Spotlight: Pharmaceutical Packaging

Nickelodeon’s Favorite Dog “Blue” Revitalizes ReVital, An Oral Electrolyte for Kids

Licensing a character as popular and lucrative as the cartoon dog Blue from “Blue’s Clues™” could be a daunting enterprise for a small consumer goods company looking to take a bite out of a dominant market leader.

ickelodeon’s “Blue’s Clues” has generated more than $2 billion in retail sales since 1999 and remains one of the country’s top preschool properties. One might suspect that finding a balance of benefits equitable to both the media giant and the small company might prove troublesome.

A few years ago, PTS Labs in Rosemont, Ill., decided to reinvent the brand identity of their ReVital™ line of oral electrolyte products designed and marketed for children, and reinvent it completely. ReVital’s former “mascot” was a lovable penguin named “Hugs.” Lovable as Hugs was, and even with a tube of electrolyte jell formula molded in the Hugs penguin shape, PTS Labs felt it was time to make a decisive and daring move in the pediatric oral electrolyte market.

Oral electrolyte products for kids are aimed at preventing dehydration—and its related risks—when a child is sick with a cold or the flu. Also known as oral rehydration therapy (ORT), this method is the pediatrician-preferred treatment for fluid loss. Oral electrolytes are a simple solution of water, minerals, salts and carbohydrates, sort of a more therapeutic Gatorade.

A kid-friendly brand identity

Making products that work and that are palatable to kids is only half the battle. The other half of the battle is designing the products and packaging so that kids actually want to use them. Electrolyte manufacturers, ReVital included, usually offer their electrolyte products in “treat-like” forms, such as freezer pops and jell cups, in addition to standard liquid solutions.

The main objective for the ReVital line redesign was to forge a brand identity that was more friendly, less “mediciney” and just plain fun for kids. PTS Labs enlisted the help of Design North, a Racine, Wisc., firm that specializes in retail branding, to specifically challenge the dominant market leader, Pedialyte™. The Pedialyte line has a strong identity and familiarity built over many years, and features a teddy bear on the labels.

PTS Labs also decided pretty early on that licensing an existing icon was the direction they wanted to pursue, and they had three possible characters in mind. As well as the ReVital products and packaging are now being received, out on the shelves for a full year, the dog named Blue seems like a perfect fit. The package design even earned Design North a Bronze Award from the Tenth Annual Beverage Packaging Global Design Awards.

Design North’s Steve Stocker, who headed up the account services project management team for the ReVital redesign, did not approach the project as a redesign. “This was essentially a product launch,” Stocker emphasizes. Stocker says that this icon will also be able to evolve and change as both the Blue character changes and as the market changes.

A mom-friendly brand identity

According to PTS Labs’ marketing and sales director John Hillsman, extensive focus group research revealed a positive association with Blue in several categories. “Blue was the most popular and recognizable character to the moms we talked to and their children,” Hillsman says. “To them, Blue’s Clues means happy, cheerful and trustworthy, and a character that kids like to interact with. The knowledge and educational value of Blue’s Clues also came out—all traits that our participants felt make a young child feel better when he or she is ill.”

PTS Labs ended up signing a three-year licensing agreement with Nickelodeon. The agreement enables the company to use the name and likeness of Blue prominently on all its ReVital pediatric electrolyte packaging, and in promotional marketing as well.

It is not as if Nickelodeon gets nothing out of the deal. The title of the show, “Blue’s Clues,” is also prominent on every label. “We at Nickelodeon are committed to serving kids,” says Leigh Anne Brodsky, senior vice president, consumer products, Nickelodeon. “We’re thrilled to partner with PTS Labs to feature preschoolers’ favorite character, Blue, on such an important product like ReVital.”

“ReVital is available in innovative new forms that are child-friendly, which makes parenting sick children easier,” says Mary Kay Staten Long, a mom herself, and president and CEO at PTS Labs. “By pairing up with a character as recognizable as Blue, we make our electrolyte products even more appealing for children and moms.”

The process of choosing the exact image of Blue for the package was a straightforward cooperative process between Nickelodeon and Design North. Nickelodeon provided access to the entire “Blue’s Clues” archive library, Design North narrowed the field down, and Nickelodeon gave its approval to the final illustration candidates.