You’re cordially invited to eat our dust. Literally. Because the best part of the chip bag is finally getting its own brand: Chip Dust. This flavor-packed powder at the bottom of a chip bag is a real, emerging CPG product category, and we’re live-building its brand strategy.
In this episode of Can They Brand That?®, watch Semiserious figure out how to take chip seasoning from afterthought to standalone product. In this surprisingly strategic brainstorm, we cover naming, positioning, the snack industry landscape, retail strategy, and campaign concepts.
This episode is for snack brand marketers, CPG strategists, food entrepreneurs, and anyone who licks their fingers after every bag. By the end of the creative exercise, we were fully bought in on these crumbly leftovers, so tip your nearest bag of chips upside down and watch the whole episode!
And don’t forget to join us every Wednesday @ noon CST on our YouTube channel for a fresh, new episode of ‘real branding for fake brands’. Hosted by: Allie LeFevere and Lyndsay Rush Sanders
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro, Show Rundown, Best Friend Banter, and Discussing the CPG Snack Category Landscape, @doritos, and Today’s Branding Challenge: Can They Brand Chip Dust?
08:46 The Brainstorm Begins!
09:22 Building a Chip Dust Brand From Scratch: Discussing Target Audience and Brand Positioning, Ideating a Brand Identity, Brand Names, Taglines, Brand Voice, Messaging, Packaging Design, Visual Identity, Funny Campaigns, Stunts, Activations, Product Lines, Innovative Packaging, and Marketing Strategies for a Disruptive Snack
33:35 Mascot O’Clock [Funny Mascot Ideas]
53:00 Funded or Done-ded [Would this idea get funded? Should someone hire us to actually brand it?]
Key Branding Ideas from This Episode:
- Cluttered or seemingly trivial ideas can reveal unexpected value when approached playfully.
- Adopting a playful curiosity toward seemingly silly ideas can lead to innovative breakthroughs in branding and product development.
- When brainstorming, pay attention to moments of intense enthusiasm or mischief; these often hide unrecognized opportunities and underlying consumer desires.
- The power of branding absurdity relies on consistency and visual amplification.
- Creating a memorable brand built around an outrageous concept (like chip dust) requires bold visual execution that matches the level of the idea’s craziness.
- This approach amplifies memorability and cultivates niche loyalty, making the product impossible to ignore despite its odd premise.
- Category subversion can be a strategic move, placing a novelty product on its expected shelf, thus catching core consumers off guard.
- Subverting traditional placement creates a stronger impact and cultivates communal identity among insiders, rather than blending into a crowded category.
- Design packaging and marketing narratives that reinforce this insider vibe, transforming a niche product into a badge of belonging.
- Simplicity combined with versatility enables products to tap into multiple consumer rituals, increasing engagement and lifecycle longevity.
- Focus on creating a core idea that can adapt across uses, emphasizing the fun, absurdity, and utility to foster organic growth.
- Harnessing humor, controversy, and insider references elevates product appeal, especially among trend-conscious or counterculture audiences.
- Developing mascot personas with offbeat, dopey characteristics enhances brand memorability and emotional connection
- A relatable, silly mascot can serve as a touchstone for brand storytelling, fostering community and viral potential.
- Design mascots that embody the product’s absurdity—dopey, unexpected, and visually distinctive—to make the brand unforgettable.
Semiserious is a female-founded humor branding agency for CPG brands. Their sweet spot is working with founder-led or venture-backed DTC startups to build brands using comedy as a core strategy to help brands stand out in a crowded market. Their roster includes industry darlings like Clif Bar, Native, Blue Bunny, Waterboy, Pie, Argent, JOI, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Yogi Tea, Choice Organics, GEN Z, The University of Chicago, Alleyoop, Better Than Booze, Backwoods, Bad Rabbit, U Suck at Golf, Hobbyist, and the Dallas Cowboys, but they would never brag about it in their bio. This funny branding agency has offices in Chicago and Nashville, but works with clients globally.
Say hi or snoop around:
🔔 Subscribe for weekly branding brainstorms → https://www.youtube.com/@semiseriousagency
📺 Watch the full Can They Brand That? show series → https://bit.ly/can-they-brand-that-playlist
🌐 Work with Semiserious: https://semiseriousagency.com/
ICYMI, this show exists 1) to champion originality and creativity in a sea of AI slop, 2) to show potential clients the power and value of fun as a consumer-converting strategy, and 3) to bring some much-needed levity into the world where we can.
#SnackBranding #CanTheyBrandThat #HumorBranding #BrandStrategy #FunnyMarketing #DisruptiveBrands
