V Energy Drink has established itself as the top energy drink brand in New Zealand and Australia through successful marketing campaigns. This project aims to increase V's brand awareness by designing a music sharing platform that incorporates the brand's personality and values. The platform would allow customers to share small music files between each other using RFID tags attached to V products. Called Vshare, it would help strengthen social bonds among youth in New Zealand, who have a strong cultural connection to music. The platform could be accessed through public "V-points" equipped with RFID readers to initiate music playback.

1. brand + identity
research & analysis report
mark wilson
300156343

2. overview
V Energy Drink by Frucor has been
identified as the number one
energy drink in New Zealand and
Australia. They have established
their current market status through
successful campaigns and events
that effectively employ and express
their brand personality traits.
This project aims to increase V’s
brand fame by designing a product,
service, or system with an
awareness of the brand’s
personality and objectives, a
specific cultural context in New
Zealand, and a new form of
technology. The integration of these
three components will be the
driving force behind the design.

3. approach
Music plays a large role in the social
and community aspects of the lives
of the ‘young Kiwi.’ It is possible to
employ campaigns involving music
to achieve their brand objective: to
drive up the V loyalist base. One
possibility is to introduce a music
sharing platform that encourages a
unique interaction between
consumers, and extends to
potential loyalists or customers
through the common interest of
music. This will be the project’s
underlying theme, and will
tie/incorporate the brand, the
social context, and the new
technology to achieve increased
brand fame.
brand values
value
creation
social context
new technologies

4. customer insight
Here in New Zealand, music is an
integral part of youth culture. It
serves as a universal language
through which we are able to
communicate and express our
personal ideas, thoughts, or feelings
with our peers. Using music as a
common interest amongst young
people across the country, and
even the world, this project has the
potential to a platform through
which social bonds could be
formed.
Music sharing could provide a
creative and engaging experience
for V consumers to enjoy, whilst
simultaneously sparking curiosity in
other potential V customers.

5. brand
Frucor’s brand, V Energy Drink,
holds a clear objective: to increase
their brand fame through engaging
experiences that aim to strengthen
social bonds, on both public and/or
private levels. In the past, they have
worked on large-scale events as
campaigns to establish an public
identity. These events
communicate their brand
personailty by introducing social
and community-based activities
that offer an exciting and engaging
experience for their target
demographic.

6. brand
Such campaigns have helped V
identify themselves as the number
one energy drink in New Zealand
and Australia. Psychological
associations with the brand and
these activities are formed and, as
a result, their campaigns have
enabled them to develop a highly
alluring product.
Although the brand is based solely
around an energy drink as their
core product, V has established a
loyalist following through
personality attraction by exploiting
their own brand personality. All this
is enhanced with a highly
recognisable vibrant green and a
‘noisy’ logo, a refined visual
branding, appropriately reflecting
their brand personality.

7. context
From entertainment, to expressing
emotions and feelings, music plays
an important part in New Zealand
culture, particularly amongst New
Zealand youth. Now, through digital
and online platforms, music is more
accessible than ever, and it’s by
exploiting this fact that design has
the potential to change the way we
listen to music and interact with the
music industry.

8. music
In 2012, a national survey found that
over three-quarters of New
Zealanders aged between 15 and
24 years old had accessed music
online. Surveys by NZ On Air found
that 58% of 15 – 24 year olds in New
Zealand stream music, compared
with the all-New Zealand average
of 23%, and 66% listen to CDs and
Ipods, compared to the all-NZ
average of 38%. These differences
are thought to be because of the
increase in accessibility to online
platforms, consequently making
music the media that is moving
online faster than any other media.
These statistics indicate the
relevance music has with V’s target
demographic.

9. technology
Technological advancements have
allowed for a significant and rapid
growth in global communications
and networking. This has resulted in
a dominating new way of
information distribution: digital files.
At the mere press of a button, files
can be sent to anyone, anywhere in
the world. This dramatic shift in
globalisation and ‘informisation’
have helped shape modern society
into what it is today, affecting
everyone in one way or another.
Due to better availability and
accessibility, younger generations
have subconsciously developed a
comprehensive understanding of
technology and information. This
has induced a demand for
designers to meet and exploit this
knowledge and understanding in
order for their designs to succeed.

10. RFID tags
Radio frequency identification
(RFID) transponders are small
electronic tags able to store small
amounts of data that can be
accessed wirelessly. Recently, they
have been employed in various
ways to improve the effectiveness
of a product or service. Applied to
V and music sharing, RFID tags
offer potential to cultivate a unique
interaction, not just between the
customers and the product itself,
but between customers – both
existing and potential. Using RFID
tags as a method of music sharing
opens many creative opportunities
to ultimately offer a unique social
bond amongst existing and
potential V customers. Through
music as a relatable and common
interest, V’s brand fame can extend
to new groups of potential
customers.

11. concept
Vshare uses information sharing as
a method to increase social
bonding and sense of community.
Customers of V are able to enjoy
sharing small files with other users
through small temporary RFID tags
that are attached to products. The
tags catalyse a file transfer, and can
be used as a switch to activate a file
function.

12. public ‘v-points’
Vending machines or ‘V-points’ are
fitted with RFID recievers that
recognise and initate the file
transfer when an RFID tag is
presented. They have the
appropriate media in order to
share the file immediately. For
example, if the file is a music file, the
‘V-point’ will play the track; and if the
file is an image, it will be displayed.
This file can be temporarily enjoyed
by the public.

13. scenario

14. scenario

15. scenario

16. project plan
research + analysis development + prototyping final development
concept development
+ expansion
user testing final product

17. appendix
https://www.virgin.com/music/why-do-we-share-music
http://timgrahl.com/the-6-types-of-social-media/
http://nytmarketing.whsites.net/mediakit/pos/
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/unpan002006.htm
http://www.nzonair.govt.nz/document-library/2014-audience-research-full-report/
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/film_and_television/cultural-experiences-survey.aspx
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/information_technology_and_communications/HouseholdUseofICT_HO
TP2012.aspx
https://vimeo.com/5703751