Hooters® x Danny Duncan Brand Partnership
The vision for Hooters’ first, and only, brand partnership was to bring brand awareness to the Gen Z market. Aligned with a content creator whose demographic is 92% Gen Z male, I developed a merchandise collection that told a story true to both brands involved — visually energetic akin to Danny Duncan, while remaining family friendly as Hooters have come to expect. The results were a product line launched exclusively in 200 stores nationwide as well as D2C, increasing overall sales traffic and performing consistently over 4 years.
Client Hooters®
Creator Partner Danny Duncan
Art Direction Andrew Gary
Graphic Design Heng Leng
Photography Nicola Vincenzo
Cinematography Alex Martinez
Prior to first drafts, I put together this mood board that pulled relative nods to both brands. At the time of research, active trends included anime references, racing graphics, and bright colors. Communicating these details to the graphic designer was key in the success of telling the story.
MOODBOARDS
I began with a color palette that echoed Hooter’s brand guidelines, while including tones that were current and trendy for the year’s best sellers. These colors were used for graphics, apparel styles, and social marketing campaigns.
COLOR PALETTE
LOOKBOOK
Lastly, ideation of setting up a photoshoot and creating a lookbook at a traditional Hooters restaurant was key to breathing life into the collection, and solidifying it as an official collaboration. The thesis of the brand partnership could not be complete without the iconic Hooters’ waitresses ready to serve classic hot wings and smiles. Ultimately, the collection went above and beyond a marketing strategy and highlighted what was possible between an established entity and novelty apparel.
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Danny’s Cream Pies — Experiential Design