 |
| Bubbles drying |
There's a huge learning curve whenever you do a "first," and helping people grasp the concept of the "first" laundromat in Ukraine is no exception. Yes, there are many Ukrainians who have lived in other countries who are familiar with the concept of going to a place to wash AND dry your clothes, but the overwhelming majority of the 54 million people who live here have never seen a self-serve, full-service laundromat.
 |
| apartment drying |
We've contracted with a local marketing team to help spread the word about Bubbles : cleaner clothes, more hygienic, less likely to get sick, more confident, more convenient (no more waiting at home all day as your clothes dry on the line), or waiting multiple days for clothes to line dry in rainy, cold or humid weather.
As we were going over the stores floor plan and opening day celebration schedule, one of the members of the marketing team asked,
 |
| potential Bubbles patrons |
"Where are the changing rooms?"
Us: "The government required employee changing and showering room is here."
Marketer: "No, the changing room for people who come to wash their clothes."
Us: a perplex look - after all, this conversation is happening in Ukrainian and maybe there's a language barrier.
Marketer: "I thought people came to your laundromat so they could wash ALL of their clothes? Isn't that what you do at a laundromat? Where do people change into robes so they can take off their clothes and wash the outfit they are wearing - wash all of their clothes?"
Us: "Well, they don't. They keep their clothes on and bring in clothes, blankets, towels, whatever to wash ..."
You can see our concern if the contracted marketing team is having trouble catching the vision of what it is we're doing. It's not a nudist wash-house, it's a laundromat ...
Though on second thought, maybe a nudist laundromat would put a fresh spin on a tried an true concept.
When we tell people in the U.S. we're opening laundromats in Ukraine, I think the visual image most American's have is of a utilitarian rundown dive of a place with poor lighting and only a handful of working machines.
Creating a logo for Bubbles was no easy task. We started with this - we really liked the circular nature and bubbles (like you are looking into the washers/dryers, which is how Dexter's machines are), and the blue clean color. Plus, it was similar to the Coin Laundry Association's logo. But, we felt like it lacked color (thank you Amy).
So, we came up with a great idea to incorporate the Ukrainian flag colors to the logo design. We patted ourselves on the back a good many times for this "creative" idea - after all, Ukraine's first self-serve, full-service laundromat chain should be 'Ukrainian.' We sent the logo to our marketing team (the same people who thought we were opening a nudist laundromat) and they said, "Bad idea."
Turns out, all too often foreign companies try to utilize the blue and gold Ukrainian flag colors in the their companies marketing. Examples are a plenty - foreign banks, retail stores, and of course, Coke!
