Levissima Issima and the creativity of ATC
Enhancing the evocative impact of periodic special editions
- Below the line
- Packaging design
- Consumer communication
- Packaging
- In store materials
- Leaflet consumer
- Gift box
These are the colourful 33 cl bottles that promote children's hydration and accompany them on every path of discovery with the purity of Levissima water. The Issima range changes its look year after year according to the specific releases, all oriented towards collectability: from series inspired by alpine sports to licensing packaging celebrating children's favourite brands and characters, often combined with communication materials for large-scale retail outlets that add a theatrical touch to the point of sale.
Issima's identity has changed over the years, as have the tastes of shoppers. ATC is the company that has followed this gradual path step by step, developing different packaging and pop materials - both structurally and creatively - always keeping as its guiding star the on-shelf impact of a top sub-brand for Levissima water. The first phase of Issima saw the creation of editions with a look that was more “young” than “kids”, marked by a consistently alpine mood, with modern graphic solutions and eye-catching copy, consistent with promotional activities centred on mountains.
Over the years, Issima's success has been increasingly established in the large-scale retail trade, thanks to the choice of proposing the characters and brands most loved by children (but also by parents!) on the sleeves of the bottles. In addition to the multi-subject on-pack graphics, the agency has created specific consumer materials: leaflets rich in content that is both institutional and playful, graphic gadgets of various types and, of course, strategic in-store materials such as displays and floor graphics.
After the Alvin, Minions, Paw Patrol and fluorescent Trolls series, in 2022 it was the turn of a double partnership for Levissima, with Trudi and the Stelvio National Park. An operation in the name of sustainability that has allocated grants to encourage the preservation of some of the park's protected species, such as the wolf and the bearded vulture. ATC took care of the launch in its entirety, from packaging to materials for consumers and influencers, designing as part of the assets a leaflet with educational sections and colouring pages plus a precious gift box containing 6 Trudi soft toys and 6 Issima bottles. In 2023, it was the turn of the Smurfs and their love for Mother Nature. In the substantial leaflet designed by ATC, there is a little bit of everything: the chronology of the brand's commitments to the planet, tips on sustainability, games to learn how to recycle properly, new colouring sections and removable stickers for family fun.
Over the following months, in parallel with the introduction of recycled R-PET plastic in Issima bottles, a new limited-edition project was launched featuring the legendary Pokémon.
At the heart of the first release, which won 2nd place in the 'POP non-durable materials' category at the Retail Awards 2023, was the creation of 6 different sleeves on which the agency celebrated
the faces of some of the most iconic characters, with the presence of a QR code to extend the online experience on the levissima.it website.
ATC's point-of-sale theatricalization included space for displays, totems shaped with character reproductions, an arcade with pop-up grafts and a desk for interacting with promoters.
The agency also designed a set of cards for social media amplification, which was the prerogative of a team of youtubers. The launch was accompanied by a special promo: the opportunity for consumers
to immediately receive a Poké Ball in a 3D puzzle, the Pokémon character's catching ball, for a spend of €5.
The second limited edition aims at increasing collectability, bringing to stores 18 different Issima labels.
Each one portrays a character from the many generations of Pokémon on the front of pack through a distinctive graphic design and colour palette.
ATC has worked in order to maximize the communication impact in the stores: we’ve designed a display unit for the 18 bottles, a totem with a fun discovery game for kids,
a display unit for gadgets that incorporates pop-up elements and a tray to effectively showcase the bundles.
A successful co-marketing strategy shouldn’t be changed… or better yet, it should be brought back!
In 2023, Issima’s partnership with Trudi and the Stelvio Park, curated by ATC, earned the team a Key Award for "Best B2C in store event”. A year later, the Trudi plush toys are back as the stars of a new series featuring
animals inhabiting the Arctic regions. This collection is the centrepiece of an educational project focused on raising awareness about climate change.
Romeo the polar bear, Pino the penguin, Cosetta the snowy owl, Diego the walrus, Bianca the whale, Camilla the seal, Mirca the orca, Attila the wolf, and Genna the reindeer, through their own stories,
teach children the importance of caring for the environment to secure a sustainable future, thanks to the QR codes placed on the sleeves of the nine bottles and on the point-of-sale materials designed by ATC.
The agency’s graphic theatricalization highlights both the essential benefits of hydration and the collectability of the bottles paired with the gifted plush toys. Using a modern,
visually appealing aesthetic, it features stylised landscape elements that evoke the animals' natural habitats, creating an engaging and easily recognisable theme.
A co-branding initiative inspired by the animated feature film “The Wild Robot”, produced by DreamWorks. Roz the robot, together with the charming animal companions featured in the movie,
formed the heart of the in-store theatricalization developed by ATC. The agency designed the sleeves for all nine bottles in the range, each one celebrating a different character from the film.
As for the physical assets for large-scale retail, the agency enhanced their visual impact by introducing multicoloured graphic patterns and distributing the promotional highlights harmoniously across all sides of the materials.
This ensured a strategically effective communication experience for shoppers, regardless of their direction of entry in store. The relaunch was, as always, paired with a promotional activation: by purchasing two bottles of Issima,
shoppers could immediately receive a “kids” gadget, a personalised name tag label for backpacks, each featuring one of the film’s main characters.
At the end of the year, the Noi animali di Alta Montagna collection was launched in partnership with Panini, a leading brand in the world of sticker albums, trading cards, comics and youth magazines.
The second limited edition for 2025, developed by ATC, included ten 33 cl bottles with illustrated labels depicting woodland animal pairs, along with a full set of display materials designed to amplify in-store communication.
Featuring pairs of animals engaged in relationships that were at times tender, at times humorous, and a QR code linking to useful information about wildlife on levissima.it, the initiative successfully combined sustainability,
education and fun in a cohesive and engaging way.
The partnership between Levissima Issima and ATC grows even stronger with the launch of the Issima SpongeBob Limited Edition, a collection that brings the ironic, multicoloured world of the imaginary
Bikini Bottom into the everyday lifestyle of younger audiences. The small bottles, each featuring one of the series’ most beloved characters, turn hydration into a moment of play, imagination, and collectability,
adding a dash of humour to school backpacks or gym bags.
The label designs, along with both standard and special assets created for large-scale retail, align seamlessly with the communication journey that Issima has built over the years in collaboration with the Milan-based agency.
In addition to a range of display units, ATC designed mini boxes to reveal the promotional gadget:
by purchasing two packs of Issima, shoppers can discover one of the four main licensing characters inside, paired with an exclusive collectible keyring.
