BRAND SOLUTIONS

BRAND
SOLUTIONS
SOME POINTERS ON CREATING EFFECTIVE
BRAND SOLUTIONS FOR CLIENTS IN MEDIA
COMPANIES.
tannistho@gmail.com

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 TEAM
Is 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 XUVI

ABOUT XUVI
Xuvi 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 catchline is LOVE YOURSELF!

DECODING XUVI’S
CHARACTER…
Now think of it, if Xuvi were a real person what would she be
like? In the next few slides we decode Xuvi’s life.
We need to remember that our consumers should be able to
aspire to be like Xuvi and at the same time, Xuvi’s reality cannot
be too alienated from their own.
Xuvi 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 XUVI

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 Xuvi 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.
Xuvi is about 30 now.

SO WHAT DOES XUVI 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 Xuvi out into the market you need three basic
pointers:
• Where is Xuvi now as a product?
• Where does Xuvi want to go?
• What will be the insight that Xuvi can work on?

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

THEREFORE, THE INSIGHT YOU CAN PLAY ON IS…
EVERY WOMAN WANTS
A COOL BEST FRIEND!

SO, COMING TO THE IDEA
The idea is to present Xuvi 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…
XUVI KNOWS IT BEST!

WHAT DOES XUVI KNOW?
Xuvi 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 Xuvi, 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 Xuvi knows best for
example:
• A girl having a fight with her nagging boyfriend, leaving
him and turning to Xuvi.
• A girl being bothered by her boss, taking Xuvi advice and
charming him into submission.
• Xuvi 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
MEDIUMS
On radio:
The same concept can be taken forward in radio integrations with:
• Xuvi 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 Xuvi’s take on life, love and
relationships made and shot like commercials.
Integrated media concept:
• Xuvi Helpline: A permanent helpline that is set up to help users of
Xuvi 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 Xuvi 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
TOGETHER
THANK YOU