Graphic Design That Works

(point-of-purchase graphics)

The Client

Some Fossil executives doubted it would

sell, but nevertheless, they put money

behind a new watch called the Bigtic™.

Why Bigtic? Because it was among the first

watches with large, digital ticking seconds

and analog hands. “We felt the product had

a futuristic feel and was very different from

any other watch made by our competitors

or us,” says Stephen Zhang, art director on

the project. Skepticism reigned as to

whether or not this new product would suc-

ceed, but the one thing everyone agreed

upon was that they needed a winning

point-of-purchase campaign to increase the

odds of its success. The responsibility for

creating and executing such a persuasive

promotion fell upon the shoulders of Zhang

and designer John Vineyard, both of whom

agreed to make the watch’s unique face the

focus of the campaign.

INTERNATIONAL POP CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES FOSSIL’S BIGTIC

™

The Brief

Three factors stood out as Zhang and designer John

Vineyard assessed the task assigned to Fossil’s in-

house design team. First, they needed to skew the

watch to a younger audience than is typical for most

Fossil products and target teenagers and twentysome-

things. Second was the uniqueness of the watch. “This

watch was an experiment. You see the tick, but don’t

hear the tick,” says Zhang, citing the watch’s primary

feature that bewildered so many. Fossil developed the

all-new technology where seconds are visually count-

ed off with big ticks. Aside from offering innovation

that differs from other digital technology, the watch

didn’t provide any new functions; yet it was undisput-

edly unique and kids would want it, which led to the

third and final consideration. Could they use to their

advantage the futuristic, techno look of the watch to

play to the current trends in technology so irresistible

to today’s younger consumers?

Vineyard conducted his own research to find a color or

colors that graphically expressed the trend toward

youth-oriented, high-tech, futuristic gadgetry. At the

time, Fossil had four or five product lines already in

existence, each targeting a different market segment

and differentiated with its own color scheme, so some

colors were already taken. Vineyard’s search for a

shade that visually shouted “techno” yielded a recom-

mendation, but surprisingly, it was not the steely gray,

silver, or metallic blue hues that are commonly associ-

ated with state-of-the-art technology. Vineyard’s color

of choice—green—a shade readily associated with

conservation, ecology, health, and wholesomeness but

rarely, if ever, seen as being cutting edge.

CLIENT:

Fossil

DESIGN F IRM:

Fossil in-house design studio

CREATIVE D IRECTOR:

Tim Hale

ART D IRECTOR:

Stephen Zhang

DESIGNER:

John Vineyard

FOSSIL I NTERNATIONAL DESIGNERS:

Gabriella Fortunato (Italy), Stefan Muller

(Germany)

ANIMATION:

Reel FX

PHOTOGRAPHERS:

David McCormick, Russ Aman

CAMPAIGN R UN:

January 2000 through December 31, 2000

TARGET MARKET:

Consumers 16 to 24 years old

ABOVE: A point-of-purchase poster

kicked off the campaign and other

elements were added from there.

LEFT, TOP AND BOTTOM: In-case cards

and small and caseline static

stickers.

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Pulling Everything Together

Initially, Fossil ran few magazine advertisements for the Bigtic before a logo and

color scheme were developed. Later, a marketing kit with more in-depth photogra-

phy and graphics were added to the mix. A point-of-purchase poster kicked off the

campaign and other elements were added from there.

Before long, there was a comprehensive kit that was provided to department stores

including a poster display along with Bigtic top-of-counter and watch cuff standees,

a ledgetop display, in-case cards, and small and caseline static stickers.

These singular items were combined with the product displays to create a cohesive

presentation at point of sale.

“[The promotion has] a different look than anything else we’d really done and the

look of the posters and the look of the campaign was really different from the look

of our stores,” says Vineyard, pointing to the retro packaging and merchandising

that Fossil has used in the past with considerable success. In fact, the company has

built so much equity in the retro look that the move to a futuristic image spurned

more skepticism and called for considerable convincing on the part of the design

team. “The watch had a digital techno look that was different from anything else

that we had done and so called for a campaign that was different from what Fossil

has done previously.”

RIGHT: A comprehensive

kit was provided to

department stores

including a poster

display.

BELOW, TOP AND MIDDLE:

Bigtic top-of-counter

and watch cuff standees.

ABOVE, TOP AND BOTTOM:

In-case cards and small

and caseline static

stickers.

RIGHT: A ledgetop display.

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