For 2014, we brought Color of the Year alive through monthly stories, compelling lifestyle imagery and intentional color statements about Radiant Orchid. The Creative direction focused on objects and their context in support of the idea and expression of the color. Products were arranged to bring the facets of the color to life. Color complementarities, accent contrasts, unique patterns and compositions were leveraged to create distinctive images for marketing and communication collateral.

In the service of creating an assortment of diverse yet connected assets for use across physical and digital channels, we recommended developing two types of images:

Core Assets, which served as the visual backbone of the campaign. These images led Pantone's creative articulation of Color of the Year in press and partner marketing, and ensured a cohesive expression of the campaign.

Monthly Vignettes served social media's need for timely content and relevant editorial themes. This series of compositions allowed the brand to create vignettes on a monthly basis as well as in reference to popular events, holidays, and key moments throughout the year. And, while primarily designed for online distribution, photos were also optimized for offline application.

As Pantone’s AOR, Sub Rosa stewarded the creative relaunch of this campaign from beginning to end, continuing post-launch with an ongoing social campaign. We managed and produced the official photo shoot, creating a core set of images to be used across all Pantone’s online and offline channels as well as media placements. A second round of images were developed for social media channels, tying the Color of the Year to events happening in each calendar month to enable the brand to discuss the color in relevant ways throughout the year.

Additionally, the campaign transformed Pantone’s culture. The project resulted in a branding essence document that is now core to Pantone’s internal and external mission statement.

Externally, Color of the Year fostered creative community growth. The impact this new trajectory had on Pantone’s brand and its individual campaign is evident in the brand’s overall social presence and community growth. Engaging with a target audience centered on females 25-35, Color of the Year sparked more than 23,000 new followers and fans on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest - a growth of ~200%.