Brief 9: What constitutes "unisex" branding

As part of the brief for Brass Castle, it is easy to pick out the word "unisex" from the brief. I am unsure initially of how to appeal to both male and female drinkers of the target age range, so I have looked at what can make a brand image unisex.



"Branding: Brylcreem to launch unisex styling range"

Brylcreem, the male grooming brand, is making its first foray into unisex hairstyling with the launch of a spin-off range positioned at the top end of the market.

The launch is based on a 'less is more' philosophy, focusing on simplicity, style and a straightforward approach to grooming, with plain packaging intended to reflect the positioning.

'It's important for us to have a presence in the unisex market,' said Julie Baker, marketing director of Brylcreem's owner, Sarah Lee Household & Body Care. The b: range is intended to give customers a hairstyling product to follow on from the original Brylcreem line as they get older.

The launch of b: comes less than a year after Brylcreem relaunched with a reformulated and repackaged line designed by branding agency Path.

Article source: Marketing Magazine
Image Source: Path

Fisix

Mucho’s identity system combines pastels, dark grey and serif type and is designed to appeal to a unisex audience. The name Fisix was also chosen for its unisex appeal and to reflect the brand’s association with physical activity and science.
We looked very carefully at the graphics, type and colours to create a mixture that would be technical enough and aspirational enough and have the ability to attract both genders in a market (cosmetics) where they very rarely mix. The pastel colours seemed to suit that very well,”

Article and Images: Creative Review

Why Unisex Products Are the Way of the Future

A traditionally feminine product might get overhauled to be quite masculine in order to appeal to the everyday man. What this does is familiarizes males with something they too can benefit from and in the future the product won’t require specifically masculine or feminine branding because it won’t be require; it can be one product that everyone identifies with.Unisex products do away with the traditional boundaries set by masculinizing or feminizing a specific product and can effectively boost sales in the long term. This is where some brands have experienced great success and where others have fallen flat. However, it’s becoming progressively clearer that the modern market is ready for a more streamlined approach that does away with sex-specific benefits and promotes to all.


Article Source: Trend Reports

Lee Jeans teams up with OTHER

Denim brand Lee Jeans has collaborated with London multi-brand boutique OTHER/shop and its clothing line OTHER for a unisex collection. OTHER's design team Matthew Murphy and Chloe Struyk have created a line based on the core signature Lee styles and the idea of handcrafted customisation; pieces include a Western shirt with a chambray rice print collar, Scarlett jeans with silk scatter print on back pockets and dip dye bleached tees. Out August 8 at OTHER/shop, online and in-store. See Fashion Monitor events for the launch party details

Source: Fashion Monitor

Evaluation

Looking into these cases of unisex branding, my initial thoughts on colour being a large part of a unisex branding success are now shown to be wrong. I thought for example that pastel colours would reflect femininity through calming and relaxing the consumer, however this can appeal to males also. Simplicity is a theme that is consistent through all the attempts to attract a unisex audience. The Fisix brand engages both sexes in their product through simple images and layouts, it is perhaps the colour palette that attracts females and the bold layout that appeals to males who want information about beauty as quickly and as easily as possible.

The piece by Trend Reports highlighted that it is key for a business to tell people that both sexes benifit from the product. Most products are the same even in different packaging, it is the contents that make the difference to the person and therefore a sex specific barrier should be dropped in order to gain more income for the business.

Source: Pinterest/Indulgy

This Sydney Hale Co. packaging combines a handmade DIY aesthetic with light and elegant serif type to appeal to both sexes. It is my opinion that what could traditionally be portrayed as a feminine item, this candle can be appreciated by males through the tactile nature of the label and the lid. The company are clever to utilise a hand stamp for economical reasons whilst enforcing the hand made aesthetic.

With my beer labels I feel that by embracing the hand crafted nature of the product and using a pastel colour scheme I can appeal to both sexes. It would be beneficial to explore a hand stamp to carry the theme of handmade production methods.