Julie's Biscuits gets whimsical with new sonic branding after refresh

About two months after Julie's Biscuits rolled out its brand refresh last November, the brand is going a step further by unveiling a new sonic branding done in conjunction with audio branding agency Two AM. According to Two AM, the score blends the flavours of fantasy and pop and opens with a whimsical motif that leads consumers into the adventurous world of Julie's treats. The theme evolves to bring the viewer through other various universes, such as the deep blue sea and outerspace, before climaxing into an orchestration.

The animated story also ends with a transformation from the familiar Julie's logo into the newly refreshed design, which Superunion was responsible for creating last year. Two AM used this key turning point to introduce a memorable and bubbly sonic logo to drive the rebranding home and pave the way for the introduction of the brand refresh.

As Julie's was in the process of rebranding visually, Two AM's partner and creative director Oliver Stutz told A+M that it saw this as "a golden opportunity" to create a fresh sonic personality that would work hand in hand with the visual transformation. According to him, most of the inspiration for the mood and tone of both the music score and sonic logo came from the magical aesthetic of the film’s animation.

"The audio side of the project began in August 2020. After much planning and conceptualisation, we experimented with several different directions and approaches until we landed on something everyone was happy with," he added.

While scoring the music theme, the team at Two AM wanted to ensure it connected listeners to their inner nostalgia and spark a sense of comfort and familiarity. Additionally, it also wanted consumers to experience the wholesome emotions and memories of sharing when thinking of Julie's. According to Stutz, the sonic logo has a somewhat similar tone, however it injected a slight touch of cheekiness to bring out the personality of the brand’s iconic playful girl character.

That said, the sonic rebranding journey was not a bed of roses. Stutz said one of the trickiest parts of creating something new for a brand such as Julie's was developing something that on one end feels completely new, but at the same time does not take away its pre-established nostalgic feel as a company.

"Many people grew up with Julie’s and see it as a beloved childhood favorite, which is something we wanted to support. This meant the music and sonic logo had to feel somewhat familiar, while simultaneously driving the brand’s new visual aesthetic," he explained.

Superunion's digital design director Jessica Tan said the team wanted a complete brand experience that would help Julie's work across platforms and Two AM were great partners in helping the team achieve that. "It worked tirelessly to capture the nostalgia and charm of the brand in the film. We are delighted with the result and look forward to a bright future for the brand," Tan added.

Julie's unveiled its brand refresh last year, more than 35 years after it was founded in 1984. Director Tzy Horng Sai told A+M previously that it wanted to make biscuits young again and capture the hearts of the younger audience because the company felt that biscuits have become a thing of the older generation. "We also wanted to be an aspirational brand, something that can make consumers happy the moment they see us after waking up. We hope the brand icon will inspire hope and make consumers look forward to the day," he added.

The rebranding took about one and a half years and Julie's spent close to SG$1 million for the entire project with Superunion. The wordmark "Julie's" is in blue, supporting Julie "with its confident, friendly lines that pay homage to the brand's heritage typeface", the company said in its corporate identity guide. It also described Julie to be a symbol of what it is - cheerful, evergreen, welcoming and hopeful. On the other hand, the previous logo featured a seemingly older-looking Julie with two pony tails and blue ribbons. She also donned a blue shirt and a red vest, and the wordmark was yellow in colour.

As part of the rebranding campaign, Julie's also pushed out a film titled "Operation Maybe" with a fictionalised storyline done in collaboration with creative agency GOVT. The film tells the story of Julie's marketing head, Raju, proposing to rebrand the company but was met with a "maybe" from his boss, which Raju deems as disapproval. Raju then gathered different colleagues in the company to physically change the logo outside the building to let his boss see what a good idea it is.

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