BRIEF: Create A Unique Brand Collaboration

Introduction to Brief:

One of the most effective ways to bring attention to a new launch is through brand collaborations, particularly when it's between two brands which people thought would never cross paths. This brief idea came to me when I was scrolling through my Instagram stories and I discovered a "Burberry x Minecraft" advertisement, which is a brand collaboration I never thought I would see. Burberry is a popular British luxury fashion house, targeted towards the wealthy. Minecraft is a popular video game, targeted towards young children/teens. These are two very different audiences, but bringing them together results in lots of eyes to the new launch.

This is aimed to be an average length. I would suggest you spend 3-4 weeks on this brief. Try to stick to this. Try not to spend too little/too much time on this task. I advise you create a timetable before you start section 1, particularly if you struggle with time management.

Below is some of my personal favourite unique, shocking brand collaborations. These collaborations are all brands which sells products for completely different purposes, to completely different audiences, which is what makes the collaboration so shocking and exciting. Something so shocking that people cannot resist to talk about.

Burberry x Minecraft

Marvel x Pandora

SPAM x HUF

For this brief, you need to create a unique, shocking brand collaboration. So shocking that people cannot resist talking about it, in turn bringing higher attention to both brands. The more shocking the collaboration is, the better!

What you will learn:

• A developed understanding on what makes a shocking, unique brand collaboration.

• A developed understanding towards the positive results of shocking, unique brand collaborations.

• How to experiment with targeting a range of different audiences within one project.

Section 1 - RESEARCH

A) Understanding the positive results of unique brand collaborations.

Before you start designing, I want you to do some thinking into WHY I am setting this brief. Grab a notebook and answer these questions:

1. Why is it more effective if a brand collaboration is unique and shocking?

2. How can a unique, shocking brand collaboration bring a heightened audience to both brands?

3. What makes a unique brand collaboration so shocking?

B) Listing different types of branding.

You now need to start planning what types of unique brand collaborations could work together to make the most shocking duo. To start, make a list of different types of branding. I'll start this for you:

• Shoe (Vans, Schuh)

• Fast food brand (McDonalds, Burger King)

• Children toys (Barbie, Lego)

• Transport (Uber, Trainline)

• Supermarket (Tesco, Sainsburys)

• Coffee shops (Costa, Starbucks)

Spend at least 30/40 minutes on this task. The possibilities are endless. The more brand types you think of, the unique brand collaborations you can create!

C) Linking brand types to create unique brand collaborations.

From section 1B), you now should have a vast range of different types of branding. Using this list, you need to link two brands together to make a unique, shocking brand collaboration, with a purpose behind why they may be collaborating. For example,

• Trainline x Lego - to keep young children entertained on long journeys.

Again, spend at least 30/40 minutes on this task. Try to link as many as possible. Make sure you write a purpose of each brand collaboration. If you run out of ideas, there's no shame on going back to adding to Section 1B).

D) Selecting your most shocking brand collaboration.

From section 1C), you should now have a vast range of different brand collaborations to choose from. Select 3 (no more, no less) unique brand collaborations) to research further into. Create a mind map, investigating the collaboration of these two brands. Think about:

• The similarities of the two brands (colour palette, typography).

• The differences of the two brands (brand purpose, target audience).

• What potential, fitting touch points you could create. What product(s) are you selling with this collaboration? How are you going to promote this collaboration?

• The two target audiences which you are going to be targeting. How can you connect with them both equally?

Once you have created these three mind maps, you need to decide which is your strongest approach. This should be the collaboration which:

• you can be most creative with.

• excites you the most.

• is the most unique and shocking.

E) Identifying your target audiences.

Once you have decided your unique, shocking brand collaboration which you are going to create, you need to identify your different target audiences. This will help ensure the design you create serves the purpose as effectively as possible. Create a detailed description of AT LEAST FOUR different people who this brand collaboration could be targeted towards. Describe an example of each audiences problems and HOW this brand collaboration can help that. For example:

Trainline x Lego - to keep young children entertained on long journeys.

• TA EXAMPLE ONE: Daniel, stressed single father, aged 35, loves his son, but Daniel's anxiety can naturally make the role of a father quite stress provoking, particularly when he needs to plan an entire long day out by himself. If only there was something to keep Daniel's son entertained/silent on long journeys to decrease this stress...

• TA EXAMPLE TWO: Lucy, child of loving couple Claire (aged 25) and Megan (aged 26), is a 4 year old girl from Suffolk. Claire and Megan often take Lucy to visit her grandparents, who a one hour train journey away. Lucy often finds train journeys boring, which usually leads to a terrible tantrum. If only there was something to keep Lucy entertained on this long one hour journey...

F) Researching existing brand collaborations.

To understand how to create a successful brand collaboration, it is important to research existing shocking brand collaborations. You need to find AT LEAST THREE brand collaborations who can influence your project. Please do not use all three of the brand collaborations I have found above as examples, try and find some of your own. Think about:

• the purpose of these brand collaborations.

• the shock factor of the two brands collaborating - why is the collaboration shocking?

• what touch points have they made? Are they relevant to the collaboration purpose?

• what visual techniques do they use? Does this link to both of their target audiences?

G) Researching revlevant designers to inspire you.

You need to find AT LEAST THREE artists who use similar styles which you are aiming to use. What visual approach do you think is best for this collaboration. Use your findings in section 1D) to help you.

• If you plan on your brand collaboration to involve brighter colours, look for artists who use vibrant colours.

• Any brand collaboration will use typography in some sense. It would be useful to look for artists who experiment with typography.

• Brand collaborations are meant to be exciting and shocking, so you could look for artists who use unique approaches/medias.

(If you are struggling to find any artists, scroll through this blog. I have done plenty of different blogs about different artists who inspire me.)

Section 2 - DESIGN

Now that all of the research is done, you should:

• Have a good understanding on what makes a shocking brand collaboration.

• Have a good understanding on the positive results of a shocking brand collaboration.

• Have a list of at least four descriptive people brand collaboration/product could be targeted towards and how this brand collaboration/product can benefit them.

• Have a minimum of three existing brand collaborations which your have found to help inspire your designs.

• Have a minimum of three designers which you have found to help inspire your designs.

You should create:

• A vast range of different potential designs/variations/experimentations of design which can potentially be used for a final product.

• At least 3 final touchpoints which are relevant to your brand collaboration. List of examples: logo, instagram story, instagram posts, clothing, accessories, collectables, posters, website, animation.

Section 3 - ANALYSE

Now you have created 3 final touchpoints, it is time to analyse your work. Answer the following questions:

1. What makes your brand collaboration shocking and unique?

2. What key, stand out visual identities (i.e. colour palette) did you use in your work? How do these link to your brand collaboration/product purpose? How do these link to your target audience's personality/interests?

3. What are the most effective design attributes of your brand collaboration design?

4. How did you use the selected artists which you researched to influence your design?

5. What 3 final touchpoints did you create? Do these touchpoints link to the purpose of the brand collaboration?

6. Is there any adjustments you would make to your own design? If so, why were you not able to do this?

7. How long did you spend on this brief? You were advised to spend 3-4 weeks on this brief. Did you stick to this?
   

End of Brief.