We were lucky enough to have part of the Carmax ad team come to VCU and listen to our pitches. What follows is a portion of the materials we handed out to the Carmax team when we pitched our campaign. Hopefully, I will have some of the actual ads that my teammates created to post soon.
Carmax
The definition of value is relative worth, merit or importance. We are striving to create a community of Carmax customers. Each customer will value something different. The key word in the definition of value is relative. Initially starting this campaign, we went around and around trying to define exactly what value was. The theme that we kept circling around to is that value IS relative to each person. Value varies; one person might value his money whereas another might value his time. Carmax offers a variety of different types of value: time, money, quality cars, no hassle/haggling, service options and research. We want each person in our community to feel as if their value is personalized, rather than a one-size-fits-all view of value.
Our community of Carmax consumers need a leader. They need someone to follow, to envelop them into the community. We decided on Max. He is there to help, not sell you a car. He’s a community leader, not a car salesman. He is there to take questions and answer them and be a moderator on the Carmax discussion board. He is the new face of Carmax. In being a community leader, Max will show the more intangible aspects of value. He exudes a trusting nature, which is all part of the value you get when you shop at Carmax.
Max’s personality will draw consumers in to the community. He will make consumers and potential consumers want to interact with Carmax employees, therefore creating brand loyalty.
Max is integrated into every part of this campaign. He will be in every touchpoint with the consumer - on TV, in print and online. Max will also be welcomed into communities by having MySpace and Facebook pages.
In creating a Carmax community, we will be creating brand loyalty. People need to feel involved. They need to feel that their voices will be heard. They also need a link between the brand and themselves, and that’s Max. He is what brings the brand into consumer’s homes and neighborhoods. We’re looking to establish this community and brand loyalty so that consumers will recommend this brand to their family, friends and continue to buy cars there themselves.
Another part of being involved in a community is convenience. We have discovered that although some people find the convenience of being able to shop Carmax online, the dealerships are still far enough away from their homes that they might not want to drive there. We have created smaller Carmax shops where people can pick up or sell their car and have it repaired, instead of driving to the larger dealership. These Carmax shops will be available for use only to Carmax customers.
Creative Work for Campaign Community:
New Website --
The website was created to feature the new “Ask Max” section, and the discussion board.
We simplified the tabs in order to make sure that each group within the community can find exactly what it is that they value. We also wanted to put the focus on Max.
Part of the reasoning behind developing a new website is to draw people into a community of Carmax consumers. One of the ways we want to do this is to have a section where consumers can personalize an emblem that can translate into their online life, such as on MySpace or Facebook, or their everyday life in items such as stickers and keychains they could get from Carmax.
TV Spots --
Max will be featured here as well. He will be reading correspondence from current Carmax consumers, whether it’s an e-mail or a written letter or testimonial. We are using these spots to direct the consumers toward the website, in order to have their voices heard like others have.
Another series of TV spots will feature customers who are coming to talk to Max about what they need out of car shopping - whether it’s time, a competitive price or the security of the service plans. Max would explain the benefits of shopping at Carmax and encourage other customers to visit him on the website.
Print Ads --
There are two focuses for our print ads.
The first is to push people to the Ask Max section of the Carmax website. We want people to get familiar with Max, and this is one of the ways we were doing it.
The second set of ads is for the high-awareness target. These ads are designed, again, to get people comfortable with Max. They are also designed with the idea of putting the focus on different, relative, values. Each target will feel as if Carmax is talking solely to them, but in reality, they will be speaking to all people because everyone values something different. Each ad will highlight a different benefit of using Carmax, although time is a common theme.
As a fun side-note, we used a fellow student to model Max after and we used him in our pitch. He came in the presentation room to give a personified visual of how we envisioned our Community Leader. Jeff, our Max, was excited to be there, enthusiastic about Carmax and put our audience at ease by making them laugh. Thanks again, Jeff, you really helped make our pitch.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Carmax Campaign Creative Brief
In my campaigns class (Completeness), I was in a team of seven students, including myself. Out of these seven, I was the only strategic student, therefore, the only one who had even seen a creative brief before this class. I worked on this alone a lot of the time, but I will say that our team, Team Delta, was awesome at letting the lines blur between strategic and creative. We all took suggestions and critiques from each other, even though we all had different specialties. In saying this, I want to make it clear that everything that came out of this campaign (and our UNOS campaign) was a team effort.
Carmax
Big Idea:
Evolving Carmax from a used-car superstore to a car brand.
Message:
Carmax is the car brand that focuses on what you value no matter what that may be.
Why believe it?
The message will be in every touchpoint. It will be told to the consumer by a trustworthy guy, the Carmax community leader, Max. The consumers will have first-hand knowledge of the message through their Carmax community, whether online or through another avenue such as local repair shops instead of going to the larger dealerships. The consumer will see new touch-points with the company, some physical, which will generate new feelings toward the brand. These touch-points will be a new website, featuring Max and the online community. Other touch-points will be traditional media - TV and print.
Why advertise?
There will be a focus on the less tangible sense of value - a sense of trust, security - rather than the tangibles of value - price, service plans, inspections. In this sense, we are creating a new feeling about the brand, while letting consumers know that Carmax is the same as it’s always been - non-gimmicky, sturdy and reliable.
We are advertising to combat the feeling of negativity toward the used-car industry as a whole. Advertising in this manner will set Carmax apart from used-car superstore and make Carmax recognized as a car brand. Carmax consumers will say “I bought a Carmax car” instead of “I bought a Nissan at Carmax”. By being part of a Carmax community, brand loyalty will be established.
Context:
Aside from traditional media avenues, Carmax consumers need to feel as if they are part of the Carmax family. They will be embraced into the Carmax community and feel as if the community is focused on exactly what it is that they value, rather than simply focusing on ‘value’. Carmax consumers will feel as if they are a part of something bigger than themselves; they will have a sense of belonging.
Big Idea:
Evolving Carmax from a used-car superstore to a car brand.
Message:
Carmax is the car brand that focuses on what you value no matter what that may be.
Why believe it?
The message will be in every touchpoint. It will be told to the consumer by a trustworthy guy, the Carmax community leader, Max. The consumers will have first-hand knowledge of the message through their Carmax community, whether online or through another avenue such as local repair shops instead of going to the larger dealerships. The consumer will see new touch-points with the company, some physical, which will generate new feelings toward the brand. These touch-points will be a new website, featuring Max and the online community. Other touch-points will be traditional media - TV and print.
Why advertise?
There will be a focus on the less tangible sense of value - a sense of trust, security - rather than the tangibles of value - price, service plans, inspections. In this sense, we are creating a new feeling about the brand, while letting consumers know that Carmax is the same as it’s always been - non-gimmicky, sturdy and reliable.
We are advertising to combat the feeling of negativity toward the used-car industry as a whole. Advertising in this manner will set Carmax apart from used-car superstore and make Carmax recognized as a car brand. Carmax consumers will say “I bought a Carmax car” instead of “I bought a Nissan at Carmax”. By being part of a Carmax community, brand loyalty will be established.
Context:
Aside from traditional media avenues, Carmax consumers need to feel as if they are part of the Carmax family. They will be embraced into the Carmax community and feel as if the community is focused on exactly what it is that they value, rather than simply focusing on ‘value’. Carmax consumers will feel as if they are a part of something bigger than themselves; they will have a sense of belonging.
Drum Roll, Please... My Resume.
Here it is.. my resume. I was recently told, by a well respected professional, Mrs. Debbie Griffith Brown, that "It is the most brilliantly written resume that I have ever seen and I see 10 to 20 every day." No need to feel as blown-away as Debbie did, but feel free to comment.
Jessianne Toth
100 Tate Chapman Rd. Simpsonville, SC 29681
Tel: 864 423-3226 E-mail: Jessianne.Toth@gmail.com
Profile
Recent college graduate! I'm looking to use my degree! I would like to do this in a place where I can not only grow and meet the goals I've set for myself, but where I can assist my employers in growing and meeting their goals as well.
Experience
Hostess and Server, The Olympian Restaurant, Greenville, SC 2009-Present
I have recently moved back to Greenville and the owners have graciously given me a job while I continue to look for something else! So, some days I serve customers and other days I just show them where to sit. Other days, I do both. Coming back to the same place after so many years away has reminded me that a lot of the happiness that comes with a job is the environment. I’ve learned, since returning, that I am a much better multi-tasker than I thought. Oh, and the whole staff has become experts on maneuvering around people just as busy as they are in small spaces. We find it to be an art, and we're all excellent at saying 'Sorry!'
Catering Assistant, Homemades by Suzanne, Ashland, VA 2005-2008
My main responsibility is to ensure that guests, whether at a catering event or in the small restaurant, are happy with full tummies. Working here taught me the satisfaction of seeing a project through from start to finish. I learned what it was like to have a client come to us with a specific need, and us work with them to get the best possible end result (happy people with full tummies). This process is not without setbacks and it was here that I truly learned the meaning of making a client happy, whether it means working as a team to simply get the order out the door, coming up with a totally new way to do things (African Carrot Salad, anyone?) or redoing work that our team thought was excellent.
Hostess and Server, The Olympian Restaurant, Greenville, SC 2003-2005
Working here taught me what it was to be trusted by employers, how to use my judgment in a potentially sticky situation and when to ask for help. Working in a restaurant teaches us to be diplomatic. Sometimes being diplomatic means you will put a smile on for the customer, explain in a sweet voice the same thing three times and then go into the kitchen - far away from said customer - and vent. I had to use my judgment because you don’t want to come between people and their food. Hungry people are almost as serious about their food as parents are about their children.
Afternoon Pre School Teacher, Gateway Academy, Greenville, SC 2003-2003
I worked in a different classroom every day, and I didn’t come in until after nap-time. I was the person in the room when parents came to pick up their children, which left me with the task of trying to answer questions or complaints that I often couldn’t answer. I learned to be diplomatic and to never say “I don’t know.”
Sales Associate, Stein Mart, Greenville, SC 2003-2003
This job was short lived due to my school load, but it was my first chance to work with adults as opposed to children. I was often left alone on the floor of my department to set up displays and answer questions from customers. I was accustomed to not having adult conversations, so working with inanimate objects was okay with me, but customers were a whole new ball game.
Afternoon Pre School Teacher, Kids and Company, Greenville, SC 2000-2003
Kids and Company was my first official job and it was here that I learned working in a team could be like working with family. It was my first experience with customers or parents. When it comes to someone’s child, parents are the hardest sell (only to be followed by hungry customers). Working with children was gratifying and a learning experience I will never regret. Because of the children I worked with, I know that I can handle different types of personalities and hissy fits.
Internship
Marketing Intern, Richmond Magazine, Richmond, VA
As a marketing intern, I was often the face of the magazine when trying to get the name out there. I was responsible for representing the magazine at events/functions where potential subscribers might be. I worked closely with the marketing director on many different projects designed to enhance the amount of readers, such as Excel databases of local offices of doctors and realtors and writing copy for events posted on the website calendar.
Education
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications, Concentration in Strategic Advertising
Greenville Technical College, Greenville, SC
Studied General Education
Relevant coursework from VCU
Copywriting
Media Graphics
Writing for Mass Media
Advertising Campaigns
Account Planning
Account Management
In these courses, I worked on projects from creating entire advertising campaigns to learning the basics of the Adobe Creative Suite. The campaigns I worked on were UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing and CarMax. For both of these campaigns, I worked in a group of seven people. I was the only strategic ad major while the other six were creative. It was an interesting dynamic, and one where heads were often butting.
In Copywriting, I learned about doing visually driven ads with a simplistic headline and headline driven ads with a simplistic visual.
In addition, I’ve learned about different Myers-Briggs personality types, management styles, how to write a journalistic article, how to write a creative brief and more.
Skills
In addition to the jobs I’ve held, I worked with a few people trying to get business off the ground. I worked closely with a woman to open a coffee shop in Greer, SC. There I helped decorate, design and anything else that needed to be done - I would work as a courier, babysit her children or simply paint. In more recent years, I have worked with an accountant to launch his mortgage business. I targeted local realtors through direct mail for which I wrote and postcards, or fliers, which I designed. For the mortgage business, I also did database marketing to get together the list of most relevant realtors to target.
Jessianne Toth
100 Tate Chapman Rd. Simpsonville, SC 29681
Tel: 864 423-3226 E-mail: Jessianne.Toth@gmail.com
Profile
Recent college graduate! I'm looking to use my degree! I would like to do this in a place where I can not only grow and meet the goals I've set for myself, but where I can assist my employers in growing and meeting their goals as well.
Experience
Hostess and Server, The Olympian Restaurant, Greenville, SC 2009-Present
I have recently moved back to Greenville and the owners have graciously given me a job while I continue to look for something else! So, some days I serve customers and other days I just show them where to sit. Other days, I do both. Coming back to the same place after so many years away has reminded me that a lot of the happiness that comes with a job is the environment. I’ve learned, since returning, that I am a much better multi-tasker than I thought. Oh, and the whole staff has become experts on maneuvering around people just as busy as they are in small spaces. We find it to be an art, and we're all excellent at saying 'Sorry!'
Catering Assistant, Homemades by Suzanne, Ashland, VA 2005-2008
My main responsibility is to ensure that guests, whether at a catering event or in the small restaurant, are happy with full tummies. Working here taught me the satisfaction of seeing a project through from start to finish. I learned what it was like to have a client come to us with a specific need, and us work with them to get the best possible end result (happy people with full tummies). This process is not without setbacks and it was here that I truly learned the meaning of making a client happy, whether it means working as a team to simply get the order out the door, coming up with a totally new way to do things (African Carrot Salad, anyone?) or redoing work that our team thought was excellent.
Hostess and Server, The Olympian Restaurant, Greenville, SC 2003-2005
Working here taught me what it was to be trusted by employers, how to use my judgment in a potentially sticky situation and when to ask for help. Working in a restaurant teaches us to be diplomatic. Sometimes being diplomatic means you will put a smile on for the customer, explain in a sweet voice the same thing three times and then go into the kitchen - far away from said customer - and vent. I had to use my judgment because you don’t want to come between people and their food. Hungry people are almost as serious about their food as parents are about their children.
Afternoon Pre School Teacher, Gateway Academy, Greenville, SC 2003-2003
I worked in a different classroom every day, and I didn’t come in until after nap-time. I was the person in the room when parents came to pick up their children, which left me with the task of trying to answer questions or complaints that I often couldn’t answer. I learned to be diplomatic and to never say “I don’t know.”
Sales Associate, Stein Mart, Greenville, SC 2003-2003
This job was short lived due to my school load, but it was my first chance to work with adults as opposed to children. I was often left alone on the floor of my department to set up displays and answer questions from customers. I was accustomed to not having adult conversations, so working with inanimate objects was okay with me, but customers were a whole new ball game.
Afternoon Pre School Teacher, Kids and Company, Greenville, SC 2000-2003
Kids and Company was my first official job and it was here that I learned working in a team could be like working with family. It was my first experience with customers or parents. When it comes to someone’s child, parents are the hardest sell (only to be followed by hungry customers). Working with children was gratifying and a learning experience I will never regret. Because of the children I worked with, I know that I can handle different types of personalities and hissy fits.
Internship
Marketing Intern, Richmond Magazine, Richmond, VA
As a marketing intern, I was often the face of the magazine when trying to get the name out there. I was responsible for representing the magazine at events/functions where potential subscribers might be. I worked closely with the marketing director on many different projects designed to enhance the amount of readers, such as Excel databases of local offices of doctors and realtors and writing copy for events posted on the website calendar.
Education
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications, Concentration in Strategic Advertising
Greenville Technical College, Greenville, SC
Studied General Education
Relevant coursework from VCU
Copywriting
Media Graphics
Writing for Mass Media
Advertising Campaigns
Account Planning
Account Management
In these courses, I worked on projects from creating entire advertising campaigns to learning the basics of the Adobe Creative Suite. The campaigns I worked on were UNOS, the United Network for Organ Sharing and CarMax. For both of these campaigns, I worked in a group of seven people. I was the only strategic ad major while the other six were creative. It was an interesting dynamic, and one where heads were often butting.
In Copywriting, I learned about doing visually driven ads with a simplistic headline and headline driven ads with a simplistic visual.
In addition, I’ve learned about different Myers-Briggs personality types, management styles, how to write a journalistic article, how to write a creative brief and more.
Skills
In addition to the jobs I’ve held, I worked with a few people trying to get business off the ground. I worked closely with a woman to open a coffee shop in Greer, SC. There I helped decorate, design and anything else that needed to be done - I would work as a courier, babysit her children or simply paint. In more recent years, I have worked with an accountant to launch his mortgage business. I targeted local realtors through direct mail for which I wrote and postcards, or fliers, which I designed. For the mortgage business, I also did database marketing to get together the list of most relevant realtors to target.
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Fruits of Labor from Copywriting Class
This is a compilation of ads created for my Copywriting class... which was definitely one of my favorites. These ads were not created solely by me - even in school we did everything as a team. I'd also like to state the reasoning behind the wordy visuals rather than.. well, an actual ad: They would've looked terrible. My teammates and I were all Strategic students and, therefore, have a very basic knowledge of the software required to create a good-looking ad. In the beginning of the semester, we were dumbing-down our visual ideas so that we could get Photoshop to cooperate. I'd like to mention that Mr. Pieter Blikslager was my professor for this class, and had I not taken class with him I may not have formed such an interest for the art of copywriting. So, thanks Pieter.
Visual Assignment: Choose an icon of the airline industry, and an icon of a city. Combine to show the airline is now flying there.
City street in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. A float is in the center, in the shape of an American Airline jet. On the float are women dressed as flight attendants, throwing bags of peanuts rather than beads. Headline: American Airlines is now flying to New Orleans.
Turn a fact into a headline using a roller coaster from King’s Dominion (For those of you who are familiar with Carowinds.. substitute that for King's Dominion).
Volcano: shot of the roller coaster.
Headline: 70 MPH and you’re nowhere near the interstate.
Long’s Horseradish - Using the fact it only travels four miles from the company to the market. (This was created with the thought that we would all enter something into the One Show. I graduated, and therefore couldn't enter as a student.)
Visual: A guy standing ready to go - decked out in hiking gear, boots, with a backpack and a walking stick. Looks like he should be at the base of a mountain, but he’s in the middle of town.
Headline: Long’s Horseradish - Your hiking boots should be well travelled. Your horseradish should not. Long’s is at the Central Market in under four miles.
Long’s Horseradish:
Visual: Romantic table set with dinner for two - oysters, cocktail sauce, wine, candles.
Headline: Oysters aren’t the only aphrodisiac on the table. Get in the mood for dinner with Long’s Horseradish.
The Byrd: This is a fascinating old theater in Richmond that shows movies already released on DVD. Sometimes they do specials, like showing The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. (Google it. It's cool.)
Visual: Picture of the theatre, people waiting in line.
Headline: Our movies are so cheap you don’t have to sneak in your own candy.
PopTarts:
Visual: Picture of a little kid, backpack on, lunchbox swinging running to catch the bus.
Headline: Pop Tarts guarantee it won’t be breakfast that has him missing the bus.
Maymont: This is a park in the middle of Richmond city. It's an old mansion with gorgeous gardens, petting zoos, animal exhibits, etc. The thought behind these ads is that it is the backyard of the city. And people use it that way, too.
Visual: Picture of a Bison in someone’s small city backyard. People are grilling. It's Springtime.
Headline: Bison in the backyard? Only at Maymont.
Visual: Children’s petting zoo in someone’s small city backyard. Kids are playing. Feel of Summer vacation in the air.
Headline: Children’s Farm in the backyard? Only at Maymont.
In this class, we created headlines every time we met. The previous eight are those that made it to the last week without being shredded, critiqued to death or worse.
Visual Assignment: Choose an icon of the airline industry, and an icon of a city. Combine to show the airline is now flying there.
City street in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. A float is in the center, in the shape of an American Airline jet. On the float are women dressed as flight attendants, throwing bags of peanuts rather than beads. Headline: American Airlines is now flying to New Orleans.
Turn a fact into a headline using a roller coaster from King’s Dominion (For those of you who are familiar with Carowinds.. substitute that for King's Dominion).
Volcano: shot of the roller coaster.
Headline: 70 MPH and you’re nowhere near the interstate.
Long’s Horseradish - Using the fact it only travels four miles from the company to the market. (This was created with the thought that we would all enter something into the One Show. I graduated, and therefore couldn't enter as a student.)
Visual: A guy standing ready to go - decked out in hiking gear, boots, with a backpack and a walking stick. Looks like he should be at the base of a mountain, but he’s in the middle of town.
Headline: Long’s Horseradish - Your hiking boots should be well travelled. Your horseradish should not. Long’s is at the Central Market in under four miles.
Long’s Horseradish:
Visual: Romantic table set with dinner for two - oysters, cocktail sauce, wine, candles.
Headline: Oysters aren’t the only aphrodisiac on the table. Get in the mood for dinner with Long’s Horseradish.
The Byrd: This is a fascinating old theater in Richmond that shows movies already released on DVD. Sometimes they do specials, like showing The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. (Google it. It's cool.)
Visual: Picture of the theatre, people waiting in line.
Headline: Our movies are so cheap you don’t have to sneak in your own candy.
PopTarts:
Visual: Picture of a little kid, backpack on, lunchbox swinging running to catch the bus.
Headline: Pop Tarts guarantee it won’t be breakfast that has him missing the bus.
Maymont: This is a park in the middle of Richmond city. It's an old mansion with gorgeous gardens, petting zoos, animal exhibits, etc. The thought behind these ads is that it is the backyard of the city. And people use it that way, too.
Visual: Picture of a Bison in someone’s small city backyard. People are grilling. It's Springtime.
Headline: Bison in the backyard? Only at Maymont.
Visual: Children’s petting zoo in someone’s small city backyard. Kids are playing. Feel of Summer vacation in the air.
Headline: Children’s Farm in the backyard? Only at Maymont.
In this class, we created headlines every time we met. The previous eight are those that made it to the last week without being shredded, critiqued to death or worse.
Finally, some Ad-Speak!
This was a trade article point-of-view paper I wrote in the beginning of my last semester in college. I was to read several articles based on the same aspect of advertising, write a blog about it (with, of course, my own POV in there) and post it to www.ihaveanidea.org. I think that because this article is not about me, it's the first posting to my own blog that really shows my style of writing. Or, atleast, one of my styles of writing.
But I’m concerned what will be remembered from our time - from now. (“It’s our time down here.. Down here, it’s our time!” Anyone else a Goonie?) Will it be the extremely grammatically incorrect lines such as “Where you at?” from Boost Mobile that was chosen because that’s the language of my generation? Or will it be the dancing ‘shadows’ of Apple’s iPod commercials?
According to Mr. Rau, of J Walter Thompson, in a Businessline article, it’s only a catchy visual that can make an impression. He also says he agrees with the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. If this is true, why are the books always better than the movies? The written word allows us to create what we will of it - place ourselves in the shoes of the heroine or picture our boss as the evil villain. We are free to use our imagination. We become involved with the words and the picture they paint.
Meg Carter, of Financial Times London, states that copywriting is “one of advertising’s central skills”. If this is true, where are you, Copy? Fortunately, Carter believes that there is a rise in advertisements featuring copy.
There are numerous copywriting training classes popping up according to the Precision Marketing article, but if there’s not an ambition to use the talent potential copywriters have, these classes are futile. There should be a ‘headhunting’ of talent and motivate them toward this type of career choice. It could start early - while still in college. If they find there’s a lack of talent - go out and find it. Things don’t always come to you.
Part of my concern for the lack of copy in advertising is quite selfish. I admire the short, profound way to convey a message that can only be done in advertising. I only hope I can create a line for a brand that will be repeated twenty years from now. These words not only have provided inspiration for a possible future career for me, but have also provided the basic requirements for many “clippings” poems I was forced to do in a high school Creative Writing class. It’s where my love for copy began and I would hate to see the industry become strictly visually driven. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many pictures can one word inspire?
As a side note, the last line of my article is a question that was meant to get across the point that if I used a word - any word - in a room full of people, more than likely those people would all have different visuals pop into their heads. My professor, however, used my question to create an actual mathematical equation to show me that a picture really only equals 1000 words. I found it quite amusing. And it almost proves my point. Everyone sees things differently, even without the aid of a visual.
Copy, where’d you go?
With more ads becoming visually driven, online-based, fast-forwarded on TiVo, and completely avoided on most satellite radio stations will there be an end to the iconic slogans of brands? I speak of tag lines such as “Just Do It” and “A Diamond is Forever”. No need to tell you the brands. You know them; we all know them. But I’m concerned what will be remembered from our time - from now. (“It’s our time down here.. Down here, it’s our time!” Anyone else a Goonie?) Will it be the extremely grammatically incorrect lines such as “Where you at?” from Boost Mobile that was chosen because that’s the language of my generation? Or will it be the dancing ‘shadows’ of Apple’s iPod commercials?
According to Mr. Rau, of J Walter Thompson, in a Businessline article, it’s only a catchy visual that can make an impression. He also says he agrees with the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. If this is true, why are the books always better than the movies? The written word allows us to create what we will of it - place ourselves in the shoes of the heroine or picture our boss as the evil villain. We are free to use our imagination. We become involved with the words and the picture they paint.
Meg Carter, of Financial Times London, states that copywriting is “one of advertising’s central skills”. If this is true, where are you, Copy? Fortunately, Carter believes that there is a rise in advertisements featuring copy.
Copywriters, too?
A Precision Marketing article stated “Alarmingly, though, some senior industry figures are voicing concern over the declining numbers of talented industry wordsmiths.” As one of approximately 30,000 that will graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University, I know there have to be talented writers among us and from other universities. Perhaps it’s not a lack of talent but a lack of ambition to use the talent. Precision Marketing says that sometimes the copywriters can be overlooked and have an ‘ugly sister’ tag. Is this a direct result of a visual driven age, or is due to a lack of talented people in the industry? I think it’s both. According to a very short article - a blurb, really - by Rebecca Fannin of Marketing and Media Decisions, it is the glamour of television writing that has lured writers from print copy. Especially if we have been raised on television. She also states that this has left some agencies with no print expertise at all. Although, if no one else wants the jobs I’ll just (hopefully) one day take my pick. There are numerous copywriting training classes popping up according to the Precision Marketing article, but if there’s not an ambition to use the talent potential copywriters have, these classes are futile. There should be a ‘headhunting’ of talent and motivate them toward this type of career choice. It could start early - while still in college. If they find there’s a lack of talent - go out and find it. Things don’t always come to you.
Is there hope?
Gregory Solman, writing for AdWeek, interviewed Karl Heiselman. Heiselman believes there is far too much emphasis put on a tagline, especially when only 1-2% remember it. He says consumers remember the brand promise. I believe that these could be both on and the same. It is a connection, and if it is a well thought out line - or jingle, even - it can last. And then it can be tweaked and changed. Then, it can be brought back. Solman lists several companies who have brought back taglines that were out of use, or were changed: Burger King (“Have it your way”), Avis (“We try harder”), and Memorex (“Is it live or is it Memorex?”). Is this proof of hope for copy, or only old copy? This shows the importance of copy to a brand. People relate to these simple lines, and remember them. They’re used in pop culture trivia, on quiz blogs and made into Top 100 Best Taglines in blogs. If the copy of our time must be copy that has been brought back from times previous, so be it. You can’t argue with a classic.Part of my concern for the lack of copy in advertising is quite selfish. I admire the short, profound way to convey a message that can only be done in advertising. I only hope I can create a line for a brand that will be repeated twenty years from now. These words not only have provided inspiration for a possible future career for me, but have also provided the basic requirements for many “clippings” poems I was forced to do in a high school Creative Writing class. It’s where my love for copy began and I would hate to see the industry become strictly visually driven. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many pictures can one word inspire?
As a side note, the last line of my article is a question that was meant to get across the point that if I used a word - any word - in a room full of people, more than likely those people would all have different visuals pop into their heads. My professor, however, used my question to create an actual mathematical equation to show me that a picture really only equals 1000 words. I found it quite amusing. And it almost proves my point. Everyone sees things differently, even without the aid of a visual.
Personal Manifesto!
Creating a personal manifesto was another assignment I had while in college. My manifesto was supposed to be a more career-minded manifesto, but I believe that our working lives and our personal lives are very closely intertwined, no matter how much we'd like to leave our work (and frustrations, anger, but perhaps not the supplies) at the office. Therefore, I found no reason to make one manifesto based solely on my career decisions, and a separate one for my personal life. These are the points, that no matter how mundane, I must remind myself to follow. Otherwise, my life may suck. The quotes at the end are in my manifesto because, well, sometimes other people just say it better.
Never compromise your happiness.
Don’t dwell on the things you cannot change.
Smile even when you don’t feel like it. You will feel better.
Make time for your family. Value that time.
Be generous. Even when you want to be selfish.
Never stop learning.
Love unconditionally.
Learn from your mistakes.
Always work as hard as you can.
Don’t forget to play hard, too.
Be confident in who you are.
Do not identify yourself by your career.
Stand up for what you believe in.
Appreciate the small things.
Do not get “too busy” for those you love.
Work your body as much as you work your mind.
Do not have children until you’re willing to place them before your career.
Do not validate yourself through others.
Learn to keep your mouth shut. Sometimes.
Embrace change.
Remember that material things aren’t what’s important in life.
Don’t forget to look at the stars.
Take risks.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
Dr. Seuss
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those that mind don’t matter and those that matter don’t mind.”
Dr. Seuss
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
“Fight for your opinions but do not believe that they contain the whole truth or the only truth.”
Charles Anderson Dana
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Abraham Lincoln
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Anais Nin
“You’re so crabby all the time you’ve forgotten how to smile!”
-Linus, Peanuts
“They always say time changes things but you actually have to change them for yourself.”
Andy Warhol
“At work, you think of the children you have left at home. At home, you think of the work you’ve left unfinished.”
Golda Meir
“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”
Socrates
Never compromise your happiness.
Don’t dwell on the things you cannot change.
Smile even when you don’t feel like it. You will feel better.
Make time for your family. Value that time.
Be generous. Even when you want to be selfish.
Never stop learning.
Love unconditionally.
Learn from your mistakes.
Always work as hard as you can.
Don’t forget to play hard, too.
Be confident in who you are.
Do not identify yourself by your career.
Stand up for what you believe in.
Appreciate the small things.
Do not get “too busy” for those you love.
Work your body as much as you work your mind.
Do not have children until you’re willing to place them before your career.
Do not validate yourself through others.
Learn to keep your mouth shut. Sometimes.
Embrace change.
Remember that material things aren’t what’s important in life.
Don’t forget to look at the stars.
Take risks.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
Dr. Seuss
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those that mind don’t matter and those that matter don’t mind.”
Dr. Seuss
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
“Fight for your opinions but do not believe that they contain the whole truth or the only truth.”
Charles Anderson Dana
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Abraham Lincoln
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
Anais Nin
“You’re so crabby all the time you’ve forgotten how to smile!”
-Linus, Peanuts
“They always say time changes things but you actually have to change them for yourself.”
Andy Warhol
“At work, you think of the children you have left at home. At home, you think of the work you’ve left unfinished.”
Golda Meir
“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.”
Socrates
My Meyers-Briggs Type Analyzed
ENFP: Extravert, Intuitive, Feeling, Perceiving
According to my MBTI Profile, this means:
Extravert: I focus my attention on the outer world of people and things.
Intuitive: I take in information from patterns and the big picture and focus on future possibilities.
Feeling: I tend to make decisions based primarily on values and on subjective evaluation of person-centered concerns.
Perceiving: I tend to like a flexible and spontaneous approach to life and prefer to keep my options open.
Being an ENFP, I am energized by new ideas and possibilities. In fact, I am more focused on possibilities that actuality. My new ideas need to be discussed with other people in order for me to make them real and stay interested in them. My ideas are often creative ways to solve problems. These are the traits that will keep me interested in advertising over the years. There is always something new - a new campaign, a new idea involved in a stagnant campaign. My creative problem solving will help me to think outside the box and come up with new, unique ideas for creative, or strategy. Although, according to Life Explore from Geocities, The Personality Type Tool Kit, Wikibooks and PersonalityPage.com I am more inclined to go to the creative side. ENFP’s have been described as “Good with words, creative and even a bit artsy” on Wikibooks. If I stick with the idea that I’d like to be a copywriter, this fits right in.
Saying “If I stick with..” is a good time to bring up two other points. The first is that because I am energized by new ideas, I tend to not always finish what I start. In a career, actually not finishing work isn’t an option but losing interest and not doing my best is an option. If a campaign dragged on for too long, would I lose interest? Probably. Even in class (Completeness - a class designed for students to create ad campaigns from meeting with the client/doing research to pitching the idea). I was done with the UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) campaign before I should’ve been mentally done with it. “They enjoy the process of creating something - an idea or a project - but are not as interested in the follow-through” (Life Explore). This is definitely something I need to work on, and doesn’t fit with any goal I have, unless my goal is to leave something unfinished. My second point is that according to Life Explore, “They leave no option or possibility unexplored and find it difficult to see themselves in any single job or career”. I find it hard to set a definite goal of what I want to do not only because of the way I decide things, by being a Feeling person, but also because I am a Perceiving person. Life Explore also states that “..they make the soundest choices when they delay career and marriage decisions until their middle to late twenties.” Good for me that it’s taken me so long to finish college, huh? My mid-twenties are here.
Speaking of decisions, I make mine by taking into account the people my decision may effect. This will serve me extremely well in my career goals because for every decision I make, I will automatically think of the client and/or the target audience. “They take the needs and concerns of other people into consideration in their planning and often devise innovative and humane solutions to problems” (Personality Type Tool Kit). I think this also ties into the tendency I have to look at the big idea rather than the details of things. I am a good big-picture thinker, not as much a detail-oriented person. I tend to be an excellent long-range thinker and can easily see the possible effects of an idea, program or service on others (Personality Type Tool Kit). According to PersonalityPage.com, “the ENFP may seem directionless and without purpose, but ENFP’s are actually quite consistent, in that they have a strong sense of values which they live with throughout their lives.” Although I know that I can come off as directionless and without goals, especially since I don’t have a five-year plan, I have goals. My goals just happen to be a big-picture instead of an exact plan. This ties in not only to how I make decisions, but also “because of their combination of preferences, ENFPs are naturally drawn to a wide variety of occupations” (The Personality Type Tool Kit).
Alicia Aroche (VCU Career Center employee with whom I met to explain my test results) discussed with me how I am okay not making a decision, whereas a Thinking person would never let a decision hang in the air. I drive these people crazy. My not making a decision means, to an ENFP, that there are endless possibilities. Although, I will admit that it was discussed that I could potentially miss out on a lot of opportunities because of a lack of willingness to commit. I am like this in all aspects of my life. I always wonder what else is out there, and is it better.
I am an extrovert meaning that I am genuinely interested in other people and I work well in a team, which is extremely important in any advertising career I choose to pursue. Part of being in a team that works well together is being flexible, which as a Perceiver, I am. I am more open to schedule changes, changes in a ‘meeting itinerary’ and leaving options open. According to Life Explore, ENFPs are astounding in getting people together, and are good at initiating meetings and conferences, although not as talented at providing for the operational details of these events. I may not be the best person to organize the happenings of a team meeting, I can organize everyone to get there and I can also help them to see the big picture of why we’re there. Someone else will have to organize exactly what will happen while we’re there. For example, in Completeness, I tend to organize the meetings - get everyone in the same place at the same time. Jason (a teammember from Completeness) is the one who comes with a list of things we need to talk about and get done.
Being an ENFP also means I can get others to be excited about my ideas, which is great if my idea is worth something. But, even if my personal idea isn’t the greatest, I show enthusiasm for my ideas when I’m with other people, so they can feed off of my idea, especially when I am excited about it. I can get them to want to work with my idea, to change it, shape it, make it better.
According to the Personality Type Tool Kit, one of the things I need to watch my tendency to do is getting bored when I have to work alone. I’ve read this, and I’ve also found that being an Extrovert combined with NFP means that although I am an extrovert, I need time to myself in order to process everything that has happened with other people. PersonalityPage indicates that my time alone is a way to center myself and ensure that everything going on is in line with my values. This is one way that I make myself successful, they say. It is by working well in a team and then being capable of going off on my own to analyze and put things in my own perspective. Wikibooks says that some ENFPs have difficulty being alone, especially on a regular basis. These are the kind of traits that can be changed. If this was said to me two or so years ago, I would agree. Before then I had never lived by myself - alone, no roommates, no family. But, two years later, here I am and I love to live by myself. But, then again, maybe that’s because I am around people all day and when I get home I get myself centered.
There was so much information out there on ENFPs I found it hard to tailor what I wanted to discuss. There are a few other things, though.
Everything I found said that I, as an ENFP, would be a good advertising person, especially creative. Initially, when I chose strategic advertising, I did it because I didn’t think I was creative enough. Throughout the past few semesters, however, I feel as if I could’ve done it, and perhaps I’d like to do it, especially copywriting. Everything I read said something about how I use creative problem solving, I like to come up with new ideas, I’m curious, I need to know everything - a sponge of knowledge, I am imaginative, etc. All of this makes me feel positive about my career. I feel as if these things, along with everything I read being focused on ideas instead of action, makes it seem as if success is mine as long as I work towards it.
Each piece of my research also said that ENFPs are born entrepreneurs. This is because we’re risk-takers who dislike authority and the mundaneness of an everyday business. We like to work with people and ideas.
I feel as if all of the analyses painted ENFP’s as flighty, off to the left kind of people. There were many lines that had words like “nonconformists”, “free-spirits”, “people who march to their own beat”. I think my favorite was from the analysis Ms. Aroche gave me. It said we were “not especially realistic”. I think these can be strengths, because I am not afraid to be who I am and I feel like so many people are afraid. I take other people into account when I make my decisions, but I don’t feel like I make my decisions for others. I care about others' opinions, but I am focused more on my own values. And, maybe I’m not always realistic. I am often in my own world, dreaming of things in my own big-picture, but that doesn’t mean I’m not grounded.
According to my MBTI Profile, this means:
Extravert: I focus my attention on the outer world of people and things.
Intuitive: I take in information from patterns and the big picture and focus on future possibilities.
Feeling: I tend to make decisions based primarily on values and on subjective evaluation of person-centered concerns.
Perceiving: I tend to like a flexible and spontaneous approach to life and prefer to keep my options open.
Being an ENFP, I am energized by new ideas and possibilities. In fact, I am more focused on possibilities that actuality. My new ideas need to be discussed with other people in order for me to make them real and stay interested in them. My ideas are often creative ways to solve problems. These are the traits that will keep me interested in advertising over the years. There is always something new - a new campaign, a new idea involved in a stagnant campaign. My creative problem solving will help me to think outside the box and come up with new, unique ideas for creative, or strategy. Although, according to Life Explore from Geocities, The Personality Type Tool Kit, Wikibooks and PersonalityPage.com I am more inclined to go to the creative side. ENFP’s have been described as “Good with words, creative and even a bit artsy” on Wikibooks. If I stick with the idea that I’d like to be a copywriter, this fits right in.
Saying “If I stick with..” is a good time to bring up two other points. The first is that because I am energized by new ideas, I tend to not always finish what I start. In a career, actually not finishing work isn’t an option but losing interest and not doing my best is an option. If a campaign dragged on for too long, would I lose interest? Probably. Even in class (Completeness - a class designed for students to create ad campaigns from meeting with the client/doing research to pitching the idea). I was done with the UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) campaign before I should’ve been mentally done with it. “They enjoy the process of creating something - an idea or a project - but are not as interested in the follow-through” (Life Explore). This is definitely something I need to work on, and doesn’t fit with any goal I have, unless my goal is to leave something unfinished. My second point is that according to Life Explore, “They leave no option or possibility unexplored and find it difficult to see themselves in any single job or career”. I find it hard to set a definite goal of what I want to do not only because of the way I decide things, by being a Feeling person, but also because I am a Perceiving person. Life Explore also states that “..they make the soundest choices when they delay career and marriage decisions until their middle to late twenties.” Good for me that it’s taken me so long to finish college, huh? My mid-twenties are here.
Speaking of decisions, I make mine by taking into account the people my decision may effect. This will serve me extremely well in my career goals because for every decision I make, I will automatically think of the client and/or the target audience. “They take the needs and concerns of other people into consideration in their planning and often devise innovative and humane solutions to problems” (Personality Type Tool Kit). I think this also ties into the tendency I have to look at the big idea rather than the details of things. I am a good big-picture thinker, not as much a detail-oriented person. I tend to be an excellent long-range thinker and can easily see the possible effects of an idea, program or service on others (Personality Type Tool Kit). According to PersonalityPage.com, “the ENFP may seem directionless and without purpose, but ENFP’s are actually quite consistent, in that they have a strong sense of values which they live with throughout their lives.” Although I know that I can come off as directionless and without goals, especially since I don’t have a five-year plan, I have goals. My goals just happen to be a big-picture instead of an exact plan. This ties in not only to how I make decisions, but also “because of their combination of preferences, ENFPs are naturally drawn to a wide variety of occupations” (The Personality Type Tool Kit).
Alicia Aroche (VCU Career Center employee with whom I met to explain my test results) discussed with me how I am okay not making a decision, whereas a Thinking person would never let a decision hang in the air. I drive these people crazy. My not making a decision means, to an ENFP, that there are endless possibilities. Although, I will admit that it was discussed that I could potentially miss out on a lot of opportunities because of a lack of willingness to commit. I am like this in all aspects of my life. I always wonder what else is out there, and is it better.
I am an extrovert meaning that I am genuinely interested in other people and I work well in a team, which is extremely important in any advertising career I choose to pursue. Part of being in a team that works well together is being flexible, which as a Perceiver, I am. I am more open to schedule changes, changes in a ‘meeting itinerary’ and leaving options open. According to Life Explore, ENFPs are astounding in getting people together, and are good at initiating meetings and conferences, although not as talented at providing for the operational details of these events. I may not be the best person to organize the happenings of a team meeting, I can organize everyone to get there and I can also help them to see the big picture of why we’re there. Someone else will have to organize exactly what will happen while we’re there. For example, in Completeness, I tend to organize the meetings - get everyone in the same place at the same time. Jason (a teammember from Completeness) is the one who comes with a list of things we need to talk about and get done.
Being an ENFP also means I can get others to be excited about my ideas, which is great if my idea is worth something. But, even if my personal idea isn’t the greatest, I show enthusiasm for my ideas when I’m with other people, so they can feed off of my idea, especially when I am excited about it. I can get them to want to work with my idea, to change it, shape it, make it better.
According to the Personality Type Tool Kit, one of the things I need to watch my tendency to do is getting bored when I have to work alone. I’ve read this, and I’ve also found that being an Extrovert combined with NFP means that although I am an extrovert, I need time to myself in order to process everything that has happened with other people. PersonalityPage indicates that my time alone is a way to center myself and ensure that everything going on is in line with my values. This is one way that I make myself successful, they say. It is by working well in a team and then being capable of going off on my own to analyze and put things in my own perspective. Wikibooks says that some ENFPs have difficulty being alone, especially on a regular basis. These are the kind of traits that can be changed. If this was said to me two or so years ago, I would agree. Before then I had never lived by myself - alone, no roommates, no family. But, two years later, here I am and I love to live by myself. But, then again, maybe that’s because I am around people all day and when I get home I get myself centered.
There was so much information out there on ENFPs I found it hard to tailor what I wanted to discuss. There are a few other things, though.
Everything I found said that I, as an ENFP, would be a good advertising person, especially creative. Initially, when I chose strategic advertising, I did it because I didn’t think I was creative enough. Throughout the past few semesters, however, I feel as if I could’ve done it, and perhaps I’d like to do it, especially copywriting. Everything I read said something about how I use creative problem solving, I like to come up with new ideas, I’m curious, I need to know everything - a sponge of knowledge, I am imaginative, etc. All of this makes me feel positive about my career. I feel as if these things, along with everything I read being focused on ideas instead of action, makes it seem as if success is mine as long as I work towards it.
Each piece of my research also said that ENFPs are born entrepreneurs. This is because we’re risk-takers who dislike authority and the mundaneness of an everyday business. We like to work with people and ideas.
I feel as if all of the analyses painted ENFP’s as flighty, off to the left kind of people. There were many lines that had words like “nonconformists”, “free-spirits”, “people who march to their own beat”. I think my favorite was from the analysis Ms. Aroche gave me. It said we were “not especially realistic”. I think these can be strengths, because I am not afraid to be who I am and I feel like so many people are afraid. I take other people into account when I make my decisions, but I don’t feel like I make my decisions for others. I care about others' opinions, but I am focused more on my own values. And, maybe I’m not always realistic. I am often in my own world, dreaming of things in my own big-picture, but that doesn’t mean I’m not grounded.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Think Small: My brand compared to a VW Beetle.
This was an assignment called Brand You. We had to talk to as many people as possible, get them to describe us in three words and then use the most popular words to brand ourselves. This is the first introduction to the brand of Jessianne!
The target audience for my brand is potential employers. Since everything I have found is leading me towards the creative side, I am fairly positive I would like to pursue a writing job.
My brand is creative, outgoing and small. Although I don’t feel that I am a VW Beetle, I will compare myself to the classic convertible Beetle for something tangible to relate to. Even the (old) slogan works: Think Small.
I am creative in the sense that I can solve problems in creative ways, just like the classic Bug did. Instead of having the traditional trunk in the back, engine in the front in the Beetle it was reversed. Among other things, the engine reversal helped the Beetle navigate through snow. Creativity solving a problem, not just being a random creative thought. Being creative in a non-traditional way will separate me from the masses, just as the Beetle was when it was introduced.
Outgoing: openly friendly and responsive. I am the definition of outgoing. Bugs are noticeable on the road, they’re bubbly and unique. They even look like they’re smiling. They’re not a cold, aloof car like a Jaguar. Being outgoing embodies other attributes, such as being lively and energetic. When I decide to do something, I do it with energy. Instead of being conservative, I am friendly and chatty without losing professionalism. I choose to not be intimidated and instead act as if I am comfortable wherever I am, which in turn I believe makes other people more comfortable. The Bug is like this in that you can pretty much take it anywhere - it will even float, although not forever. They do, however, recommend that you avoid puddles large enough to have a name. I feel like this aspect of my brand separates me because I have such diverse interests whereas most people I come into contact with know only what they’re surrounded by. Thanks to my family, I’ve been introduced to many different things, helping me to be diverse.
Being small won’t necessarily help me position myself, but it came up enough while talking with people about my brand that I couldn’t not use it. At least I will be memorable since I am far from being of average height. Being feisty goes hand in hand with being small. Beetles may not be the fastest cars on the road, but they sure do try hard. Trying hard is part of being feisty since the definition is “showing a lively aggressiveness”. Bugs have personality. They’ve been taken and tweaked until there are Beetles that are dune buggies and those that have the Cal Look. It’s versatile. Not versatile in the sense that I can change to suit my surroundings as many people have done with their Bugs, but I have many facets that can fit in wherever I decide they need to be used.
The VW Beetle, in it’s ads, was not afraid to admit it’s faults, such as being small, not having certain parts and not being the prettiest car on the road. But, were these really faults? No. They worked for the car, and it’s consumers, just as I can admit what my faults are, where I need to improve, what I need to learn. The Bug is an honest car. I am an honest - almost to a fault - person.
I can own this category and it’s my core because it’s who I am, not something that I have made to fit me. I will stand out, not only because I think I’m a Bug and they stand out, but because I will be the interviewee who isn’t scared to chat, who is naturally energetic and excited to be there. I will be the one who will be able to show how my creativity, although it’s not the typical creativity in that I won’t have completed ads in my portfolio, has solved an advertising problem.
The target audience for my brand is potential employers. Since everything I have found is leading me towards the creative side, I am fairly positive I would like to pursue a writing job.
My brand is creative, outgoing and small. Although I don’t feel that I am a VW Beetle, I will compare myself to the classic convertible Beetle for something tangible to relate to. Even the (old) slogan works: Think Small.
I am creative in the sense that I can solve problems in creative ways, just like the classic Bug did. Instead of having the traditional trunk in the back, engine in the front in the Beetle it was reversed. Among other things, the engine reversal helped the Beetle navigate through snow. Creativity solving a problem, not just being a random creative thought. Being creative in a non-traditional way will separate me from the masses, just as the Beetle was when it was introduced.
Outgoing: openly friendly and responsive. I am the definition of outgoing. Bugs are noticeable on the road, they’re bubbly and unique. They even look like they’re smiling. They’re not a cold, aloof car like a Jaguar. Being outgoing embodies other attributes, such as being lively and energetic. When I decide to do something, I do it with energy. Instead of being conservative, I am friendly and chatty without losing professionalism. I choose to not be intimidated and instead act as if I am comfortable wherever I am, which in turn I believe makes other people more comfortable. The Bug is like this in that you can pretty much take it anywhere - it will even float, although not forever. They do, however, recommend that you avoid puddles large enough to have a name. I feel like this aspect of my brand separates me because I have such diverse interests whereas most people I come into contact with know only what they’re surrounded by. Thanks to my family, I’ve been introduced to many different things, helping me to be diverse.
Being small won’t necessarily help me position myself, but it came up enough while talking with people about my brand that I couldn’t not use it. At least I will be memorable since I am far from being of average height. Being feisty goes hand in hand with being small. Beetles may not be the fastest cars on the road, but they sure do try hard. Trying hard is part of being feisty since the definition is “showing a lively aggressiveness”. Bugs have personality. They’ve been taken and tweaked until there are Beetles that are dune buggies and those that have the Cal Look. It’s versatile. Not versatile in the sense that I can change to suit my surroundings as many people have done with their Bugs, but I have many facets that can fit in wherever I decide they need to be used.
The VW Beetle, in it’s ads, was not afraid to admit it’s faults, such as being small, not having certain parts and not being the prettiest car on the road. But, were these really faults? No. They worked for the car, and it’s consumers, just as I can admit what my faults are, where I need to improve, what I need to learn. The Bug is an honest car. I am an honest - almost to a fault - person.
I can own this category and it’s my core because it’s who I am, not something that I have made to fit me. I will stand out, not only because I think I’m a Bug and they stand out, but because I will be the interviewee who isn’t scared to chat, who is naturally energetic and excited to be there. I will be the one who will be able to show how my creativity, although it’s not the typical creativity in that I won’t have completed ads in my portfolio, has solved an advertising problem.
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