THE OBJECTIVE:
Namkeen
Hot Chicken Joint
Project Type: Brand Activation & Content Direction
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Developed The Student Social as a community-driven brand activation designed to strengthen Namkeen’s connection with Gen Z audiences. The event blended food, culture, and on-campus energy to position Namkeen as a lifestyle brand rather than just a restaurant. Through strategic content direction, visual storytelling, and student partnerships, the activation generated high engagement both in person and online, driving awareness, foot traffic, and long-term brand affinity.
As Namkeen expands its international presence, the team at their flagship location in Metuchen sought a cohesive brand narrative and visual strategy that resonated with younger audiences while remaining authentic to its South Asian roots. The goal was to elevate its identity beyond the restaurant as a simple take-out location for the Gen Z audience and create a bold, original voice through storytelling, content, and experience design, emphasising their location as a "hang-out" spot for younger customers.
THE PROCESS:
Our approach began with a full brand audit of their Metuchen location, identifying any gaps in tone, consistency, and digital presence presenting a hurdle to the younger crowd they were marketing to. From there, we developed an event concept with a refreshed visual system, refined messaging, and a scalable content strategy driving foot traffic into their location.
Key initiatives included:
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Content Direction: Styled and photographed Namkeen’s event attendees alongside core menu items and the refreshed space to create a distinctive, editorial visual language. We also collaborated with local student organisations, giving them full creative reign to experiment with social media marketing targeted towards their demographics.
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Event Branding: Crafted a more artistic and edgy look and feel that captured the energy and humour of South Asian street food culture in cohesion with the brand target demographic. This was supplemented with digital brand assets and merchandise design exclusive to the event.
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Community Activation: Designed and launched The Student Social, a youth-focused brand activation that connected Namkeen with local university communities through food, music, and creative networking.
THE DELIVERABLES:
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Event branding and environmental design for The Student Social, supplemented with graphics for an event-exclusive merchanside drop
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Digital marketing campaigns and social rollouts
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Copywriting and content tone development
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Audience research and relevance
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Creative consultancy for future brand expressions
THE OUTCOME:
The new brand system improved visual consistency across municipal communications, reduced design turnaround times, and helped staff implement cohesive design standards internally. Residents responded positively to the updated materials, which made information more legible, recognisable, and inviting.