotype of ‘cheap Asian goods’. So we decided to position the company more to a European background, ideally France because of its rich culture, romantic stereotype and connections to fine and strange cuisine.
NAME: The name Chevalier Delicatesses is derived from the surname Chevalier and the French word for delicacies, conveying family orientated origins. The product name on the other hand ‘La Patte de Chien’ directly translates to ‘The Dog Pâté’, being straight to the point yet giving it that French appeal.
BRAND POSITION: Not only would this product be the world’s first dog pâté, but in order to combat the stigma of killing a household pet for food, we would push a cultural change surrounding the consumption of domestic animal meats in Australia while drawing upon the existing French reputation among the upper class and apply that exclusively as a major driving force of appeal. We would also emphasise the high quality of meat cultivation and treatment by catering for the dogs every will and need, treated to the finest food, accommodation and toys. The dogs would be purebred French Bulldogs that are antibiotic and growth hormone-free, fed with a special nutritional diet full of vitamins and minerals, have regular walks out in the fresh air, are massaged daily and are played classical French music to make them as comfortable as possible until their time is due.
After settling on the marketing and direction of the product, we then set out to construct a style guide that matched our French inspired roots. Initially we went for something simple and modern but upon further reflection, a more traditional 1900’s Belle Epoque/Moulin Rouge style would be ideal for amplifying the opulent sophistication, adding culture and history and helps it differentiate from other brands easily.
When designing this type of style we wanted to use an accented colour pallet of black, white, crème and red for that added pop. We used assets typical of poster design and objects found in that time period like the wax stamp, red banner to hold text and textured backgrounds that are reminiscent of old parchment. When creating the French bulldog logo, we took heavy inspiration from the ‘Chat Noir’ poster from that era; utilising the mandala with classic French swirls and accents to decorate the piece and create a sense of elegance and extravagance.
When deciding mediums for our campaign we wanted to restrict as much general exposure as possible, excluding billboards, TV, radio and outdoor advertising. Wanting more of a targeted approach to advertising we immediately jumped on magazines as they usually have a specific audience and a majority subscription based. The Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine is Australia’s leading food, wine and travel magazine aimed at upper class foodies and influencers who are sophisticated and enjoy the finer things in life, therefore being a perfect outlet for advertising our pâté. We then created three different types of print advertisements to be inserted into them, basing the colours and style off the style guide we created.
Another medium we thought of was to host a secret masquerade ball held at the Crown Casino which would be a the French themed event that consists of Australia’s biggest high rollers, celebrity chefs and VIP’s attending a night full of champagne, dancing, music and indulging in a three course meal that strongly features French cuisine and our product in the entree dish. Making mediums for this event consisted of an invitation to go out to guests, place-cards for the tables and a box constructed to hold the pâté to be given as a gift when the guests leave to say thank you and make them feel special.
The last medium we picked was a VIP sponsored event for the Alliance Française French Film Festival held in boutique cinemas like The Luna Palace Cinema Complex. On the festival’s opening night, French champagne and canapés featuring our pâté will be provided to guests and it would be a great opportunity to create a cinema advertisement promoting the product to appear before the commencement of the films for the entire season of the event. The medium we chose for this event would be branded engraved spoons that would hold the pâté for tasting that the patrons could keep.
Overall, we endeavoured to produce an ‘unsellable thing’ that would become a must have product at exclusive and posh social events.
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Featured in Edith Cowan University's annual School of Arts and Humanities Graduate Exhibition 'ArtsHum 2017' for their student work category - Bachelor of Design.