CreativeRace Agency for Asda and The Deal Depot – Thinking BIG about a new bulk buy store. Asda wanted to create a new trial store in the form of a brand-new wholesale-style retail format. To break into the wholesale market, their new store concept required a distinct brand identity, compelling store messaging and engaging advertising.

The brief from Asda for their new store concept, The Deal Depot, was quite open, and they wanted to differentiate themselves from other competitors in terms of look and feel. However, there was a danger that customers might become confused if the brand borrowed too much from Asda. With such a strong national brand in place, it needed to present a store in its own right, but with a gentle nod to Asda.

We wanted to create a bold graphic architecture to launch the new store, a cash-and-carry style warehouse that does not require customers to pay membership.

After a round of name generation and once the design territory had been established, we decided that the overall design aesthetic would be stripped back and loosely inspired by a ‘pop up shop’ style taking cues from industrial design and car park/airport directional signage.

Our name, ‘The Deal Depot’, succinctly summed up the nature and size of the service, while our friendly, relaxed design style and tone, utilised an eye-catching ‘Flexagon’ panel, and bold, quirky type.

This manifested itself through a clean bold execution, where typography breaks out of irregular graphic shapes along with playful iconography and stencilling which form the suite of assets. It was also complemented by developing a chatty tone of voice to give the brand personality and carry this informal style throughout the store.

The feedback of the design and concept has been exceptional and the roll out of the trial continues as Asda launch the concept across more stores in the UK. You can find out more about our work with Asda, and other design, branding and strategic projects by visiting us at www.creativerace.co.uk

Credits: Senior Account Director Kay Middleton, Strategy Director Nicola Carey, Name Generation Positioning & Creative Director Steve Chetham, Design Director (Designer) Patrick Hawkes, Copywriter Bill Lyne, Senior Account Director Pippa Brown, Account Director Nikola Barnes