Improving the branding!

1. Experian Reimagined:
Let’s Make It Great!

2. Weather Is Everywhere
Experian Is Everywhere
 Experian uses a shotgun approach
 Be Everywhere for a smart price instead of
focusing on fixed areas for a higher price
 The Campaigns have been both
remarkable and unlovable.
How can we improve the look and messaging
while maintaining remarkable, and moving
away from unlovable?

3. The Experian
Shotgun Approach:
 Be everywhere for a smart price instead of
focusing on fixed areas for a higher price
 A Wide/wild variety of creative styles

4. The Experian
Ad Categories
Let’s look at some of those styles
Zappa I Don’t Get it
Dancers Grandpa what am I
looking at
there’s a lot
going on here.

5. A Remarkable Campaign
 Since 2004 and the dancing clown, these ads have been
discussed in blogs, news outlets, and photoshop challenges.

6. A Remarkable Campaign
 Interview with the creator of the lowermybills ads.
 Bad ads? Yes. High click rate? Yes.

7. An Unlovable Campaign: Blogs
 Blogs Post screenshots (including weather.com)
 Question the logic of the images + headlines
 Comments usually include “I swear never to click those!”.

8. An Unlovable Campaign: Blogs
 These blogs and comments are everywhere
 Auto discussion forums
 Cartoon/Anime Fan Sites
 Design blogs
 Pet forums.
 THEY ARE EVERYWHERE
 Yes, that is a woman petting a cat
 Experian Loves The Publicity!
 generates awareness
 Pushes their brand far beyond
the bottom of a weather.com page.
So what does all of this mean?
Guess. Go Ahead.

9. The Greatest Viral Campaign in
THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
 Low-cost marketing campaign
 Use pre-existing social networks
 Increase brand awareness
The goal of marketers interested in creating
successful viral marketing programs is to
create viral messages that appeal to
individuals with high social networking
potential with a high probability of being
spread by these individuals

10. The Good News!
 Experian has captured the attention of the
blogworld, tweetverse, facespace, and has
been there for almost a decade!
 Brand Recognition on par with the biggest
brands, for a fraction of the cost
 EVERYONE ONLINE has seen these ads
 People on the social front are already
talking about them, online, since 2004.

11. Exploit This Awareness!
 Leverage Their Viral Brand
 Continue with REMARKABLE campaigns
 Ads that say, yes, these are
as bad as everybody says with:
 Humility
 Humor
 Go Even Farther

12. Humility
 “Don’t like these ads? Join the club”
 Facebook page
 Twitter Channel
 Youtube Channel (post videos of the art
directors brainstorming the next Big Idea for
the campaigns. Seriously. Get Expedia,
make an iPhone video of the designers
making the ads “what about pandas?
Everybody likes pandas!”)
 Of Course This Isn’t A Mom Returning To
School/Refinance Her Home
 But You Could.
 WE JUST WANTED TO BE LOVED,
but we’d settle for:
 Lowering your bills
 Getting you back to school
 Showing you your credit score

13. Humor
 Ads with lots of boxes/characters/checkboxes
 “Oh Look! Somebody Learned To Copy And Paste!”
 Numbers! Letters! WHERE DOES IT END!
 Show the old man, the zappa and a dancing clown:
 “The Worst Ads In The World? YES! >click to check out our
amazing gallery!” + SHARE ON FACEBOOK
 Frequency of the Ads – Old man/Zappa smiling and
waving:
 “See You On The Next Page!”
 “See You On The Next Website!”
 Then the standard smaller text.
 “We fired the juggler, the dancer, the clown and the
hippie. DO YOU LIKE PANDAS.” (no question mark)

14. Let’s Go Farther
 Three Unrelated Pics : Eggs, A Hammer, A Tire.
 “At least it’s not that hairy dude again.”
 A Puppy
 “You Could Lower Your Bills! YES! LIKE THIS PUPPY!”
 The Running People/Swans/Flipping Dolphins
 “BEARS!”

15. The Marketing Goal
 REMARKABLE: Create Ads that are still remarkable.
 VIRAL: Get Farther into the social world
 WHAT IS THAT? Tradition of odd photo + odd message
 While STILL reaching the target audience of people
interested in refinance, online classes, or credit scores, but
have been scared by the current ad campaign.