Mini Melts is an American ice cream franchise that has spread its wings to nearly 20 countries and is now firmly established in Australia.
Big Red Dog joined forces with Mini Melts in January of 2010. Together we have forged a great working relationship and have put our own spin on the brand, giving it heaps of vibrancy, iciness, creaminess, colour, texture and fun.
Breathing new life into the logo
The name Mini Melts has been brilliant for the brand. It’s short, memorable and kids love it. The logo we inherited from the global brand had served Mini Melts well but needed some tweaking prior to the Australian launch.
One challenge was finding a way to explain what Mini Melts are. In a new market with an ice cream no-one had seen before, this was a problem that needed to be overcome through a focused strategy. Mini Melts are small, individual pieces of ice cream that are cryogenically frozen using nitrogen at -44 degrees. We developed the key message super freezy super creamy.
The Freezerizer
The Freezerizer started life when a container of second hand vending machines arrived from the US. They worked well but needed a new look.
In the redesign the graphics on the front became about product and selection. The sides became about The Freezerizer, a penguin-operated fantasy machine that produces all flavour of Mini Melts!
Putting a wrap on the tubs
Available space to display graphics on the lids of the ice cream tubs was very limited due to the demands of the barcode, nutritionals and other info. Our solution was to add a wrap to the top of the tubs, using the side tabs to display non-essential information.
“Putting a wrap on the tubs was great, you can see product now when you open a freezer. Had we not done this we’d have had a much harder time educating Australians about Mini Melts.” Dwaine Kretschmer, Mini Melts Australia
A large roll out
Additional development has included graphics wraps for several different vehicle designs, point of sale, signage, vending machines, marquees, tear drop banners, vertical pull up banners, trailer vans, printed stationery and a revamped online presence.
Mini Melts Online
In its start up phase the website is all about tubs of Mini Melts, with a product navigation area top of screen right throughout the consumer area of the site. Another great feature of the site is the business opportunities section, showing Master Licensee and Area Licensee opportunities throughout Australia. Business opportunities are shown as available, under offer or sold. The site sits on a WordPress framework.
Meet the colony
At the heart of Mini Melt’s brand personality is the penguin. The colony are constantly chatting with customers, with cute little phrases like “taste it, love it!” and “so much fun!” a part of their penguin-speak. The back of the vehicles even tell trailing drivers “if you can read this you’re too flippin close!”
We’ve recently been expanding the penguin family with a few more penguins signing up for the Mini Melts experience. These include skatey penguin, beach penguin and party penguin. Watch this space.
We photographed Mini Melts spilling out of tubs, clearly showing what the product looks like. A penguin with an icy cold message completes the story. These elements form the core of the Mini Melts brand wherever visuals are displayed.
Mini Melts Ice Cream. How much fun are we having?