Antti Tapani
Building a successful clothing brand from scratch
S group, a Finnish network of companies operating in the retail and service sectors, came to us in the beginning of 2019 with a bold idea. They wanted to change the perception of their hypermarket Prisma, as a place with very basic and cheaper clothing, to a place with truly great style and contemporary fashion. The idea: A clothing line in collaboration with beloved national super star Antti Tuisku.
This of course came with some major challenges. Although Antti as a pop culture icon is loved by many, he’s also very controversial as an artist. How would we create a brand with edge that would still appeal to all of Prisma’s customers, one of the broadest target audiences you can think of in Finland. With an investment of this scale, it was crucial that the line would be successful from the beginning. And how would we do all of this, without being judged as just another merchandising campaign with a star.
Enter Antti Tapani — a pseudonym using Antti’s middle name, that he had used earlier for purposes other than his music career. This was the perfect opportunity to create a new, but strongly related and familiar brand that could stand fully on its own legs. BOND’s first assignment was to define the purpose and narrative of Antti Tapani. A purpose strongly tied to the artists own past, as someone relentlessly challenging the status quo, but also resonating with Prisma’s way of moving and democratising the world of fashion.
Full case study: https://bond-agency.com/project/antti-tapani
Success is a really weird thing
We wanted a narrative and tagline that really connected people with the message of the brand. Something relatable across all age groups, sexualities and genders. Looking at Antti’s own career, much of his success came only when he finally dared to do things his own way, and not trying to please other people and trying to live up to their expectations. We often fear things in ourselves, that we believe other people would judge as weird or different or not normal, when in fact those very things could prove to be our best possible assets. In this we found a universal truth. That everything we consider normal today, was once in fact seen as weird. That great was never normal.
We wanted a narrative and tagline that really connected people with the message of the brand. Something relatable across all age groups, sexualities and genders. Looking at Antti’s own career, much of his success came only when he finally dared to do things his own way, and not trying to please other people and trying to live up to their expectations. We often fear things in ourselves, that we believe other people would judge as weird or different or not normal, when in fact those very things could prove to be our best possible assets. In this we found a universal truth. That everything we consider normal today, was once in fact seen as weird. That great was never normal.
Let your weird rise
Our symbol simply became an arrow pointing up, made from the A and T of the brand name. The simplest possible expression of the idea, that by allowing your real self to shine, you enter a new world of possibilities and you grow as a human being.
Our symbol simply became an arrow pointing up, made from the A and T of the brand name. The simplest possible expression of the idea, that by allowing your real self to shine, you enter a new world of possibilities and you grow as a human being.
Athleisure and unisex for everyone
Besides the brand itself, BOND was also tasked to design the clothing line itself. We collaborated closely with SOK’s team in defining a clear strategy for the line by closely monitoring current and future fashion trends. This, combined with Antti’s wishes for a brand that celebrates the best in people, became an athleisure collection combining performance aesthetics with street fashion for an active and healthy lifestyle with more than 40 unique items for first launch alone. BOND is now working on next season’s line with more great items. Stay tuned.
Building the buzz
A mysterious AT symbol started appearing around the capital in the spring of 2020. From this on we started posting similar material in different channels, never quite revealing the connection to Antti, but using only our tagline, symbol and 6 second videos with personal messages from our film cast. Just a few weeks before launch, Antti dropped the bomb that tied all strings together, as he released our film via his personal Instagram channel. A few days later 2 million people received a printed fold-out article in the most read magazine in Finland, Yhteishyvä. In addition to Yhteishyvä, the clothing line also received a lot of earned media, being the top news in Finland on its release date.
Scroll up!
BOND build a sleek and simple campaign site to bind all touch points together. A simple website with just one little detail setting it apart from all other campaign websites. To see the content you have to “scroll up”.
Phenomenal 17-fold increase in Prisma.fi sales
The collection boosted Prisma.fi's clothing sales up to 17 times compared to last year. Also the marketing efforts paid off, as 55% of Finns recalled seeing Antti Tapani advertising, and of young women (under 34), as many as 83% remembered seeing advertising. Overall, the campaign had a massive impact on the image of Prisma as a place to buy clothes among young people. Under the age of 34, it sparked buying interest by as much as 34 percent. Great is indeed not normal.
