The Planning Lab » Case

Conflict planning

Leon — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:12:17 +0000

Creating social or cultural conflicts is a great creative strategy for achieving communicative momentum. Especially when the brand allows for it. Above is a “promo trailer” for a fictive company called Sandhamnstek (part of a social media campaign to generate PR) we set up for our client TV3 who will air a reality show about an island outside Stockholm that gets invaded by a certain group of people during summer. Unless you’re Swedish, it may be hard to fully appreciate this, but the strategy is to create tension by addressing real issues that are opposite to Swedish norms and values. Not to be confused with simply pissing people off, although there’s a fine line between the two.

Brand campaign for Jämtkraft

Leon — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:53:40 +0000

Some planning at work: this time a new brand spot for Jämtkraft, a Swedish energy company.

Background

Jämtkraft is different to other energy companies. The people that work there are actually really nice people, not greedy men in suits. The company gives a lot back to the local communities such as building arenas and sponsoring many different local sports teams. In customer satisfaction ratings (NKI), Jämtkraft scores higher than any power company in Sweden.

Jämtkraft is currently the fifth largest player in the Swedish energy market. For a long time it has been focused on its local market, but the time has come to grow nationally. This is the first national brand awareness campaign.

Insights

1. People switch energy supplier based either on price or brand familiarity. Prices are impossible to guarantee because these are determined by spot-prices. Brand is therefore the only thing will set a power company apart.

2. The world of big energy companies is a masculine world – mostly concerned about grand visions and future technology. But ordinary people care more their family than these things.

Strategy

1. Be the small power company that’s more human.

2. Appeal to both men and women, not just men.

Concept

Give people something important to think about: how electricity affect our lives.

Thought

The most important energy comes from people, not an electrical cord.

Short versions of the ad: 1, 2.

Client: Jämtkraft

Campaign: Sverigekampanjen

Agency: Jung von Matt Stockholm

Production company: Flodellfilm

Campaign for Miele Active Care

Leon — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 10:52:10 +0000

Here's some planning at work for Miele:

Background

Miele is a brand that makes household machines like vacuum cleaners, washing machines, fridges, etc. The machines cost twice as much as the nearest competitor, but the brand image is kind of shoddy, so people don't really have a reason for getting a Miele when they can get an Electrolux or Siemens. Yet, the machines are really state-of-the-art made in Germany stuff.

Challenge

Be relevant: sell a new type of washing machine that has special washing program features called Active Care. Also, make a brand shift that will attract premium customers.

Be credible: Miele is a German hardware brand, nothing else.

Be different: don't be a clone of other lifestyle advertising.

Insight

People in the target group spend a lot of money on expensive clothes, but still wash them in cheap machines.

Solution

Make Miele an accessory for expensive clothes. Instead of using lifestyle imagery, cut a hole through the pages of a lifestyle magazine and let the fashion speak for itself.

The Royal Swedish Opera – campaign for the Royal Ballet (updated)

Leon — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:20:49 +0000

Here's some actual planning work:

Background and challenge

Besides classical opera, the Swedish Royal Opera also feature ballet performances. The Opera wants to increase the popularity of ballet by reaching out to new customers beyond the traditional ballet patronage.

Penetrating the market for ballet is difficult, because most people have preconceived notions about ballet. Ballet is dull and stiff, and “not for me”. And… the budget is very small.

Insights

1. Attitudes towards ballet can be modified by
a) Behaviour: experiencing ballet for real
b) Familiarity: creating new but credible associations to things that people love.

2. There are certain commonalities with ballet and music, art, dance, fashion and sports.

3. People like brands, and they like shopping.

Solution

Deconstruct ballet into several live experiences using real ballet artists of the Royal Swedish Opera, placed in contexts and places that’s easy for people make associations.

Key visual:

Execution

In the shop windows of selected stores in Stockholm we will give window shoppers a series of live ballet experiences, tied to endorsed brands within fashion, art, sports, etc that people love.

Stage 1: Fashion
The theme of the first campaign is fashion. Six ballet dancers will perform in the shop window of Nordiska Kompaniet, a department store in central Stockholm on 1st and 8th November at selected times.

Results

1. The event became a public magnet. Most of the crowd stayed the for full 30-minute show.

2. The campaign was noticed by broad medias such as SvD and Expressen as well as niche media and blogs with very little active PR work.

3. The campaign led to a segment and live-performance in TV4 Nyhetsmorgon, a well-known morning newsshow.

The Royal Swedish Opera – campaign for Samson & Delilah

Leon — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:00:22 +0000

Time to show some actual planning at work. Here’s a campaign for The Royal Swedish Opera from us at Jung von Matt that’s just out. Whatcha think?

Background

Samson & Delilah is a new show at The Royal Swedish Opera. It is a classic biblical story but given a new twist. The director wants to provoke the audience by giving his version a twist. The twist is that the setting of the story is postwar Israel, from 1948 to present day.

Challenge

To sell tickets to the show, the obvious Middle-East conflict has to be dealt with in several ways in order to avoid certain dangers.

The director’s wish to be provocative meant the postwar Middle Easet conflict had to be a central part of the communications. Yet, The Royal Swedish Opera could not be seen as partisan in the ongoing conflict. Political neutrality had to be kept.

There was also a risk of focussing too much on the Middle-East conflict, because it would overshadow the actual opera and the story and consequently becoming irrelevant. Any solution had to be intuitive and crystal-clear.

Focussing too much on the show would and avoiding the conflict would, on the other hand be to trivialise it. The Royal Swedish Opera would be viewed as stupid if the complexity would be treated too lightly. The solution had to be exceptionally clever.

Solution

Concept

There was one parameter that would solve all the above problems: location. So, we let our concept take place in the Middle East, virtually as well as physically.

Being in the center of the conflict meant we could be neutral yet be relevant. It would also show respect to the conflict itself.

Execution

To execute the concept, we concluded it had to be shot on location to be credible. We sent our Art Director Jacob and photographer Sven to the Middle East. On location, they would spray a stencil design on walls representing the Samson & Delilah opera, inspired by graffiti art.

The photos of the Middle East work became the actual advertising, here shown as outdoor posters that are currently running in central Stockholm.

“Samson & Delilah – in the center of the conflict. See history repeating itself in today’s Middle East. Based on the classic opera of Camille Saint-Saën. Opens on September 13th with Richard Decker and Anna Larsson as Samson and Delilah.”

Five units were also spray-painted in the same way as they were done in the Middle East. Here on location at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm.

Filippa, Jeremy and Max spraypainting with permit.

To book tickets for the opera, go here.