Koala Kidz. The Ultimate Indoor Playground.

When the owners of the Koala Kidz indoor playground in Vaughan wanted to launch their new venture, they knew they needed to work with a strong brand development company.  They had big plans for this 10,000 sq. ft area which was certain to include indoor slides, tubes, play areas and much more.  They knew that the brand had to be strong to stand out in the indoor playground market and to attract lots of parents and their children.

The owners decided to work with New Design Group based on the latter’s strong portfolio of brand design success for a number of other children focused companies: Gymalaya,  Just Ducky Yonge Kids and Yes I Can Nursery School.  They also knew that New Design Group could successfully guide them through the complete branding project and advise them of all the marketing materials they would require to succeed.

The Name

And then came the first challenge.  The company owners were keen to call the new venue ‘Daddy’s Camp’.   New Design Group had serious reservations about this choice:  what would this name tell people about the company?  It seemed unlikely that the general public would immediately understand that ‘Daddy’s Camp’ was a fun indoor playground designed specifically for young kids.  New Design Group diplomatically discussed the name choice with the owners and explained how critical it is to have a name that reflects the business.

After reviewing the brand expectations, and brainstorming some alternative names, the final name was chosen: Koala Kidz.  Immediately this name states that the venture is for children and gave New Design Group the opportunity to develop the visual identity of the brand with some cute koala characters.

The Mascots

A mascot for any company is always a nice addition.  But for a kids’ indoor playground that wants to attract children and their parents, it’s a great marketing tool.  The more unusual or cuter the mascot, the more likely it is to be remembered.  Add in some bold words to support the mascot and people will soon understand which company the mascot represents.

New Design Group decided to create a girl and boy koala bear as the mascots for Koala Kidz.  Not only do the mascots form the basis of the logo, but these cute koalas are timeless and can be used across all marketing materials.  They can be shown taking part in the wide variety of activities on offer at the venue and can adapt with the times.

Furthermore these adorable characters were designed simplistically – specifically to allow them to be created as soft toy mascots that can then be given away to children at special events and birthday parties.

The Logo

The logo clearly shows the koalas sweetly holding hands while the playground name ‘Koala Kidz’ floats above them in large, clear coloured letters.  Cute? Yep……  Eye-catching? Definitely…….  Memorable?  You bet!

The Venue

The owners of Koala Kidz had great ideas for the interior decoration of the indoor playground.  With New Design Group assisting them every step of the way they were able to create wall designs to re-emphasise the company name and showcase the koala mascots at every opportunity.  In fact an enormous koala head is centre stage in the main room reminding kids at every turn that Koala Kidz is THE place to drag the parents to!

The Marketing Plan

As the venue was under development, New Design Group was working hard behind the scenes to prepare the necessary branded marketing materials to launch the indoor playground with a resounding bang.

• Copy writing.  Fabulous designs deserve to be supported by superb copy writing.  The skilled writers at New Design Group came up with some show stopping copy and slogans.  For example: ‘The ULTIMATE indoor playground in Vaughan’.  Bold, daring and hard to ignore.  This kind of punchy slogan is guaranteed to get people asking themselves “is this playground really the ultimate in playgrounds?”
• Outdoor signage.  A beautifully designed interior is wasted if the exterior signage doesn’t live up to its role – it needs to be just as professionally branded and eye-catching.  Outdoor signage is the first thing people see as they drive up to the doors – and if it is below par, people may be reluctant to walk through those doors.
• Vehicle graphics.  Branding vehicles is a clever marketing ploy when trying to attract locals to a venue.  As the cars go about their business in the locality, a large number of people will see them and take notice if the branding is strong.  New Design Group’s designs are just that – the mascots and logo are clearly visible, the bright colours demand attention and the cars are therefore guaranteed to spread the word about Koala Kidz.

• Bus advertising campaign.  People waiting at bus stops have little to do apart from watch the world go by.  People in stationery traffic are similarly a captive audience – they can only sit patiently and see what goes past their windshield.  Bus advertising is a winner.  Always.  This bus advert is colourful and simplistic:  the slogan is highly visible, the mascots are waving cheerfully at passers-by, and the company address, website and phone number are the only items displayed.  That’s all that is needed – a little taster of what Koala Kidz can offer and the contact details.
• Flyers & posters.  The sheer flexibility of a mascot is wonderful for the designer.  Koala Kidz wanted to offer dance, music, art and yoga classes.  So the simplest way to impart this message was to create designs showing the koalas enthusiastically dancing, singing, painting and performing some yoga poses.  They are still cute, still memorable and are clearly the Koala Kidz mascots –that have now got up to some new tricks.
• Website. A kids orientated business needs a website that shows it is professional, organised and a great place to take the kids.  Koala Kidz website is colourful, the mascots are seen in a variety of poses and there is easy navigation to allow the visitor to find out what they need: information about the facility, birthday parties, classes, opening times and prices.  And of course there is a photo gallery showing the venue from all possible angles which is a must.  There is nothing more likely to tempt parents to try out a new indoor playground with the kids than great images showing the fabulous activities on offer.  This is a memorable and fun website with super design showing the mascots up to all manner of exciting things!
• Facebook.  To complement the website, New Design Group created the Koala Kidz Facebook page and set up the advertising campaign.  Facebook is a great social media website for kids playgrounds – plenty of room for photos, plenty of room to make announcements and with the ability to really connect with friends and spread the word.

The Timelines

You may be surprised to learn just how quickly this project progressed.  After the first meetings, four initial concepts were presented to the owners in storyboard format to clearly show how the proposed brands would appear across every element of the company.  As the project progressed and as each new item was designed, at least two different concepts were shown to the client.

That’s an awful lot of work when you consider the number of items that were designed, which include those mentioned above plus the party invitations, day passes and business cards.

All of the design work, website development, social media and advertising campaigns were completed in a very impressive six months.  The Koala Kidz owners were delighted with the professionalism and talent of the New Design Group team, and were overwhelmed by the public’s response – 30 birthday parties were booked before Koala Kidz had even opened its doors!

Hats off to Koala Kidz and New Design Group for working so harmoniously to finalise an incredibly successful branding project!