SPACE INDUSTRY BRANDING TRENDS
TO INSPIRE THROUGHOUT 2023
As today’s rapidly evolving space industry positions itself to meet increasing global interest, we’re witnessing an unprecedented shift in the way space brands engage with the public. Innovative branding approaches are emerging to educate, cultivate awareness and connect space brands with the people they need to thrive.
This list celebrates these emerging trends while highlighting the brands driving this remarkable phenomenon.
Keep an eye on how each trend evolves in the years and decades to come.
1. POP-UP BRAND EXPERIENCES
As we emerge from a global pandemic, several space brands have begun to develop offline brand experiences to drive public engagement.
ESA opened a pop-up experiential concept store in the heart of Rome.
ArianeGroup partnered with audio tech brand Devialet to replicate the sensation of an Ariane 5 launch.
Virgin Orbit celebrated going public on the NASDAQ by placing a LauncherOne vehicle in Times Square. LauncherOne has also appeared at Spaceport Cornwall and the Science Museum in London.
2. PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE UTILITIES
Historically, space companies’ products and services rarely made it into public consciousness. Today that is beginning to change as space brands harness digital platforms to put their innovations in the hands of everyday consumers.
Virgin Galactic has built an exclusive app to prepare passengers for their first space flight.
Supercluster offers a launch tracking app as well as a log of all space-flown humans and real-time ISS configurations.
Privateer’s partnership with telescope maker Celestron enables amateur astronomers to use their telescopes to scan the sky for space debris. Observations are sent to Wayfinder, Privateer’s visual interactive map of orbital traffic, where participants can track their contributions.
3. REPURPOSED SPACE-FLOWN MATERIAL
Brands in and out of the sector are recognising the value of space-flown material, especially when it’s repurposed into consumer products.
4. STRATEGIC BRAND COLLABORATIONS
The ubiquity of brand collaborations is fueling more selective partnerships between consumer brands and space companies. By curating such collaborations, space brands leverage shared goals, visions and stories to engage with a wider audience.
Hilton announced a partnership with Voyager Space, combining their expertise to create the world’s first on-orbit space hotel.
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation’s cultural creative centre CASCI collaborated with Johnnie Walker in a limited edition campaign built around their ‘Keep Walking’ slogan.
Axiom Space and Maison Mumm have developed a champagne tasting experience for consumption in space.
5. CUSTOM LIVERY
Touchpoints including launch vehicles and parachutes are being creatively used across the industry to tell brand stories and engage with audiences.
The typographic livery of i-Space’s second flight of the Hyperbola-1 launch vehicle was designed by contemporary artist Xu Bing.
JPL encoded their iconic motto into the Perseverance descent parachute, leaving it to their fans to decode.
Blue Origin has ensured that New Shepard’s parachutes stand out within the category by executing them in their iconic ultramarine blue.
6. MEDIA PRESENCE
To reach prospective customers, investors, employees and fans, space brands are increasingly creating their own media content, giving audiences unique and authentic insights into the inner workings of the companies.
Relativity Space established a regular newsletter named ‘The Print’ detailing their progress towards their first launch while highlighting key staff, technology and promoting merchandise.
ArianeGroup leverage social media to publish interactive quizzes, condensed visual newsletters and custom artwork to highlight unique facts about the brand.
The demand for space industry news has given rise to digital media company Payload Space. Payload publish a daily newsletter covering the business and policy of space.
7. DEDICATED SPACE BRANDING AGENCIES
As the growing space industry positions itself to meet increasing global interest, branding agencies are emerging to help space brands connect with their audiences.
AstroAgency provides strategic marketing for the space sector with expertise in
market intelligence, PR, branding, events and business development.
Out of this World Design offer creative services for space brands from decks to digital and 3D modelling animation.
Space Agency is Supercluster’s creative studio, dreaming up ‘new ways to launch, rebrand, or advance the missions of tomorrow’s leading space brands’.
8. RECRUITING THE NEXT GENERATION
As space brands eye future talent, we’re beginning to see multiple strategies being employed to engage and inspire younger generations. Besides space influencer collaborations, space companies are creating their own bespoke education platforms.
Andøya Space host a diverse range of space camps, webinars, immersive VR space missions and yearly sounding rocket courses.
Blue Origin has established the ‘Club for the Future‘ foundation offering a space-focused curriculum and opportunities for students to send postcards to space.
As part of Virgin Orbit’s ‘Orbit for Everyone‘ platform, students are offered rocket factory tours, community grants and mentorship programs.
Image Credit:
ESA / ArianeGroup / Virgin Orbit / Virgin Galactic / Supercluster / Privateer / Celestron / Werenbach / Yin / CASCI / Space X / Hilton / Voyager Space / Johnnie Walker / Axiom Space / i-Space / JPL / Blue Origin / Relativity Space / Payload Space / AstroAgency / Out of this World Design / Space Agency / Andøya Space
Ed Fyfe Design 