Final Project
The idea for this final project started off as being a gum brand and advertisement. This thought was prompted by reading for an advertising class about advertising clutter. There are simply too many options out there for consumers, and it’s an advertiser’s job to persuade the consumer to choose their product amongst all these choices. This led to wanting to create a gum brand that was different, something that people hadn’t seen before. So, a sugar free and natural gum seemed like a good direction, since that’s not really a prevalent option these days. It would be something that sticks out from the clutter and convinces youth to buy this healthier gum, since there are just too many other options.
Then, a project for another class ended up being far too similar to this one, so this one had to be changed. This brought on the realization that there is the exact same problem in the product area of vitamins. Everything on the shelf either seems like its for children, or for adults. There did not seem to be anything in the store or even online that is specifically for this target audience. Another valid point is that many younger people prefer gummy vitamins to tablets. This leaves a nice market gap that is sort of a niche market, so the product decided on is a new gummy vitamin that is all natural and sugar free, and would appeal to a young adult audience. Niche markets are a good place for a new brand, because once a brand is created in a niche market, there isn't any competition because it isn't profitable for another company to create a brand in the same niche market.
The new brand is called VIM and it stands for vitality, invigoration and motivation. It is marketed towards active consumers that are around the ages of 15-24. The brand name reflects the concept of “vim” or being enthusiastic and having energy, to attract active consumers. The name is simple as it is only one syllable, so it is easily remembered. The name is distinctive as there are no other products with this name or anything similar, so it stands out. The name is also direct and inoffensive, so it is appropriate for consumers. The words that the letters stand for (vitality, invigoration and motivation) are meant to make the consumer feel inspired and strong.
The packaging is quite minimalistic and it is a bright color, so it stands out on the shelf, which is primarily just white or black bottles. The packaging is is a bright orange color, which studies have shown is a color that young people respond to well because it has a sense of impulsiveness to it. It also promotes physical confidence which makes it appealing to active people and adventure seekers, who are the target audience. Orange represents optimism, vitality, spontaneity, enthusiasm and risk taking, which the brand represents. It also rejuvenates the spirit which goes hand in hand with vitamins rejuvenating the body. Impulse shoppers also respond better to orange, so if the consumer is making this decision on the spot, the color of the packaging makes it more likely that they will buy this product.
The arrow at the bottom represents movement, which again fits in with the concept of being active and moving in the right direction. The silhouettes make the consumer want to be active as they are active, and they are not specific to any sport so they don't single anyone out.
Mulvey talks about how minorities are forced to look at things through a mainstream point of view. That greatly applies these days because most of the time, products are gendered, and women’s products are not “acceptable” unless they are frilly or feminine in someway, as companies are forced to create products based on the patriarchal view of society, where women are supposed to be more fragile and flowery. To oppose this view, this product is gender neutral which is not common these days, so theoretically it should stand out. The silhouettes on the packaging and in the ad are both male and female, so the product appeals to both genders. This also creates a bigger market, which means more profit, reaching the ultimate goal in advertising.
Thinking about Benjamin and the concept of how easy it is to reproduce now, marketers think that the way to get people to listen to their message is to make more messages, but in fact that just makes people annoyed active avoid ads. There is no longer the same aura around an advertisement. The way to make a message stand out is to make it different, not more more of it. So, taking this in to account, the ad for v.i.m. is minimalistic which makes it stand out from other ads. The visuals catch attention as there is a contrast between the orange and the silhouettes. There is also a lot of empty space in the ad, so it does not feel cluttered, yet there is still a balance to the image that is pleasing to the eye. The product is showcased in the corner of the ad, but it is not the main focus of the image. The slogan “chews wisely” is in the middle of the arrow, so eyes go to it as the orange text stands out from the black arrow. The slogan is serious sounding but is also witty to speak to the younger consumers. The tagline “multi-vitamins to unleash the potential within” challenges the consumer to be more active, and encourages them by letting them know that they have potential within themselves. The font of the name is a sans serif and is very bold and simple to reflect the simplicity of the brand itself. However, the tag line is in lowercase font to be more friendly and approachable. This ad would be placed in health magazines or on health websites, to appeal to the target audience of young, active consumers.
To complete the brand, a Facebook page was created and linked to using a QR code on the ad, and hypothetically on the back of the bottle. The QR code helps it to appeal to the target audience as it connects the brand to social media, which is how the target audience socializes and communicates. It also gives the brand more authenticity and credibility. The QR code also brings in the concept of hypermediacy as discussed by Bolter and Grusin, as the print ad or bottle leads to the Facebook page which may link to a twitter account, or a website, which in turn could lead the consumer to an array of medias.
The above also ties in with Warner’s concepts of publics. A brand creates a public when it is released. Publics are created with reflexivity, which hypermediacy creates as the content is passed around through multiple methods, and people also pass the information about the product on through word of mouth or social media. This not only creates a bigger public but also creates a brand aura. According to both Benjamin and Berger, aura is crucial, and every brand needs a positive aura, so the goal of the brand is to create a good social media presence to aid in the creation of this aura over time.
In order to add to the positive brand aura and appeal to the youth market, an app would also be created for this product, combining the viral aspect of a game such as Temple Run, with the usefulness of a fitness app in relation to this product. This app would be called “VIM Vigor” as vigor fits in with the theme of action and health, and sounds catchy to the ears. The app would have three sections, “fitness,” “fun,” and “friends.” The “fitness” section of the app would be an area where the consumer could track weight, exercise, calories etc, but also where they can set goals for themselves. If a consumer reaches their monthly or weekly goal, they are rewarded with either in app prizes to redeem in the “fun” section, or real life incentives such as coupons or deals for the VIM product line. This would appeal to younger customers as many in that age group would be motivated by rewards. The “fun” section would be a game similar to Temple Run, where the consumer can customize an avatar and play various levels of a game. The avatars would gender neutral in an attempt to keep consistent with the un gendered product, but also to appeal to youth that prefer not to attach a label to themselves, which is more and more youth these days. The games would be fitness related where the player can choose to run/bike/swim etc indefinitely until they hit an obstacle, with the aim to get as many points as possible. The rewards from the fitness section could be redeemed as avatar upgrades, or special boots to use in the game. This leads to the “friends” section, where the consumer can see what their friends are up to by connected the app to Facebook, or they can share their goals and high scores with their friends. Many youth are motivated by what their peers think of them so this section of the app would be a good way to motivate them to reach their goals and get high scores so they can share it with their friends.
In terms of peer review, the one that Caroline did is not completely applicable anymore as the project was changed, but the one thing that helped from the feedback was changing the font of the name brand. She also mentioned that she couldn't tell what exactly the product was from just reading the ad, so the tagline was added, which mentions that the product is a multivitamin, just to make it clear to the consumer.
Besides looking up color psychology, most of the information to create this project came from the readings we did in class or was general information from an advertising class. Time was also spent looking at vitamin bottles to create something that was similar enough to fit in to the product category, but different enough to stand out. Both the bottle and the ad concepts were created in Photoshop.
Works Referenced:
Benjamin, Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Marxists Internet Archive. UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. London: British Broadcasting, 1973. Print.
Bolter, Jay David, and Richard A. Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1999. Print.
Campbell, June. "The Psychology of Color in Marketing." The Psychology of Color in Marketing. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
"Color Wheel Pro - See Color Theory in Action." Color Meaning. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
Mulvey, Laura. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema." Screen 16, no. 4 (1975): 6-18.
"The Color Orange." Empowered By Color. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.
Warner, Michael. "Publics and Counterpublics." Duke University Press (2002): 49-90. Print.
