OUGD601: Context of Practice 3 - Practical Element, Brief Proposal

Original Brief:
Produce a range of advertisements across a range of print and web based mediums for Cadbury, with the aim of restoring faith in the iconic British brand following the Kraft takeover.

My original concept for the practical element was appropriate for my original research subject however as this has developed my practical concept has had to develop to.

The purpose of my extended writing piece is to discuss how effectively the strategies advertisers use can influence emotions in the audience and ultimately persuade them to consume whilst also questioning the morality of this practice. 

As primary research for the brief I have separated the different components of an ad; the image, the type in order anaylse their effectiveness separately. Would the audience even know what the ad was selling? I want to use the results I get from this primary research to directly influence the practical element. 

Revised Brief:

Design and produce a advertising campaign pitch employing a emotional strategy appropriate to chocolate advertising for a start-up chocolate confectioner.

In my tutorial, Simon had suggest using Kickstarter as a platform in order to find a possible client for my brief. Designing for a live client is not something I have had the opportunity to do before, I believe it would give the synthesised project more of a purpose and would lend more credence to my work.

From all the chocolate companies on Kickstarter I chose to contact Ebon Chocolates and Junior Chocolates because the descriptions they gave for their product ethos using words such as "indulgence" "salivating" and "savoured" backed up a lot of the research I had gathered so far on the emotions often conveyed in chocolate advertising therefore giving me the opportunity to use experiment with the emotional strategies I had discovered in my research in my own practical body of work.

Messages sent to Ebon Chocolates and Junior Chocolates

Response from Ebony Dip

From the messages I sent out I got a response from Ebony Dip of Ebon Chocolates who was positive about my idea and would like to work with me. I am extremely pleased with the response as if nothing else it gives me a outlet for some outsider feedback on my designs which will be helpful during the ongoing development of this brief.

OUGD601: Context of Practice 3 - Practical Element, Case Study Research

For the third a final chapter in my critical writing extended essay I will focus on Kinder Bueno as Case Study, in which I take a more in-depth approach to discovering what emotional strategies are appropriate for chocolate advertising, how they are applied and there effectiveness. The information I gather in order to form this case study will directly influence the outcome for my practical piece and will give me a deeper understanding of the subject.

I chose Kinder Bueno in particular as there 'Not Only For Kids' campaign is prime example of Dichter's theory of assigning an image to a product in order to sell which I have looked at in subsequent chapters. In this example the image is sex, lust, pleasure.

I also felt the transition Kinder Bueno had made from being a product primarily aimed at children to an adult target market would make an interesting case study. I was interested in what specific strategies they had incorporating in order to successfully make this transition.

Kinder Bueno

• Kinder Bueno is made by Italain confectionery maker Ferrero 
• The name comes from 'Kinder' the German name for children and 'Bueno' the Spanish for good or tasty
• Previous products such as the Kinder surprise, a hollow egg which contained a small plastic capsule with a toy inside and Happy Hippos, a wafer coated hippo-shape biscuit are primarily marketed towards the children's market - This could be a explanation as to why their subsequent advertising for their Kinder Bueno was so shocking?

Not Only For Kids Campaign

• In 2002 Ferrero decided to change the image of Kinder Bueno and broaden the target group
• The campaign was devised by Polish advertising agency G7 consisting of Przemek Bogdanowicz, Maciek Kowalczuk and Kinga Grzelewska.
• The campaign addressed the adult audience with sexy images of young men and women whose lips bare visible traces of chocolate - quite playful, chocolate draws attention to the mouth, one of the more sexual aspects of a woman
• Slogan: Not Only For Kids - language is quite vague in order to enable the curious aspect of our imaginations wander, strong sexual connotations, explicit content?
• The photographs which were shot by Marek Straszewki had a very distinguishable warm and chocolate-like tone of colours - creates the impression that the two; chocolate and sex and/or pleasure are synonymous with each other
• The campaign started in Poland in 2003 and continued until 2005 - included outdoor (billboards, city light bus shelters and city buses) and ads in lifestyle magazines 
• The campaign attracted a lot of attention and achieved the goal of repositioning Kinder Bueno as a delicate chocolate bar for both kids and adults

• The print advertising challenged the common perception of Kinder Bueno, a TV spot was released to support the new brand image which depicted sexy young adults relishing their Kinder Bueno in an almost erotic manner
• The tagline for the TV ad was 'Feed your sense. Not only for kids'
• The ad won adults attention with it's pure image content
• Presenting Kinder Bueno as an indulgence for adults

Indulgence in Seduction Camapaign

• Showcasing the consumption of Kinder Bueno bar as a invitation to an exciting flirt 
• "indulgence as seduction" - implication of a deeper sexual meaning, more explicit than previous tagline 'not only for kids'. Indulgence acknowledges the idea of "guilty pleasure" encouraging the audience be naughty
• Obvious inspiration from the popular vampire genre of TV series as HBO's True Blood
• The male vampire is depicted standing behind the female subject with his hand placed on her wrist, in an attempt to seduce her. The proximity of his neck adds an element of danger to the situation - adds to the sexual excitement stimulated in the female model

Lick my Ripples Campaign

Lick My Ripples Ad, Skip to 1:52

• Mix up led tot he line 'you can lick my ripples' being broadcast on children's TV channels 
• Quotes from the ad: "Lick my ripples" "bite me bite me" "I'll be anything you want me to be"
• Ads appeared on Cartoon Network and Boomerang drawing complaints from nine viewers over the sexually aggressive nature of the ads 
• The Independent Television Commission was told by Turner broadcasting that a wrong instruction has been sent to the traffic department. This resulted in the Kinder Bueno ad being shown instead of Kinder Surprise

Conclusions from research

Kinder’s ability to be able to transform their brand from primarily aimed towards the children’s market into a brand which can successfully provoke feelings pleasure within an adult audience through one look at their advertising campaigns determinately evidences just how much influence emotional techniques in advertising can have upon a consumer when used effectively. 

OUGD603: Extended Practice - D.S.M Studio Visit

Do Something More

• Why brands need your help
• How we can make them better

What makes a brand?

• A logo / a badge?
• Standing for something? Sells you a point of view, what they stand for
• A brand doesn't have to be the product you buy
• About a cause? A person?
• Veneer that runs across the top of stuff

Bigger idea of what they are about - Connections

Stand for something + A wonderful experience = People care

Brands which are a wonderful experience make our lives better

Design is an opportunity to make a difference 

We can be broader as a designer 

How many brands don't care about their audience 

BRIEF

• Rethink the brands of today to make them wonderful
• "Ministry of Wonderful"

• Engagement with the brand
• Rethink what these things do
• Different Relationship
• Change the way they communicate with you

Guide To Create A Brand

Part 1: DEFINE

• What should it stand for?
• Why should it exist?
• Why should people care?
• What makes it different?

• BIG IDEA
• NAME
• WHAT YOU STAND FOR

Part 2: CREATE

• What does it look like?
• What does it sound like?
• What does it do?

= The personality of it

Part 3: BUILD

• Make stuff that's relevant

Create something from scratch 

Keep it realistic 

INTERIM CRIT: 24TH NOVEMBER

Rough ideas, research, sketches, names - lots of ideas

I was required to rebrand a 'Retirement Home' in order to alter the way in which we engage and interact with it.

I therefore began the brief by analysing the existing relationship that we the general public have with retirement homes.

Personally when I think of retirement homes I imagine a big, cold, dull room full of armchairs will elderly people drifting in and out of sleep.

- Interior tends to be quite drab

From an elderly persons point of view I can imagine they see going into a retirement home as a loss of their independence, their life and possibly the acceptance that they can no longer look after themselves. It could also make them feel elderly, whereas in their head the could still feel young.

From my own experience with my family, one one grandparent just gone into a retirement home, to the families a retirement home means peace of mind. They don't have to worry about their loved ones being alone, they can rest easy knowing they are getting the best care.

I feel like there is a reluctance from the elderly to go into a retirement home, through my rebranding I wanted to put their mind at ease about to move from their home to a retirement home, therefore I focussed on the two factors which I felt they worried about most; loss of independence, leaving their home behind and getting old.

Taking into consideration that this would be their "new home" and therefore needed to be somewhere they were comfortable and could relax I came up with the concept of "what makes your house your home?" Everyone is different an therefore the room at the retirement home would be a blank canvas which they can personalise to look exactly like there old home (possible project with there family?) be it a pet, photos or a plant, it will be a "home from home"thereby giving a sense of independence back to them.

-More homely interior


Perhaps a little less realistic I also considered the idea that the retirement would be like a stepping back in time with decor and technology all appropriate for the 50s era letting them in a sense "relive their youth".

BIG IDEA: 

"Your New Home"

WHAT "YOU" STAND FOR:

• Friendly
• Helping the elderly regain their independence 
• Give them their life back
• Everyone is different, what would make it feel like your home?
• Comfort for residents is a priority 
• Family orientated, rooms can be personalised, project with family

WORKING NAME: 

"Home Sweet Home"

Using the working name "Home Sweet Home" which I will use for the time being I experimented with a couple of typefaces for initial branding ideas. I personally had a lowercase, sans-serif typeface in mind which I felt would be appropriate for the friendly, family orientated aspect.

My initial thoughts on these typefaces is that the final design in 'Odin Bold' looks slightly too childish which is not something I want to convey in the branding.

One of the most important things I wanted to convey with the branding is the "friendly" aspect, I like the idea of using an illustration of some sort in the branding to give this impression.

The strongest idea I had was an illustration of a row of different types of houses; a townhouse, a semi-detached, bungalow. The different types of house were to reflect the different houses the elderly could be coming from before they move into the home and reflect the belief the brand stands for "everyone is different". It also represents that the retirement home will be their "home from home".

Another consideration I made was that this illustration could then be simplified to just one house to act as an icon where appropriate.

INTERIM CRIT

• Focus on the 'DIY' aspect 
• It's YOUR home, design it yourself
• Project orientated, something you can share with your family
• Really nice to have a personalised feel

Final Crit: 8 / 12 /14

We should present our final outcome for the brief in a PDF document.

• Proposition
• Logo which tells a story
• What collateral is relevant for your proposition?

OUGD603: Extended Practice - Intern Magazine Brief / Workshop

Part 1: Concept For Independent Magazine
Part 2: Crowd Funding Campaign

What does a independent magazine mean to you?

• Editorial freedom
• A niche market

• 20-25 minutes to generate ideas for independent magazine

During the initial briefing Alec Dudson gave us a list of independent magazines to give us an idea of what already existed in the diverse industry.

In order to inform myself on a subject I’ve never previously designed for I took a look at some of the magazines listed.

Boat, a independent travel magazine with each issue focussing on one specific place

Colors, each magazine is focussed around one specific subject

Mood, a quarterly magazine about Music and Food.

I discovered by looking in depth at a couple of the magazine Alec had mentioned that in independent magazines their tended to be more emphasis on creating a really engaging concept.

As a group one of the first considerations we made was into the tone of voice we wanted for our independent, were unanimous in our decision to take a light-hearted approach to our chosen subject.

Originally concept was a more conceptual subject in which each issue would focus on a different word, with different interpretations of that word making the up the content. However Alec informed us of a existing independent magazine 'Colours' which had a very similar concept.

Through a conversation about obscure sport Quidditch we decided on a concept of obscure sports, although it's not necessarily a subject that any of us had a keen interest in prior to the workshop we found the subject light-hearted and fascinating and something the audience in turn would like to read and learn more about. It also gave us scope to look at the cultural influences behind the sports which is an extremely interesting research project.

Through a simple web search we found lots of obscure sports we didn't even know existed but sounded really interesting, therefore we were reassured there would be plenty content to fill a quarterly magazine.

Each quarterly edition of magazine would focus on four obscure sports. For each of these four sports we would include a basic introduction, the rules and regulations, any recent news from that sport, a profile on a famous team or player in that sport and a personal account of our own experience in testing out the sport.

Photos

Our chosen subject gave us a lot of scope for dynamic photos and action shots which would make up the content of our independent magazine, which we began collecting in order to choose our cover design.

Before lunch we were required a masthead design and a cover design for our first issue.

Originally we chose the name 'Offbeat' in reference to how the sports that would feature in the magazine were 'off the beaten track'. However when we mentioned this to Alec he suggested this name would be more appropriate for a music magazine rather than a sport magazine.

After another brainstorm, this time into sporting terms we decided on the name 'Contender' which had more of a sporting connotation.

Emily began creating possible designs for out masthead and mocked up cover designs using the action-shot photos we collected.

We took a vote on which masthead designs we preferred, out of the of designs we chose two which we mocked-up as a magazine to gauge a better idea of which was more effective.

Masthead design doesn’t make much of an impact here and needed to be enlarged.

We chose the masthead design in which incorporated the two stripes underneath the name 'Contender' as this has several sporting connotations.

Design is not effective in terms of purpose, the name wouldn’t be legible when stacked on a shelf.

Emily experimented with a variety of different styles for the cover which would be rolled out across each issue. We mutually decided that the full bleed image would be the most effective for the action shots in which we would use on our covers.

My Initial Cover Ideas

Out of personal interest I also experimented with a couple layout ideas for the cover, which I could receive feedback on from the rest of the group.

Although this design still needs a fair bit of development, I like the idea of the cut-out figure which is more unique and eye-catching than using a full-bleed image on the cover.

Final Covers

My Initial DPS ideas

I also mocked up a couple designs for possible double page spread designs for the inside of the magazine, within the designs I put a primary focus on the imagery as this would give the audience more of a feel for the sport.

I particularly like the idea of running the two stripes from the logo throughout the double page spreads creating a sense of continuity.

Kick Starter Campaign

In order to gain funding for independent projects such as the one we were proposing individuals often create campaigns with videos explaining their project, ultimately persuading outsiders to pledge money and fund the project.

In return for their donation - dependent on whether it is a smaller or larger amount - they will have gimmicks such as a free sample or dedication.

Charlie and Jane began brain-storming ideas for possible gimmicks we could have which would persuade outsiders to pledge money to our project.

As we had proposed to focus on four sports within each issue they proposed we produce four covers  for each issue; a different sport on the front each time. We would have an original cover however should you pledge the highest amount you have your pick of three alternative covers.

Other ideas they had were:

• Donors would receive a digital copy of the magazine
• Donors would receive a printed copy of the magazine
• Donors would receive a digital and printed copy of the magazine 
• Should they play a sport they could get a feature of them or their team in the magazine
• Higher pledgers would receive a one-off lesson of any of the four sports with us and get to review it for the magazine
• They will be able to suggest a topic for the next issue and the material within the article