I just completed a MOOC on Content Strategy for Professionals: Engaging Audiences for Your Organization - by Northwesthern University
I had so much fun planning the final assignment that I thought I might share it here.
I ended up creating both Content Strategy and Design (but payed less attention to design because it was not the main purpose). Enjoy!
SETUP
Assume that you have been hired to launch the Shenshi brand of men’s clothing in your country. Shenshi has a web site as well as a social and mobile presence. For each of these, Shenshi will need to present content that you will create. Your assignment is to develop one piece of content and an explanation of it for the Shenshi brand as it enters your country and as it is summarized in Mr. Wang’s brand positioning statement: “For younger men who dream of a brighter future, the Shenshi brand of trendy but affordable fashion makes men feel and appear more successful to others than they are.”
BRAND RELEVANCE:
In Portugal, chinese clothes are regarded with disdain for it's obvious disposable quality and poor design. Nevertheless, chinese stores bloom and the low/middle class likes their budget prices - an effect of the economic crises.
This wasn't always so. 500 years ago, portuguese were the first europeans to navigate to China. Soon after, Portugal engaged commercial exchange with China, making chinese products popular in Europe.
This strategy is about making this true again by asking History's help to build the brand's Story.
THE DISCOVERIES THEME:
Portuguese are very proud of their Golden Age, the Discoveries. This strategy is based on emotions generated by patriotism, dreams of glory and adventure, while recalling the ancient friendship between China and Portugal.
The young man described in the positioning statement will dream of a brighter future based on his country's bright past. That's both Inspiration and Identity Experience.
THE AMBASSADOR:
Who better speaks for this brand's ideals than a young actor, just starting his career but already appealing to our audience in terms of lifestyle? This ambassador, Miguel Silva, the face of Shenshi Portugal, will star in catalogues and advertisements. As the strategy unravels, he travels to Macau (this China's Special Administrative Region was a portuguese colony, hence the relevance) and share his fresh view in journal format: "The captain's log" - a reference to portuguese maritime adventures.
Through Miguel, Shenshi speaks to young men in it's own language, focusing on regional and group identity. This Identity Experience is reinforced by the content's personal perspective.
LIFESTYLE APPROACH:
A trip to Asia is aspirational content at it's most - as seen before, the persona's aspirations relate with lifestyle. This approach associates Shenshi to dreams of lifestyle pleasures.
Miguel's photos, personal picks, budget and fashion tips will be perceived as an Inspiration Experience as well as an Utilitarian one.
---------------
CONTENT PIECE:
Miguel Silva in
THE CAPTAIN'S LOG
The Journey of a 21st Century Navigator in the South China Seas
Day 1:
WELCOME ABOARD GUYS!
I'm in MACAU!
Twenty hours flying, but can i complain? 500 years ago, this same trip took Jorge Álvares (the first portuguese and westerner navigator to arrive here) many, many months. And I bet he wasn’t being wined and dined first class style like yours truly...
I may not be as famished as Jorge, but I sure am as excited. Everything looks mysteriously exotic here. Since my Shenshi commercial shoot is only scheduled for next week, I have a few days to explore the secrets of this former portuguese colony. You’re welcome to tag along and let me know your thoughts on the way.
I'm picking up my camera now and head for a trendy Dim Sum low-cost restaurant I saw earlier.
Tell you all about it tomorrow.
MY FINDINGS:
What to see:
MAY THE GODDESS HELP YOU
Noticed the city's sweet smell? It's the incense burning in it's many temples. Light a stick at the A-Ma temple, it's the oldest one and most beautiful, and pray the goddess for a Straight Flush.
What to do:
FEELING LUCKY, HUH?
Macau, the Monte Carlo of the Orient, is famous for it's Casinos. If James Bond could do it in "Skyfall", so can you. For a home like feeling choose "Casino Lisboa". Try your poker face while asking for a Martini. Shaken, not stirred, of course.
What to wear:
90% HUMIDITY, 100% COOLNESS
Feeling like you're inside a cloud? Charm the local girls in loose pirate shirts and forget about jackets. You'd be drenched before you could say "faht sang mat yasee?/发生乜野事？" That's cantonese for "What Happened?", by the way...
What to see:
MAY THE GODDESS HELP YOU
Noticed the city's sweet smell? It's the incense burning in it's many temples. Light a stick at the A-Ma temple, it's the oldest one and most beautiful, and pray the goddess for a Straight Flush.
What to do:
FEELING LUCKY, HUH?
Macau, the Monte Carlo of the Orient, is famous for it's Casinos. If James Bond could do it in "Skyfall", so can you. For a home like feeling choose "Casino Lisboa". Try your poker face while asking for a Martini. Shaken, not stirred, of course.
What to wear:
90% HUMIDITY, 100% COOLNESS
Feeling like you're inside a cloud? Charm the local girls in loose pirate shirts and forget about jackets. You'd be drenched before you could say "faht sang mat yasee?/发生乜野事？" That's cantonese for "What Happened?", by the way...
---------------
TONE AND VOICE:
Since the content in question is a personal journal, The Captain's Log, the personality of the our ambassador should be strong and perceived as a real one, as opposed to part of a brand strategy.
I used the same voice two friends belonging to this target would use in polite chit chat. An informal, familiar and conversational voice, like the one used between two buddies. Some examples from the content sample I provided:
"Welcome aboard guys!"
"We're welcome to tag along..."
"Tell you all about it tomorrow."
"If James Bond could do it in "Skyfall", so can you."
I used the same voice two friends belonging to this target would use in polite chit chat. An informal, familiar and conversational voice, like the one used between two buddies. Some examples from the content sample I provided:
"Welcome aboard guys!"
"We're welcome to tag along..."
"Tell you all about it tomorrow."
"If James Bond could do it in "Skyfall", so can you."
Following the same premisses, the tone used deepens the level of familiarity and adds a playful note. The ambassador and the audience are, after all, "partners in crime". It should feel like they belong to the same "Boy's Club". An ironic, slightly cheeky tone is present in the following examples:
"And I bet he wasn’t being wined and dined first class style like yours truly..."
" Charm the local girls in loose pirate shirts and forget about jackets. You'd be drenched before you could say "faht sang mat yasee?/发生乜野事？" That's cantonese for "What Happened?", by the way..."
"Feeling lucky, huh?"
"...pray the goddess for a Straight Flush."
"Try your poker face while asking for a Martini. Shaken, not stirred, of course"
" Charm the local girls in loose pirate shirts and forget about jackets. You'd be drenched before you could say "faht sang mat yasee?/发生乜野事？" That's cantonese for "What Happened?", by the way..."
"Feeling lucky, huh?"
"...pray the goddess for a Straight Flush."
"Try your poker face while asking for a Martini. Shaken, not stirred, of course"
Reading The Captain's log should feel for the target audience like reading a vacation's post card or an e-mail from a very close friend. That way, all the content delivered will be perceived as relevant, appealing, and of course, credible, trustworthy and transparent.
---------------
MEDIA AND PLATFORMS:
This story could be delivered with interesting results in almost every media. A personal log would work well either in text, photos or videos. So why not have it the all?
"The Captain's Log" is a blog like content but because mobile devices are so popular, the image is even more important to this target. Photo and video logs will offer a complementary story to the text:
- the photo-log of the trip featuring food, restaurants, monuments, people, the ambassador in Senshi outfits...)
- video log of the trip's best moments and Shenshi Commercials "making of".
Digging into the audience's platform habits, it became clear that mobile devices are a top preference. Portuguese young man love smartphones and tablets and have become increasingly used to receive all kinds of content through them. They check e-mails and read news feeds while commuting, look for time out experiences and browse Facebook at meals. A classic website is mostly visited during breaks at work or at night, at home.
Websites:
- The Captain's Log" is a blog area in the Shensi website. It will link to the social media sites:
- Instagram account, YouTube Channel, Facebook.
Mobile devices:
- The blog is part of a responsive website - optimized for mobile browsing and user interaction.
- Since the Shenshi brand worked previously with text messages and e-mails, relevant log updates will be sent to the members who sign up for it.
This story could be delivered with interesting results in almost every media. A personal log would work well either in text, photos or videos. So why not have it the all?
"The Captain's Log" is a blog like content but because mobile devices are so popular, the image is even more important to this target. Photo and video logs will offer a complementary story to the text:
- the photo-log of the trip featuring food, restaurants, monuments, people, the ambassador in Senshi outfits...)
- video log of the trip's best moments and Shenshi Commercials "making of".
Digging into the audience's platform habits, it became clear that mobile devices are a top preference. Portuguese young man love smartphones and tablets and have become increasingly used to receive all kinds of content through them. They check e-mails and read news feeds while commuting, look for time out experiences and browse Facebook at meals. A classic website is mostly visited during breaks at work or at night, at home.
Websites:
- The Captain's Log" is a blog area in the Shensi website. It will link to the social media sites:
- Instagram account, YouTube Channel, Facebook.
Mobile devices:
- The blog is part of a responsive website - optimized for mobile browsing and user interaction.
- Since the Shenshi brand worked previously with text messages and e-mails, relevant log updates will be sent to the members who sign up for it.
Website example (photos from quick google search - model Tobias Sorensen)
