Binney & Smith Canada is showing its smarts with the back-to-school kickoff of iQ, a new Crayola product line targeting tweens.
Although iQ has been in stores since the beginning of the year, the company has waited until now to stage an advertising launch and major back-to-school promotion for the art supply products.
The new line is an evolution of Crayola’s time-honored art products – crayons, markers and colored pencils – for the three- to seven-year-old core market.
What is different about Crayola iQ art supplies, apart from the packaging, is the fact that the products come in more vibrant colors and were designed to offer kids aged eight to 12 more control, precision and versatility of use.
Targeting older children makes sense because of the general shift in Canadian demographics, says Peter Sgromo, product manager. Children of the baby boom generation – called the echo generation – are now entering their pre-teen years, and that translates into another market for Crayola.
Sgromo says the development of iQ came out of research with kids, moms and art instructors.
‘When they enter their pre-teens, their demand for art stationery products changes dramatically,’ says Sgromo.
‘What they were looking for was more permanency, [and a] more dramatic outcome from their art stationery products.’
He says a lot of this was held back by the whole washability issue – something parents value for younger budding artists, but which is not an issue with older children.
The Crayola iQ lineup includes Ultra Crayons – a variation on the tried-and-true favorites – that provide richer color, better laydown, improved coverage and can also be blended somewhat like pastels.
Also new are Watercolour Pencils that are used like regular colored pencils but can be given a watercolor effect by going over the drawing with a wet paintbrush.
Sketching Markers have a long-life nib for a smooth flow of ink while Original and Intense Markers are available in both chisel top and thin tip for versatility.
There are also iQ Scissors that are made for an older crowd with a precision edge for clean cutting.
Coloured Pencils are available in both 24 and 48 packs.
Sgromo says the iQ line of pencils contains the classic color range in addition to an intense color range. With the package of 48 pencils, users have a wider variety of colors to choose from, such as four or five shades of red or blue.
The launch campaign for Crayola iQ includes a tv spot called ‘Heart’ from TBWA Chiat/Day.
In it, a young girl in a classroom is unimpressed by a stream of love notes until she opens one illustrated with a realistic drawing of a human heart.
The tag line is, ‘You’ve got an iQ, use it.’
The commercial began its first national flight Aug. 11 on Global Television and will return closer to Christmas after a brief hiatus.
Running in tandem with ‘Heart’ is a spot for the Crayola iQ ‘Be A Party Animal’ promotion and contest conducted in partnership with SeaWorld in Orlando and Global Television.
The grand prize is one of five trips for a family of four to SeaWorld’s new Key West exhibit for a party hosted by Global on-air personalities.
While in the past, the company has used mail-in forms and a 1-800 number for contest entries, Sgromo says this year the Web site (www.crayola. com/canada) is the main mode of entry, although mail-in forms are available at iQ display in stores.
He says the company decided to move to the Internet this year because last year one million call attempts came into the 1-800 number and the lines just jammed up.
There’s no concern about the Internet not delivering the high number of entries Crayola contests usually garner, says Sgromo, because there were more than 6,000 Internet entries and 700 mail-in entries the week before the TV spot even hit the air.
