As the popularity of traditional cigarettes continues to fall, consumers are turning to alternative means of getting their nicotine hit. While vape products have long been making the most noise, heated tobacco is on the rise. Typically, consumers will buy a single heating device, which they fill and refill with flavoured tobacco sticks. As a challenger arriving in a category with strong existing players, Pulze needed to create buzz around the brand.
With competitors offering a large variety of colour options, often with added personalisation options as standard, Pulze saw launching limited edition devices as a means of building brand equity, attracting new consumers, and re-engaging consumers with the brand.
Planning to launch three seasonal limited edition device colours for Christmas, Valentines and summer throughout 2023 and 2024, Pulze commissioned Missouri to design matching packs for each ‘drop’. Our challenge was to engineer a design philosophy for this suite of seasonal range extensions. Teasing out the three drivers that are at the heart of limited edition pack purchases – scarcity, expression and status – gave our approach direction.
We know limited edition packs work best when they celebrate and build understanding of a brand’s lesser-known dimensions. Of Pulze’s three key brand values, in this project Missouri chose to leverage ‘spontaneity’ which mapped naturally onto the immediacy and novelty of limited editions.
Having developed an umbrella platform ‘Spontaneous Moments of Richness,’ we identified what richness meant for each of the three target occasions and used these qualities as a guide for our design work. Taking the established brand assets and pack architecture for the Pulze 2.0 devices as our starting point, we took care to enhance, not dilute, the strong brand equity.
The seasonal limited edition packs are a beautiful elevation of the Pulze brand. Deep colours signal the richness of the product experience, and stand apart from the standard range. The classic ‘pulsing dots’ motif is repurposed into patterns inspired by each season, brought to life with a spot varnish finish. Overall, the packs are premium and minimal, but with all necessary information perfectly clear. The project was highly successful in meeting the brand’s goals. The Christmas edition alone sold over 5000 devices across Europe, leading to a 140% increase of total volume sold online in just Italy.
Sleek and desirable packs, simply and elegantly invoking the seasons, these designs lifted Pulze to a new level.
CREDIT
- Agency/Creative: Missouri Creative
- Article Title: Missouri Creative Elevates Pulze with Limited Edition Seasonal Packs for Heated Tobacco Devices
- Organisation/Entity: Agency
- Project Status: Published
- Agency/Creative Country: United Kingdom
- Agency/Creative City: London
- Market Region: London
- Project Deliverables: Packaging Design
- Industry: Technology
- Keywords: WBDS Agency Design Awards 2024/25 , Heated Tobacco Device Pack
-
Credits:
Associate Creative Director: Liam McHugh
Founding Partner: Stuart Wood
Group Account Director: Gussy Wood