Brand Strategy
Art Directors: Jenny Kim and India Pearman
Copywriters: Jenny Kim and Michelle Sylvest
Made it to the Young Ones Student Awards 2022 Shortlist
Brand: Bang & Olufsen
Bang & Olufsen is a brand founded in 1925 mainly known for their high-quality headsets and speaker systems.
Request and Objectives
Request
Create a digital campaign that will help B&O transcend into pop-culture. It needs to be bold and transform brand into being relevant to modern culture.
Advertising Objectives
Increase brand awareness.
Reach target audience through digital campaigns.
Emphasize B&O’s bold brand message and voice.
Current Brand Presence
There is no doubt that B&O is a well-respected brand known for its high-quality speakers. However, many of their current ads appeal exclusivity of their products because of their high prices and quality. They deliver a message to their consumers only people that can ‘afford’ their products can be associated with the brand.
Strengths
High-quality products.
Well-known and well-respected brand.
Loyal customers and specific target audience.
Unique design.
Product longevity.
Expensive prices especially compared to competitors.
Very narrow target audience (Danish market).
Needs stronger brand presence in the U.S.
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Can use their unique and aesthetic designs to their advantage.
Design and quality differentiate from competitors.
Lack of strong incentive to actually purchase the products.
Consumers usually choose practicality and function over luxury.
There are many competitors with high-quality speakers but with fraction of the price.
Threats
The plan we came up with
Main Goal
We can’t obviously give out 50% discount codes to solve B&O’s problems with pricing. However, we can change B&O’s brand presence in the market to be more relatable to consumers. Our goal is for consumers to believe that they can be associated with the brand.
Target Audience
Demographics:
Age: 30-45
Location: Metropolitan area
Income: Upper-middle class (100k+ a year)
All genders
Psychographics:
Passionate about music.
Actively looking for a high-quality speaker.
Design and music lovers across generations.
Has ambitious career and life goals.
Interested in luxury lifestyle.
What Consumers Think Now vs. What We Want Them to Think
What they think now
Consumers already know that B&O products are amazing. They know they’re of great quality but the biggest problem is the pricing. Honestly, not many can afford $3000 speakers. Therefore, they don’t have a strong connection to their products. Consumers perceive B&O almost as an untouchable brand that only particular individuals can be part of.
What we want them to think
We want our consumers to believe that they have a strong connection to the brand. We don’t want them to think that B&O is an exclusive brand they can’t ever reach. While keeping the brand’s class and image, we need the brand to be more relatable to our consumers. We also want consumers to use B&O products for bold self-expression.
Key Promise
We will create a digital campaign that will rebrand B&O’s voice to be bold and empathetic.
Support Points
Why should they believe us?
B&O is already known for its high-quality products, so consumers know they’ll get the best products despite the high prices. Not only the high-sound quality, but B&O has a unique design that users can’t get with other brands. So, there is no doubt these products are worth it.
What should the campaign emphasize?
Through oddly specific situations and real conversations, B&O will know exactly what to do in those situations. So, the campaign should almost make the users feel special and very connected.
What is the best way to create a strong connection with our target audience?
To do so, we’ll need a strong emotional connection with our consumers. We need a campaign idea that is easily relatable but only possible with B&O. We want our consumers to understand that B&O is different from other brands but we still share an empathetic connection with them.
Plan for Deliverables
Youtube Ads/Social Media Ads
Someone interested and passionate about music will be actively listening to music. YouTube and other social media platforms are reasonable places our consumers will be. It’s also one of the easiest ways to reach them and increase brand awareness.
Digital Banners
Digital banners are one of the easiest ways to reach consumers on a daily basis. We will create digital banners for New York Times especially because it’s a paid newsletter. Someone who is interested in current news and can afford the subscription is exactly our target consumer.
Dating App Profiles
Strategically, dating app profiles may not be the first place to advertise B&O. However, dating apps are also one of the best ways to reach people. It’ll make a lot more sense as to why we planned this when you look at our insight.
Finally, see how it came to life.
Insight: Loud & Clear
We all have been in situations where we want to say something but can’t find the exact words to say it. It’s frustrating, we know. So instead, let a B&O speaker deliver the exact message for you.
Loud & Clear.
First, social media ads.
The videos below would be perfect for YouTube ads or social media ads (Facebook, Instagram). It’s a series of awkward conversations where one doesn’t know exactly how to deliver their message. But the B&O speaker does it perfectly for them.
And this is if you want to see this campaign with a more serious and emotional tone. Plus, it’s Adele. You can’t ever go wrong with Adele.
Second, digital banners.
If there was a visual representation of an awkward conversation being interrupted by a $2000 speaker, it would probably be our banners. When you don’t know what to say, let the speaker say it.
Don’t say it, play it.
Lastly, dating app profiles.
Dating app ads and profiles can be very effective and creative ways to reach our target audience. It also aligns with our campaign insight because most of our ads revolve around awkward situations in relationships.
