Bluebill Recreation: Building a brand out of a product
You’ve probably seen one. Those larger-than-life, colorful floating foam islands in lakes, oceans, or pools. Adults and kids can stand, sunbathe, run, and jump off them — and stay afloat. It’s been 15 years since the original Aqualily Pad was developed by a polymer sales engineer who also happened to be a water enthusiast. And while dozens of knock-off lily pads have hit the market, the Aqua Lily Pad has remained the number one-selling water pad in America.
But while consumers recognize the Aqua Lily Pad product, they don’t know the Aqua Lily brand. Using its proprietary FlexCore Technology, the company makes other high-quality water recreation products, including inflatables, kickboards, and other accessories. And in the past few years, they have acquired other recreation brands. With their recent growth, Aqua Lily reached out to us for help building a new brand — one that would put them at the forefront of the recreation industry.
We quickly learned a lot about foam. It’s a pretty crucial substance when it comes to recreation products, especially for the water. And quality definitely makes a difference. When Aqua Lily approached us, they were not looking for a name change. However, during our research phase, we uncovered their biggest challenge: consumers knew Aqua Lily Pad as a product first, not the brand. It was time to reconsider the name.
Our strategy was to generate names that would help introduce Aqua Lily as a parent brand, giving it the separation it needed from its identity as a product. The new name needed to signify water and togetherness, quality and expertise. It needed to hint at fun but feel professional, with room to grow. They landed on Bluebill, a diving duck in North America that nests on floating mats of vegetation. With the added modifier, recreation, the name communicates trust and stability, with a vision for future product growth.
The new identity is smart, established, and fun. The duck logo represents a love of the outdoors and Bluebill Recreation’s origin in water products. A striking palette of blacks and blues and colorful active photography help the brand feel stable and energetic. The new brand demonstrates a level of broad professionalism and separation from the original product that will allow Bluebill to take its place in the recreation category.