SID LEE | Case Studies EN

sid lee overview
and portfolio
Case Studies in Commercial Creativity

Our
Mission
Infuse what is unique
and unassailable about
our clients’ brands into
everything that their
customers will touch,
hear, see and feel.

Who What
WE ARE WE BELIEVE
• Established in 1993 • Organizations that embrace the commercial value
• 550 professionals of creativity will outperform
• Ateliers in Amsterdam, Montreal, Paris, Toronto and Austin • Multidisciplinarity and the elimination of boundaries
breeds the best ideas
• Clients in more than 16 cities around the world
• The consumer-brand relationship is anchored
• Entrepreneurial and independent in storytelling
• Multicultural and multilingual • Optimal plans combine reach with intensity
• Partner owned and managed (and not frequency)
• Agency of the Year 2009, 2010 & 2011 – Marketing Magazine • The consumer is the owner of the brand
• Worldwide Agency of the Year finalist 2009 – Ad Age

Interactive
and Social Media
Technology Marketing
Solutions

Mobile Branded
Marketing Content

Brand
strategy

Interior Emergent
Our & Retail
Account Brand Architecture
Design management monitoring

AGENCY MODEL
Traditional

Activity
planning
A flexible model that draws a thread through the full spectrum
of brand touchpoints, above and beyond other agencies, Events &
Brand Identity
Activation
identifying where, when and how to talk to your customers.

Direct
Advertising
Marketing

WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT US WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT US

“ Their approach has “Two words:
taken integration to They rock!”
a whole new level.”

Guy Laliberté
Founder, Cirque du Soleil
Hermann Deininger
chief marketing officer, adidas Sport Style

“One of the 50 best “ They’re really growing
managed private the right model and
companies in Canada” I admire what they’ve
The National Post / Deloitte done so far.”
Lee Clow
Chairman and global Director TBWA Wordwide

adidas
Challenge:
In 2010, adidas had reached a crossroads. The brand needed to reconnect with its target—next-
generation youth looking for fun, self-expression, and recognition—and strengthen its story to tell this
younger audience what the three stripes really meant.

That’s where Sid Lee came in. We were mandated to show this audience what adidas stood for by
consolidating the brand’s Sports, Street, and Style stories into one unified anthem.

Insight:
After a worldwide tour to discover the common bond between competitive, leisure and lifestyle players,
we discovered a fundamental truth about youth:

No matter what they do, they put their hearts in it. They go all in.

Youths’ love for the game—any game—is relentless. No matter the outcome, all they want to do is
keep going.

Solution:
We needed a unified message for adidas that reflected the passion of that fundamental truth. The
result was an epic, all-encompassing campaign that connected adidas’ stories under a central theme:

adidas is all in.

This theme became a 60-second film showcasing the adidas overarching brand story. Over five
months, our production team recorded hundreds of hours of footage and thousands of stories united
by the idea of going all in.

To build anticipation for this anthem, we released intense five-second teasers to whet the public’s
appetite for what was coming next.

When the film was finally released, it acted as a catalyst for the huge campaign unleashed across all
media. Retail spaces were transformed and hosted unique regional events all over the world. Our
teams created an interactive “endless re-edit” video produced from footage of multiple stories. Our
celebrity partners (including Katy Perry, Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Derrick Rose, B.o.B and
many others) blew up their social networks, helping the campaign build steam. We spread the anthem
across all of adidas’ fan pages on Facebook and built a united YouTube platform for adidas’ 16 channel-
specific categories.

Moreover, the spot marked the beginning of our collaboration with Justice, propelling their album’s
new single to number one on iTunes by the end of the week.

Results:
The campaign was adidas’ largest ever in its 60-year history. From pre-launch through launch, 1.7 M
unique visitors accessed the YouTube channel. Facebook fans rose to 2.5 M and adidas.com attracted
an additional 2.1 M unique visitors. Google searches rose by 300%, and e-commerce sales and
subsequent e-commerce revenues increased by 7.5% and 11% respectively (vs. average YTD). But most
importantly, at the end of 2010, adidas AG reported a 13% increase in world sales for the year.

SID LEE - CASE STUDIES SID LEE - CASE STUDIES
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adidas
originals
Challenge:
adidas Originals was known by teens as a retro sneaker brand that was rooted in sport and adopted by
the street culture of the ’80s. The brand had ridden comfortably on this retro image for some time, but
the market started to change and the competition began heating up. Small, up-and-coming niche players
were beginning to make their mark on the sneaker culture scene, and their brands were spreading like
wildfire throughout the Web. The allure of the heritage brand had suddenly lost its steam.

Insight:
Originals came to Sid Lee with the objective of reconnecting with youth on a global scale. Its communi-
cations were falling on deaf ears and they did not know why. Sid Lee decided to hit the streets to get a
better idea of what exactly makes the 17-year-old tick. The universal truth we uncovered was that all
youth aspire to three simple values: fun, self-expression and recognition.

Solution:
Our communications strategy was simple in that we became storytellers for adidas and their youth
customer. The idea behind this notion of storytelling was to constantly, globally and successfully
deliver a series of “stories” that would embody the values of fun, self-expression and recognition
in a meaningful, tangible and memorable way.

Apart from becoming brand storytellers, we needed to make sure global sneaker youth had a stage
where they could express themselves and be heard. This meant leveraging the brand’s Facebook fan
page so that it was not just a place to showcase upcoming collections but rather a space where the
brand and its fans could engage in conversation, develop customized applications and enjoy a more
empowering and enriching experience. Sid Lee also completely redesigned the flagship store concept,
providing a key anchor in the brand story.

Lastly, Sid Lee injected a new tone for the brand that would transform its retro image into a contem-
porary lifestyle brand. The static and snobbery of fashion-centric imagery was then replaced with
action-packed and unexpected fun-themed communication.Today, adidas Originals is embracing
and celebrating the individuality of youth in everything they do.

Results:
Originals marketing spend shifted from being predominantly bought media to owned and earned
media, and the results were astounding:
• 12% growth in worldwide sales (amid company-wide decline) in 2009
• Growth in Facebook community from 300,000 to over 3.9 million followers
• Campaign viewed and shared more than 5 million times via social channels

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Adidas originals
- iPhone Application -

Sid Lee and adidas collaborated to create an adidas Originals iPhone application with a unique, main-
feature entry point: image recognition. Users take a photo of their sneakers and the application
responds with the closest matches from current adidas stock. This image recognition entry point—
which includes a 360-degree view of products, videos, stories and more—not only offers users a fun
way to access the application but also exposes them to other similar products, which results in an
instant drive to sales.

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cirque
THE LEGEND LIVES ON

du soleil
Challenge:
With more than 15 shows on rotation, Cirque du Soleil needs to continuously generate appeal among
existing and potential fans. When considering the number of tickets sold per year, it becomes clear
that transforming equity into transactions is key. Paradoxically, the strong umbrella brand of Cirque Written and Directed by JAMIE KING

du Soleil is both an asset and a challenge. The biggest threat is a “seen one, seen ’em all” mentality. Sid Lee
continuously works with Cirque du Soleil to manage the portfolio, minimizing cannibalization while
creating a distinct identity and draw for each show.

Insight:
The Cirque du Soleil magic is ever-changing. Each show has its own story, iconography and emotion.
Our mission is to distill this into a specific promise and marketing program for each show in a way the
audience can easily understand.

Another key insight is that there is an abundance of Cirque die-hards who will consume all that
is Cirque du Soleil. Building a direct line of communication with this group will generate significant
up-front ticket sales each time Cirque du Soleil rolls into town.

Solution:
By working with Cirque du Soleil right from the start, we are able to develop the brands and the
desired impact of those brands upon the market and upon the Cirque du Soleil brand as a whole.
Before every new product development, the new brand/show is carefully studied to understand
its uniqueness and potential. With this understanding, Sid Lee then creates:
• The full identity for each show (name, visual identity, iconography, tone and manner)
• he marketing toolbox covering the full spectrum of touchpoints to ensure consistent show
T
brand delivery in different markets

The Cirque Club was also created where members could opt-in for the worldwide Cirque du Soleil
newsletter and receive market-specific offers, including presale tickets, behind-the-scenes footage
and Cirque du Soleil e-cards. Through this multi-channel CRM platform, we managed to build
anticipation and keep the shows top of mind.

Results:
• Cirque du Soleil is one of the most recognized brands in the entertainment industry
• Tremendously strong ticket sales across markets and through the years
• irque Club membership is over 1.5 million, with an increase of about 27,000 new members
C
every month

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SID LEE - CASE STUDIES
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red bull
Challenge:
Red Bull Crashed Ice (RBCI), a combination of hockey, downhill skating and boardercross, is one of
Red Bull’s finest global sporting events. A marginal Red Bull event in other countries, Red Bull Canada
wanted to make Crashed Ice the premier event for the brand in this country. Since this would be
the first time this event would be held in the Great White North, awareness of Crashed Ice in the
Canadian market was slim to none. The event problem was threefold:
• ind people crazy enough to participate in RBCI: Two weeks to recruit 1,200 potential partici-
F
pants across Canada
• et spectators to attend the free outdoor event in cold Quebec City: Objective of 20,000
G
spectators to attend RBCI
• et media coverage: Obtain coast-to-coast PR and media coverage
G

Insight:
As we needed to identify and recruit prospects for RBCI, we wondered who would be crazy and fit
enough to participate in this event. The answer came to us naturally: We needed to attract amateur
ice hockey players.

Solution:
The strategy was developed around a “recruit, promote and leverage” scheme. More precisely, a two-phase
(recruit and promote) website was created while a drive-to-web strategy was implemented. A third
phase was also developed in the hopes of obtaining significant media coverage. We focused on the
recruitment phase by giving out relevant drive-to-web accessories to potential participants—amateur
ice hockey players. We worked on promoting the event with drive-to-web executions around adrenaline
destinations such as skating rinks and ski hills and by sending out a talk-worthy invite to key
influencers in Quebec City.

Results:
• We recruited all 1,200 entrants in a record-breaking seven days
• vent attendance went 150% over target with a record-breaking 30,000 attendees (and subse-
E
quently grew to 110,000 attendees within three years)
•
We garnered an incremental $12 million in free press and media coverage internationally

Feedback from Red Bull Global was extremely positive. The event was deemed the most successful
one so far and is still considered the benchmark for all to follow.

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red bull
Challenge:
In 2009, with offices located in the surroundings of the Dutch capital, Red Bull Amsterdam wanted
to move to a more urban location that would better reflect its culture and involvement in the arts and
sports. Let us remember that the Austrian company goes much further than simply selling its famous
energy drink. Since its beginnings, it has been involved in racing sports (Formula 1, NASCAR,
motorcycle racing) and has been massively sponsoring extreme sports, like the Red Bull Crashed Ice
world championship. The company has also invested a great deal in music, helping young artists or
creating traveling workshops like the Red Bull Music Academy, and in dance, particularly with its
famous B-Boys from the Red Bull BC One Battles. Our main goal was to create an architecture that
would reflect this rebel culture.

Insight:
In competition with two other architecture firms, the teams at Sid Lee Architecture and Sid Lee
Amsterdam convinced Red Bull managers to set up their new headquarters in an urban and offbeat site
evocative of both street art culture and the intensity of extreme sports. North of Amsterdam, in an
obsolete shipbuilding environment, the Noord district has been under complete redevelopment,
attracting artists and major arts and media companies such as MTV Europe. That’s where Red Bull
Amsterdam agreed to settle, in an old heritage shipbuilding factory, facing a timeless crane and an old
disused Russian submarine.
To design the inner space, we aimed to combine the almost brutal simplicity of this industrial place
with Red Bull’s mystical philosophy, dividing spaces according to their use and spirit, with two opposed
and complementary hemispheres: reason versus intuition, arts versus the industrial city, black versus
white, the rise of the angel (Red Bull gives you wings...) versus the mention of the beast.

Solution:
Inside this shipbuilding factory, with its three adjacent bays, we focused on expressing the dichotomy
of space, shifting from public spaces to private ones, from black to white and from white to black.
Our idea was to combine the almost brutal simplicity of an industrial place with Red Bull’s mystical
invitation to perform. The interior architecture with multiple layers of meaning conveys this dual
personality, reminding the user of mountain cliffs one moment and skateboard ramps the next. These
triangle-shaped piles, as if ripped off the body of a ship, build up semi-open spaces that can be viewed
from below, as niches, or from above, as bridges and mezzanines across space. In the architecture we
offer, nothing is clearly set; all is a matter of perception.
The street and extreme sports cultures are illustrated in Red Bull’s ethic, characterized by a will to
perform and not to respect rules. In collaboration with Sid Lee Amsterdam’s graphic designers, the Sid
Lee Architecture team chose to express this philosophy through a ubiquitous graphic covering of
vertical and horizontal surfaces: ceilings, walls, floors—and even furniture.

Results:
The new Red Bull Headquarters gave extreme satisfaction to Red Bull employees and management.
The work surpassed expectations from two standpoints. First, the total costs of the project were lower
than expected. Second, Sid Lee Architecture managed to mould a creation that was fully on par with
the company’s identity and values.
As of today, there are no quantitative results for the project. However, in the future, a key success
indicator will be the space’s ability to become a cultural hub in Amsterdam for expositions, gatherings,
seminars and events from all creative backgrounds.

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videotron
Challenge:
Founded in 1964, Videotron is today one of the largest telecommunication companies in Canada.
Up until recently, the marketing of its different products was rooted in a very operational approach
that was driven by sales and promotion. It worked for many years, but this logic recently reached its
limit with the onslaught of new competitors and a changing consumer. Sid Lee was engaged to help
improve sales and strengthen Videotron’s leadership position.

Insight:
In order to position Videotron as the leader in telecommunications, Sid Lee had to transform Videotron
marketing into a more mature, strategic and consumer-focused entity. It was no longer about
advertising to the consumer, but rather communicating with the customer. Specifically, this meant
placing less emphasis on products and promotions, and more on explaining what Videotron can do
for you.

Solution:
Our communication strategy arose from the notion that consumers hold the power, and we offered
infinite possibilities of what that means for them. The brand signature naturally then became “The
infinite power,” which intuitively allowed Videotron to speak to consumers about all of its products,
their attributes and the role they can play in improving consumers’ lives through better communication.
This promise was brought to life in all consumer touchpoints including advertising, packaging
and store experience.

Results:
The campaign was and continues to be an outstanding success for Videotron:
• 17% increase in household TV subscribers
• 18.4% increase in digital cable TV subscribers
• 9.4% increase in household Internet subscriptions
• 41% increase in household mobile phone subscriptions

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mgm grand
Challenge:
The MGM Grand is more than a hotel. It offers an unrivalled 360-degree luxury experience unlike
any other. In Las Vegas though, every hotel attempts to do, offer and say the same thing when it
comes to their guest experience. The result: an overcrowded and hyper-competitive tourist market
where you have to fight for every traveller’s dollar you earn. The challenge was to deliver the unique
experience of staying at MGM Grand to guests before they book, thus ensuring they do. With that in
mind, Sid Lee was tasked with two challenges: first, to increase online traffic and booking by 3% and
second, to increase the length of the average stay.

Insight:
Before deciding on a place to stay for their vacation, consumers turn to the hotel’s website to browse,
compare and assess their options. The website is the consumer’s 2.0 window shopping experience.
Understanding that consumers pre-shop their destinations online, Sid Lee completely revamped the
online experience with the following in mind:
• Showcase the grandness, majesty and immensity of the MGM Grand
• Answer the question: What can I do at the MGM Grand while I’m there?
• Bring to life the energy, excitement and sense of escape unique to the MGM Grand

Solution:
Rather than win on price point, Sid Lee’s strategy focused on turning the MGM Grand website into
a highly immersive journey through the hotel. MGM Grand’s positioning was “Maximum Vegas.”
Sid Lee incorporated the brand’s positioning by highlighting the hotel’s majestic qualities. From
welcoming the visitor with the lion’s roar to a virtual tour of the hotel’s amenities, the rich-media
video provides an aspirational roadmap to the MGM Maximum Vegas experience and leaves the
visitor excited for what lies ahead for them at the MGM. Sid Lee ensured the final follow-through,
designing an e-commerce application where visitors could book on the spot.

Results:
• ite traffic increased by 30%, resulting in a 12% booking increase (four times the objective)
S
just one month after launch

In addition, the site won “Best in Show” at the Digital Marketing Awards and a Bronze Lion at Cannes
as well as awards for effectiveness from Strategy Magazine.

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functionalab
Challenge:
Sid Lee was tasked with the challenge of launching a brand from scratch in a market where the
category was still unknown. There are nutritional supplements to help improve the inside and
cosmetics to soften the outside, but they are considered separately, each for its own particular purpose.
Nutricosmetics, however, harnesses the science of nutrition to produce a line of beauty products that
start from within. The question then becomes, how do you introduce and market a product that
is part nutritional, part cosmetic?

Insight:
Sid Lee saw that more and more, consumers were interested in the science behind beauty. Not
surprisingly, they wanted to know what was going on their skin. This became an insight for us, as it
suggested that science was becoming glamorous in the world of cosmetology.

Solution:
Sid Lee incorporated the three pillars of the brand (beauty, nutrition and science) into the foundation
of Functionalab’s graphic identity. Category labels recalled the periodic table of elements, while
packaging brought to mind the vessels of a science lab. We had to keep in mind that whatever
packaging we designed, the consumer would have to want to ingest the pills or liquid inside, so the
design elements could not stretch too far away from nutritional references. For this reason, the pill
container design clearly differentiates these containers from elixir bottles.

The packaging features minimal labelling to evoke a premium feel yet is colourful enough to attract
and entice the shopper. After all, the brand was being positioned as a beauty product with science
built into its DNA—it could not be so sterile as to lose the excitement of coming away with a new
beauty secret.

The simplicity of the packaging translated into the shop-in-shop experience. This was designed to
reflect a modern apothecary shop. The space was stacked high with glossy white shelves and hidden
nooks to showcase stand-alone products.

Results:
• US$900,000 worth of PR coverage earned in only seven months
• reative window displays at Henri Bendel’s shop-in-shop experience leading seven days after
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the launch to a request by Selfridges and Harvey Nichols in London to retail the line in the U.K.
• Mentioned three out of five consecutive months in Wallpaper* Magazine from 2009 to 2010
• Shortlisted for Wallpaper* Design Awards 2009
• Currently the No. 2 brand in Henri Bendel’s prestigious skincare room

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saq
Société
des alcools
du Québec

Challenge:
The Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) is a state-owned corporation (equivalent to the LCBO in
Ontario) responsible for selling alcoholic beverages and educating consumers in all things wine and
spirits. However, the shopping experience was not conducive to helping consumers confidently
choose a bottle of wine. Thus, the objective of the campaign was to facilitate consumer wine
purchases with added value at the point of sale. Sid Lee believed the most effective way to do this
was by rethinking the shopping experience.

Insight:
The target market was divided into four distinct categories: the Convivial, the Discoverer, the
Passionate and the Connoisseur. Discoverers were identified as the priority for this campaign,
due to their growth potential. Sid Lee soon realized that the existing retail space did not meet their
“discovery” needs. They needed both the store and marketing plan to be organized based on their
needs and wants rather than the industry standard (wine classified by country of origin). Sid Lee
focused on considering how revamping the entire shopping experience could meet consumer needs
in order to yield the desired results.

Solution:
Sid Lee decided to reinvent how consumers navigated the category. The solution focused on reorgan-
izing the category by concentrating on the four different factors that influence consumers’ choice
of wine: varietals, food-and-wine pairing, flavour and price. In addition, educational information
such as wine history, flavours and types of glasses was integrated into the communications plan
and store layout. This twofold solution gave consumers more confidence and increased emotional
involvement in the category.

Results:
• Total experience led to 95% in consumer satisfaction vs. the previous 49%
• Average spending in store increased up to 64% after the shop revamp
• SAQ’s overall sales grew 5.3% over the past year

Our approach was recognized by Strategy Magazine as the Gold Winner of the Big Award, a prize
given to an agency using innovative thinking that goes beyond the scope of advertising.

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sTM
Société
de transport
de Montréal

Challenge:
As a public transit service (equivalent to the TTC in Toronto, the Underground in London or the
Metro in Paris) the STM had grown stagnant. Though most of Montreal agreed it was an honest and
responsible organization, this was not enough to compel the population to advocate its services.
Sid Lee needed to bring contemporary relevance and emotional resonance to the benefits of using
public transportation.

Insight:
Market research revealed that STM users could be subdivided into seven segments. Of these, one had
significant growth potential. This group was characterized as firm believers and yet infrequent users
of public transportation. It was clear that too many long waits in the cold coupled with too few
departure times had brought about a profound cynicism towards the STM, and this needed to be
addressed before any behavioural change could be expected.

Solution:
The solution was to communicate a pact between the STM and Montrealers. For its part, the STM
would increase the frequency of its bus and metro services. In exchange, the user would begin to make
public transit a part of their everyday lifestyle. This pact was communicated using a simple visual
device that was placed on STM infrastructure as well as its buses and metros. Colours were used
to represent the different parties: blue represented the STM, yellow the user. When their efforts
are combined they make green—in other words, they make Montreal a greener place to live.

Results:
In less than eight months we achieved a complete brand perception turnaround, with 71% of
Montrealers now speaking in favour of the STM. As well, ridership increased, and so did intention.
More than 67% of Montrealers stated they were now inclined to use the STM.

As a champion of the environment, the STM became proactive and dynamic. It was no longer regarded
as a public utility but as part of a cause, one that touched the community of which it was now a part.
The STM is now acknowledged as an environmentally conscious organization at the forefront of
change, one that inspired a small population to follow.

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PRatt
WHITNEY
Challenge:
Pratt Whitney (PW) designs, manufactures and services consumer and business aircraft and
helicopter engines. Sid Lee was asked by PW Canada to develop and design a new positioning for the
brand that would differentiate its business from that of its global competitors but also PW USA,
which focuses predominantly on military applications.

Insight:
B2B communication can be dull and rarely showcases atypical thinking. Sid Lee’s challenge was to
introduce emotional relevancy into the sale of an otherwise technically loaded product.
Pratt Whitney Canada engine don't waste time. An At $20 a pound, fresh lobster can't wait.
essential ingredient to susi pudjiastuti's modest Especially for its flight

Engines lift planes off the ground and into the sky in search of new destinations. In these planes are
fish-trading come massive seafood processing
business. With thress Pratt Whitney powered
Cessna grand caravan airplanes to tra nsport her
fresh fish across northern asia, dependability is of
the essence. Susi's clients depend on freshness.
And her business depends on our support.

people, who entrust their lives to the quality of those very engines powering them forward. Sid Lee
saw this story as a differentiator for PW Canada. WWW.PWC.CA/SUPPORT

Solution:
PW was celebrating its 80th year in the business of building, innovating and improving engines. It was
a company on which you could depend. Other brands could claim quality and trust, but only PW
Canada had the experience to back it up. Dependability was the fulcrum on which Sid Lee leveraged
its four points of expertise: innovation, customer support, engines and people. Sid Lee developed an
emotional connection between the brand and its customers, communicating dependability as PW
Canada’s core value.

Because PW Canada had its own design and printing department, it was important that Sid Lee
provided them with sufficiently detailed guiding principles which they could then follow when creating
their own promotional tools. A toolbox was therefore created that served as an efficient, user friendly,
plug ’n’ play manual that united their external and internal communications under one visual identity.
It communicated PW Canada’s new brand without visually severing its ties with its parent brand,
PW USA.

Results:
The work we developed for Pratt Whitney showcases Sid Lee’s ability to conceive innovative
branding initiatives across sectors. Moreover, the PW “Dependable Engines” concept demonstrates
the importance of branding not just for the public, but also for internal audiences who must deliver
the brand experience to customers. At the heart of that experience, we changed the product from
something cold and mechanical to something literally and figuratively uplifting.

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tourism
montreal
Challenge:
Montreal is a welcoming, dynamic, passionate city with a rich culture and history. But so are New York,
Paris and Buenos Aires. What is it about Montreal that sets it apart from the rest? Like any product,
branding a destination requires finding a point of differentiation and making sure it’s one that resonates.
By 2007 the volume of tourists visiting Montreal had stagnated. As a leisure destination, Montreal was
clearly not resonating. What’s more, Tourisme Montréal’s marketing budget had been cut by 13.5%.

Insight:
Without a sufficient budget to rewrite the brand story, we had to think of a better way to make the
current story resonate more powerfully with potential visitors.

Like the majority of destination marketers, Tourisme Montréal had concentrated its efforts on traditional
media channels. The problem was that more and more consumers (80%) were turning to the Web to
plan, book and share their vacations. They were writing their own narratives about the destination SWEET DEAL OFFER SWEET DEAL OFFER
3 NIGHTS 3 NIGHTS
through peer review sites, blogs and friends’ online photo albums, which together were found to be findmontreal.com findmontreal.com

much more informative and authentic than a one-page ad or corporate brochure. This behaviour
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told us that what travellers were looking for was an experience that made them feel anything but like
a tourist.

Solution:
We decided that rather than run alongside the conversation, we needed to be in it. And so we turned
the mic over to five Montrealers, eager to share their passion for their city. These five “insiders” would
reveal the city’s best-kept secrets in fine dining, fashion, arts and culture, night life and gay life
through a personal blog, Facebook page and Twitter feed. Potential travellers could follow their
chronicles and catch videos uploaded onto YouTube and photo albums posted to their Flickr
accounts. Visitors could experience the warmth, passion and rich culture and history from the
authentic, intimate and conversational perspective that could only come from a local. Insider finds
were then incorporated into the Tourisme Montréal website, where visitors could build them into
their future itinerary.

Results:
• ore than 360 articles, 435 photos and 145 videos generated by the campaign were published
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on other blogs
• An increase of 17.6% new visitors to the site
• An increase of 12.3% in hotel bookings through the site
• More than 7,000 followers on Twitter

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saputo
Challenge:
Saputo acquired Fromages Caron Inc., a fine cheese importer, and Fromagerie Cayer, a fine local
cheese maker. After a few years of marketing these two brands, Saputo decided it was time to have a
branding strategy enabling them to compete more efficiently in this growing segment. Sid Lee was
called in to develop this brand strategy.

Insight:
The category was an eclectic collection of small, one-off brands. The Saputo fine cheese portfolio was
no different with 35 -40 different products coming from two acquired companies with no visual or
brand link between them. A decision was made to rebrand the entire product line under one strong
umbrella brand while keeping the rich individual brands, a unique strategy in this category. This is
how Alexis de Portneuf was born.

Solution:
Branding and packaging were created to showcase the fine and authentic quality of the cheeses while
upholding the artistic approach to the brand.
• he packaging demonstrated contemporary inspiration drawn from tradition. The umbrella
T
brand unified the family of products but the unique character and authenticity of each cheese
was brought to life.
• id Lee created the in-store promotional material by designing poster books, aprons, the Alexis
S
de Portneuf website and other promotional tools to involve both trade and consumer and
showcase the brands’ qualities: superior quality, artistic, distinct in taste and creation.

Results:
• he brand quickly gained recognition amongst cheese lovers and the branding efforts affected
T
sales right from the introduction
• verage sales increase of 30%
A
• a Sauvagine de la Fromagerie Alexis de Portneuf product won the first prize at the Canadian
L
Cheese Producers’ awards in 2006

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bota bota
Challenge:
In 2009, Sid Lee Architecture was hired to create the architectural designs for the Bota Bota floating
spa, thereby providing a third incarnation for the former ferryboat that used to link Sorel and
Berthier in the 1950s.

This brief held two challenges. First, our teams needed to adapt with talents from various fields of
expertise—ranging from naval architecture to interior design—to work together effectively. Second,
the very nature of the steel boat was going to have a constraining effect on material choice.

Insight:
To successfully complete the ship’s third incarnation, our teams decided to immerse visitors into a
multisensory world inspired by the aquatic environment, the maritime world, the ship’s rich history
and the surrounding Montréal landscape. The plan behind this concept: the experience would be the
message and the end user, the medium for this message.

Solution:
Our program recreated an environment reminiscent of an ocean liner voyage contemplating the
Montréal skyline and the St. Lawrence river. The ship seemed to be floating in the timeless space of
the river: this sense of infinity permeated through the ship’s interior, creating a world of materiality,
ambiance and color. Consequently, moving through these sea-inspired spaces became a journey of
discovery for the senses and provided a temporary escape from the outside world.

The uniqueness and synergy of the project were successfully obtained thanks to our creative teams’
leadership as the project represented a fusion of disciplines: building architecture, naval architecture,
interior, industrial and graphic design, as well as building and naval engineering. This mingling of
multiple disciplines was necessary to tackle the technical and technological challenges, such as
integrating structures that are usually found on solid ground.

Results:
Soon after its introduction, Bota Bota surpassed initial expectations, both in sales and in press coverage.
This novel concept caught the attention of a variety of fields ranging from leisure, design and
architecture to spa guides and tourism. Consequently, the buzz generated by its launch attracted both
Montréalers and tourists from around the world.

Bota Bota’s capacity to embed stories into a place to create both a market and business value allowed
the project to receive a world-renowned Design Gold Lion in Cannes. The spa boat also received
numerous local prizes in the 2010 Grafika and Grands Prix du Design competitions. Its introduction
was mentioned in various magazines including Azure, Fast Company, Domus Israel, Frame and
Surface. Finally, the spa was cited in Condé Nast Traveller’s Hot List Spas for 2011.

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- 62 - - 63 -

Fatboy ®
hello.
i’m the
jacket.
Challenge:
Fatboy launched in 2002. Over the years, the brand achieved great success through one key product:
the Original, an oversized beanbag. Thanks to its exceptional design, the Original helped the brand
expand into over 35 countries globally.
In 2010, Fatboy arrived at a significant turning point in its lifecycle. To stop losing relevance, the
brand needed a refresh. Most importantly, Fatboy needed to move from a product-centric brand to a
lifestyle brand, as the brand that had once been associated with urban living was turning into a mass
and suburban brand.
Consequently, how could Sid Lee prevent the Fatboy brand from being perceived as “mass-market
and commonplace” and take it back to its roots as a “hip, upstart brand”? Change is everyt
fashion dictates.
Insight:
Grey is the new b
The Fatboy brand has two target consumer groups, the “Design Elite” and the “Modern Mother.” The
before you know
“Design Elites” are the influencers and trendsetters who enhance and maintain Fatboy’s brand image.
all that. Good ne
The “Modern Mothers” are the mass consumers who make up the majority of Fatboy sales. This tar-
get shops with family benefits and comfort in mind.
now got you cov
easily wrap arou
When we analysed both targets, we noticed that Fatboy fans perceive Fatboy as being like a “Sunday favorite Original
morning feeling”: a sense of pure relaxation, of being free and getting a break from the routine. and modify it to
Thanks to this insight, our teams found a new common ground for Fatboy and its fans: we would com- heart’s content. I
municate that Fatboy is all about “a wonderfuller life.” Fatboy is a brand that snaps you out of auto- convert it to the
pilot mode in your everyday life and gives you the option of doing something new whenever you feel or vice versa. Fas
like it. Fatboy breaks your routine and encourages you to be uninhibited—to think what you want to better keep up w
think, do what you want to do, and live a surprising and fun life.
washable
Solution:
To shift Fatboy into a lifestyle brand, our teams gave the brand an evolved positioning and brought it to life excellent
color fastness
through a new visual identity.
To further explore this new positioning, Sid Lee gave future product and communications recommenda- 180 cm x 140 cm
tions via a Boot Camp—an event carried out at Sid Lee headquarters in Montréal where a group of talents 2 kg
imagined the future of the Fatboy brand through new product extensions and brand experience ideas.
In parallel, Fatboy brought forward many factors to support this new claim. All product designs had a spe-
cial “Fatboy Twist.” For example, the Original is a seating device that’s not a chair, and Edison the Grand is
a lamp, but it’s not the normal lamp you see every day.
Finally, the brand’s values were realigned to fit the new positioning and brand identity: friendly, imaginative,
stylish, surprising, cheekily humorous, relaxed, colourful, bold and open-minded.

Results:
The Fatboy brand of the future was officially here. All in all, a completely rejuvenated brand structure
was designed for Fatboy that would allow the brand to carry itself prominently into the future while
delivering lifestyle options rather than products.
Furthermore, from the Boot Camp, Fatboy had concrete recommendations and solutions for a com-
plete brand ecosystem that ranged from product platforms to experiential pieces. Additionally, aware-
ness of the brand, along with its shift to deliver lifestyle options rather than products, was heightened
through heavy media coverage of the unique event, which included a close partnership with Frame
Magazine.

- 64 - - 65 -

A
d
nler
wo l er-
fu life

- 66 - - 67 -

boot camp
Challenge:
For its inaugural Boot Camp, Sid Lee Collective recruited eight multidisciplinary talents from across
the globe to live and breathe creativity for 240 hours straight. Their mission was to take Dutch life-
style brand Fatboy® into the next decade using the company’s slogan and philosophy—A Wonder-
Fuller Life—as inspiration. Sid Lee chose to partner with Fatboy® for its first ever Boot Camp be-
cause it shares with the agency an open, multi-disciplinary approach that is perfect for this type of
experimental project.

By tapping into environmental design, advertising, creative technology, graphic design, industrial de-
sign, and architecture, the Boot Camp team was tasked with creating experiences that rethink the
way we live (focusing on the four central themes of eat, play, rest and move) in and around the home of
the future.

Insight:
The intense Boot Camp itinerary included daily briefs, talks by industry experts, brainstorming
sessions and early-morning exercise drills (as well as some well-deserved downtime exploring the
city of Montréal). For the entire 10 days, the campers hunkered down in an industrial workspace
transformed into an indoor campground especially for the experience. The camp was divided into
the four themes of EAT, PLAY, REST and MOVE, and the recruits were asked to base their
creative ideas around these themes, with the help of internal and external expert coaches.

The space, conceived by Sid Lee, was designed to be as clean and open as possible and was filled with
Fatboy® products so that the recruits were constantly interacting with—and drawing inspiration
from—the brand.

Solution:
The goal of the Boot Camp wasn’t to produce deliverable products or campaigns, but to immerse
young creative minds from different backgrounds and disciplines in Sid Lee’s unique, limitless cre-
ative process, an approach we call Commercial Creativity™. All of the recruits came from a multi-
disciplinary background and contributed equally to every aspect of the creative process during the
Boot Camp, stepping out of their comfort zones and crossing creative borders.

Results:
After an intense and exhausting 10 days, the Boot Camp team presented their ideas in an impressive
Sid Lee roll, a giant mock-up of all their work rolled out across a long worktable. Tasked with creating
innovative and immersive Fatboy® experiences, the final result was A Wonder-Fuller Land—a living
art installation complete with floating cocoon-like tents where guests were invited to create their own
light, colour and sound orchestrations.

The Boot Camp contributed to increase brand awareness for Fatboy® and provided them with con-
crete recommendations and solutions for a complete brand ecosystem to elevate the future of the
company. Throughout the 10-day Boot Camp, fans could follow the creative team’s daily adventures
on Sid Lee’s Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Vimeo pages. The result? Hundreds of thousands of views,
shares, comments, “Likes,” and media coverage across the globe.

- 68 - - 69 -

Eat Play

Rest Move

- 70 - - 71 -

other
mandates
Creating and Communicating Brand Experiences

- 72 - - 73 -

ajax AFC
- House of Ajax -

Sid Lee Architecture, in collaboration with Sid Lee, gsmprjct° and Jimmy Lee.tv, was mandated by the
AFC Ajax football club to create the new Ajax experience, a museum that celebrates a hallowed sports
franchise and allows visitors to discover what has made Ajax one of the most respected teams in
football’s history.
The Ajax Experience embodies the team’s attachment to the city of Amsterdam. Designed as an
extension of the famous central square Rembrandtplein, fans and visitors will be able to understand
Ajax’s philosophy and understand unique football culture. Throughout its history, the team has
developed the skills and means to spot emerging talent, shape true sports titans and thus “Build giants”.
In this interactive experience, the giants themselves are honored, but a particular attention is also paid
to the techniques, training and passion that allow Ajax to continually develop leading talent.
The whole experience is focused on creating an inspiring celebration of a unique story of achievement.
Visitors will embark on this immersive journey through the team’s history and heroes, and experience
what it takes to be a giant in a series of playful interactive events and inspiring historical recollection.

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- 76 - - 77 -

SID LEE | Case Studies EN

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