HML’s line of papers have three different categories. Not just for pricing, but also based on functionality. On one hand we had to create a system that helped people understand the different grades of paper and why you would buy them. Within that, we also needed to identify each type of paper within a different grade.

We approached it in a way where form followed function. Where it was very user driven. That’s really something we do for every project. It’s similar to the way Apple works. Not only does it work great and perform at the highest level, but it’s also easy to use. So that was really our goal here too.

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There’s a lower end group for black-and-white copy paper. Then a middle grade for in-between copy where you have some color. And then the top-of-the-line paper is for printing photos or color-rich presentations. We colored-coded the groupings using blue, green and orange. We did this to build off of the colors the brand had historically used. That’s how we created the structure for the system.

For the system, one of the things we’re most proud of is that we came up with a system that was based on common sense. Someone could figure out what the paper is used for just by reading the packaging. When it came to the three different paper grades, we called the black-and-white paper group Copy. The middle group was called Multi, for multi-purpose, and then we called the highest level group Color. It was very easy to understand. Copy is for copies, Multi is for multi-purpose printing where you need to print using both color and black-and-white. The Color category includes the type of paper that’s used for full-color printing.

We came up with how we were going to separate the paper grades through the naming structure of Copy, Multi and Color. Then we came up with different concepts. One was to use animals, another was to show how the paper is used with artists creating really colorful imagery, and another showed black-and-white use. It was a very cool line. Very abstract, and millennials loved it. The animals won overall as having general appeal across all of the audiences. Everybody loved the animals, but the millennials really freaked over the packaging that showed end use.

To differentiate further, we started thinking about what animals to use to help identify the different paper types, since it’s such a vast line of products. We did this to make it easier for people to remember and to help explain what the paper is for.

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For sure, we’ve already had some adjustments in it already. There’s an interesting one, there’s a penguin that kept disappearing and coming back because it’s more B2B. We were able to accommodate it, no problem. The key is, if it’s a brand new grade, we would obviously have to think about where it fits into the system and what it’s for. It’s limitless really with all of the animals that are on earth.

We created key characters from each paper grade and brought them to life for videos, social media, really anywhere that we could use them. Where you could bring in personality for the animals on the different grades. When you compare that to what everyone else in the marketplace is doing, it’s odd because they have almost gone in the opposite direction where everything looks so generic. A paper like Hammermill where they invest a fortune in the science behind the paper so that it performs at the highest level across all printers should also look like it’s the most valuable paper on the market. It should look like you’re getting what you’re paying for.

We really look forward and think about how these things are going to be used in the future. We asked ourselves, “how will this be marketed and how will people interact with it?”. We think about those things from the beginning so we can leverage everything we create to have as much impact at every touch point.

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One of things that was tricky was that we couldn’t use photography with a fish and shark. You can’t hire a trained shark to swim the way you want it to. The idea of working with animal trainers is so cost prohibitive. We worked with our partners at Happy Finish to create the characters in CGI and that allowed us to bring them to life and use them to sell themselves. Create characters that not only people recognize, but they get to know.

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We brought them to life in the commercials. One of the interesting things about the commercials is that they grew out of a meeting we had in Memphis. We were down there to film videos for St. Jude for the fundraising campaign that we help Hammermill with through their paper packaging. We went to have lunch with our client, and we started to talk about how we’re going to promote this. And how there is always a fear of change. And how were we going to deal with this, and our feeling was, let’s flip it on its head and make it positive.

We came up with the ideas for the commercials right there at lunch where we talked about the fact that the packaging for Color Copy paper had been a green apple for so long. How would we let people know now it’s a parrot. That’s why we came up with the idea for the parrot to roll the green apple back and forth across the screen. The parrot hits the ream of paper with the apple on it and it turns into the new ream with the parrot on it. We also came up with an idea for the butterfly since that’s one of the previous animals that we were keeping in the system. The idea was for the butterfly to fly off of the old packaging and land onto the new packaging. As the butterfly flies onto the new packaging, the rest of the animals walk out and onto their packaging.

Winston, our content strategist, wrote the music to the commercial. It’s one of the things that’s so interesting about our team. Many of our team members are multitalented. We wanted to build the music to the way that the animals walk. There are famous songs, like “Baby Elephant Walk” by Henry Mancini and others who have tried to emulate the walk of animals that sway side to side. We wanted to capture that kind of spirit with it. Then we had to have the parrot speak. Fortunately, I watched way too many Warner Brother cartoons as a kid, and at one point wanted to be Mel blanc so I ended up becoming the voice of the parrot. The commercials that grew out of it, everything, was a labor of love.

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The idea of using AR was something we built in and we never got to fully realize it. We really wanted to have the packaging talk to you. We tested some AR with it, but it wasn’t something we fully got to roll out. One way, was to have the characters on the packaging tell you what the paper is for when you hold your phone up to it and your phone would recognize the image of the character. On the backside of the reams, we wanted to activate it so you could see where it was made. One thing about Hammermill papers is that they’re made in the USA. We wanted to have the folks who make the paper at the local paper mills say, “Thank you for buying the paper.”

We also figured out a whole system for ordering paper through texting with emojis, since the papers are all identifiable by the animals on the packaging. The idea that you could simplify the ordering process that way is incredible. And in certain markets, we really thought it would be appealing—particularly for the millennial market. That was another idea that grew out of the whole system.

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There were a few animals that were holdovers from the previous design. Animals on the packaging that were really well known by people. Mainly the zebra, which is one we knew we were going to keep. For the lower end, Copy, we used black-and-white animals. For the middle grade, we used animals that are more subdued in color. We used very colorful and vibrant animals for the highest level. Such as a parrot, butterfly, and hummingbird. Then over time, people can identify Premium Color Copy is the parrot. People recognize the zebra, they recognize any of the different grades based on the animal on the packaging.

In our testing, we learned that people don’t like bugs or sharks. Hammermill’s Great White® paper has been around for so long. It’s actually a line of paper that Hammermill acquired, so there’s a long history there where we had to keep the shark. We tried to make our shark as classic and appealing as possible since people really don’t like sharks. It was tricky to make it look like a shark and make it less scary looking. For the CGI, we only animated the shark’s fin.

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Another way the animals have played out nicely was through social media when people could vote on the names for the animals. We also created fun office memes based on the type of paper the animal represented. We gave each of the animals personalities. The zebra, for instance, is black-and-white, and the paper is often used by accounting firms. So the zebra’s character was frugal. The one who is penny pinching and seeing where there is waste in the office. For the shark, which is on the recycled paper packaging, we played off of the recycle and reuse aspect of it with the shark’s appetite. The shark was always hungry and wanted to eat everything. The bunnies multiplied, the peacock was the office showoff. The animals’ personalities added another dimension to it.

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We created a habitat of papers, so it became known as the Hammermill Habitat. After we figured out the system—and it wasn’t easy, believe me—we had to find multiple images for each animal and combine them all and retouch them. We worked in close association with DCC and their whole retouching team. For each animal, we had to find five images for each one and try to make the perfect animal. With each of those we created the whole habitat, and then we had an interesting opportunity. We thought since these are literal characters or animals, you can do more with them. You can market them differently. We had to figure out how to make these animals come alive. We asked ourselves, “If these animals could sell themselves, how would they do it?”.

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