Account Planning School of the Web

Right we're on. Rob's truly excellent project is over, so now it's the turn of The North for a month on Russell's School of the Web. And it's all about rigour.

I'm keen on basics, and you don't get more basic than working out what you're objective is.

HOLD ON! Before you go beg Russell to start doing the APSOTW again, consider this. I don't mean 'sell more', or 'encourage footfall', I mean a brilliant, insightful observation about what your campaign needs to do. Let me explain.

Your objective is NEVER, EVER, to simply sell more, or get them to contact you.  It's to use your communication to change opinions, behavior or LACK of knowledge. IT'S TO REMOVE THE BARRIERS to them doing what you want.

In essence, you need to get to the nub of what's stopping people doing what you want, and what will make them change their behaviour.

Here's a brilliant example from Pot Noodle. Research found it had two competitive strengths:

It was an all consuming eat.

It made no pretense to be anything other than artificial.

This was why core users loved the brand. But this was a weakness for lapsing users who saw Pot Noodle as trashy experience that left them with a feeling of dirtiness and guilt. They were at a stage in their life when they wanted to be a bit grown up. BUT HOLD ON! They weren't entirely ready for this grown up world! They still craved aspects of their old lifestyle, and occasionally lapsed, you know..... nights out on the piss, the odd snog or a kebab. Now and again, they gave into their baser urges. Like Pot Noodle.

They still wanted to give into the urge to indulge in their dirty secret now and again. The communication needed to give them permission. So the objective became, "Reframe Pot Noodle users from sad losers to people with an understandable weakness'. You really don't need much more of a brief when you have a brilliant objective like that. Here's the result.

Or take the Flowers and Plants Association who needed to persuade women that men were too hopeless to buy them flowers, so they should buy their own instead of waiting.

Then there's maybe THE example. The incomparable John Steel found that Porsche had an image problem. People thought Porsche drivers we're 'assholes' who were too into image and conspicuous consumption. Yet when you get behind the wheel of Porsche you love the way it FEELS. So his task was to make people feel okay about owning a Porsche by casting them as driving enthusiasts.

Okay, you get the picture. The challenge is about DFS. Everyone takes the piss out of DFS' communications, so here's your chance to set that right.

You work on DFS, the biggest sofa retailer in the UK. Historically, they've focused all their marketing on discounts and sales, rather than any brand story, or product story for that matter. All the stuff you can read about here, never goes into any other medium. Should it? Especially when they have this (made up by the way!) business problem........

They're a bit worried that generalist retailers like Tesco (a supermarket) and Argos (a catalogues and website that sells pretty much anything!) are selling pretty good sofas at cheaper prices. Are they going to nick some share? You can take their sofas homes right away, they LOOK pretty good, while DFS make their stuff to order - which means at least 8 weeks to wait. Why would someone wait when they can have something that looks good now?

SO.

I want you to write a sparkling, inspiring objective for what DFS will do next with their communications to defend from these generalists. I want you to isolate the specific problem, and how communications will solve this. Your equivalent of 'We need to make people think Porsche is for driving enthusiasts, instead of assholes with more money than sense', NOT sell more more Porsche cars.

You can either do it as the 'What do we need to achieve part of the creative brief, or do it in no more than 5 powerpoint slides. Creatives want a springboard - what will inspire them to reach for the layout pad and be able to start scribbling before they've even finished reading?

There isn't much data apart from from that DFS web page on purpose. What can you dig out of all that information sloshing around the web to create a powerful idea? Here's one clue, someone once said to me that when you're going to promote an object, it's useful to think about how it fits in with people's lives. Another said look at the object, then look at it's context. I want you to find a CONTEXT. I mentioned here that great strategies usually draw a connection between two things already in people's heads that was not there before. What new connection can you find?

What about the dynamics of the category? DFS is the number one SOFA retailer, but the attacking generalists are far, far bigger and sell lots of different stuff. Should DFS act like a big number one? Should it act like challenger? What does it do what the bigger generalists cannot?

In the end, it must be true of what DFS does, and answer the business problem of defending against the generalist retailers.

And we're not in the dark ages. Don't assume you're planning for an ad campaign, or any specific medium or discipline. You're setting a task for finding an idea. You need to know that an ad creative, designer or anyone else for that matter can work to your objective - including media planners.

Please email me any questions. Deadline is 11.59pm (GMT) 6th August, entries by email only.

Only Microsoft word or powerpoint will be accepted. You'll get feedback from me, and also from a creative, that man being Stuart.

And make sure you give it the overnight test. Don't fall in love with your first idea - precis, edit, distill. You'll be judged on your thinking first, but your delivery will be taken into account too! Take the time to write less.

There is a small prize for the winner. Being a bloody minded, and tight fisted Yorkshireman, it will be cheap, practical and useful.

Good luck!

Comments

[Rob Mortimer]

Great project idea.

[Andrea]

The prize has to be a garden fork

[NP]

Too expensive Andrea

[Marcus]

Tea bag?

[stuart]

NOTE TO ALL ENTRANTS: NP may be a man of integrity, I however am easily bought.

Think on.

[Rob @ Cynic]

Bloody wonderful assignment ... now if you could only improve your spelling [the 2nd word of your post is buggered - that's even bad for you!] you'd be my number 1 hero.

[Rob Mortimer]

Technically it's spelt right, it's just grammar deficiant...

[NP]

Very bloody funny.

[Will]

NP, you have mail.

[Andrea]

How come even the cynic spelt 'deficient' wrong

[Will]

Yeah Rob M. Sort it out.

Good spot Andrea, I hadn't paid attention to that. :)

[David Mortimer]

Sounds good.

Hopefully my love of sitting will come in handy here.

[Rob Mortimer]

Nicely spotted!

True David... You could sit for England, or at least I think thats what she said...

[NP]

Good man David, good man. Sitting is skill that takes years of training, keep up the good work

[Rob @ Cynic]

I wish I hadn't said anything now!

[lauren]

a fantastic task NP!