The challenge
Wedgwood needed to modernise, and were producing funky, challenging pieces that had great appeal in, for example, Japan. However, there was still a demand from, for example, America, for its more traditional crockery. How could a company with a heritage going back to 1759 appeal to a broad range of customers without becoming stretched, or losing its sense of identity?
What we did
This work was carried out with The Partners; I was lucky enough to be chosen to put their thinking into words. We argued that Wedgwood himself was an innovator, and that innovation was integral to the brand. From here, three things had to be present for something to be truly on brand: authenticity, Englishness, and style. This gave it the ‘stretch’ that it needed, since Englishness could cover wit, invention and so on. Wedgwood: authentic English style.
What happened next
The project won a DBA Design Effectiveness award.