Playgroup | Helping brands build genuine brand equity

I have two teenage boys aged 19 and 17. They are good lads - help around the house; get actively involved in family life and don’t get into trouble - well, not that I get to hear about anyway.

The problem is, every evening they disappear into their bedrooms with their laptops and we don’t see anything of them. They each have vast networks of friends who they actively communicate with on a much more regular basis than they could face-to-face. They create groups of friends and discuss things, arrange parties and probably loads of other stuff they don’t share with me. They transcend geographical barriers; have instant dialogue and create new relationships. And it doesn’t cost them a penny.

But is this kind of networking really social, or is it in fact very anti-social?

I have always been an advocate of good, face-to-face communication. Eye contact, conversation-making, listening to others. These are all valuable social skills that are essential throughout your life and Facebook, MySpace, and the like could be threatening the development of these skills. Could we one day see Job interviews carried out by SMS using only words with no vowels?

On the other hand, the boys do appear to have successfully built a greater network of friends than they could have by travelling round and meeting everyone. And at least they are not just sitting in front of the TV, interacting with nothing at all.

Writing this, I probably sound like I am getting old and grumpy - but at least I have the TV remote control back!

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It's a key part of every brief these days. 'My communication is competing with many others. It has to stand out.'

This is quite a challenge when the average person is confronted with 3,000 marketing messages a day on everything from posters and web site banners to bus sides and till receipts... and research shows 99% of them are ignored!

So how do you get your message across?

At Playgroup we believe a successful communication has three important elements.

1. A clear and concise message.
Keep it single-minded and built around the most compelling benefit. Make it interesting and choose the words your target audience will care about.

2. The right choice of media.
Try and reach your audience in a new way. Surprise them.

3. Great creativity.
Be outrageous. Take risks. To stand out from your competitors you've got to be fresh and imaginative in a way that's appealing and relevant to your audience.

Recently for Unilever we converted a PowerPoint presentation into a powerful cinematic experience; delivered the story of a major corporate brand through a 3D rubber product, and created a cartoon family to deliver quarterly financial results. All with amazing and measurable success.

So don't just think of producing a brochure or a poster, think about what you need to achieve. With a strong, simple idea, delivered in an engaging and compelling way, your message will get noticed, understood and remembered. This approach has helped us achieve fantastic results for our clients and it can work for you too.

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