So the YCN briefs for 2011/2012 have recently been announced. Initially I wanted to do an ISTD brief for the competition part of OUGD301 as I wanted to show my skills in hand-drawn type, but having looked at the briefs, none really stood out to me.
Last year's YCN briefs which we did as compulsory did not fill me with confidence about the range of ones that would be available this year. Each brief had a flaw to it, and, as we were doing it as a collaboration, it does not bring back brilliant memories for me.
However, I got a very pleasant surprise when I looked at the selection of briefs for this year, one especially caught my eye... the Feel Good Drinks brief. I feel I could really bring this one justice, and put my own stamp on it, using the methods that I enjoy working in (hand-drawn type, collage etc).
The Feel Good Drinks Company brief...
Get fruity, make people smile and kick start your career
Howdy
If you’re looking for an easy peasy pull-things-together-the-night-before type brief, then move along now. If however, you’re up for having some fun and producing creative work that’s so good your granny will weep, then this is for you. Why all the effort? Well apart from the chance of getting a commendation for your work, why not have a look back through our previous national campaigns? You’ll see that if a student’s idea knocks our socks off, we’ll go ahead and work with them to make it happen. Yep, we’re talking actual, nationwide campaigns. We should probably point out, we’re a small company and don’t have bags of spare cash, so if your work gets picked you won’t end up with your own private yacht. But you would end up with a stand-out CV and something interesting to tweet about for a change. And if you think we’re telling porkies? – just ask Debbie Hulme, a previous YCN entrant who saw her Feel Good Drinks idea on E4.
Background
In 2002 three guys who worked together at Coke decided to leave the rat race and form their own soft drinks company. They wanted to make healthy drinks that actually tasted good, create a brand that people liked and a business that made coming to work fun, even on Mondays.
Feel Good Drinks make 3 different ranges of delicious drinks in lots of fruity flavours including: Orange + Mango, Apple + Blueberry and Cranberry + Lime – we like to leave the boring flavours to everyone else. Every Feel Good Drink is packed full of 100% natural ingredients and absolutely no nasty stuff like artificial chemicals or spoonfuls of added sugar. (We wouldn’t want to drink that stuff, so we don’t expect you to either.)
The company now sells one Feel Good Drink every 2 seconds, but we’d like to sell more, and that’s where you come in.
The challenge
One word. Awareness.
We know that when someone tries one of our drinks, they’ll give it a big thumbs up. The trouble is, not enough people know who we are. So we’re looking for creative ideas that will dramatically raise awareness of our drinks, and just how darn tasty they are. We need you to think big - we want to see ideas that stop people in their tracks and make them feel instantaneously good, so good that they will grin from ear to ear. Below are two briefs. Let your creative taste buds be tickled and take your pick (of course if you’re feeling very industrious, we won’t stop you doing both...)
Brief 1
Make us famous.
Create a campaign that communicates 3 simple things: our brand name, what our drinks look like and that our drinks are choc-full of natural, tasty, fruitiness. And do all this in a way that is unique, memorable and makes people laugh.
Brief 2
Fruit not sugar.
We asked some people if they like their soft drinks to have lots of added sugar in them and they said no. No surprises there, then. Of course, we don’t add any sugar to our drinks – nada de nada, niente
di niente, absolutely zilch.
You might be surprised to hear though, that some of our competitors do add sugar to their ‘healthy’ drinks - and lots of it too. The ASA has banned both Vitamin Water and This Water from using misleading ads, which was in part due to the amount of sugar they heap in their drinks. They found that one bottle of This Water could contain up to 42g, that’s 8.5 teaspoons. A bottle of Vitamin Water was found to contain 23g, so just the 5 teaspoons then.
We know you can make great tasting natural juice drinks without adding sugar – we do it everyday. We think that when someone chooses a healthy drink they don’t want or expect it to have heaps of sugar in it. We want you to come up with an idea that tells people the facts, so they can make an informed choice next time they’re at the chiller. Can you communicate this in a fun and feel good way?
Creative Requirements
Often the best ideas have the potential to work across all manner of channels. Do consider all types of new and traditional media, including on-pack and even point of sale if you want to. You may also have noticed that we’re big fans of digital, spending time with our Facebook and Twitter families and spreading our message virally. The idea is to spread the word, so talking to consumers directly can’t be a bad idea. Feel free to incorporate the Feel Good Drinks logo and images of our bottles into your work where appropriate. For this work, we’d like you to focus on our small bottle still and sparkling juice drinks. Images of these can be found in the brief’s project pack.
Target Audience
16-34 year old adults who are happy to pay a little bit more for a healthy, tasty soft drink that isn’t full of junk. They are an up-beat, look-on-the-brightside, sociable bunch, who like to work hard but always find time for some feel good fun and games.
Tone of voice
PMA people - you can’t call yourself Feel Good Drinks and be miserable! The message should always be friendly, fun, and just a little bit cheeky. Please don’t get all serious on us now. It’s about talking to people on their level, making a connection and making them smile.
Additional Information
No cutting corners! Read all about us at our site and stay up to date with what we’re doing by becoming a Facebook fan or a Twitter follower.
And remember, Drink Good...Feel Good!
Deliverables, Artwork and Additional Information
For guidance on how to submit your work please adhere to the main deliverables information in the Student Awards section of the YCN website. Any additional supporting information referenced in the brief can be found in the supporting project pack.
Another brief that I am quite interested in doing is the Marks & Spencer Picnic brief. This would allow me to work on creating packaging which is something that I am interested in doing. I also feel that I could use my style to make it work.
Package the perfect M&S picnic
Background
Marks & Spencer is famous for innovation, convenience and the quality of its food, and is often the first place you think of when shopping for a special occasion like a party or picnic. Anyone attending a summer event like Wimbledon or an open air classical concert will be familiar with a sea of M&S cool bags brimming with picnic food.
The creative challenge
Your brief is to create the ultimate picnic pack. It could be themed around a type of picnic or event, or around the type of food included eg. a romantic first date or anniversary picnic, a Spanish picnic, a picnic for an open air classical concert, a foodie’s gastro picnic etc. You should include everything needed for the perfect picnic: food (sweet and savoury), drinks, cutlery, plates, napkins etc. Think about the occasion, then devise the menu and decide on the physical packaging for all the food items and design of each item. Consider the overall carrier. It could be a picnic hamper, a cool bag or even just a cardboard box, but it will also need to be designed within the theme. Consider physical packaging; your design needs to be fit for purpose while creating minimal waste/refuse. The customer should feel like this is a fantastic treat and that M&S have thought of everything to make the occasion perfect.
Target audience
We have a wide customer base so you can aim this product at anyone from young, affluent singles or couples, families, older people whose children have left home etc. Consider who your target audience will be and tailor the picnic to that group.
Mandatories
Your design must include the M&S logo which is available in the project pack.
Considerations
Consider print process and number of colours – all packaging should be printed from a maximum of six colours per item. Consider whether you will use four colour process (plus two specials if needed) or all specials. Bear in mind that M&S is a brand which is known for Quality, Value and Trust and we have a strong eco policy (refer to the Plan A website), so all designs should be true to the brand. Consider teaming up with other students - designers or illustrators. A physical pack designer could team up with a graphic designer - or an illustrator or photographer could be commissioned by a designer to create imagery. Teamwork is not essential but is much more representative of working in a commercial environment.
Deliverables, Artwork and Additional Information
For guidance on how to submit your work please adhere to the main deliverables information in the Student Awards section of the YCN website. Any additional supporting information referenced in the brief can be found in the supporting project pack.
Food is also an area that I wanted to work in at the beginning of the year. Both these briefs allow me to work with a subject that I am interested in.
They will also give me the opportunity to bulk out my portfolio and branch out my specialisms in a more commercial market.
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