Saturday 28 February 2009

Ad-Rule No.2 - The rule of Positioning

Every advertising and marketing student should hear about positioning.  So you should know about it right?  If you are not sure about its meaning, check it here.  But please bear in mind, "positioning is something that happens in the minds of the target market".

The Rule of Positioning tells us that advertising is not communication, advertising is positioning.  Good advertising tells little about the product or service, it establishes or reinforces a position in the minds of the target audience.  However, positioning is not about "where" you want to put or "position" your product.
E.g. "We want to position our brand as the premier product in the category." - Incorrect positioning statement.

Positioning is about finding the possibility or the "Open Hole" that might exist in the minds of the target audience or market.
E.g. "There is an open hole in the mind of the target audience for a premium product in the category.  That is the position we want our brand to fill." - Correct positioning statement. 

Can you notice the difference now?  Yes, the key thing in positioning is "to fill the open hole in the T.A.'s mind".

So what could be the Open Hole in the mind?
Here are some examples:
1. The "Price" hole.  e.g. for High-price positioning: Haagen-Daz in ice-cream; Rolex in Watch; Mercedes-Benz in automobiles.
2. The "Country of origin" hole. e.g. Heineken (first Holland beer in beer-drinker' mind).
3. The "First in the mind" hole. e.g. Sony Walkman (first on-the-go Hi-Fi); Gatorade (first sport drink);  Red Bull (first energy drink); Apple (first user-friendly PC).
4. The "No.2 brand" hole.  But it doesn't mean to fill the hole of "the other best" or "the other leader", because there is only one best, one leader in the market.  Then how do you become a strong No.2 brand?  Well, you got to become the opposite of the leader.  
e.g. Coca-Cola is the old, established leader brand (that your parents drank), so Pepsi-Cola, filling the No.2 brand hole, said, "You don't want to drank the same as your parents did, you are the Pepsi Generation".  Window (an OS that you need to buy), so Linux (an open source OS for free).  Think about Large/Small; Men/Women; Black/White...
5. The "Specialist" hole.  e.g. Starbucks (specialized in coffee); McDonald (specialized in hamburgers); Volvo (safety); BMW (driving).
6. The "Gender brand" hole.  e.g. Marlboro (first cigarette for men); virginia Slims (first cigarette for women).

Add your comment to the rule please.

some interesting MVs

Rcently, I found these interesting vedios.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efrXaK7y07Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXSovfzyx28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3rDMJERl64

How about your feelings for these MV, could you post your favorite MV for us?

Friday 27 February 2009

香港知專設計學院(HKDI)文化探討之旅09

Info Seminar of HKDI cultural trip
Date: Monday, 2 March, 2009
Time: 4:30pm
Venue: Room 043

Contents:
1) Introduction to HKDI cultural trip
2) Briefing and promotion session of ShanDong, Guangdong & Guizhou trip
3) Beijing trip student sharing session in the seminar.

For details, please contact your CS tutor or Ting at 27279453.

Thursday 26 February 2009

Ad-Rule No.1 -The rule of Simplicity


Does anyone know how much information are we receiving everyday?  Well I don't have a definite answer, but I can tell you it will be measured in exabytes (an exabyte = 1 million terabytes, a terabyte = 1 million megabytes), so it will be many many.

Imagine you are standing in the middle of a busy road, with all sorts of sounds made by people, cars, machines, construction sites, and badly, heaving rain.  My question is, "Can you get yourself noticed by just shouting loudly in all sorts of different tunes?" - people might just mix them up with other noises!

Advertising is about communication.  If your audience does not notice and clearly understand your ad, then you have failed.  We are living in an over-information age, meaning the more information you put into your ad, the less people will get it.  

The Rule of Simplicity tells us not to "Add" (although it is called an "Ad"), but to "Subtract".  The most effective way to communicate a message effecively is to "Subtract" secondary or unnecessary information.

Great ad messages are simple: Just do it (Nike); Yes we can (Obama); Impossible is Nothing (Adidas).

Remember:
- It's not easy to be simple. Van Gogh said, "How difficult it is to be simple!"
- It is much easier to be complex than to be simple. How many times you have to make your type bigger and more colorful and more fancy so that you think people will be attracted by it?  Or do you think that by adding more text and making them bigger, it will make your presentation board look better so that your design work will also look better?
- Being simple is achieving your objective with minimum resources.
- The result of advertising is not measured by what is said, but by what people understand.
- You have to answer these questions in your creative process of any ad: 
1. "What am I going to say about this product?" and
2."Is what I am going to say, truly going to motivate my audience?"
3. "Can I trim down the non-essentials and make it simple?" 

Don't forget to write your comments if you want to know more!

An Ad Rule a day

Do you want to know the universal rules behind successful ads? I shall start a series called "An Ad Rule a Day" to introduce an advertising rule taken from the ad gurus in the world.  I shall post an advertising rule everyday for your reading and to provoke your thinking.  But I need all of you to response to it in order to keep me going.  So if you want to learn more, you should write something about the rule on that day.  Anything will do, my objective is to help you learn and think critically.  Watch out!

HKSI香港插畫師協會-專題講座及研討

Date: 3 Mar 09 Tuesday
Time: 1:30pm
Venue: Room 026

分3大主題一天內舉行 (每主題約1小時 附答問環節)
專題一: 商業廣告插畫實戰應用 By Fei Wong
專題二: 書/繪本/雜誌插畫實戰應用 By KY Chan
專題三: 插畫伸展角色品牌營運及建立 By Kenny Wong
http://www.illustrator.org.hk/home/index.php

Wednesday 25 February 2009

John Lasseter的「七大創意原則

PIXAR 皮克斯大佬John Lasseter的「七大創意原則」!

最近皮克斯大佬,動畫界傳奇John Lasseter在接受一家德國媒體《南方德國報》採訪時暢談了他所謂堅持的「七大創意原則」,他表示這七大原則是他實現其動畫電影創作目標的根源所在。 2月號的業界知名雜誌《動畫》(Animation Magzine)刊登了這「七大創意原則」的英文版本,小編拜讀後激動不已,為大家獻上自己翻譯的中文版,個人水平有限,疏漏之處敬請原諒,或許就是這「七大創意原則」使得20多年前不起眼的皮克斯有了今天的巨大成功。

關於John Lasseter:皮克斯創始人之一。《玩具總動員》《蟲蟲危機》《玩具總動員2》《汽車總動員》和多部皮克斯動畫短片的導演,皮克斯所有作品的監製。 2006年迪士尼收購皮克斯後被任命為迪士尼動畫部首席創意官,迪士尼樂園首席幻想工程師,同時保留皮克斯動畫工作室裡的職務,2009年威尼斯電影節決定授予John Lasseter終身成就獎已表彰他對動畫界做出的貢獻。多家媒體甚至稱John Lasseter是動畫界今日的華特迪士尼。

原則之一:永遠不要只抱著一個點子

「不管你是去寫一本書,還是去設計一件傢俱,又或是像我一樣去製作一部動畫電影,一開始,你不能只抱著一個點子,你至少應該有三個點子在腦袋中。這麼做的原因非常簡單,如果一個製片人只向我提議一個新的製作企劃項目,那麼他肯定為這個項目絞盡腦汁,鑽研了太久了,這無疑限制了他的想像力。我給他的回答是非常簡單的,等你同時想出了三個企劃項目的時候再來找我,而且我不是意味著這三個是一個出色的,兩個糟糕的。我的要求是這三個都非常好的點子——好到你自己都難以評判哪個是最好的一個。然後,我們再坐下來決定你會實現你的哪一個想法。」

「有創意的人經常會全神貫注的研究自己的一個想法,而這麼做帶來的後果就是他們從一開始就限制了自己的選擇的空間。我認為每個有創意的人都應該去考慮同時去企劃三個點子的做法。你會驚訝的發現這樣做會使你去思考你之前從沒有思考的東西,你必然會發現新大陸。並且,請相信我,這個世界上永遠同時會有三個好點子供你去思考。」

原則之二:記住創作過程中的第一次歡笑

「創作過程中所面臨的一個巨大問題就是你怎麼去完善自己的想法。使得你的主意盡善盡美無疑是非常重要的,但是這麼做也會帶來一些危險。當你有一個故事,一個點子或是一個笑話,你把它們記錄下來,它們對你的影響力是會隨著時光的推移而不斷減弱的。很簡單,當你第二次聽到同一個笑話時,你或許還會真誠的歡笑,但是到了第三,第四次,你或許只能偶爾笑笑了,當你聽這個笑話聽到第一百次的時候,不管這個笑話本身有多好,你會討厭它。」

「所以我對我的創作者們說,一定要記住你們創作過程中的第一次歡笑,有必要的話要寫下來。也許有時這是一件麻煩的事情,但它無疑是重要的。很多情況下,好的點子流失就是因為人們忘了他們第一次聽到這個好點子時的反應。」

原則之三:質量是最大的商業計劃

「有一個我永遠都不會妥協的重要原則,那就是無論製作週期或是經費上的限制,一旦你有了一個更棒的想法,你就要重頭來過,重做一遍。你必須這麼做。在任何一個創意產業,從長期考慮,質量是唯一的商業計劃。許多管理者不能夠理解這點,但是觀眾們深深明白。創作過程只有等真正有創意的人說完成的時候它才算完成,這不代表創作人沒有壓力。壓力是永遠都有的,但是每一個創作者都應該擁有最後的決定權!」

原則之四:團隊就是一切

「一個關鍵的問題到底是團隊還是個人更具有創意。我的回答是,在大多是情況下,是團隊。作為一個管理者,廢除一個團隊裡的任何等級制度是我的責任,對我們來說很重要的一條規則就是到底是哪一個個體想出了這個點子並不重要。一個團隊的確必須真誠的,直接的,努力去幫助每一個創意個體,但是你還是要記住,團隊就是一切。」

原則之五:快樂激發創意,而不是競爭

「曾有不少人這麼認為,當你把兩個不能互相容忍對方的人放在一起,借助他們之間的消極對抗競爭,或許你就會得到一個偉大的創意。我個人不同意這樣的看法,我認為合作,自信和快樂才是創意的締造者。有創意的人需要相信每一個參與者對他們都有極大的信任才能製造出一部偉大的電影。有創意的人很容易感覺無聊,他們十分情緒化。你必須想盡辦法去為他們創造快樂,去關心他們。有創意的人只有當你創造性的去挑戰他們的時候才能貢獻出偉大的創意。作為管理者,你的一大任務就是使得有創意的人衷心熱愛他們正在做的東西,讓他們為自己作為某項計劃的一分子而感到自豪。你必須要經常的給有創意的人有創造性的挑戰,這是一項相當艱巨的任務。不過反過來說,沒人認為管理有創意的人是一件簡單的事情。」

原則之六:創意品的輸出永遠能反映出這個公司高層的實質

「一個不夠格的管理者會阻礙創作過程的進行。一個到處使壞脾氣,禁止他的員工玩樂的管理者無疑會削弱這個團隊的創造力,並且傷害到整個團隊的凝聚力。我肯定的炒掉這樣一個管理者,我沒有錢去冒這個風險,讓他傷害到我的生意。」

原則之七:讓你自己被你所相信的創意人員所包圍

「只把那些你認為和你一樣有天賦或者比你更有天賦的人帶入你的創作團隊(如果他們願意並且好性情的話)。許多管理者認為僱傭那些比他們更有天賦的人會使得他們在團隊中的位置不穩,有不安全感。我要說的是不安全感是不可能和創造力共存的。許多管理者讓他們的周圍佈滿了那些聽從自己指示的人,其帶來的結果就是他們只能給觀眾帶來一部糟糕的電影。」

Tuesday 24 February 2009

Personality Dimension Workshop for 61382A/2B

SAO has asked me to inform group 2B students of their programme on March 20, details as follow:

Class: 61382A/2B
Date: 20 March 09 (Fri)
Time: 14:30-18:30
Venue: Rm 431
Topic: Personality Dimension Workshop
Tutor: Kennis

Droga 5

"Droga 5, opened in 2006, inspired by the idea that it was time for agencies to do something different. The agency believes in creative ideas that live beyond media budgets, and approached UNICEF with the Tap Project in 2007 to raise awareness of the global water crisis and donations for UNICEF's water programs. Droga5 is the proud international agency for the Tap Project." - Droga 5
http://www.droga5.com/

Simple act can make a difference

"In 2007, the Tap Project was born in New York City based on a simple concept: restaurants would ask their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and all funds raised would support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world. " - Tap Project
http://www.tapproject.org/

Any insight for your final project?
Everyone please post a comment to tell us what do you think is the USP of this Tap Project!

Affecting change with simple act

"Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one hour. Only a year later and this event had become a global sustainability movement with up to 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour." - Earth Hour
http://www.earthhour.org/

An opportunity for your final project? Why not?

Monday 23 February 2009

What is the most interesting element(s) in a picture?

Picture means a piece of photography, photograph, still image, single shot, digital photo, etc.
Please post your views here.

Week 3: NFP - Presentation of Creative Brief

Presentation session of Creative Brief for Thomas' group as follow:

Date: Wednesday, Feb 25, 2009
Time: 9:30 pm
Venue: Room 144A

- You are expected to present your creative brief with Powerpoint which takes us through the process of your development, research, client contact, insights, etc.
- Each group will have 10 minutes to present and 10 minutes for feedback.
(please do a rehersal to make sure you can deliver your presentation on time).
- Submit 1 copy of your Creative Brief, Milestone and Weekly Plan after the presentation.
- You might include a thumbnail copy of your powerpoint notes if possible.

Download your transcript on Mar 4, 2009

Starting from AY2008/09, all student are required to download the Transcript of Study from SWS by themselves. You must activate your CNA accounts in order to login the SWS and download the transcript. Some of you might not have activated your CNA accounts. So please activate your CNA accounts immediately.

A demo video of activating the CNA Account is now displayed in the welcome page of SWS (https://www3.vtc.edu.hk/).

Transcript of Study for Sem 1 will be available for download at SWS on 4 Mar 2009 (Wed) at 10:00am.
There will be no hardcopy. Please activate your CNA account if you haven't done so. With the same login name and password as with your WebCT, Webmail and SWS system.

Pecha Kucha Night Hong Kong on Feb 25 2009

Saturday 21 February 2009

Please act, write something here!

Can anyone tell me how many manufactured objects (機製物品)did you touch this morning, between waking up and leaving your house?

Please post your answer with the "comments" button. 

Thursday 19 February 2009

Seen and Noted 01

Artist books by Katsumi Komagata.
http://www.formandcolours.com/

London View created by Radiohead collaborator Stanley Donwood for Thom Yorke's first solo record.
http://www.slowlydownward.com/

Books/Albums/Packaging/Identity by Farrow Design.
http://www.farrowdesign.com/

For the passionate lovers of both music and art.
http://www.itspopitsart.com/

Visual archive of Design/Photography/Art/T-shirts/Books/Music/Film/Events.
http://www.Blanka.co.uk/