THE CHALLENGE: In 2017, Manduka launched one of its first new yoga mats in nearly a decade. Created specifically for athletes looking to add yoga into their current workout/sports routines, the mat was aimed at an entirely new audience, rather than the existing fan base of hard-core yogis. Needing to stand out, the campaign creative would have to visually communicate a new look and feel, different from the brand’s more traditional line, as well as a new name, branding and packaging.
THE IDEA: By promoting it as a cross-functional yoga mat to support athletes, we played off the idea of “cross” and quickly named it the Manduka X. The ‘X’ became a great device for communicating cross-training, the crossroads of performance and even solving for X (the missing piece of your workout). Moving away from the brand's lighter "yoga-centric" look and feel, creative for the Manduka X was much edgier, grittier and more intense.
THE RESULT: In its first week of availability, the brand sold more Manduka X mats than anticipated and quickly moved more into production to meet demand. Additionally, Manduka had effectively gained an entirely new customer base and followed up the release with new props, accessories and apparel to support both athletes and yogis alike.
THE WORK:
