BRAND SOLUTIONSSOME POINTERS ON CREATING EFFECTIVE BRAND SOLUTIONS FOR CLIENTS IN MEDIA COMPANIES.

SPACE SELLING IS OUT!SOLUTIONS ARE IN!

Most media companies have started creating their own solutions team now.

Mostly a solutions team comprises ideation experts, creative designers and copywriters – people who can take a brand problem and transform it into an idea that drives engagement.

Depending on the nature of the media house – a brand solutions team might include a producer, a director, a sound engineer, a client servicing manager, a photographer etc.

THE POINT IS…

With a good solutions team in place, you can expect:

• A high turnaround rate from your clients

• Long term client relationships

• Better engagement for client brands

• Better usage of your media vehicles

• Higher revenue in terms of effective media usage

• High transformation of pitch to active business

MOST PEOPLE EXPECT A BRAND SOLUTIONS TEAM TO BE

A group of magicians who can solve any problem.

Unfortunately, it is not so.

A solutions team is not a group of magicians, or activation experts, or even brand analysts.

A SOLUTIONS TEAMIs a group of storytellers who are medium agnostic, have a ROI perspective and have a mix of analytical and creative bent as well.

Which is why it is best to have a team rather than a single individual doing brand solutions.

SO HOW DOES IT WORK?

The primary job of a brand solutions team is to:

• Identify the brand problem

• Identify the essence of a brand

• Understand its consumer base

• Identify the micro market the brand is trying to target

• Identify a creative idea that can best capture the imagination of the micro market and stimulate it

• Build a story around that creative idea

• Fit that idea into a series of media vehicles

• Implement the idea through the media vehicles.

SO HOW IS IT DONE?

In the next few slides we will create a brand solution for an imaginary brand.

It will involve:

• Decoding the brand problem

• Understanding its tone and voice

• Identifying the essence of the brand

• Creating a story around the brand

BRAND SOLUTION FOR BRAND XYZ

ABOUT XYZ

XYZ is a fictional brand of soap. It is newly launched.

It is targeted at women in the age group of 25-35, who would like to shop, indulge in pleasures of the spa, are sometime running through tight budgets with high aspirations.

It’s catch line is LOVE YOURSELF!

DECODING XYZ’S CHARACTER…

Now think of it, if XYZ were a real person what would she be like? In the next few slides we decode XYZ’s life.

We need to remember that our consumers should be able to aspire to be like XYZ and at the same time, XYZ’s reality cannot be too alienated from their own.

XYZ has to be someone who comes from the same background and easily relatable, at the same time, she is a distant girl in terms of the way she handles life.

IMAGINING XYZ

LET’S LAY IT OUT!She is independent and a tad narcissistic.

She is single with several suitors, but she is wondering if a permanent relationship can help.

She comes from a modest background, but she doesn’t take her reality lying down.

With her interest in fashion design XYZ paid her way through college by designing and choreographing fashion shows. But she ended up as a top honcho in a web firm after 10 years of hard work.

XYZ is about 30 now.

SO WHAT DOES XYZ DO?

By day, she is a management consultant who decodes difficult stuff like structural engineering. By evening, she is a party freak who has the best dress, the best perfume, the best hairdo and a couple of gossips under her sleeve.

She is the best ‘friend’ every woman wants to have.

THE CONSUMER INSIGHT YOU CAN PLAY ON…

So, to take XYZ out into the market you need three basic pointers:

• Where is XYZ now as a product?

• Where does XYZ want to go?

• What will be the insight that XYZ can work on?

CURRENT SCENARIO

XYZ has been launched about seven months back – so at present it has not more than 0.2% market share. The fact, that it comes from a reliable house like XX has helped its case.

WHERE DOES IT WANT TO GO?

However, XYZ would like to take it forward to about 3% market share among its target audience of women in the age group of 25-35.

EVERY WOMAN WANTS A COOL BEST FRIEND!

THEREFORE, THE INSIGHT YOU CAN PLAY ON IS…

SO, COMING TO THE IDEA

The idea is to present XYZ as the best friend of its consumers – because that is one person you are looking for in case of advice, aspiration and a desired lifestyle.

THEREFORE, THE IDEA…

XYZ KNOWS IT BEST!

WHAT DOES XYZ KNOW?

XYZ knows about:

• How to handle yourself in difficult situations

• How to create an impression

• How to keep yourself fit and good looking

• How to maintain your relationships without getting emotionally affected.

AND HOW IS THE IDEA PLAYED OUT?On the product:

• Every soap comes in a box or a wrapper.

• Thus you put one strong advice in every wrapper – so that a witty line greets every buyer every time they buy the soap.

• For example: ‘if love is your only answer, then do rephrase the question’.

On the billboards:

• The same lines are played on the billboard. Never show a full image of XYZ, instead play on her mystical appearance by showing the back of the model, her eyes, her lips, her hand, etc.

IDEA ACROSS MEDIUMS

On television:

• You can create commercials around XYZ knows best for example:

• A girl having a fight with her nagging boyfriend, leaving him and turning to XYZ.

• A girl being bothered by her boss, taking XYZ advice and charming him into submission.

• XYZ Gossip time (Advertiser funded show) • A gossip show around what’s in town with a strong female

angle to it. Thereby showing powerful women who have beat all odds.

IDEA ACROSS MEDIUMSOn radio:

The same concept can be taken forward in radio integrations with:

• XYZ Advisors: A group of strong relationship, career, childcare consultants go on air on a talkshow with users about how to handle problems.

On youtube

• A series of videos (30 seconds) on XYZ’s take on life, love and relationships made and shot like commercials.

Integrated media concept:

• XYZ Helpline: A permanent helpline that is set up to help users of XYZ to connect to experts on a particular time band on advice. This itself can be an idea that can be taken forward through integrated media like television, radio, print, and social media.

THERE ARE PROBABLY…

A million different things that you can do around XYZ knows it best right now. And that precisely is my intention here as well…

What I have shown you is a basic way of decoding a brand and coming up with a solution from it that can be played out across various mediums but creates an integrated story out of it – so that in every medium the consumer gets to interact with the brand in the same way as they would have interacted if it had been played out across different mediums.

THINGS TO REMEMBER

Great solutions are medium agnostic.

Great solutions are also great stories – which integrate the user into the storytelling process and somehow transforms him/her into a character in it.

Great solutions emerge from the product – but take it far beyond its physical manifestation into a larger character. Just like a storyteller – the job of the solutions’ team is also to create a great character. Superman, for example, was a great character before he became a great brand.

LET’S IDEATE TOGETHERTHANK YOU