While other CBD drink brands focus on promoting their products by positioning them as health or wellness drinks, Little Rick continues its mission to expand human minds via a relaunch campaign — supported by OOH and social media — and a bold new look that goes against this popular trend. Developed with creative agency NOW, the newly implemented visual identity shows that Little Rick keeps producing the no-nonsense drinks it has been making since 2019 but with a design that expresses the drinks’ relaxing and stress-relieving properties.
So while other companies might be too scared to talk about this benefit of CBD, Little Rick makes hay while the sun shines in the CBD space, communicating the product’s relaxing properties instead of following the same formula as other brands in the category.
The brand’s founders contacted the London-based agency, assigning the team with the task of redefining and reinventing Little Rick — a D2C CBD drink that contains more CBD than any of its competitors. The UK CBD product market is expected to reach a value of £1 billion by 2025 so, finding a way to stand out in this already-crowded space was crucial.
After recognizing the wellness trend that runs throughout most of the CBD market and following a period of discovery and consumer research, NOW designed an identity that doesn’t avoid speaking the truth about CBD — an active ingredient in cannabis that doesn’t cause a “high” mood and which is believed to help users relax. Compared to its ancestor, the new look is airier, gives a premium feel, and expresses a more adult character, with aesthetics including the work of artist Keith Haring and influences from the surf culture.
Marc Donaldson, Head of Design at NOW, says: “The process of creating full-spectrum CBD takes time and care, and we saw this human-based craft element as something we could also use to inform the look-and-feel. We wanted the product to feel grown-up, refined, and bold. Something the consumer would be proud to have in their hand and felt like a statement. It also needed to be easily recognizable.”
Taking the way in which D2C brands live online into consideration, the team crafted the can design with Instagram in mind. Thus, the agency moved all the additional info to the back, while the can’s front was intentionally left breezy to host any images of the drink.
A fresh, new badge was crafted to hold all key details about the product, carefully assembled into one, neat device. Using the “L” and “R” letters from the brand’s name, NOW worked on a new mark, developing it to reflect the care and time it takes to create the full-spectrum CBD.
When admiring the “R,” one can spot a tiny dot inside and some lines stretching like a bouquet outside of it, strategically placed to highlight the product’s relaxing benefits. The asset will live on social media and across various touchpoints including boxes, stickers, and T-shirts.
Each of Little Rick’s five flavors has its own can to “manifest,” standing out from the crowd via different bright and solid colors. Besides giving a boost to the CBD drinks company via a new identity and packaging, NOW has also worked on developing an OOH and social media campaign to further support the brand relaunch. A series of OOH executions communicate how the drinks can help consumers relax and be themselves.
Written in the company’s brand colors, the messages vary from “DRINK A RICK AND ROLL WITH IT” to “CALM DOWN,” “CHILL OUT,” and “ENJOY CHILLED.” Running in multiple sites across London’s Shoreditch, one of the ads features the “SHOREDITCH IS FULL OF LITTLE RICKS” line, with the silhouette of a Little Rick can placed within the text for a comic effect.
Norman Kremer, Managing Director, Little Rick, comments: “It’s been a pleasure to work so closely with NOW. They’ve become an extension of our team and we love the way they’ve pushed us to step away from category norms and do something bold and different. This new brand identity truly reflects our products, and we’re excited to see how it resonates with our target audience.”
“When I first tried Little Rick, I absolutely loved the product, and immediately saw its potential. After looking at other CBD drinks, we realized that with most brands in the space focusing on health and wellbeing, there was a big opportunity for Little Rick to move into a new territory that embraces the elephant in the room: The fact that CBD helps you relax and feel good,” continues Ben da Costa, Chief Creative Officer, NOW. “With a more adult, premium brand identity, and a confident new attitude, we believe that Little Rick will become a leader in the crowded CBD market,” concludes da Costa.
Are you curious about Little Rick’s brand transformation? Then we invite you to step into this relaxing world shaped by NOW by checking out the video below.
Credits:
Client: Little Rick
Agency: NOW