r/advertising school
I was very happy to participate in Reddit’s 12 week advertising course. Here are the weekly assignments, starting June 1, 2020.
Week 1 / Resume & Portfolio
The assignment: Create a new about me page and portfolio site
Week 2 / Production
The assignment: Create a list of six production companies you might hire to produce the following brief
Create an integrated master brand campaign to cement brand as THE DRINK OF SUMMER with fresh, famous, and non-traditional brand actions. Nothing can replace the connection made by seeing friends in person. That’s why [Brand Redacted] is launching a custom mobile cocktail bar built for four friends who want to drink together while still maintaining social distance. In addition, we’re creating a content series for you to bring the party back home, to keep those virtual happy hours going when you need them.
Requirements:
- A physical experience that people can go to in person
- Reservation app or website for physical experience
- Content series to help promote and share fun, episodic content across a variety of channels
My submission:
The Mill focuses on being experience makers, “defining the future of media and brand activation through innovative design and inventive technologies.” They produce experiential, VFX, and interactive media, all of which can be used for this brief. Examples of past work that does this:
Fanta: Twisted Carnival - a transportable, pop-up experience with a heavy social media interaction; an integrated campaign that turned into a viral success
Voxi: I am Endless - this campaign uses technology, content, and creativity to bring people together in a time of social distance; social gatherings through virtual interaction
M ss ng P eces is “the new wave production entertainment partner for content and immersive experiences that inspire culture.” M ss ng P eces produces interactive work that taps into pop culture and uses tech to bring digital to life.
Tinder: Swipe Night & Scoops Ahoy - Immersive
Faculty is a video production company “where brand stories go beyond sight and sound, audiences get lost in immersive experiences, and success is measured in impact, not just impressions.” Examples of this at work that could apply to the brief:
Lifetime Movie Network: Marilyn Monroe MTA Activation - creative interactive audio-activated ads triggered by incoming trains to promote the world premiere of The Secret Lie of Marilyn Monroe
Tool of NA “help brands and agencies with ideation, content, and experience production that generate buzz.” They produce experiential and content creation. Examples:
Goodboybob: Virtual Dinner - combines physical and digital entertainment to create a solution to the problem at hand (social distancing), elements that can definitely illustrate the creative idea of the brief
EVA Air - episodic content, interactive web experiences using AR
Media Monks, “rooted in digital, [Media Monks] works above the line and below the fold at the intersection of creativity and technology"
Jack Daniels: The Few and Far Between & Booking.com - content series, could address this brief’s need for social content
Stella Artois: Water Ripples - created an interactive space; this would address the brief requirements of a physical experience that people can do to in person
UNIT9 is a production studio consisting of a “specialized team of innovation architects, product designers, software engineers, gaming experts, creatives, art directors, designers, produces and film directors.”
Nike React - built an installation across China that runners participated in, as players in a real-time video game! The experiential skills here are very cool
Mike’s Hard Water Pool Bar - Live event that required a reservation platform, a skill that can be used to satisfy the reservation app or websitesite for physical experience requirement
Week 3 / Account Management
My submission:
Good [morning/afternoon] [name],
I hope you’ve been well! I am writing to give you an update on the website redesign project.
Everything is looking great so far (I have attached some screenshots of our progress). However, the concept is turning out to be more complex than we anticipated. In order to hit the targeted launch date, we need to allocate more resources to the project. This would cost an additional $10,000.
I know this isn’t ideal, but we have a few options of how we can go about this:
Stick to the original timeline and budget in order to hit the original launch day. This option would require renegotiations for the deliverables.
Extend the timeline to complete the original website concept with the assigned budget.
Go over the budget ($10,000) in order to deliver the expected product on the original launch date.
Please let me know if any of these options will work. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and we plan to make sure communication moving forward is clearer so that issues like this will not happen again.
Thank you for your understanding,
Danah
The assignment:
While it's wonderful when a project goes off without a hitch, it's not uncommon for issues to arise related to project scope, timeline, or budget. Unfortunately, delivering bad news to a client is typically the responsibility of the account manager. This is one of the most challenging aspects of the job. However - practicing and rehearsing these difficult conversations makes it a bit easier.
For your assignment, you need to deliver bad news to your client that their website redesign project is going over budget. The concept your team pitched turned out to be more complex in build than expected. In order to hit the targeted launch date, your agency needs to add more resources to the project - which will cost the client an additional $10,000.
Draft an email to your client sharing the news, and offer scenarios and solutions for how you and your client can mitigate this issue, and prevent similar problems from happening again in the future.
Week 4 / Design
The assignment:
Create a poster for a cause you believe in, using typography as the primary expressive element.
My submission:
I am always in support of following your passions (I worked on a campaign with this tag here). I chose this font (Felt Tip Woman) to make this message feel more authentic and handwritten.
Week 5 / Art Direction
The assignment:
Create a moodboard and set an aesthetic for this SodaStream Superbowl ad.
My submission:
Week 6 / Film (work in progress)
The assignment:
Create a treatment for a comedic, emotional, or artful script.
Week 7 / Brand Building
The assignment:
Choose a brand you hate, and rebuild it so you love it.
My submission:
I wouldn’t say I hate this brand, but I’m not a fan of Coach. They used to be incredibly popular (everyone in my high school owned a bag covered in c’s) and I’ll admit, I saved up to buy one for myself, but as I got older, I started thinking their bags looked so tacky and I would always walk right by their stores, never caring to look inside.
However, as I was doing research for this assignment, I realized that the original design that I now find so unappealing could be the exact point this rebranding needs to highlight. Coach is classic. As they say on their Instagram account, Coach is “the original American house of leather since 1941.” Coach needs to come back and focus on this element, on their originality and how they were at the height of their popularity. Their current mission statement doesn’t reflect this:
Coach is a leading design house of modern luxury accessories and lifestyle collections, with a long-standing reputation built on quality craftsmanship. Defined by a free-spirited, all-American attitude, the brand approaches design with a modern vision, reimagining luxury for today with an authenticity and innovation that is uniquely Coach. All over the world, the Coach name is synonymous with effortless New York style.
After looking at their social media and what they’ve been doing in the past few years, they have a lot of modern designs and have tried to live up to the current mission statement, but I think this has made them unfocused and look like just another fashion brand. (Speaking of unfocused, they have way too many highlights on their Instagram page… no one is going to watch all that, they need to clean it up and pinpoint what’s important).
The first step to this rebranding should be to modify their mission statement to remember its heritage and focus on being classic.
The second step could be a print ad where Coach visually shows how they’re tapping back into their classic, nostalgic element by placing one of their bags with their signature “c” design next to another well-known classic item, such as a glass coke bottle, with the line “Coach is Classic.” I understand that fashion needs to constantly be innovating to stay relevant (I’m not super into the fashion world so forgive me if I’m wrong), so maybe the bags for this rebranding can have a modernized c design, changing up the type or something similar, but still keeping the resemblance to their original style.
Week 8 / Media (work in progress)
The assignment:
A new digital-only startup bank has recently launched with a focus on offering a high interest savings account and a local-business rewards card. Thus far, it has been focusing 100% of its media $’s on performance marketing. Now the new bank needs a bit of prestige, and to be seen as a real player alongside the big banks in order to expand its customer base beyond early adopters. Typical customers are younger (14-34), tech-forward, early adopters. They probably have Facebook but don’t use it much. They’re professionals who value a seamless digital ecosystem.
Recommend one platform for the bank’s new marketing push.
Describe why the platform is a perfect fit for this bank
Supply some platform behavioral insights to help the creative teams with ideation
Provide one or more creative thought starters (remember, good strategy smells like a creative idea)
The assignment will be judged on how well the platform choice fits the brief, as well as its potential for earned reach and earned media/PR.
Week 9 / Copywriting
My submission:
People will actually look forward to your presentations
Finally win that argument
Leave them speechless
Economist + you = big brain energy
The only bubbles you’ll be bursting are brain farts
Your crush thinks smart is sexy
Think all over the box
Stop saying stupid things
Have an opinion
Food Economist for thought
Video Idea:
Three people are having a conversation. Two people are bantering back and forth, fully engaged in what’s being said. Then we go into the third person’s head to see his perspective and we discover that all he hears is gibberish, clearly not understanding what’s going on. The label “non-Economist” reader slowly appears above his head while “Economist reader” appears above the heads of the other two speakers.
The assignment:
THE FUNDAMENTALS: Show you can write headlines by attempting to write your 10 best Economist headlines. The headlines should convey their long established brand position: the smartest business people on earth read The Economist
THE CREATIVITY: Then show how you can adapt and extend this classic campaign in new and unexpected ways within your intended field. If you’re a strategist, that could mean finding new social channels and mediums to extend it. If you’re looking at design and art direction, could you find new digital and outdoor ways to express the idea (like the lightbulb execution)? As a writer, could you develop video or social media ideas for the campaign? There should be no limit or constraints to what you envision Those who make hiring decisions want people who can deliver what’s expected out of an assignment but then take it to a place no one imagined. Let’s see you try to do both.
Week 10 / Public Relations
My submission:
Target: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert / Stephen Colbert
Subject: José Andrés Pt II, #SAVERESTAURANTS
Dear Stephen,
I hope you’ve been well. I am writing you on behalf of the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC), a coalition recently formed by chefs and independent restaurant owners across the country to secure vital protections for the >11 million restaurant workers impacted by COVID-19. Our leadership includes hundreds of chefs and restaurateurs such as José Andrés, Naomi Pomeroy, Kevin Boehm, and many more.
Our goal is to urge Congress to pass the RESTAURANTS Act of 2020. This would establish the $120B Restaurant Revitalization Fund we've been fighting for. This fund would help save countless independent and small restaurants across the country. We are hoping you can leverage your voice and your platform to raise awareness about our cause. We would like to do a part 2 on the videos you posted with José Andrés on April 23, 2020. These new videos can be the same format, but the call-to-action would be for the RESTAURANTS Act of 2020 this time.
Please help us to #SAVERESTAURANTS. You can find out more information about the IRC and our cause at this link. Please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
The assignment:
Can you help us #SAVERESTAURANTS?
Identify a target — name and outlet — who hasn’t already covered.
Craft a custom pitch letter (not a press release or medium alert!)
Clearly articulate why this story needs to be told right now.
Leverage the talent listed as IRC leadership to sell your story.
Use emotion to elicit a response!
Week 11 / Strategy
The assignment:
Step 1: Pick an ad you love or hate (or you believe was effective!)
Step 2: Dissect into the following parts: The Client Ask, The Campaign Objective, The Audience, The Insight and The Message.
My submission:
AD: “A taste of drowning” from Tribord / Agency: Rosapark. Experiential, case-study type of ad
The client ask: Highlight the dangers of drowning and the importance of safety equipment at sea
The campaign objective: To promote the new Izeber50 flotation vest
The audience: Sailors and those that go out to sea, whether it’s for work or recreationally
The insight: Seawater doesn’t taste good
The message: Make this be your last taste of drowning (the drink from the ad); Protect yourself from the taste of drowning with the proper water safety equipment
AD: “The Worst Song in the World” from Monoprix / Agency: Rosapark
The client ask: Show how Monoprix can provide a more convenient & comfortable grocery shopping experience
The campaign objective: Highlight Monoprix’s grocery delivery service
The audience: Probably young adults
The insight: You can’t skip a bad song when your hands are busy carrying groceries
The message: Hands-free changes everything: you don’t have to go through this torture with Monoprix’s grocery delivery service
Week 12 / Social & Digital
My submission:
Spam, Sizzle Pork And Mmm
Archetype: Caregiver
Social Archetype: (Food) provider with endless options
Muse: Chrissy Teigen (some of their copy is kinda sassy)
TOV + VIS ID: Collage-like/bulletin board/scrap book
Spam has done so much already, such as a Spamarama cooking festival (1976-2007), a Spam museum (1991), a Spam recipe contest (1991), a Spam-sponsored NASCAR race car (1995) and even a 2005 Broadway musical, “Spamalot.” They also have SO much content on their website, but I don’t think many people view it, so maybe the following ideas can drive more traffic there:
Have tiktoker’s share their favorite Spam recipe. More specifically, share some favorite ways Hawaiians eat Spam (they love Spam in Hawaii so much, it has it’s own festival).
Create a tiktok challenge that remakes the Monty Python’s Flying Circus “Spam” sketch (this spot had a big impact).
Have Zac Efron host a Down to Earth episode about Spam, how it first hit the scene as a part of a U.S. soldier's diet in WWII to how it’s cooked, eaten, and celebrated in a variety of ways now (like this!). Spam has a very interesting story.
The assignment:
Choose any “brand.”
“Theorize” their “social” “presence.”
Come up with “creative” example(s).
I chose to analyze Spam because I have always been intrigued by the intense hate people have for it; I wanted to understand why. As I was doing research, however, I found that a lot of people actually love it as well, so there is this interesting, and intense, divided reaction to this product. Maybe their social presence can attempt to close this gap.