Creative Brand Strategy - Task 1

Creative Brand Strategy - Task 1

01.04.2021 - 22.04.2021  (Week 1 - Week 4)
Wong Kai Yi (0340236)
Creative Brand Strategy

Task 1

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1. LECTURE

01.04.2021 (Week 1)

Introduction to Creative Brand Strategy

Brand Experience—it is about designing a sensory experience that brings a person into a lasting and meaningful relationship with a brand.

CAMPAIGN —

A continuous attempt to communicate message to its audience, usually stay for 

longer period of time. 

SOCIAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN organized by non-profit organization to communicate a cause: Climate Change, Human Rights.

REBRANDING CAMPAIGN: to revamp a dated brand image by providing a fresh-new-look or to revitalize 

a brand identity which often comes a change of priorities or an introduce new brand value. 

CAMPAIGN > EVENTs —

A marketing strategy that reach out to its target audience with singular (unified) effort to make announcement and create engagement.

ART & CULTURAL EVENT – examples: music festival, design exhibition, forum, conference & etc.

PROMOTIONAL EVENT  – examples: pop-up store, flea market, product launching & etc.

08.04.2021 (Week 2)

What is Brand Strategy?

Brand strategy: positioning, differentiation, competitive advantage, unique value proposition

Strong brands:

Disciplined alignment of brand strategy

Plans with customer requirements

 

1.     Brand Positioning

Conceptual place you want to own in the target audience’s mind – benefits (they think of) of your brand

Gut feeling when you see the brands

e.g. Vans – street culture, Nike – innovative product, NB – versatility fashion and function

Internal statement: designed to direct external communication, inform tagline development

Positioning is used as an internal statement of strategy to guide external implementation (tagline, creative copy, theme)

 

A brand TRULY COMMUNICATES when it

Sets the BRAND APART from the COMPETITOR

Makes it IMMEDIATELY RECOGNIZABLE

Creates an EMOTIONAL CONNECTION

Brand Architecture

Monolithic BA (Branded House) – master brand’s identity

Endorsed – product / division has a clearly defined market presence

e.g., Nestle

Pluralistic(House of Brands) – unrelated brands

Name of master brand may be either invisible / inconsequential to the consumer, therefore new brands are developed

Benefits:

Individual brands – max market impact

Avoid brand association that is incompatible with an offering

Owning a new product class by using a powerful name

Product Brands vs Product Names

PB – require investment & management, represent value greater than the functionality of the offering alone

PN – simple descriptors, identify the tangible value the customer receives

Brand Extension

Stretching the brand into attractive categories, creating “equity bridges” for customers to cross.

Drive new business growth

Process which allows companies to define new and attractive business opportunities for existing brands, 2 approaches:

Deductive: customers follow trademark to logical places

Inductive: Marketers determines attractive categories & create equity bridges for customers to cross

Adv of Brand Extension (vs new brand creation):

Further strengthen & build the brand franchise

Enhance the chance of new business success

Reduce cost of business development

15.04.2021 (Week 3)

SWOT analysis, Customer journey map, Guiding principles

Strength

Unique selling proposition (USP)

Weakness

Internal factors, resources, distribution systems, procedures

Examine how and why competitors are doing better

What we are lacking with

 

Opportunities

Chances for something + to happen

Marketing trends, tech adv, changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle

Threat

Shifts in mkt requirement

Consideration on what competitors are doing

Customer Journey Map

Visual representation of customer journey (buyer / user journey)

Customer actions, motives and experiences, organizational activities and roles that are responsible for these activities

1.      Focus on customer perspectives

Customer experience and interaction

2.      Ensure the maps reflect all touchpoints

Reflect all potential communication points through which customers want to connect with companies: email, text, websites, social media

Reflect diff stages which customers take

 

3.      Account for customer segments

Acknowledge the fact that diff customer segments experience products, brands, services differently

Guiding principles

Brand: asset w. reputational and commercial value

Cohesively express a company’s core purpose

Built from inside out

Customers amplify your brand in ways you are unable to (brand loyalty)

Every touchpoint matters, but only a handful matter the most (quality over quantity)

Brands, like humans are organic in nature

Selectively highlight attributes

22.04.2021 (Week 4)

The Big Idea for a Campaign

New campaign: needs a hook / theme - recall, share, act upon
Big idea ('experience idea'): overarching message that underpins all elements of a campaign in order to resonate with the target audience

*max impact & relevance

Stand back & look at the BIG PICTURE

Big idea emerge in a process of narrowing the focus

1. Understanding

2. Clarifying

3. Positioning

4. Brand essence

5. Big idea

Brand Positioning Statement

Brand Pillars

Brand loyalty - purpose

Brand awareness - difference

Market share - execution

Willingness to pay - value

Example of Big Ideas from big companies:

Facebook: to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected

AirAsia: to be the low-cost airline Tagline: Now everyone can fly

Nike: inspire & encourage Tagline: Just Do It.

"A brand becomes stronger when you narrow the focus. If you want to build a brand, you must focus your branding efforts on OWNING A WORD IN THE PROSPECT'S MIND. A word that no one else owns." - Al Ries and Laura Ries (The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding)

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2. INSTRUCTIONS

Task 1A Case Study

01.04.2021 (Week 1)

This is a group work, so we formed a group of 4, Ahmed, Siti, Jessica and I. We are to find one campaign for the case study. We have to include the brand strategy, brand experience, key visuals and applications. Initially, each of us searched for one campaign and put a short summary of it in the shared Miro board.

Fig 1.1 Campaign ideas on Miro

After getting feedback from Ms Low, we decided to go with Battersea. We then segregate the tasks to our group members to work on individually.

08.04.2021 (Week 2)

We presented the case study on Battersea.

Fig 1.2 Battersea Campaign Presentation

Task 1B Campaign Proposal

15.04.2021 (Week 3)

We are to come up with a few options for our campaign proposal where one will be chosen in the end. There are 2 design approaches: rebranding (an existing campaign) or initiating a new campaign. The suggested topics are localized content and social environmental.

My two options are 

1. Sustainable living

2. Penang Dragon Boat Festival

Fig 1.3 Sustainable living

Fig 1.4 Penang Dragon Boat Festival

I continued to work on Option 1: Sustainable Living

Fig 1.5 Campaign Proposal planning

Fig 1.6 Campaign Proposal planning 2

Fig 1.7 SWOT analysis

22.04.2021 (Week 4)

Campaign Proposal Presentation

Fig 1.8 Campaign Proposal Presentation

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3. FEEDBACK

01.04.2020 (Week 1)

General feedback:

We have to work in groups to find a campaign for case study. We can search for campaigns other than from Pentagram, such as Studio Dumbar. Before finalizing which campaign to go with, each of us can search for a few campaigns and give a brief description of it. We then choose one campaign among them.

Specific feedback:

We can go with Circular Everything or Battersea campaign because these two are quite good to do case study on. In the end we chose Battersea.

08.04.2020 (Week 2)

General feedback:

The slides from our group for the brand story is good because there are pictures. It is more engaging towards the audience with the use of images instead of just plain text.

Specific feedback:

For our presentation, we can look more into the logo of Battersea. Other than that, everything is well prepared.

15.04.2020 (Week 3)

General feedback:

We are to choose a topic that we are interested in for our campaign. It can either be an existing campaign (revamp) or a new campaign. For physical activities, we can consider (not neccessary) having the Covid-19 situation in mind such as SOPs to follow etc.

Specific feedback:

For my 2 topics, 1. sustainable living 2. Penang Dragon Boat Festival, Ms suggested that I go for one that I am passionate in, because I will be doing it for the whole semester. For option 1, I have to find an organization to hold the event. Ms also suggested that I include some physical activities so that the campaign will not be fully held online. My campaign task: 1. generate digital content, 2. connect people with the same values. Assets: Followers

22.04.2020 (Week 4)

General feedback:

Look at SWOT analysis to think of design opportunities. 

For next week, we are to show mood boards for applications to show (pre, during, post event). We also start to work on the campaign logo (wordmark)

Specific feedback:

For my sustainable living campaign proposal, my main objective is to connect people with smaller individual organizations. Additionally, it is to make the campaign a rewarding and shareable experience for the general public. The challenge: How to make a tedious activity exciting?

Ms also suggested that I focus on the applications that answer the objectives and focus less on the content generation.

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4. REFLECTION

01.04.2020 (Week 1)

In order for us to understand a campaign, we also need to learn the brand story such as the identity, history etc. As designers, we are to make a connection with people so the story is equally important as the design. 

08.04.2020 (Week 2)

A physical item given out / purchased during a campaign allows the audience to have a connection with the campaign even after the event. This enables them to recall the campaign whenever they look at the item. This helps in brand loyalty. It is important to give the audience a good experience, where emotions are tied to the events held during the campaign.

15.04.2020 (Week 3)

When finding a campaign to work on for this semester, it is important to choose a topic that you are interested and passionate in, so that it will be less burdensome when completing the work. These factors also drive the curiosity and motivation of one to do the work well. Besides, it is also important to not have too many goals or objectives. This will cause the designer to lose track of the actual goal and impact of the campaign.

22.04.2020 (Week 4)

To make a campaign memorable, it has to be a rewarding, interactive and shareable experience. This creates excitement for the audience. Often times, we face this challenge to make a boring or tedious activity feel exciting. This is where brainstorming is required to think of the best ways to interact with the audience through visuals and technology. The applications for the campaign are to fulfill the objectives. As designers, we must remember to stick to the big idea when planning out the campaign.

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5. FURTHER READING

01.04.2020 (Week 1) - 08.04.2020 (Week 2)

Title: What Is Branding and Why Is It Important for Your Business?

Importance of Branding 

Recognition

Most important element: logo, it is the face of the company

Logo should be powerful and easily memorable

Increase Business Value

Strongly established brand can increase a business' value by giving the company more leverage in the industry (generate future business).

Generates New Customers

Positive impression of the company amongst consumers, more likely to do business (familiarity & assumed dependability)

Well established - word of mouth

Improves Employee Pride and Satisfaction

Employee of strongly branded company - satisfied with their job, pride in the work, enjoyable, fulfilling

Creates Trust Within The Marketplace

Build trust with consumers, potential clients, customers. Polished & professional portrayal.

Supports Advertising

Advertising strategies directly reflect the brand and its desired portrayal. Create cohesive and appealing advertising strategy - plays well into branding goals

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