THE PROBLEM
The project brief was to design the branding and B2C communications for a radio station. 88.9 The Punchline will provide the Vancouver lower mainland with programming that makes them laugh and lighten up through unexpected, entertaining, everyday comedy. Comedy and laughter are powerful and uplifting things; they help make days brighter, moods lighter, and life more interesting. 88.9 The Punchline delivers comedic programs and segments based on everyday life, recent events, and other things going on in the listeners’ lives. Their purpose is to make Vancouverites laugh, and make the everyday funny and interesting.
THE OBJECTIVES
· To connect to the target audience in a light, inclusive, and unexpected way
· To become recognized as the go-to comedy station in Vancouver
· To communicate in a way that reflects the station
· To generate advertising
THE SOLUTION
Three main qualities that I always kept in mind while creating material for this radio station was light, shared, and unexpected. Light to lighten up the listeners’ with laughter; shared because comedy and radio bring people within a physical proximity closer in an intangible way; and unexpected because of the nature of comedy. Throughout the branding, website, merchandise, and advertising, 88.9 The Punchline keeps it’s tonality light, inclusive, and unexpected.
WEBSITE
The concept of the website was that the homepage would feature jokes submitted by the radio hosts, or by listeners, for interactivity and inclusion. To include an element of the unexpected, the punchline of the joke is shown after the user clicks on the joke. From there they can share the joke from their various networking sites.
The first shot is the static homepage, the second shows a mouseover view, and the third shows the punchline, as well as the contributor's name and sharing options.
B2C ADVERTISING
The goal of this campaign is to make Vancouverites laugh. This campaign would be located along the skytrain stations. To incorporate an element of the unexpected, the campaign would be featured in odd places, such as along the escalators. Each stage of a knock knock joke is shown as commuters travel up the escalators, and at the end there's a punchline for them, as they get off the escalators.
The punchline is the logo and the slogan, encouraging commuters to share their own jokes.
Here's a sample of what the print components would look like along the walls of the escalators, as well as the punchline.
To accompany the above campaign, supporting communication pieces with the logo and the same slogan would be featured around high traffic commuter areas, such as downtown Vancouver.
