Fox River Socks, Rebrand
Shucking awesome socks made from corn fiber
For over a century, Fox River Socks had been a polite little Iowa sock company. Never boasting of its cutting-edge technology or all-American manufacturing. However, on the eve of the launch of its corn fiber socks, Fox River finally felt the need to speak up.
The world’s first corn sock. Completely sustainable. Annually renewable. To sock industry geeks, corn fiber technology was revolutionary, earth-shattering stuff.
Fox River’s corn socks made a big splash at the 2006 Outdoor Retailer show. The campaign not only hauled in loads of international orders, it resurrected interest in the overall Fox River brand.
The world’s first corn sock. Completely sustainable. Annually renewable. To sock industry geeks, corn fiber technology was revolutionary, earth-shattering stuff.
To average consumers, it was still just socks. Capsule’s goal was to launch a product that would grab shoppers’ attention, then intrigue them long enough to get educated on the technology’s unique benefits.
Capsule sent Fox River a set of Foundations™ Journals to kick off the process. Two weeks later, Fox River sent back the motherload. Scattered throughout the journals’ brand history sections, tucked between the 50th anniversary and factory expansions, were mentions of sock monkeys, arctic treks, Olympic games, and space odysseys. Fox River was sitting on gold. Its history was extraordinary, but had gone unsung for over a century.
It was clear that Fox River should push the envelope. Fox agreed.
Capsule sent Fox River a set of Foundations™ Journals to kick off the process. Two weeks later, Fox River sent back the motherload. Scattered throughout the journals’ brand history sections, tucked between the 50th anniversary and factory expansions, were mentions of sock monkeys, arctic treks, Olympic games, and space odysseys. Fox River was sitting on gold. Its history was extraordinary, but had gone unsung for over a century.
It was clear that Fox River should push the envelope. Fox agreed.
Armed with the journals, Capsule created packaging and communications tying the corn sock story into Fox River’s history. Corn socks became more than just a product. Corn socks became a verification of Fox River’s vast, quirky tradition. A distinct and interesting facet of a remarkable brand story that people could relate to and want as part of their world.
Fox River’s corn socks made a big splash at the 2006 Outdoor Retailer show. The campaign not only hauled in loads of international orders, it resurrected interest in the overall Fox River brand.
After the 2006 Outdoor Retailer Show success, Capsule was asked to keep moving forward. The next large complex effort was to focus on the Fox River primary packaging system. There were opportunities to both change the perception of Fox River socks and ways to reduce cost and impact on the environment.
Capsule worked with the Fox River team to audit the entire line in order get a clear picture of the current situation. The packaging line included hundreds of SKUs and variations for size, style, purpose, gender and age. The current package design was dated and had a masculine feel, even on the female socks. As the number of SKUs grew, the existing package design had changed to accommodate and the result was inconsistency across a large number of packages. Change needed to come in three forms, consistency, brand relevant visual language, and a more sustainable design.
The design process started with concepts, shown in a variety of product and package forms. The concepts were then refined, filtered and further refined in order to get to a final design solution. The solution brought consistency to a complex system while allowing for inline imprinting, reduction of materials used, and a visual language more relevant to female audiences. The illustrative style brought to life the Fox River outlaw archetype while conveying the consumer’s energy and the iconic nature of the Fox River name.
The design was then implemented into displays that used recyclable materials with less weight for shipping and meant a more consistent in store experience. Final production and implementation on all packaging and displays were completed by the internal Fox River team after the design concepts were final.
Capsule is proud to have helped bring new design and brand thinking to a historic brand like Fox River.
Capsule worked with the Fox River team to audit the entire line in order get a clear picture of the current situation. The packaging line included hundreds of SKUs and variations for size, style, purpose, gender and age. The current package design was dated and had a masculine feel, even on the female socks. As the number of SKUs grew, the existing package design had changed to accommodate and the result was inconsistency across a large number of packages. Change needed to come in three forms, consistency, brand relevant visual language, and a more sustainable design.
The design process started with concepts, shown in a variety of product and package forms. The concepts were then refined, filtered and further refined in order to get to a final design solution. The solution brought consistency to a complex system while allowing for inline imprinting, reduction of materials used, and a visual language more relevant to female audiences. The illustrative style brought to life the Fox River outlaw archetype while conveying the consumer’s energy and the iconic nature of the Fox River name.
The design was then implemented into displays that used recyclable materials with less weight for shipping and meant a more consistent in store experience. Final production and implementation on all packaging and displays were completed by the internal Fox River team after the design concepts were final.
Capsule is proud to have helped bring new design and brand thinking to a historic brand like Fox River.
“Capsule could not have come at a more perfect time for our company. They infused energy, amusement and passion right when we needed it.” – Jeff Lessard, Kernel of Socks
