Not many brands have the kind of staying power Big Boy has had. With that, comes a nostalgia, credibility and sense of loyalty that newer names highly covet. Tapping into that trust and familiarity, we contemporized the visual identity and voice to make the brand feel relevant again – without alienating the consumer loyalists. Not only did Big Boy get a face lift, but he took an improv class and got a personality, too.
Background
Big Boy came to us up against a consistent downward spiral of store-closings and negative sales. An iconic brand on the brink of extinction.
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Client
Big Boy
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Years
2019
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Industry
Food and Hospitality
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Services
Interface Design
Performance Optimization
User Experience Design
Website Development
Challenge
Refreshing an Icon
An iconic brand on the brink of extinction, their marketing was stale, the in-store experience hadn’t been updated in over 30 years, and the food photography was equally dated. PPK seized the opportunity to revitalize the brand and remind its consumers of the quality and charisma that has allowed Big Boy to proudly wear his checkered overalls since 1936.
Solution
A Big Personality for A Big Boy
Through a “candid-camera” style TV concept using the well-known Big Boy statue, we connected with our audience through humor. Given direction from our team, a comedian was hidden in a near-by surveillance van speaking directly to people on the street coming up to take photos with the famous figure.
The humorous tone was carried over into print and multi-channel campaign assets to fully establish Big Boy’s refresh.
Results
The modernized twist and bold personality on the classic brand paid off – big. Sales began to increase as customers rekindled their relationship with Big Boy. One by one, stores re-modeled to reflect the more contemporary identity. After one year of the campaign launch, store-closings had stopped. By year two, the trend reversed and new locations began popping up. By year three, same-store sales across the franchise were up double digits.
