Casio revamps in attempt to shed ‘old-fashioned’ image

Casio is radically overhauling its marketing in an attempt to shed its image as a fusty and old-fashioned manufacturer of calculators and cheap digital watches.

Marketing director Mark Bernard admits people see the brand as boring and out of date, and hopes the &£1m-plus campaign will change this.

The electronics giant, which produces more than 4 million products for the business and consumer markets, is unveiling a new “ethos” for the brand under the strapline “Casiology”. It is planning to refresh the brand through press and poster advertising, online marketing and reinvigorating its in-house literature and point-of-purchase material.

Bernard kick-started the revamp after being appointed in January to reshape Casio as a younger, aspirational lifestyle brand (MW January 13). Following a four-way pitch he appointed Cheetham Bell JWT and its in-house design agency Germ Creative to work on the campaign, which champions the Casio brand above individual products (MW March 24).

Bernard says that although there is huge brand awareness, Casio is seen “more as yesterday, not today or tomorrow”, and is known for its calculators and “low-end” digital watches. Yet the company’s diverse portfolio includes hand-held mobile devices, musical instruments, cash tills and digital cameras.

“We are trying to bring the brand to life and energise it,” he says. “It is a very radical departure from what we have done in the past. Everyone has heard of Casio, but they think of us as out of date and old-fashioned.”