CustomUSB Drums up Excitement for the Movie Shazam with Creative Earbud Design
Case Study
Creating custom promotional product tech devices is more than branding, it is about creating products that will get people excited. These Shazam inspired earbuds were designed to spark excitement for the release of the 2019 movie.
Project Objective
The objective of this project was to create a product that would promote the release of the superhero movie Shazam (a DC universe comic, brought to life by Warner Bros.). CustomUSB’s creative design team utilized one of our most sought after tech devices, our earbud headphones, in order to bring the retailers’ promotional technology vision to life.
How We Did It
Designing the Earbuds
This project necessitated a significant amount of coordination among teams. Wanting to stay true to the aesthetic of the movie, and the general feeling that the movie created, the CustomUSB team had the client provide a logo and describe their vision. Then our design team went to work. They had a brainstorming session and brought the logo to life with a sketch of their own. They wanted to embody the theme of the movie; transformation.
“When someone puts on these headphones, they should feel a little different, just like Shazam when he transformed into a superhero.”
After the final sketch was sent to the client and approved, it was time to choose the materials that would make up the various components. After consulting with the manufacturing team members, CustomUSB decided on a plastic body, silicone cable and earpieces, and a PVC lightening bolt charm.
Designing the Packaging
Once the earbuds were ready to send to production, it was time for our creative design team to face their second challenge, packaging. The packaging is a quintessential part of the user experience. The product packaging needs to be pleasant to look at (simple and clear), it needs to be honest about what the product is, and it needs to be different so that it stands out. You want the consumer to know that they are getting something really unique. That is why our team created two rounds of revisions before finally settling on a packaging design that was attention-grabbing and displayed both the design of the headphone and promoted the movie with the Shazam logo front and center.
After packaging, the product was ready to ship to the client. Our team of designers, manufacturers, and creative brainstormers managed to collaborate with the client, design a completely unique product, manufacture the device and packaging, as well as ship it all out within 60 days of the concept being presented. We understand that when clients have something to promote, like a big movie release, they need these products quickly and they need them to be quality. That is why our team works diligently during the creation process.
The Product
The Shazam headphones were one of our favorite projects for a couple of reasons, one, because of their unique design elements – like the 3D lightning bolt charm attached to each bud, and two because they were top quality devices. Promotional products shouldn’t be something that breaks easily, or work poorly; they should be great quality pieces of tech that happen to have creative designs. That is why, for the Shazam project we used quality materials like an ABS plastic body, durable silicone cable and earpieces, and a PVC lightening bolt charm.
The tech specs were also impressive, the earbuds are Bluetooth accessible with an effective Distance of 10 Meters, a frequency Range of 2.4-2.48GHz, a frequency Response of 100Hz-20kHz, distortion of ≤1%, high Microphone Sensitivity, 3 hours of music playback Time, 150 hours of standby time, a built-in Lithium Battery, and a 65mAh Polymer Battery.
We built these devices to last and to be effective earbuds. These earbuds did what the client wanted – they promoted the movie Shazam. Yet, that wasn’t all they did, they also gave the consumer, the fans of the movie, something special; a quality tech device that they will use over and over again, reminding them of a movie that brought them joy.
Final Tech Specs
- Bluetooth Version: V4.2 +EDR
- Effective Distance: 10 Meters
- Frequency Range: 2.4-2.48GHz
- Frequency Response: 100Hz-20kHz
- Distortion: ≤1%
- Microphone Sensitivity: -82dBm
- Playback Time: Music Time:3 Hours; Talk Time: 5 Hours
- Standby Time: 150 Hours
- Built-in Lithium Battery
- 65 mAh Polymer Battery
Final Product Description and Gallery
Our 100% custom PVC Bluetooth Earbuds are a great way to brand your company’s logo or emblem into a 3D shape. Make your earbuds look as fresh as the beats playing through them. PMS color match the cord, body, and earpiece as well as design custom retail box packaging for a complete branding solution.
Results
The result of this project was the effective promotion of the movie Shazam through the use of tech-forward earbuds that work with any Bluetooth device.
The earbuds were exactly what the client was looking for, and the team has received great feedback internally. Creating this design, inspired by a superhero movie was fun to conceptualize, and rewarding to see to fruition.
The Market
Tech devices like headphones are becoming increasingly popular among consumers who are looking to memorialize their favorite TV shows, movies, books, and comics. Fans want products that they can actually use and show off to friends. Even if the device is being given away to spark interest in a movie, such as Shazam, these products will only have their intended effect if people use them. By creating unique promotional products in the form of earbuds and other useful tech devices, CustomUSB is able to capitalize on this movement and give both the retailer and consumer what they want- a great priced, user-friendly device.