Color us impressed

Written By James Forr

Adweek just dropped a new podcast with Victoria Lozano, who was CMO at Crayola at the time of the recording last November.

Among the topics:

--The challenges of growing a heritage brand like Crayola. The brand oozes nostalgia, which is sufficient to create warm feelings. But to stay relevant, the brand has continued to innovate, grow its current categories, and expand into new categories and market segments. 

--Creativity is core to the Crayola brand, but Crayola spins creativity differently for different segments.

  • For kids, creativity is about fun.

  • For adults who color in their free time, creativity is a form of escape.

  • For parents, creativity helps children develop the soft skills required for success and happiness.

  • For teachers, creativity affects learning outcomes and helps them impact young lives.

--Much of Crayola's equity resides in its multisensory experiences, particularly with its flagship product, the crayon.

  • The sight of a sharp crayon is especially important. The first thing we do when opening a new box is check the tips, and we get annoyed if they aren't razor-sharp.

  • There is also the sound of opening the box and the feel of the paper, which stick with us over time.

--Crayola also has embraced its brand purpose. So much of purpose-driven marketing is flabby—general statements about protecting the environment or making the world a better place in some abstract way.  But Crayola's approach has been more disciplined.

  • Its "Campaign for Creativity" has championed the transformative power of creativity. In a world where schools are cutting art and music programs and where all of us are leaning into AI in various ways, Crayola has tried to change how we talk and think about creativity—as an important tool for everyone, not just a select few.

An interesting lesson in how a brand can balance nostalgic emotions with modern relevance.

James Forr
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