Creating a Miracle: Zuck behind concept & branding of Junior Eurovision 2022

PanARMENIAN.Net - In May 1954, the first Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland, and almost half a century later, the first Junior Eurovision Song Contest took place in Denmark. The structure, the process, the list of participating countries, and the contest rules have changed over the years, but the idea of uniting European countries around art has remained the same.

Armenia participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2007 with "Yerazanq" by the Arevik ensemble. It won in 2010 with Vladimir Arzumanyan’s "Mama," subsequently hosting the contest in 2011. In 2021, with Malena's "Kami kami," the twentieth spin of the competition also stopped in Armenia.

The search for the contest’s identity, and the agency that won

The organizers of this year’s contest were the Armenian Public Television Company and the European Broadcasting Union.

The organizers attached particular importance to the event's identity, so they organized a competition among the best advertising agencies in Armenia to find the symbol, slogan, and identity of the 2022 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. After considering all the proposed options, the Public Television Company chose the idea of Zuck Independent Agency.

Zuck is one of the leading advertising agencies in Armenia, combining more than ten years of expertise in creating brands and products, developing and executing promotion strategies, advertising campaigns, and web solutions. Among Zuck's partners are many recognized global and local organizations like the UNDP, IDBank, Ameria and Ineco banks, Coca-Cola, PMI, Ucom, etc. Zuck has been cooperating with the agencies Hogarth Worldwide and Ogilvy, owned by the global advertising giant WPP, for more than a year. The agency has developed and implemented a number of popular campaigns, such as "CalenDare Against Plastic" for Acba bank, "Beauty Standards Are Ugly" for Oriflame, "The eyes are mom’s, the nose is Gevorg Yeghiazaryan's," and more.

Why the Spinning Top?

Armenia’s challenge while organizing Junior Eurovision 2022 was to present the country and the contest uniquely. The chosen symbol had to express the Armenian while avoiding clichés and be recognizable to the international community. It had to represent childhood without alienating the mature audience. Combining all this, Zuck proposed the spinning top: a toy known worldwide with unique iterations in each country. For children, it symbolizes play and joy, for adults - a memory of childhood. It has a history of nearly 6,000 years and, despite its simplicity, manages to convey the magic of play.

As a result of Zuck’s work, a digital 3d version of the traditional Armenian spinning top emerged. The neon lights and the ancient Armenian ornaments combined modern and traditional while maintaining the Junior Eurovision identity.

The progress of the spinning top, and Zuck’s work

The event tagline is also Zuck's work, "Spin the Magic," which alludes to the top's movement, the event's magical energy, and the idea of the competition - to spin around the planet and stop in one country. The agency then adapted the new identity for tickets, mugs, T-shirts, stationery, and more than 50 other branded products. The spinning top popped up on the contest stage and became the main character of the promotional video. Zuck also wrote the script of this video, which gathers a bunch of bright Armenian teenagers around the spinning top, and announces the upcoming musical feast.

The Eurovision spinning top attracted the attention (and the billboards) of the whole city, bringing anticipation and excitement about the upcoming magic. After the events of the past few years, this year’s Junior Eurovision was a chance for Armenia to take a deep breath and unite around music, with the 70-year-old idea of the contest more important than ever.

The contest took place on December 11, at the Karen Demirchyan Complex, with 16 participating countries. Nare Ghazaryan represented Armenia with the song “DANCE!”