Cheerios are known as the healthy whole wheat breakfast cereal option for people of all ages but what recently Cheerios has taken a more sensitive side. This can be seen in many of their new commercials, that may seem to have been produced by Hallmark rather than Cheerios. But none the less Cheerios is not only producing cereal but some heartfelt goosebumps as well.
No Muss. No Fuss.
-Mallory
“Every act of creation is an act of destruction” -Pablo Picasso
It’s easy today to get bogged down with following the rules and directions of others in hopes to please them or society, but the creative process is about everything put a cookie cutter type of lifestyle. In order to be creative, one must think outside the box and begin to imagine ideas the way they use to as children. Simply put the creative process takes two different unconnected things and connects them. But before you can connect these two ideas, one must first decide what they are. Creativity techniques help generate these ideas and concepts. Some examples of creativity techniques include: brainstorming, mind mapping, brain writing, starbursting, and scampering. One you have established the two ideas that you want to connect (for this example let’s use Proctor & Gamble (P&G) and the Olympics), then you need to work on connecting those ideas. Trigger techniques are helpful in this process because they are random, off the wall ways to start thinking. Some examples of trigger techniques include: choosing a random noun-from the nth page of a magazine or book choose the 1st noun on that page, identify an expert in a different field than what you are working in and mind map around them (i.e. Steve Jobs, Oprah, Tyra Banks, etc.), or identify a different industry (generally) and mind map around it (i.e. NFL, cosmetics, health care, etc.). For the Proctor & Gamble/Olympics exampled I mentioned earlier, trigger techniques were used to link these two different ideas together. What Proctor & Gamble found was that they did have something in common with the Olympics, mothers. The mom raises athletes campaign was a huge success for Proctor & Gamble and it’s all thanks to thinking outside the box. Check out one of the commercials from this campaign below.
No Fuss. No Muss.
-Mallory
Great brands do three things really well, they understand consumer knowledge, can identify ways in which they meet needs better than the competition (brand knowledge), and they have strong communication.
Below I have provided an example of a brand positioning statement and the tools I used to create this statement. The chart below should be filled out prior to writing your brand positioning statement, this is where you will gather your ideas and get a better understanding for a brand.
Brand Positioning Statement: “For the upper-middle class, ages 25-49, who enjoy a variety of eclectic hobbies, are technologically savvy, and see themselves as non-conformists. We offer a luxury small car at a low price, that delivers agility, improved handling and safety because of our eclectic, sporty, stylish, exciting approach to motoring.”
| Name: | MINI |
| Competitive Environment: | Mazda Miata, Fiat, SmartCar, Volkswagen Jetta |
| Target: | Urban upper middle class, ages 25-49, enjoy a variety of eclectic hobbies, technology savvy, non-conformist |
| Insight: | There are no vehicles that really describe me as a person. Vans are for moms and big trucks are for men, there are no new vehicles on the market that are for me. |
| Benefits: | Agile, improved handling and safety, luxury at a lower price, stylish, good gas mileage, exhilarating |
| Reasons To Believe: | Part of the BMW family, classic |
| Values & Personality: | Eclectic, exciting, different, sporty, stylish, creative, unique |
| Discriminator: | British, small, contrasting colors, low-priced luxury |
| Essence: | Let’s Motor |
No Fuss. No Muss.
-Mallory
Brand-Aid 