S Group, a Finnish network of companies operating in the retail and service sectors, came to us in the beginning of 2019 with a bold idea. They wanted to change the perception of their hypermarket chain Prisma, from a store selling basic and cheap end clothing to one with great style and contemporary fashion. The idea: a clothing line in collaboration with beloved national superstar Antti Tuisku.

This of course came with some major challenges. Although Antti is a pop culture icon loved by many, he’s also a very controversial artist. We needed to create a brand with an edge that would still appeal to all of Prisma’s customers, one of the broadest target audiences you can think of in Finland. With an investment of this scale, it was crucial that the line would be successful from the beginning. We needed to achieve all of this without being pinned down as just another merchandising campaign with a star.

Enter Antti Tapani — a pseudonym using Antti’s middle name, that he had used earlier for purposes other than his music career. This was the perfect opportunity to create a new, but strongly related and familiar brand that could stand fully on its own two feet. BOND’s first assignment was to define the purpose and narrative of Antti Tapani, a purpose strongly tied to the artist’s own past as someone relentlessly challenging the status quo, but also resonating with Prisma’s way of moving and democratizing the world of fashion.

BOND

Anthony Miles

Head of Strategy, Partner