IRN - BR U David Rizzuto, International Design, ACM2009

What is Irn - Bru ? “Irn-Bru” - Scotland’s other national drink. Irn-Bru is a brand which maintains their dominance in the soft drink market. How? By marketing itself as a national icon in Scotland.

Brand Objective Its objective to market itself as a Scottish icon as served well since Scottish people tend to favour local symbols as opposed to global ones.

Brand Identity - Humour Irn-Bru embraces its Scottish heritage…by poking fun at it. This ad caused some controversy at first, but complaints were dismissed because the advertisement was in “good-nature”. Instead of negative feedback, this stunt caused increased awareness of the brand.

Controversy – When Humour Fails Sometimes though, Irn-Bru’s advertisement has caused some real upset. “Parody of 1950’s commercial”- claimed to have offended transgender people. h?v=fID-W9RT7OY h?v=fID-W9RT7OY Does risky advertising carry negative ramifications should it backfire?

Re - branding for overseas markets Irn-Bru began to sell its brand in Russia, totally changing its advertising to suit cultural aesthetics in the country. Humour was used to promote their product in Russia, which was met with a positive reception; conveying a positive impression to consumers being advertised by a foreign brand

Incorporating Humour into Taglines Connecting a funny tagline can be used to identify your target audience. Irn-Bru used this advert to express how Scottish people use their sense of humour to retain their lives during their up’s and down’s. “Scottish sprit and attitude inspired our new campaign which offers some light relief and how Irn-Bru gets you through” – Head of Marketing Adrian Troy.  An attempt to connect national identity to product – connecting your product and your personality to get you through a situation. The advertising strategy Irn-Bru created included:  Target audience - > Scottish people;  Evoke feelings to the audience and connect them to your product - > the ‘typical’ Scottish reaction to an embarrassing situation, and how the product helps, hence “Irn-Bru gets you through”.

Conclusion Irn-Bru’s success is determined by simple attributes that help connect a brand with a young audience. Key attributes are: Create a brand that appeals to an audience as to who have an ‘identity’, such as national pride, etc. Don’t take yourself seriously– appealing to a wide audience. Make it ‘fun’ and ‘energetic’ – people appreciate your brand if you try something humorous or clever. Take risks, but know when to draw the line - the intention to advertise your brand is to amuse – not to offend. Create a tagline that evokes a connection to the audience’s identity and the product.

References Clarke, C (2012) “Irn-Bru unveils new ads and new slogan: 'Irn-Bru gets you through‘”, The Drum Modern Media & Marketing website, Stone, M.A. (2003) Case 1: Irn-Bru builds up A.G. Barr sales with fizz in Russia, viewed 6 th March 2013 Riley, A. (2011) Secrets of the Superbrands – Food, BBC Television, viewed 9 th March 2013 Brottland, B. (2008) “Top 11 Marketing Taglines of 2008”, Resource Nation website, viewed 11 th April 2013

Questions Q1: Do you think it is important that the target audience’s identity reflects your brand and design? Q2: Are taglines necessary, or should a product's design be enough to grab attention? Q3: Should it be important for designers to think of ideas do not carry negative connotations when creating a brand, or are these complaints nothing more than overanalyses?