Developing an effective brand message
Lessons learnt from conceptualizing Sekkisei’s sustainability campaign
In almost everything I’ve conceived, a hundred ideas ran through my minds, but the functioning idea has to be pragmatic.
When Sekkisei reached out to Girlstyle for a campaign angle, they wanted a brand campaign focused their brand value instead of the marketing their KOSE’s Clear Wellness products.
They want a video production that not only
Captures the attention of the young generation (21-25 Y.O)
Showcase the sustainability habits among young adults when using the KOSE Clear Wellness products.
Screengrab from Sekkisei’s latest sustainability campaign
“ARE WE TO FOLLOW AND RECREATE THE CONTENTS FROM THIS VIDEO CAMPAIGN OR IS THIS A VIDEO TO SET OUR EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT THE YOU WANT?”
Innisfree Campaign Video introduced to us by the client
This brief sounded like it could be explored from many different angles.
The campaign could be an exclusive interview with industry experts about the importance of sustainability in their mission.
Or it could be a sustainability themed skit made possible through acting - just like this video (left) the client sent us in the brief without context.
This video was part of a sustainability campaign by Innisfree Malaysia. But do we localize the contents from this sustainability campaign for the Singapore market. Or are we pitching something similar based off the standards of this video?
We scratched our heads.
THREE DRAFTS TO GET IT RIGHT
Draft 1: The draft that is based upon a competitor’s video
Without a clear answer, I could only reference the only other work I have done with this client before (below). The direction I took was to guise the storyline similarly to the Innisfree Malaysia video above, but to localize the scenes in Singapore.
An product campaign built for Sekissei in August 2020
With a limited budget to work with, we needed to streamline our set to 2 locations. This meant working with constraints and improvising with limited resources.
Emphasis was also placed on the importance of Recycle, Reuse and Reduce in our daily lives. So we brainstormed ideas on things millennials do today for sustainability. Yet, we wanted to do this in a way that would not look cliché.
“I work best with constraints and improvise with limited resources”
An impression of a Japanese minimalist home
The idea would revolve two locations: the beach and a minimalist-looking apartment. These two locations are selected because they were part of Sekkisei’s thematic pillar to showcase relevant contents of the oceans and of modernist Japan.
There would also be around 10 paid millennials as stand-in actors and actresses each making a statement on their sustainable habits. This includes “I clean trash by the beach to conserve the environment” or “I reduce waste at home by using less plastics”. A call-to-action at the end of the video would challenge viewers to play their sustainable part in conserving the environment.
Unfortunately, out of the 10 ideas proposed, 2 were accepted.
There were 2 takeaways from pitching after our first draft.
We have to be thematically more relevant to Sekkisei’s main principles, which are “Using natural ingredients that doesn’t pollute” and “Using products only made with natural ingredients”.
We needed to place particular emphasis on actions millennials can do when reducing, reusing and recycling their bottles.
Draft 2: Morphing and solidifying ideas
Despite the rejected first draft, the two accepted ideas gave us some room for encouragements.
“Have we wondered how our beauty routine affect our oceans?”
We quickly wrote up a new draft and expanded these ideas. In the second draft, one actress will ask us if we have ever wondered how our beauty routines have affected our oceans?
A sample of draft 2 we had to create in response to the client’s first draft’s feedback
This draft would also include a call to action. The actress, speaking to the camera, will say, “we all have a role to play to prevent further damage to our oceans. Even the tiniest gestures can make a large impact. Can you go green with me today?”
Unfortunately, the draft was rejected again because it lacked community.
There was 1 key takeaway from our second pitch:
We had to make the video more driven around the community, so this means involving more people in the scene.
Draft 3: Reconceptualization
The third time we drafted the storyboard, we felt more confident in aligning with the client’s main intentions. One approach would be to conduct a street interview targeting millennials between the ages 18-29, asking them questions about sustainable beauty.
“Hiring a host would be untenable because he/she would need to be reputable”
What came to our mind was Night Owl Cinematic’s Street Style interview along Orchard Road
THE PROBLEM
What comes to mind was Night Owl Cinematics Orchard Road street style videos by now infamous Dee-Kosh.
However, a street interview video would need a reputable host who was willing to be part of the Sekkisei’s sustainable campaign.
From Girlstyle’s perspective, a host would usually be part of a longer series and this one-off campaign would be untenable.
“A studio interview would eliminate the need for a host. The invisible producer would be the host”
THE SOLUTION
In a studio interview, the ‘host’ would be the producer and would sit behind the scenes. In videos like these, two interviewees would sit in front of a white wall and will be asked questions about sustainability.
So we quickly drafted questions regarding sustainability and about the beauty product.
How eco-conscious are you?
Do you look for more eco-friendly skincare products?
What are some first impressions?
Share your thoughts on the Sekkisei Clear Wellness products?
A video format similar to this was conceived where two audience memebers were invited to share their perspectives about a topic
We recruited 6 millennial guests in 3 pairs, staggering their arrival times. They had no idea what those questions were before the interview. This was intentional because we wanted to tease the best responses from our guests.
Watch the full video:
CONCLUSION:
There were a few takeaways from this conceptualization process. While having a broad understanding of what the client’s needs is an essential ingredient of the process, what is more important is being in constant consultation with the client in the overall artistic direction of the production. Questions to ask such as number of people interviewed, format etc. could potentially play a huge role in a successful campaign. As clients, you would want a bang out of every single buck spent. But it is ultimately the role of the producers to ask the right questions to optimize your time and get the most out of every single buck spent by the client.