BA (HONS) Creative Advertising

In 2014 Instagram incorporated brand advertising into the timeline’s of their users, making sure that the ads are not only relevant to the users that see it but also that they stick to the site’s modern and “cool” image. Part of our task was to create a business aimed video advertising an element of a social media site to encourage businesses to use social media. We chose Instagram because a lot of small businesses use Instagram meaning that the new advertising component to the site would be perfect for these small businesses to use. They would be able to target their desired audience without having to follow thousands of users, which can take up a lot of time, in order to gain a customer following on their page.

                  To advertise the new advertising feature we came up with the idea of creating a stop-motion video as we felt that this would fit in with instagram’s cool and hipster-esque vibe and would also appeal to the edgy and niche small businesses that fit within it. The overall tone of the ad would be warm and friendly, something that would feel welcoming and would encourage the brands to think about using Instagram to advertise.

Social media and social networking has become a massive part of our lives. We constantly spend our time tapping away at our mobile phones or snapping pictures of our often average looking meals, so it’s no wonder that brands are taking to social media in order to connect with their existing customers and engage with new customers. If you’re an Instagram-a-holic like myself then you’ll understand that constant urge to snap pictures of the world around you…even that salad that you had for lunch yesterday. As sad as it may sound this is a hugely popular trend with users sharing pictures of their meals on a daily basis.

This hugely popular trend was adopted by the NYC based restaurant, Comodo, when they created an Instagram campaign that allowed customers to photograph the meals that they had ordered at the restaurant. When their meals arrived customers were encouraged to photograph their chosen meals and then upload them to Instagram using the hashtag, #ComodoMenu.  The customers were also urged to write reviews about their meals, creating a virtual version of their restaurant’s menu that was easy to view and access. This online menu allows their customers to decide what they want to eat before they even arrive, making their experience simple and trouble-free. It also encourages regular customers to try new foods and drinks that the restaurant has to offer.

The incorporation of Instagram campaign creates quite a few beneficial attributes for the brand that would seriously help raise awareness of the restaurant. The campaign itself instantly lets the company to get free content created for it, content that can be on-going as the menu changes through season to season. The content also appealed to a wide target audience on Instagram which meant that the restaurant would gain a wider following on Instagram and then also in the actual restaurant itself.

This leads onto the way that each user’s upload was shared with all of their followers, meaning it caught the eye of possibly new customers. We’re a generation that take the opinion of people we are close with or look up to very seriously, often using the opinions to help influence in day-to-day decisions and purchases. If people saw someone they followed upload a picture with a positive response they be influenced to try the restaurant because a.) they trust that user or b.) they may want to join in with the campaign. The reviews that were written by these users would also seem genuine and non-biased which would again create a trusting influence.

 The only down side of this campaign I feel is that you may not be able to control what your customers post or say about the restaurant and it’s food, which could cause problems. If somebody posts an unattractive or bad picture of their meal people may feel put off or it may create a brand image that is completely incoherent with the brand’s cool and sophisticated image. This may especially cause problems if a user wrote a bad review about their meal because, as I said above, we value the opinions of the people we follow, meaning that we are less likely to try something new if someone we know told us that it wasn’t worth it.

A/B split testing allows you to determine positive results by testing the current design of your page with new changes. It allows you to justify that any new changes or designs made to your page would be of value to your webpage and would improve your conversion rate, this is so that you don’t actually make any final choices to your site coding without knowing if it will work. A/B split testing allows you to make data-backed decisions and will help you calculate how effective these decisions will be. Overall the testing measures components such as downloads, purchases, and sign-ups, meaning that you can meet your desired goals by creating content that will generate positive results.

In simplistic terms, A/B split testing allows you to create two version of your site, show them to your visitors, and allow them to determine which one works the best. There are many tools that you can use to enable A/B split testing, one of the most popular being Google Website Optimizer, due to the fact that it’s free and simple to navigate.

Being able to constantly optimise and analyse the results of page means you can acquire valuable insight about your visitor’s behaviour and the way that they use your page and what they use the most and least on your site. This means that you can understand what copy would appeal to them as well as images, content, videos or even the overall layout/design of your site, so elements such as headings, product pricing, promotional offers, and colour schemes. Predominantly it allows you to see what the most and least popular elements of your site are in order for you to create a more engaging site.

For example, if you uploaded fifteen differently designed images onto your Facebook page and A/B split testing determined that the first five images were the most popular in terms of views/likes, you can get rid of the remaining 10 and re-design  content similar to the ones that were the most popular among your visitors. Using the optimisation on a regular basis allows you to increase revenue, downloads, sign-up/registrations, and even user-generated content.

To get a more positive outcome to your testing it’s important to run quite a lot of them. The more tests that you do the more likely you are to understand your target audience and their behaviour over a longer period of time. This would mean that you could alter and modify your page in order to fit your visitor’s viewing and buying patterns through different times of the year (e.g. summer, winter, Christmas etc.) This would help boost your sales and increase visitors to your sight over a longer amount of time.

                The Approach section of the CARAT process is where you take all of the valuable information that you have collected and produce a concept. This concept will hopefully solve the “problem” that the company or organisation wishes to fix. There are many types of approach such as: Content Marketing, Gamification, Networking, User generated content (UGC), and Social media optimisation (SMO).

                  Gamification is where game mechanics and techniques are applied to non-gaming situations in order to motivate and influence the public to take in part something. This approach taps into our desires for status and achievement, using our basic needs to persuade us. These awards systems are prime example of how Gamification works as a social media approach as customers will feel as though they are get something in return for being a part of your brand. Another popular technique within Gamification is ‘Competition’ and our desire to be the ‘best’. This links with the customers desire to be at the top of the leaderboard, making them more likely to constantly stay engaged with a brand until they are at the top. The five mostly commonly used Gamification mechanics are Leaderboards, challenges, levels, badges, and points.

                  One of the most prominent pros of using Gamification within a marketing concept is the fact that you’re more likely to get a sustained amount of customer engagement. Using our desires to be the best and have status through this, and then combining it with challenges and levels means that customers will constantly stay involved until they achieve their goal. This drive to achieve goals also creates an addictive edge to your campaign. Customers will be more likely to return to interact frequently with the brand as they would constantly be achieving more status the more they play.

  Using your customer’s competitiveness also means that their friends and followers may also join in, meaning that you’d get a bigger social following. Customers would be more likely to join if they have a chance to compete against their friends and family. This in turn would also bring in a larger customer following as well as sustained engagement, especially if the customer has large following on social media as we’re highly influenced by the people around us.

  One of the main cons of incorporating Gamification into your strategic concept would be that eventually there would be smaller and smaller amounts of people using it as the campaign got older. As the campaign becomes less relevant customer’s desires to take part would decrease meaning that your campaign could ultimately turn into a virtual ghost town. This could also happen if the campaign were to go on for an overly period of time, especially if customers didn’t feel as though they were getting anything out of taking part.

I also feel that using gamification as your approach would take a lot of work in terms of the maintenance and overall upkeep of the campaign. When customers have spent a lot of time (and/or money) into taking part in the campaign you need to make sure that there are no glitches or general malfunctions occurring on a daily basis. Customers want to feel as though they are investing into something that is worthwhile, not something that has problems that constantly effect the user’s interaction. This means that you’ll have to constantly keep an eye on the campaign and how its working, maybe meaning that you’d have to hire more staff.

Before you can make any social media campaign you first must have a clear understanding of what the challenge is that you have to overcome, mainly what you want to achieve from the campaign that you are going to create. This is where the CARAT process comes in. The CARAT process allows you to recognise everything about a brand and its customers so that you can create an effective social media campaign that will work. The third fragment of the CARAT process is ‘Resource’ which will help you identify what you will actually need in order to create a suitable campaign concept. The main elements within the Resources section of the CARAT process are: Time & Money, People & Skills, Tools & Technology, and BAU (business as usual activity).

 Time and money is an extremely important element of Resource as it can affect what you can and cannot have within your campaign concept.  In terms of time and money a company can be “cash rich, time poor”, “cash poor, time rich” or “cash poor” and “time poor”. You must initially discuss with the company what their specific marketing budget is and whether this budget is at all flexible, allowing you to discuss whether there is a budget for social/digital components. It’s also important to find out how this budget is set and when, alongside finding out who the actual decision maker is within the company.

 In terms of Skills & People you must find out whether the company has marketing department/marketing director or whether they use an outside marketing consultant. This will allow you to find out what the current marketing strategy is so you can fully understand how you can overcome the company’s challenges. Finding out what departments make up the structure of the company will allow you to find out their main responsibilities within the company and how they measure success. Skills simply links with the skills and strengths that staff members have, then further identifying whether there are any issues or weaknesses that can be solved by training. If there are members of staff that are already achieving results within the company you can identify the strategies that they use and implement them throughout the company.

 You must also define what type of company it is in order to understand their attitudes to technology. What sort of technology do they use? Do they use PC or macs? Smartphones? Tablets? This will help you fully grasp how they utilize technology within the company. You must then find out who has power over these technologies (e.g. I.T department) so that you can talk to them about the company’s usage of technology as well as finding out what can and cannot be done.

 Business as usual activity (BAU) allows you to increase, adapt, and integrate ‘social’ components with the other marketing activities. BAU predominantly links with the standard marketing activities that go on in terms of the brand’s day-to-day functions as a business.

 With examples such as Marketing/PR, Human Resources, Customer Services, and Product Development, Business as usual activity is often where the largest rewards are to be made.

The “Nutella Stories” campaign was created in celebration of Nutella’s 50th Anniversary and simply allowed customers to participate by sending in their Nutella stories using the hashtag #NutellaStories. Nutella created the website, www.nutellastories.com specifically for the campaign; this is where people could submit their stories in the form of text, photo or video.  Any customers that took in the campaign received a limited edition personalised label with their name on to put onto a 400g jar. A Ferrero spokesperson stated that “When it came to celebrating the 50th anniversary, it seemed obvious to us that we should place the fans at the centre of our anniversary activities to thank them for their continued support of the brand.”

  The main objective of the campaign was to thank Nutella’s customer fan base by getting them to submit their own content as part of the campaign. The campaign would also allow them to gain an even larger customer following as it would encourage people who aren’t part of the Nutella family to buy a jar and join in. This objective meant that the direction and focus of all the activity would be based around the customers and their relationship with the brand. This would add customer value to the brand, meaning that customers would appreciate the brand more and be more likely to keep buying with them.

                  The main challenge that Nutella needed to overcome with this campaign was actually getting people involved, especially as it’s a customer driven campaign. Nutella needed to create something simplistic and easy to use and participate in so that customers would be more inclined to actually submit their stories. Nutella would also have to create some form of advert that would raise awareness of the campaign in order encourage customers to take part. Nutella would know if they had succeeded with this campaign through the amount of stories and content that got submitted. The campaign itself was ran from May 18th, Nutella’s anniversary, up until July.

Cornwall is renowned for its picturesque beauty and stunning beaches. Attracting the likes of hikers and holiday goers all year round, it’s no wonder that it’s considered as one of the top holiday destinations in the UK. Visit Cornwall is the official tourist board for Cornwall, encouraging members of the public from around the UK to visit Cornwall as a holiday destination. In terms of community, Visit Cornwall acts as an influencer for Cornwall’s tourism, with their job being to inspire the customers (the decision makers) to observe Cornwall’s beauty for themselves.

                Finding your core target market is important as you need to find the customers that are more likely to do business with you and are best suited to the product/service that you have to offer them. One of the broadest target markets for Visit Cornwall would be tourists as these people are more likely to look for possible holiday destinations throughout the year.

In terms of more segmented target markets, families looking for a possible holiday destination are a prime example. Families are a perfect target market for holiday destinations because there is more than one influencer within the grouping. Even though the parents/adults are the main influencers, obviously being the main decision makers in everyday life, the children also act as influencers because they often try to persuade their parents to go to certain places. Visit Cornwall also has lots of family holiday give-aways on their website which would obviously appeal to families, especially if they were planning on going on holiday.

Retired couples would also be a perfect target market to aim towards due to the fact that Cornwall offers a relaxed and tranquil vacation that many older couples would appreciate. The website itself offers small towns and villages as well as a dog-friendly section, something that appeal to the likes of an old, retired couple looking for a short weekend away.

Dog walkers would also be a broad target market for Visit Cornwall due to the fact that it offers them an option of finding somewhere they can go where they can also take their dogs, something that some dog owners struggle to find when looking for places to visit. With one of their latest blog posts being “Walks of the month: January” the website would also appeal to walkers, hikers and people who generally enjoy going on adventures.

                Young families are a perfect segmented target market as their attitudes commonly link with the idea of having a family-friendly vacation that has fun for both the adults and children, something that Cornwall can most definitely offer. Families with young children would also want an area that isn’t too rowdy or “wild”. The ages of the parents within these families would be between thirty and forty-five, with them having between two to three children aged around six to fourteen. These families would be of a working class background and would stereotypically go on holiday during school breaks.

In terms of social media the children within these families would use social media more than their parents although the parents themselves may actually use social media in order to get recommendations from people that they trust. Mothers may predominantly use social media to view comments and reviews on possible holiday destinations, perhaps even leaving their own reviews on social media once they have returned from their chosen destination. The parents take the opinions of the people they trust very seriously, meaning that are more inclined to visit a destination if somebody recommended it to them. In terms of behaviour this segment are more likely to do countless amounts of research in order to make the right decision. Their browsing habits would include a wide range of websites that would allow them to discuss the options and make a precise choice.

The Starbucks “Tweet-A-Coffee” campaign  was a Twitter based campaign that simply allowed twitter users to send a coffee to a family member, friend or follower, without even leaving the site. To take part users firstly had connect their Twitter account with a Starbucks account and then they simply tweeted @Tweetacoffee with the name of the recipient. Your chosen follower would then receive a $5 gift card which allows them to get a “free” coffee from a Starbucks store. With over 27,000 fans using the campaign and 34% of users buying multiple gift cards it seems that the campaign ran fairly well. The campaign itself prompted $180,000 in purchases with 32% of those purchases happening on the first day.

  Community

                In terms of community, Starbucks’ desired demographic of customers were coffee drinkers aged between 22-35, the predominant age of their regular customers who use social media. Both the user’s followers and Twitter would be considered the influencer as they both have the power to influence users to buy a coffee for someone they care for.  The user’s followers would fit within this category due to the fact the followers relationship with the user/sender would influence the user to send them a coffee. The partner was Twitter as it approved the campaign and helped Starbucks reach the desired customers.

  Aims & Objectives

                The campaign’s main aims and objectives were to create engaging social media content that would attract a new, online customer following. While they wanted to gain a larger online following and online interaction with the brand, they also wanted more customers to create and sign up for an actual online Starbucks account.

  Research & Development

                The main opportunity that would come from this campaign would be that the feature could become a serious and long-term component of the brand. This would allow the brand to grow a wider audience as it would appeal to the social media savvy users. The main threat of this campaign would occur if technical difficulties were to arise, such as people not receiving their coffee efficiently, as this would damage the brand’s image and the trust of their customers. As a popular and well-known brand, customers expect the best customer service so Starbucks would have to constantly make sure that the campaign runs smoothly in terms of customer experience. 

In terms of competition this is great move for Starbucks as none of their competitors had done a campaign similar to this. This means that possible customers would be excited to try this as it’d be a new and fresh way to buy the product.

  Resources

                As far back as I can remember I have always been encouraged by my parents to do what I love. Whether I’m writing short stories or creating content for my horror blog I always remind myself to stay true to myself and what I enjoy doing, what’s the point in working on something if you don’t feel enthusiastic or passionate about it?

                  Writing has always been one passion in my life that I have carried with me throughout my childhood, and now into adulthood. Give me a pen and a piece of paper and I will happily write until my fingers burn. Storytelling is my favourite way of expressing my emotions and opinions from my daily observations, especially when I get to share them with the people around me.

                  As much as I love working on things that I’m passionate about I often find myself getting irritated by my overly perfectionistic habits, something that I inherited off both parents and has cursed me since my schooldays. As exasperating as this can sometimes be I find that it also allows me to incorporate tiny details into simple things that I create in order to make them feel more emotive and complete. Even if other people don’t appreciate the small details, it’s something that I appreciate and something that helps define me creatively.

                  The older I get the more I understand why my parents encouraged me to be different. There’s no point in disguising yourself with an image that everyone else wants to see, it’ll simply obscure your talent, creativity, and desire for success. If I can one day create something that will make a difference in at least one person’s day then I will feel as though I have accomplished my purpose a creative. If you can generate an emotion out of something you create you’re doing something right!

                 We’re the generation that cherishes our phones as though they are our first-born child, giving them continuous attention every time they make the slightest of noise. We’re considered the internet savvy, social media obsessed youngsters who set trends and are constantly looking for new things to share with our friends. Social media has become a big part of our lives. When we’re not using it we’re thinking about it, using it as a talking point to start new conversations. As a generation that follows the trends and listens intently to our friends’ views and opinions on popular culture it’s hard to see what path we will carve for the future of social media.

                One of the biggest changes with social media in the future will link with amount that we use social media. Considering that approximately 1.8 billion internet users have accessed social networking sites as of 2014, it’s more than likely that we’re only going to use social media more and more. This idea can reinforced through the fact that technological advances constantly being made, allowing new smart products to be created that will allow us to access and use social media wherever we during whatever we’re doing. An example would the “smart watch”, a touchscreen watch that you can upload apps to and use on the go. The more technology that gets put on the market that allows us to use our favourite apps and networking sites, the more likely we are to feel encouraged to use it.

The growing number of niche sites will also influence our usage of social media as they allow us to specifically focus on certain aspects of our daily lives at different times of day. An example would be sites such as Foodie, a social site that allows users to “beautiful place to discover, organize, and share your favourite recipes and restaurants with friends”. So as well as our daily dose of Facebook feeds, Tumblr posts and Instagram snaps we will also be using sites such as Foodie, throughout the day to help us choose and prepare meals.

                The incorporation of E-commerce may also become a growing trend on social media because in June 2014 Facebook stated that they were testing out new feature  that would allow users to buy products without even leaving Facebook. The feature would basically be a “buy” button on ads and posts where the users could directly buy the product from businesses. This idea would also work well on image based networking sites such as Instagram or Pinterest because their users often use the sites to look for inspiration in terms of fashion, beauty and lifestyle, so it’d be a great way to give the users what they want instead of just showing them a picture.

As avid users of social networking sites, we now know exactly what we do and don’t want to see on our timelines, bringing me to my next point of having better filtered timelines and feeds so that we don’t have to scroll through pages and pages of pointless posts that un-interest us. Even though most social networking sites have filters for feeds/timelines I feel that they will get more precise and scrupulous in order to keep up with the hugely growing amount of content that gets added on a daily basis. An example would be sites such as Flipboard  allows users to collect the topics that they actually care about and what to read about in a digital magazine form. This makes the site more tailored for the users as it allows them to make a personalised profile where they don’t have to worry about un-filtered trash clogging their timeline.

Channel 4’s Meet the Super Humans was an advert created specifically for the 2012 Paralympics. The ad showed a number of British Paralympian athletes training in preparation for the Paralympics, pumping up the British public and encouraging them to follow it on Tv when it started. As the music gets more upbeat the athlete’s training intensifies and then we are shown short bursts of clips of car crashes and accidents, reminding us that these people are literally lucky to be alive, let alone to be part of our British Paralympian team, which is why we should show our full support as a country. The music instantly creates an inspiring and up-lifting atmosphere for the video, reinforcing that we need to support them on their journey.

Insight

A lot of people don’t watch the Paralympics due to the fact that they feel it’s not as interesting as the actual Olympics. The Paralympics has never been highly talked about that much before this time so people are weary of what to expect. Predominantly viewers want to be entertained so if they were persuaded that the 2012 Paralympic games were just as good, maybe even better than the Olympics, they may be more likely to actually watch it and support the team.

Proposition

The Paralympics is just as exciting as the Olympics

Strategy

The Paralympics is just as exciting and exhilarating as watching the Olympics. It is filled with athletes taking part who have worked twice as hard to get to where they are today which is why we should fully support them. Break conceptions of what people think the Paralympics is all about by showing them the facts of the matter, that these people are skilled and competent athletes, so why should it make us react any differently while watching the Olympics? Get members of the public to feel connected with these athletes in order to make them inclined to watch. These people have a story, and as the general British public it is our job to support our athletes and help them achieve what it is that they came here to do!

Review / Personal Opinion

The ad itself received a humungous amount of support when it was released due to the fact that it broke the stereotypical representations that we have on the Paralympics in under 1 minute 30 seconds. We were connected with the athletes and we were instantly ready to support and back the GB Paralympic team. I personally felt that the proposition was clear from the very start. It was reinforced through the up-lifting music, constant stream of inspiring people being shown to us, and of course, those athletes in action. Breaking down barriers and proving us wrong allows us to see things from a new perspective, and encourages us to actually watch it.

The ‘I Need a Hero’ Churchill advert featuring Martin Clunes follows Martin & Churchill on their journey through their village on a motorcycle. As they journey through the village they help and assist people as they pass, making sure that their problems are solved. Playing in the background is Bonnie Tyler ‘I Need a Hero’ which instantly connects to Martin and Churchill’s main role within the advert which is to aid people in their time of need. The constant humour and whacky scenarios create a very cheery tone which instantly puts a smile on the viewer’s face.

Insight

When looking for insurance customers want to know that they’re not just getting the best deal in terms of money but that they are also getting the best in terms of support and assistance. If a customer is going to invest in an insurance provider then they want to be reassured that their needs will be put first and that help is always waiting for them if they were ever to need it. Nobody is going to invest if they get the feeling that customer support is not a top priority within the company. Customer satisfaction is key; they have to constantly be surprised by how attentive and observant you are as an insurance provider.

Proposition

Churchill will be there for you, whatever you need

Strategy

Churchill portrays themselves as an attentive and caring insurance provider whose aim is keep you satisfied. They will go out of their way in order to do this because doing the little things for your customers can make big changes in their daily life. Being portrayed as a “hero” who looks over you will mean that customers will grow to trust you more as a brand and will appreciate the small gestures that you make. No problem is too big to sort out when it comes to your customers.

Review / Opinions

Considering that Churchill is one of the top insurance providers in the UK, it’s no wonder that they focus their adverts on customer support and their brand values rather than price. I personally feel that the brand proposition is extremely clear within the ad due to the heavy reliance on reinforcing how accommodating they are. The ad shows in great detail how attentive Churchill is as brand which will appeal to the target market and make them feel as though they can trust your expertise. The only qualm that I did contemplate was the fact that the ad primarily focussed on customer support even though possible customers who were interested in moving may want a little background on what else they would receive after investing in your company. 

The 2013 ‘Time to Change’ IKEA advert follows a couple who have to fight off an army of gnomes after they try to swap the gnomes for new IKEA furniture in order to transform their garden into a modern-day masterpiece. Angry at the owners for trying to discard them, they team together to attempt to battle the homeowners but eventually fail after the new IKEA furniture aids their enemy and allows them to destroy the gnomes one by one. The concept lays within the idea that garden gnomes are very out-dated and make your garden seem very old-fashioned. The advert has very cheeky, memorable tone of voice which fits in with IKEA’s fun and youthful brand persona.

Insight

Lots of homeowners can’t be bothered to decorate or renovate their gardens because they feel that it is too much hassle. As much as they’d like to make a change, a lot of homeowners don’t have the time to spend countless hours trying to re-decorate or modernise their gardens, often meaning that they are left with the same mundane garden for years on end. They desire an easy and fairly priced alternative that will help make their garden look contemporary and stylish. They want value for money considering that they already feel that they can’t be bothered to decorate. Finding the perfect furniture at the right price would encourage them to go ahead and completely enhance their garden. These homeowners may care about the opinion of their neighbours so want to buy furniture and garden products that reflect them individually as a couple.

Proposition

Ikea can easily help you make the most out of your garden space

Strategy

IKEA uses the gnomes to show that giving your garden a make-over isn’t that much of a battle. IKEA is the best option to get help because they offer modern yet practical furniture that meets the needs of any garden space. It’s a fun and enticing company that allows you to create personalised spaces that suit you and your family’s needs. They reinforce that IKEA is and always will be a fun brand with something new and unique to offer you as a customer. IKEA furniture is unique and quirky and will catch the eyes of your friends, family and neighbours. The vast amount of products available means that you can specifically tailor your garden around your likes and dislikes.

Results / Own Opinions

I absolutely love this advert because it’s simple and to the point about how easy it is for you to refresh your garden without any hassle. I thought it was clever how they used attacking gnomes to ‘show-off’ different aspects of the furniture (i.e. using hidden drawer as weapon to defeat a gnome). I personally feel that the proposition is fairly clear within the advert as it points out various aspects of one garden, instantly portraying how you can easily make the most out of different garden spaces. 

In 2004, Chanel created a Moulin Rouge inspired advertising campaign that oozed elegance and reinforced Chanel’s signature sophisticated image, it was called ‘No. 5 the Film’. The campaign was directed by the Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann and featured Moulin Rouge actress, Nicole Kidman as the face of the brand. Similar to her character within the Moulin Rouge film, Kidman’s character trades the support of a rich aristocrat for a pauper, creating a romantic, urban fairy tale. The advert itself was created in order to advertise the legendary Chanel No. 5 perfume, despite the fact that the perfume bottle does not appear once within the two minute ad.

Insight

Women often desire escapism from their everyday, dull routine with fashion and romance becoming prime subjects to help satisfy their inner dreams and aspirations. They read glossy magazines and watch romantic movies because they portray life as being elegant and tasteful, with no worry of day-to-day problems that actual women face on a daily basis. Women want to look good, feel good and be treated well by men. Even though they understand the portrayals in films, books, and magazines are false, they still yearn to become part of these lavish lifestyles where you are free to be whoever you want to be. Women want to become the women they watch and read about terms of sophistication and constant glamour although their busy lifestyles mean that they often don’t have time to get dressed up. Women are becoming more accepting of the way they look but secretly long to appear like the image in their head.

Proposition

Chanel No. 5 will allow you to be who you’ve always wanted to be.

Strategy

Show that Chanel understands your desire to be the woman you’ve always wanted to be. The ad storyline shows a woman make her dreams become a reality, making women believe that Chanel recognises and identifies with them as a consumer. Chanel flips the common ideal on the elegant lifestyle by making the lead character not want to be “famous” and constantly glamorous which creates a brand image that women can relate to as the average woman doesn't always have time to constantly make an effort with her appearance.

Results & Personal Opinions

The ad itself received lots of praise due its mix of romantic storyline and stunning visuals, creating a beautifully crafted piece of advertising. Women may be able to identify with Nicole Kidman’s character due to the fact that she craves to be who she has always wanted to be, something that the target audience might identify with. In terms of whether the proposition was clear or not I personally felt that it was not clear. The proposition is lost in the ad’s drama and theatrics, sometimes making you wonder whether there actually is one. In my opinion the ad sells the brands image more than it does the product, relying heavily on the general visuals that are created and how that portrays the brand.

I wanted my posters to act as warning signs that would be positioned in places such as cities or busy areas. I incorporated warning signs into the posters but created my own meanings out of them. I want these posters to help bring the epidemic/outbreak style concept to life. In theory these posters would be used to warn off the public from entering the city where my portfolio has taken over.

I used the explosion sign to help represent the idea of your mind being blown because my portfolio is so creative. 

For the second poster I decided to use the Toxic sign to help represent the idea of being intoxicated with jealousy. 

For the final poster I used the 'Danger of death' symbol to help represent being struck by creativity. 

For my radio script I decided to create a health warning that would help listeners get through the epidemic. I wanted the script to be a little bit silly and humorous so that it doesn't seem cocky, but it does come across as being a warm-hearted joke. 

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My concept for the campaign links in with the idea behind my direct mail. The first aid kit insinuated that you need medical help to get through my portfolio. So for the campaign I decided to use the idea of a few pages falling out of my portfolio and onto the streets. While on the streets the pages get read by lot's of people, creating an epidemic of people that need medical help after reading my portfolio. My tv script is for a new report on breaking news for the story. I wanted it to begin as a normal news report but then I decided to have a page from the portfolio take over the set to reinforce the epidemic idea.

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(The scene begins in a newsroom.  A female anchor woman is smiling at the camera, while an anchor man reads his notes quietly.  She’s wearing a red suit and she has her hair pinned up neatly, she shuffles the papers in her hands.)

Female host:   Good evening and welcome to this special broadcast on News at 9. My name is Linda Cromwell.

Male host: And I’m Tom Newton. We have received some very important news regarding the stray portfolio pages that are scattered all over the city. Experts are saying that the pages can be extremely dangerous when in the wrong hands, so please take precautions during your daily commute home.

Female host: Doctors have stated that looking at the pages from this portfolio can cause creativity breakdowns where members of the public have actually passed out due to the fact that they are unable to handle the imaginative designs within the pages. One man was even rushed into hospital after stating that his mind had been blown away after simply looking in the same direction as a page.

Male host: For anyone out there, who is watching, please be careful. This epidemic is truly deadly, meaning that you could come face to face with a page at any given time.  Doctors also believe that you can…..

(Female host interrupts male host)

Female host: (Point and shouting) Oh my god isn’t that one of the pages from the portfolio?  

(Male host covers his eyes with his hands. He then starts weeping like a child)

Male host: I’m not ready to witness this amount of creativity. I won’t let it happen, I’m telling you I won’t.

(All the crew members in the studio start shouting and going crazy, running around trying to hide from the page. The female host is staring at the page in awe. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is hanging open)

Female host: It’s so beautiful….I….I think my head is going to explode

(Male host screams in a high pitch tone and then hides under the table) 

Male host: Stop it, stop looking at it. You’re going to get taken over by the originality and imaginativeness.

(He pops his head over the table and speaks into the camera)

Male host: Please, anyone, SEND HELP. The power of the pages are too powerful. Starting. To feel. Weak.