Cach lam-concept

© Oxford Strategic Marketing Limited 2007
Winning Concepts
Habits for Writing
Effective Concepts

In concept development work
we need to have a particular mindset -
so we can work effectively
Introduction
KEEP ON LEARNING
CONCEPT WRITING SKILL
 Practice, practice, practice!
 Learnfrom yourmistakes
 Celebratesuccess!
 Aim to bebestnot just
average
FINDA SPARRING
PARTNER
 Findsomeonewhocan
give youtheirviews
 Usethem to check
comprehension
MAKE THE COMPLEX
EASY TO UNDERSTAND
 Focus on the reader
 Make it easy
 Less is more
KEEP ON IMPROVING
EACH CONCEPT
 Write it well
 Make sure it
is understood
 Edit it
 Rework it
FINDYOUR OWN WAY
OF WORKING
 Solovs. in a pairvs. in a 3
 Awayfrom office
distractions

Introduction

Key Components of a Concept
Headline
Statement summarising the most important thoughts in
the concept
Need
An unmet need for consumers, reflecting the
Consumer Insight
Benefit
The benefit that addresses the need. The benefit may
be rational and / or emotional.
Critical Details
Any further details that build a complete story around
the idea e.g. visual, pack sizes etc
Reason to
Believe
Rational information that gives credibility to the benefit
Introduction

How to write better concepts
HEADLINE  Write headlines that hook the reader
NEED
 Build a need statement that is
translated from a strong Consumer
Insight
REASON TO
BELIEVE
 Support the benefit and make it
credible
DIFFEREN-
TIATED
 Create concepts that are different
enough to bother testing
BENEFIT
 Create a benefit that meets the need
and attracts the consumer
Introduction

Concept Writing Checklist
Introduction
• Does the idea tap into the Brand Challenge and Consumer Insight?
Reflect the idea in an exciting way
1  or  or ?
• Does the concept reflect the original idea?
• Does the concept excite you?
• Will it excite the consumer target and provide a response?
• Does the concept include all 5 Key Components in the right order to tell a story?
Include all the key components
2
• Is the ‘story’ focussed?
• Is the concept differentiated from any other product the target consumer uses?
Be differentiated
3
• If you are testing more than one concept, are they sufficiently differentiated from each other?
• Is there a clear benefit?
Be single-minded
4
• Is the concept written in language that could be easily understood by the consumer? i.e. not
technical, not too many words? Does it use consumer language?
Use consumer language
5

How should a “Headline” be written?
7 good habits
1. Write it last…… to summarise the concept you’ve written
2. A short and simple sentence written in consumer
language
3. Include the brand and product name
4. If the product is new say so clearly
5. Base the headline on the benefit
6. Ensure it hooks the reader without using tagline /creative
language
7. Treat it as if it was the only thing a consumer would
remember
Headlines

Headlines

How should a “Need” be written?
7 habits
1. Use first person (e.g. I) to help us get closer to consumers and
obtain a higher involvement when the consumer agrees with the
need
2. You must be careful not to patronise or alienate consumers or
risk they will not read on
3. Should set up a consumer problem, opportunity or aspiration the
product benefit will address
4. Avoid complementing your competitors
5. Avoid marketing or ad agency jargon or making taglines
6. Don’t denigrate the brand
7. If the insight can still work, given all the above, use it!
Needs

Needs

How should a “Benefit” be written?
7 habits
1. Use consumer language
2. Ensure the benefit you offer addresses the ‘need’ you have set
up
3. Be single-minded. It is better to stand for one thing clearly than
many things unclearly
4. If you have a differentiating functional benefit (e.g. faster pain
relief) use this
5. If you feel the consumer would say “so what?” to your benefit
consider a more emotional end benefit building off your
functional one (for help see the Stepping Stone Tool)
6. Avoid adding “and it also . . .”. You will stop being single-minded
7. You can still be single-minded by reassuring on a category
benefit but focusing on your differentiator. E.g. the effective
antiperspirant without the stinging
Strong Benefits

Strong Benefits

A B C D
Example 1
Example 2
TOOL: Stepping Stones
create emotional end benefits from functional ones. Just ask
‘so what does than mean for me?’/‘ ‘why does that matter?’
Strong Benefits
Driest nappy Most
comfortable
baby
Happy baby Shows you are
a good mother
Faster pain
relief
To restore you
to your normal
way of feeling
So you can get
on with your life
You can make
the most of
your life
• For our new product concepts a functional benefit will usually suffice in
early stages of development
• You may need to add in an emotional end benefit to something
functional where the functional benefit is generic
• For example ‘Get noticed with 100% more eyelash volume’
• The functional benefit should be the start point of the emotional end benefit

TOOL : Uniqueness Matrix
Don’t just jump from product idea to benefit.
Consider your options.
Strong Benefits
• Around your product idea brainstorm possible features, benefits (functional
and emotional) and place them on this grid.
• You may choose to create a number of different concepts based on your
outputs
Importance to
target consumers
Low Medium High
High
Medium
Low
Avoid writing
concepts on
topics out
here!
Strongest
area of
distinctivity
Uniqueness vs. Competitor
Feature #1

How should “Reason to Believe” be written?
7 habits
1. Wherever possible use consumer language and avoid too much
jargon
2. Prioritise! It should not be a long list of features
3. Must have clear connection to the benefit and not just
disconnected facts
4. Should provide an opportunity for sustainable differentiation
5. Ensure it reassures the consumer on how a product works [if
this might become an issue]
6. Make it believable and reflective of a consumer belief about how
things work or could work. Believability is a major driver of
purchase intent
7. It should be supportable from a technical / regulatory
perspective
Reason to Believe

Reason to Believe

How can I make my concepts more
differentiated from each other?
7 Habits
1. Consider addressing a different ‘consumer insight’ per concept
2. Consider developing a different ‘product idea’ per concept
3. Consider creating very different ‘benefits’ to test e.g.:
• ‘Helps you feel better faster’ vs ‘Restores your natural energy’
4. Consider creating very different ‘reasons to believe’ to test e.g.:
• ‘Works with your own defences to fight the virus from within’
• ‘Contains only trusted herbs and minerals’
5. Avoid testing just minor executional words in concepts.
Resolve these in work before quantitative concept research (e.g.
in focus groups)
6. Have someone disconnected from the project complete the
Differentiated Concept Tester tool. Do they see differences?
7. Be honest! If you were a consumer reading these would you
notice a difference?
Differentiation Between Concepts

Differentiation

TOOL : Differentiated Concept Tester
• Draft and review your concepts. Complete this matrix. Use ‘strategic’
language not the ‘executional’ language you might have used in the
concept and then ask:
1. Is there lots of repetition in the grid?
(If so your concepts may need more differentiation from each other).
2. Are the concepts truly different of just minor variations of the same themes?
Differentiation Between Concepts
Need
Benefit
Reason to
Believe
Concept 2 Concept 3
Concept 1

Writing Skills –What do I need to remember?
7 Habits
1. Know your consumer. Keep them in mind as you write
2. Use short and simple words and sentences
3. Choose your words carefully. Find and use ‘trigger words’ (or avoid
them if negative)
4. Make a conscious choice of tonality and writing style
5. Keep the concept short and easy to read. 120 words or less. Edit it
carefully
6. Take your time. Write it then leave it and come back to it with fresh
eyes and perspective
7. Take great care when translating it into other languages to ensure
the meaning is not lost or altered
Writing

Writing

Writing Style and Tonality considerations.
You need to make a conscious choice
Writing
No Jargon vs. Technical
Full of natural goodness vs. Contains proteins as a
special targeted ingredient
to increase muscle
Personal vs. Impersonal
Created for your best vs. Created for larger
friend and constant dogs
companion, your dog
Straight vs. Creative /
Forward / Aspirational
Serious
Meaty chunks in gravy vs. Meatalicious!
Individual vs. General /
Focus Outer Focus
Makes your dog’s hair vs. Because everyone
shine loves a well groomed dog
Edited vs. Expanded /
Detailed
Using only the choicest vs. Carefully chosen by our
cuts of meat chefs to be of the quality
available in the best Parisian
restaurants
Functional vs. Emotional
Results Feeling
For a glossy coat vs. Makes your dog feel like
he’s been groomed
40% of owners noticed vs. Like a puppy again!
their dogs had
more energy
Factual vs. Extraordinary
Example

Take care when translating
Create one master concept written in English.
Translate directly from the English concept
If you choose to ask an Affiliate to translate rather
than a third party state:
‘Please translate only, do not input or alter meaning’
Ensure the translator is very clear not to change the
meaning of the concept
If meaning is changed this invalidates the concept of
cross market comparison.
This is critical especially when you cannot easily
check the translation (e.g. into Chinese / Russian)
Writing

How should I handle input to a concept:
7 Habits
1. Most concepts can be improved through good input, however you must
direct the input for:
• Clarity / Comprehension /Editing /Story /Single-mindedness
2. All input is a gift not a threat – it is up to you how to use it or whether to
use it
3. Be single-minded. Consider creating a new concept if input pulls you in
another less single-minded direction. Avoid “add-ons” wherever
possible.
4. Keep your brand challenge, insight and idea intact. Don’t let input pull
you away from these. Let those who are inputting know each of these
too.
5. Get input in a timely fashion. Don’t rush it.
6. Ask for balanced feedback (what is good and worth retaining, what is
unclear or not helping?)
7. Treat input as a learning experience. The more you learn the better your
concepts will become
Input

Input

To guide input best provide concept background, and direct
input for comprehension, likes and improvement
opportunities
The Brand Challenge we are addressing
1
The Consumer Insight that we have used
2
The raw Product Idea that we generated and
that this concept addresses
3
Input
COMPREHENSION
A
LIKES
B
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
C
INPUT
BACKGROUND

Acknowledgements
The following have contributed to the development of the BDF ‘Winning Concepts’ workshop. We
are grateful for their efforts:
Kerstin Alert Juergen Bosse
Ute Broedje Stefanie Hassel
Susanne Duerr Mark Gillespie
Fiona Graham (OxfordSM) Ismene Grohmann
Susanne Iser Charlotte Knauer
Eva Kunz Martina Kussberger
Erk Maassen (Nielsen BASES) Clotaire Moineau-Quent
Chris Penrose (OxfordSM) Agustin Piedrabuena
Britta Schmitz GfK Heike Stoldt
Sonja Ungewitter Elisabeth Vorwerk

Cach lam-concept

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Cach lam-concept

Similar to Cach lam-concept (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Cach lam-concept