Every year, PayCompass attends four trade show campaigns: NEAA, SEAA, MWAA,
and WSAA. For MWAA, being our biggest campaign of the year, Lunch Break is a cologne that was hand created and branded as the centerpiece for our campaign celebrating the freedom, independence,
and personality of our target audience, the modern payment agent. My goal was to capture the true essence of Lunch Break through a visual identity that tells its story and brings its adventurous personality to life!
Product Branding
The Story
I wanted Lunch Break to feel like more than just another campaign, it needed to feel like a world Agents could step into. I started by developing the cologne as the centerpiece, creating a real product that could carry the story across every touchpoint. For the bottle and label, I moved away from the typical dark, mysterious look of cologne packaging and introduced a lighter cream label with western-inspired typography, earthy details, and subtle desert influences.
The goal was to give the product personality while keeping it clean, refined, and approachable. To bring the concept beyond the screen, The cologne itself came to life as it was created through a local perfumery, carefully combining ingredients to complement the campaign’s western-inspired direction. Every detail was designed to make Lunch Break feel like a real
product you could find on a store shelf. The result was a one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted cologne that gave Agents the opportunity to see, hold, and experience the campaign for themselves.
From there, I needed a way to give the campaign a personality people could connect with beyond the cologne itself. Introducing Tyler Riviera, Lunch Break’s very own brand mascot the audience can relate to. A mysterious jack-of-all-trades, nomad, explorer of Mother Earth, and ambassador of taste, Tyler embodies the adventurous spirit of Lunch Break. Portrayed by one of our very own marketing team members, he serves as the face of the brand, always venturing out for new experiences and the freedom to explore. Dive deeper into the vagabonds and wanderers of the designs and get a chance to meet Tyler himself!
Email Designs
These email designs not only brought the story to life visually, but also had the chance to connect the target audience to the brand through an immersive introduction and a deeper look into the cologne itself.
For the first email, I wanted the experience to feel like an entrance into the world of Lunch Break. Instead of leading with a typical product introduction, I used the visual scrolling experience to slowly build an atmosphere, eerie wilderness, wild animal spirits, and desert elements to create a sense of curiosity and the unknown. The goal was to make the audience feel like they were discovering something for themselves before ultimately connecting the story back to the people who inspired the campaign.
The second email shifted the focus from the world of Lunch Break to the story behind the product itself. Since the cologne was hand-crafted specifically for the campaign, I wanted to give each ingredient a purpose and explain how it contributed to the final scent. Starting with bergamot and mint, they establish that familiar foundation. Moving onto Tonka bean, teakwood, and amber tie in the smokiness that gives a sense of confidence, and ambition, leaving that impression every wear. Since this fragrance was going to be shared beyond the digital campaign, we created over 200 fragrance samples to distribute at our trade show booth, giving agents the opportunity to experience Lunch Break firsthand!
These emails averaged 56% open rate and an 18% click-through rate with our target audience. The first introduction email resulted
as being the most successful with a 36% increase.
Advertisements
Advertising Lunch Break was an exciting opportunity to introduce
the face of Tyler Riviera and bring the product itself across a
variety of themes and visual styles.
Starting with the billboard, I wanted to carry forward the same eerie atmosphere established in the email designs. By subtly concealing Tyler within the shadows, the billboard creates an air of mystery that sparks curiosity and leaves the audience wanting
to discover more. The goal was to capture attention while allowing the spirit of Lunch Break to speak for itself, creating a memorable introduction to the brand without
revealing the entire story.
The social posts were designed to resemble vintage magazine advertisements, bringing an unexpected retro influence into the modern identity of Lunch Break, but also a sense of nostalgia back to the audience. These ads introduce Tyler as the star and face of the product while keeping the cologne itself at the center of attention. From bold headline phrases and minimal descriptions to coupon layouts, each advertisement offers something distinct for the audience to discover. I wanted every design to feel like a unique piece of the Lunch Break story, encouraging viewers to engage with the brand and develop a deeper connection to the product. I designed each post with rich grainy textures, aged paper effects, and subtle magazine-inspired imperfections to bring an authentic retro aesthetic to life. From the cologne bottle/samples to Tyler and wild animals, every detail reinforces the nostalgic character of the advertisements while capturing the untamed spirit of the West.
Linkedin is PayCompass’s highest social converting platform. The entire campaign plus the socials I creadted resulted in a 26.5% increase in reactions, a 230.4% increase in comments, and a 100% increase in reposts. We also won an award for having the best swag at the show!
Every design element was meant to tell a story of freedom,
adventure, and personality. But the journey doesn’t end here.
Take a look for yourself and find your calling.
