Aniwonder Branding & Strategy
A new kind of anime convention
Aniwonder is an annual, 3-day anime convention opening the door to careers in the industry and celebrating Japanese pop culture. The event tours internationally to five locations throughout the year, appearing in Tokyo, London, Manchester, New York, and Los Angeles.
We developed Aniwonder’s strategy, messaging and brand identity in order to raise brand awareness, increase revenue, improve brand perception, and promote the event's unique positioning.
CLIENT
Aniwonder
(hypothetical client)
SERVICES
Strategy
Messaging
Identity Design
VIEW CREDITS
Our challenge
The anime industry needs to welcome fresh talent to keep up with the growing global demand, explore new creative avenues, and encourage partnerships between anime franchises and popular brands. Our goal was to help Aniwonder raise their profile and profits whilst fulfilling their core mission:
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Connect keen talent with industry experts and advisors to facilitate the growth of new and exciting professional relationships.
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Inspire and encourage fans and creatives to explore and consider career options in the anime industry.
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Deliver a joyful and memorable experience to all attendees through skill-building workshops, panel discussions, exhibits, contests, exclusive screenings and more.
Developing the Strategy
We began the process by developing a strategy for the brand. Event attendance hadn't increased as much as the client had hoped over the course of its first three years, and they were struggling to become the go-to anime convention. Although they were offering an enjoyable experience, it lacked the wow-factor. Our first step was to gain clarity on who the brand is and who the audience is, which we distilled into five target groups.
We identified a spectrum of attendees whose main motivation either leaned towards networking, or exploring the convention. It was important to consider the layout of the event to create a smoother transition between the two elements of Aniwonder, moving it away from feeling like two isolated experiences. To achieve this, we re-structured the event passes and recommended changes to the physical layout, integrating the networking and fan-oriented experiences and encouraging attendees to explore everything with a single pass.
Identity Design
The new Aniwonder logo system strikes a balance between fun and professional, cutting through the sea of cartoonified typefaces used by much of the competition. This fresh take on a convention logo reflects the brand’s unique offer: The only anime convention that puts industry experts and keen talent in the same room.
Throughout the identity design process, we worked to develop Aniwonder’s missing and weak touchpoints to elevate the brand experience. In previous years, the event experience only materialised when people entered the venue, and disappeared when they left. Rooms filled with stalls and tables weren’t enough to leave a lasting impression on attendees, and didn’t capture the essence of a premium, fun-filled experience. We gave the whole print experience a face-lift, including event passes, banners, and an event programme.
Making a mascot
We worked with specialist character designer, JianZefanya, to create two event mascots that captured the fun, friendly, and happy feel of Aniwonder. The characters, named Koshiro (meaning ambitious, growth-oriented, visionary) and Aya (meaning design), give the brand’s materials a new lease of life.
To help Aniwonder articulate their offer, we defined a series of key messages that direct the brand’s communications.
As part of the brand’s strategy, we suggested partnering with independent food & drink vendors that are popular in each location to deliver a range of Aniwonder branded products. These novelty items will contribute to increased revenue by commanding a price premium, and the co-design approach will help to spread awareness of the event whilst creating a localised experience. The new brand identity was also rolled out across Aniwonder’s merchandise.
