M Dolka

Brunel University MA Design And Branding Strategy
DM5098B Brand Personality Creation Through Advertising Design
Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 1


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This dissertation which was an interesting but also stressful experience seems a
particularly good occasion to express my appreciation to all those who helped and
supported me on my writing and learning. I would especially like to thank my
supervisor, Dr. Ray Holland, for his valuable advice, generous time and support.
There are many other people who contributed to this dissertation in many ways. My
sincere gratitude goes to my family, all my friends, and fellow students for their love,
inspiration and support.



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Brand personality is one of the core dimensions of brand equity. Brand personality
refers to the emotional side of a brand image. It is created by all experiences of
consumers with a brand, but advertising plays a dominant role in personality creation.
In this paper I explore the ways that brand personality is created through the design
of printed advertisements. The research is based on advertisements of fashion
brands and food & drink brands. Understanding how brand personality is created
through advertising design is essential for the improvement of the design and thus
the effectiveness of communication between the advertising agency and client
partnership.

ABSTRACT
In this paper I develop an understanding about how design in printed advertisements

creates the personality of the brand. The research is based on the importance of
advertising design in communicating the brand and its personality to the target
market and to the understanding of the creative strategy that is used in
advertisements, which help to communicate the brand effectively.
The research includes information from interviews, questionnaires and focus groups
which was provided by consumers and advertising agencies. The objectives of the
dissertation are to understand consumer’s opinions about brands and
advertisements, to understand how advertising agencies work, what their beliefs are
and what the relationship with their clients is and finally to choose, describe and
review several brands and their personalities in comparison with their
advertisements. Since brands tell a story within advertisements, the discussion on
this paper is based on how design in print advertising communicates the brand and
its personality. The discussion includes advertisements of the sixteen chosen brands
and their description as well as a variety of comments.
My main aim is to enhance advertising design in creating brand personality. This will
be done by the creation of a model that will explain an effective interaction between
advertising agencies and their clients. This leads to the improvement of the
partnership and to the effectiveness of brand personality creation through advertising
design.


INTRODUCTION
Advertising
Advertising is all around us. Advertising has become a strange breed of

communication, marketing, psychology and design. It has long been regarded as a
key method to communicate and build brand identity. It helps create, manage and
maintain brands. As advertising means something different to all of us, there isn’t an
exact definition about what advertising is. However, advertising can be assumed to
be connected with business, art, marketing and more.
Advertising is a paid form of communicating a message about an organisation,

product, service, or idea by the use of various media. It is persuasive, informative,
and designed to influence purchasing behaviour or thought patterns.
Creativity in advertising is a very important and also an interesting aspect of the

marketing success. Creative advertisements are the ones that can stand out from
their competitors.
Printed advertising has always been an important type of media to both consumers
and advertisers for more than two centuries. The reason that printed advertising is so
important to is because it provides product information and can be seen everywhere.
Many people read newspapers or magazines to be informed about products, sales,
and discounts or even to become entertained.
Advertising design is using visually appealing copy, graphic elements or both to

entice readers to read an advertisement and to get them influenced by it in some
way. Design is all about creating something with a purpose1. So advertisements must
attract attention by using an appealing visual element such as headline, body copy,
layout, illustration and design. It must also indicate what is being sold, who the ad is
for and what the reasons for the ad are. Design is about chasing an idea and it has to
work with analysis. Good quality results are delivered when advertising integrates
visual communication with strategic contents.
1
Belch, George E. (2004) Advertising and Promotion: an integrated marketing communications
perspective, The McGraw Hill

Advertising agencies are responsible for maintaining brand values and identity. It has
the ability to reveal the brand’s personality to the world and inform people about what
it’s going on in the competitive market. The advertising agency needs to focus on the
brand, make research and also understand, capture and keep record of what the
brand is supposed to stand for in the eyes of the consumers.
Consequently there is a reason that brands rely on advertising agencies. Advertising

agencies consists of professionals with specialised experience, talent and expertise
and have the capability to provide business services to clients related to planning,
preparing and placing advertisements. The type of agency professionals include the
following: account planners, account supervisors, art directors, creative directors,
copywriters, researchers, artists, designers, technical stuff (for printing etc),
marketing specialists, media buyers, public relations specialists, direct marketing
specialists, web developers, interactive media strategists, sales promotion and event
planners.
A printed advertisement process goes though a number of stages. Firstly, the

advertising agency needs to understand, capture and keep record of what a brand is
supposed to stand for in the eyes of the consumers. They need to understand the
value proposition of a brand. That means that they should be aware of the functional,
emotional and self-expressive benefits delivered by the brand that provide value to
the customers in the target segment.
The development advertising research is used to generate advertising messages and

opportunities 2 . Using this research the creative and the account team have the
chance to understand the target audience, their language and profiles. Therefore
they can provide themselves with useful information to help them with advertising
production. Advertising research can serve many purposes in the development of a
campaign. In order to get ideas for new and meaningful ways to portray a brand they
start by doing qualitative research involving observation of customers, brainstorming
sessions with customers and interviews.
Listening carefully to the consumer is maybe the best way to generate bright ideas
for a campaign. Environmental analysis is also valuable in the planning process to
help determine opportunities for effective communication. Audience definition and
2
The discussion is based on Belch, George E. (2004) Advertising and Promotion: an
integrated marketing communications perspective, The McGraw Hill

profiling are fundamental to effective campaign planning and rely on advertising

research. During the developmental research, advertisers use key methods to gather
information such as survey research, focus groups, projective techniques,
association tests, dialogue balloons, ethnographic audits and concept tests.
A key method used for this research are focus groups which are brainstorming
sessions with a small group of target consumers and a professional moderator used
to gain new insights about consumers response to a brand.
Projective techniques are designed to allow consumers to project thoughts and
feelings in an indirect and unobtrusive way onto a neutral stimulus. The most
common techniques are association tests, sentence and picture completion, dialogue
balloons and story construction.
In association tests consumers are asked to express their feelings and thoughts after
hearing a brand name or seeing logo.
Sentence and picture completion is where the researcher presents a brand related
picture or sentence with words deleted and then ask consumers to complete it.
Dialogue balloons offer consumers the chance to fill in the dialogue of cartoon like
stories, as a way of indirectly gathering brand information.
In the story construction technique the consumers are asked to tell as story about
people depicted in a scene as a way of indirectly gathering brand information.
Many times advertisers also need feedback about new ideas before they spend a lot
of money to turn the idea into a new advertising initiative. Concept tests seek
feedback designed to screen the quality of a new idea, using consumers as the final
judge and jury. They may be used to screen new ideas for specific advertisements or
to assess new product concepts. These tests are commonly part of the agenda of
focus groups. They can also be used via survey research when more generalized
feedback is desired.
When the above stage is made cleared then the foundation is in place for creating
effective advertising. Copywriters are responsible for what the message says
whereas the art department is responsible for how the advertisement looks. Members
from the creative department work together to develop advertisements that will
communicate the key points determined to be the basis of the creative strategy for
the client’s brand. Writers and artists generally work under the direction of the
creative director, who oversees all the advertising produced by the organization.

For print advertisements, the art director and graphic designers prepare rough
scrabbles, scamps, visuals sketched in pencil or maker pen. Those are the drawing
layouts that show what the advertisement will look like and from the final artwork will
be produced. From the produced numerous experimental versions, the team will
choose two or three alternatives and then decide the final ones.
Final ideas will be worked up in a form which is sufficiently intelligible and can be
shown to the client for approval. As a provisional layout, it will have no final artwork,
photography, lettering, typesetting or type mark-up. When the layout is approved,
artwork is commissioned ad the layout artist produces finished layouts with
typographical mark-ups regarding typefaces and sizes.
Each stage is important for its own reason, as the layout becomes more concrete
and more like the final form of the advertisement. The last stage, which is the
mechanical, is the form the advertisement takes as it goes to final production.
The Message
Every successful advertisement has a message that engages consumers and gives
them a reason to believe in the brand3.
A big part of the research that advertising agencies and their clients make, deals with
message testing. Message testing research consists of two basic types: The pre-test
message research, which means the period before the advertisement is placed and
the post-test message research which means the period after the advertisement is
placed. The development of advertising messages involves time, effort and expense.
Therefore many advertising agencies pre-test their message to find out consumer
reaction before advertisements are placed. A variety of tools may be used in pre-test
message research. Communication tests and magazine dummies are basic tools for
this kind of research. Communication tests seek to see if the message is
communicating the concept close to what is desired. Dummy advertising vehicles
consist of mock-ups of magazines that contain editorial content and advertisements.
The mock-ups are given to a test audience and their responses are assessed. The
thought-listing technique and attitude-change studies are important approaches for
pre-testing the persuasiveness of a message. The thought-listing tool tries to identify
specific thoughts that may be generated by an advertisement. Attitude change study
uses a before-and-after advertisement exposure design. Another pre-test message
3
The discussion is based on O’Guinn, Thomas C., Chris T. Allen and Richard J.
Semenik. (2000) Advertising, Second edition, South- western College Publishing

research tool is theatre tests and psychological measures. Advertisements are tested
in small theatres were the audience have an electronic device through which they
can express their opinion about the advertisement. Physiological measures devices
detects how consumers react to messages based on physical responses.
Commercial testing services may be used prior to launch of a full-blown campaign for
both pre-testing and pilot testing. Pilot testing is a form of marketplace
experimentation that provides data about how messages may perform when they
reach a consumer. Post-test message tracking assesses the performance of
advertisements during or after the launch of an advertising campaign. Common
measures of an advertisement’s performance are recall, recognition, brand
awareness and attitude surveys, and purchase behaviour. Recall and recognition
testing allow an advertiser to assess whether a message has broken through the
competitive clutter to register with the target audience. Brand awareness and attitude
surveys are also commonly employed in tracking a campaign’s impact. Behaviour-
based evaluation has a strong following and is made possible by direct response
measures and single-source research. A number of commercial supplies provide
post-test evaluation services.
An advertising agency is a summary statement of all essential and defining planning,
preparation and placement decisions. An important component of advertising
strategy is message strategy. This consists of methods and objectives as it defines
the goals of the advertiser and how those goals will be achieved. Some fundamental
message objectives are: to promote brand recall, link a key attribute to the brand
name, to create brand preference, to scare the consumer into action, to change
behaviour by inducing anxiety, to transform consumption experiences, to situate the
brand socially, to define the brand image and to persuade the consumer. To get
consumers to recall a brand name, repetition and slogan are often produced. In order
to link a key attribute to a brand, unique selling proposition advertisements are
produced. Feel good, humorous and sexual appeal advertisements can raise a
consumer’s preference for one brand to another. Fear appeal and anxiety
advertisements can motivate purchases. Transformational advertisements attempt to
enrich the consumption experiences. With slice of life and light fantasy
advertisements the goal is to reveal brand personality and to situate the brand in a
desirable social context.

Copywriting
Copywriters and art directors function as partners and are referred to as the agency’s
creative team, which is responsible for coming up with the creative concept and for
guiding its execution4. The creative concept, which can be thought of as the unique
creative thought behind a campaign, is then turned into individual advertisements.
During this process, copywriters often suggest the idea for magnificent, arresting
visuals and art directors often come up with outstanding headlines.
Some advertisements succeed without the use of an illustration. Similarly an
advertisement might succeed without the use of copy or headline but the illustration
communicates brilliantly.
In most cases, both a copywriter and an art director are equally involved in creating
an advertisement. However, they have different responsibilities. Understanding
copywriting is as much about the people who write copy as it is about the product
studies, audience research, and other information that copywriters draw upon to
create effective copy. Copywriting is mostly about the fairly magical relationship
between creator and creation, between writer and text, writer and brand.
Good copywriters must always bring spirit and imagination to advertising. Good
copywriting is creating good advertising that rely on imagination and respects the
consumer. Copywriting is the process of expressing the value and benefits a brand
has to offer, via written and verbal descriptions. Copywriting is a never-ending search
for ideas combined with a never ending search for new and different ways to express
those ideas. Effective copywriters are well-informed advertising decision makers with
creative talent. They are able to comprehend and then incorporate the complexities
of marketing strategies, consumer behaviour, and advertising strategies into a brief
yet powerful communication.
A creative plan is a guideline used during the copywriting process to specify the
message elements that must be coordinated during the preparation of copy.
Key elements in the creative plan include product features and benefits that must be
communicated to the audience, the mood or tone appropriate for the audience and
the intended media for the advertisement.
Effective advertisement copy must be based on a variety of individual inputs and
4
O’Guinn, Thomas C., Chris T. Allen and Richard J. Semenik. (2000) Advertising, Second
edition, South- western College Publishing

information sources. The copywriter’s challenge is to make sense out of these inputs
and build from them creatively.
The three unique components of print copy are the headline, subhead and body
copy. The headline in an advertisement is the leading sentence or sentences that
attracts attention, communicates a key selling point, or achieves brand identification.
However, many headlines fail to attract attention. Uninteresting headlines do not lead
the reader to examine the advertisement as a whole.
In preparing a headline, a copywriter begins by considering the variety of purposes a
headline can have in terms of gaining attention or actually convincing the consumer.
In general, a headline can be written to pursue some purposes such as: give news
about the brand, emphasize a brand claim, give advice to the reader, achieve
prospect selection, stimulate the reader'
s curiosity, set a tone or establish an emotion
and identify the brand.
A subhead consists of a few words or a short sentence and usually appears above or
below the headline. The subhead communicates key selling points or brand
information quickly and includes important brand information not included in the
headline. A subhead is normally in print larger than the body copy, but smaller than
the headline. The subhead should reinforce the headline and make the reader to pro-
ceed to the body copy.
The body copy is the textual component of an advertisement and tells a more
complete story of a brand. Effective body copy reinforces the headline and subhead,
is written in a beneficial fashion, is compatible with and gains strength from the visual
and is interesting to the reader. The most elaborate body copy will probably be
ineffective if it is off strategy.
There are several standard techniques for preparing body copy. The straight-line
copy approach explains in straightforward terms why a reader will benefit from use of
a brand. Body copy that uses dialogue delivers the selling points of a message to the
audience through a character in the ad. A testimonial uses dialogue as if the person
who speaks is having a conversation with the reader through the body copy.
Dialogue can also depict two people in the ad having a conversation. Narrative as a
technique, simply displays a series of statements about a brand. It is difficult to make
this method lively for the reader, so the threat of writing a dull advertisement using
this technique is ever present. Direct response copy is when the copywriter tries to
highlight the urgency of acting immediately. Many direct response advertisements

rely on sales promotion devices, such as coupons, contests, and rebates, as a

means of stimulating action. Giving deadlines to the reader is also a common
approach in direct response advertising.
Design
Advertising has become increasingly visual over the years. Therefore the role of the
art director has grown more and more important relative to the copywriter.
The three primary visual elements of a print ad: illustration, design, and layout which
bring the role of art direction in print advertising to the beginning. Illustration in print
advertising is the actual drawing, painting, photography, or computer-generated art
that forms the picture in an advertisement. There are several specific, strategic
purposes for illustration, which can greatly increase the chances of effective
communication such as to attract the attention of the target audience, to make the
brand heroic, to communicate product features or benefits, to create a mood, feeling,
or image, to stimulate reading of the body copy and to create the desired social
context for the brand.
The overall impact of an illustration is determined by its most basic components,

which are size, use of colour and the medium used to create the illustration.
Illustrations with a focal point immediately recognizable by the reader are more likely
to be noticed and comprehended. An illustration will not necessarily achieve its
purpose if it’s too big. Colour is a creative tool with important potential and some
products may also depend on this component to communicate a principal value.
Colour can also be used to emphasize a product feature and attract the reader'
s
attention to a particular part of an advertisement. The choice of medium for an
illustration is the decision regarding the use of drawing (such as cartoons, oil
paintings), photography (have an element of believability as representation of reality)
or computer graphics (manipulated and digitized images).
Illustration’s effectiveness has also to do with the format chosen for the product in the
illustration. Illustration format refers to the choices the advertiser has for displaying its
product and it must be consistent with the copy strategy set for the advertisement.
The above factors; illustration purposes, components and formats need to be
evaluated in the context of marketing strategy, consumer behaviour, and campaign
planning. Design is the structure itself and the plan behind that structure for the
aesthetic aspects of a print advertisement.
Design represents the effort of arranging all the components of a printed adver-

tisement in such a way that beauty and order are set in the sense that illustration,
headline, body copy and features of the advertisement are visually pleasant to the
reader. Design factors are highly relevant to creating effective and successful print
advertising. The principles of design relate to each element individually and to the
arrangement and relationship between the elements as a whole.
There are eight principles of design: the principle of unity, variety, balance, rhythm,
harmony, proportion, scale and emphasis. 5 These principles develop logic and
meaningful ideas about the how the final design concept in an advertisement should
be. Unity describes that all parts of a layout should unite to make a whole because it
can be easily disturbed by an irritating border, many different typefaces, bad colour,
busy layouts etc. White space, for example, is really helpful because it can separate
elements and gives an impression of disorder
Variety suggests that the advertisement should not be monotonous. Subheadings
need to liven up grey masses of small print. The use of pictures can also be
introduced in order to create variety.
Balance suggests that it is vital for an advertisement to be well balanced. The optical
balance is one-third down a space. In order to achieve an optical balance a picture or
headline may be one-third, and the text copy should be two-thirds. The symmetrical
balance falls mid-way so design can be divided into equal halves or quarters. An
advertisement should not be designed into halves because it might look like two
separate advertisements.
Rhythm is about the general flow of the overall design and its importance to be
pleasantly rhythmic. An advertisement has to obtain a sense of movement so that the
eye of the consumer is carried down and through the advertisement.
Harmony suggests that all the elements should harmonise, helping to create unity.
There should be no sharp and annoying contrasts.
Proportion applies to the type sizes used for different widths of copy. A narrow
advertisement needs small text type and a wide advertisement needs larger text
type, unless the type is set in columns. Wider columns and larger type also need
greater leading. Scale can be used with typographical design when headlines and
subheadings are made to contrast with grey areas of text type.
Visibility depends on the scale of tones and colours where some appear to recede
and some others to advance. Where colours are concerned, this principle can be
applied whenever full colour is used in advertisements.
5
Frank Jefkins (1999) Advertising, Fourth edition, FT Prentice Hall

Emphasis applies to the fact that all emphasis is in reality no emphasis when too
much bold type is used, or there are too many capital letters. A sentence in upper
and lower case lettering reads more easily than one wholly in capital letters.
However, emphasis is necessary, and that leads us to other principles such as the
variety and scale. An advertisement can look interesting if there is emphasis such as
bold type or if certain words are emphasised in a second colour.
The Brand
A brand is a combination of names, slogans, logos, product design, packaging,

advertising and marketing that together give particular products or services a
physical, recognisable form 6 . But this is not all. Brands also have a cerebral
dimension, which is the reputation they enjoy in the minds of consumers. Brands
must engender trust and loyalty if they are ultimately to be purchased. A brand,
therefore, is a business strategy to encourage us to consume one product over its
competitors, and it is a sign loaded with meaning that we choose to consume
because we feel we relate to it. Successful brands are those that achieve a high
degree of recognition by consumers. However, it is not enough for a brand to be
familiar if we do not internalise its values.
A brand needs us to feel an emotional attachment that arises because we regard it

as most suitable for us, and because it is best suited to fulfil our particular needs at
the moment we encounter it. To help forge this emotional contact brands present
themselves to us in different ways; just like people, brands have personalities and
characters, and like people they can appear to be different at different times.
Brands offer us a shortcut to buying quality and value. Their reputations are based
upon their abilities to deliver us consistent products that fulfil our expectations. When
we choose one brand over another, it is because we expect it to live up to our
expectations.
Brand Personality
Brand personality is an attractive and appealing concept in the marketing of today. It

is one of the core dimensions of the brand identity and perhaps the one closest to the
6
Alina Wheeler (2003) Designing Brand Identity, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

consumers7. Brand personalities are created in different ways and with different tools.
However, the creation always involves active communications on the side of the firm:
the personality has to be disseminated to be alive. Advertising is heavily used in this
process of personality creation.
While brand positioning focuses on what the brand can do for the customer, brand
personality concentrates on what the brand says about the customer, and how the
customer feels about that. Brand personality is what communicates the brand
proposition to its target audience, and a large part of that process is design-led. It
does not refer to the personality of the consumers. Rather, it'
s designed to be a
personality that attracts the right people.
Designers should ask the following questions8:
• If brand X were a person, what sort of person would it be?
• If brand X were a person, what would his or her hobbies be?
• What kind of clothes would he or she wear?
• What kind of sports would he or she play?
• If brand X were a house, what kind of house would it be?
• What is the first thing that comes into your mind when you think of brand X?
Alternatively, designers can approach it in a '

complete the following sentence'style.
'
People like brand X because...'These are valuable exercises. Next, designers must
decide whether status and lifestyle are important to the brand. Brand personality
always has a self-expressive function, if only by association. People buy specific
products because of the perceived status and lifestyle the brand represents. They
pay to adopt the brand'
s personality, or to be seen associating with it.
There are some brands that have their personalities remained the same for many
years. However, there are brands that have managed to evolve not only their
positioning, but also their personalities and their values, successfully. Designers must
be aware whether a brand’s essential personality is to be changed, or just its relative
positioning in the market.
The brand can interact with the costumer with many different ways. Brand
touchpoints are every action, tactic and strategy the brand has with customers,
whether it is through advertising, word of mouth, products, packaging, emails,
7
David Aaker (1995) Building Strong Brands, Free Press
8
Helen Vaid (2003) Branding. Brand strategy, design and implementation of corporate and
product identity, Cassell Illustrated

costumer care, public affairs, exhibits etc. 9 Each touchpoint is an opportunity to

strengthen a brand and to communicate about its essence.
Brand Touchpoints
Communication
Communication is a fundamental aspect of human existence and advertising is

communication. In order to understand advertising, the basic features of how it works
as a means of communication needs to be known first. The communication is
occurred through a medium and through this particular paper I will be looking into
printed advertising. The advertising exposure involves decisions that advertisers
make before consumers can be exposed to the advertisements. These decisions
involve media choice as well as the communication style, the communication mode
and the message content. Advertisers use these decisions to communicate the
product’s meanings, and therefore the determined brand personality to consumers.
Consequently the brand personality depends on the advertising process.
9

KEY QUESTIONS, AIMS & OBJECTIVES
Looking into the relationship between brands and advertising agencies I came to the
conclusion that they are both depended on each other. Advertising agencies create
print advertisements which are approved by their clients. Advertisers want to
increase their brand sales and advertising agencies are responsible in creating a
positive picture of their client’s brand to the target consumers.
Everything begins from the research and the methods the advertising agencies use.
Advertising creativity is the ability to generate fresh, unique and appropriate ideas
that can be used as solutions to communications problems. To be appropriate and
effective, a creative idea must be relevant to the target audience10. Creativity allows
the consumer to view the brand in new and desires ways. Creativity and design
establishes brand relationships, creates and maintains brand image and position.
Creativity in advertising formulates the brand and places it in a social context11. Every
brand has a personality. Advertising design plays a major role in maintaining this
personality.
Brands and advertising can be described as my two main topics. My intention is to
focus on brand personality and advertising design and the connection between them.
10
Belch, George E. (2004) Advertising and Promotion: an integrated marketing
communications perspective, The McGraw Hill
11
O’Guinn, Thomas C., Chris T. Allen and Richard J. Semenik. (2000) Advertising, Second
edition, South- western College Publishing

Key questions:
Brands tell a story within advertisements. Therefore how design in print advertising
can communicate the brand and its personality?
The importance of the question lays on the advertising design nowadays and
whether it is used correctly for the brand’s personality communication.
Is advertising design always how it should be?

Do advertisements reveal the brand’s real personality?
Is it the real brand personality the same with what people understand?
Do advertising agencies maintain the brand’s values?
What is the relationship between advertising agencies and brands?
This paper is focused on printed advertisements and how design formulates the
brand’s personality. The importance of this topic lays on advertising design
nowadays and whether it is used correctly for the brand’s personality communication.
Basically my research is based on the importance of advertising design in
communicating the brand and its personality to the target market and to the
understanding of the creative strategy that is used in advertisements, which help to
communicate the brand effectively.

Aim and objectives
What I wish to accomplish is to enhance advertising design in creating brand

personality. This will be done by the creation of a model that will explain an effective
interaction between advertising agencies and their clients. This will lead to the
improvement of the partnership and the effectiveness of brand personality creation
through advertising design. The model will be based on the information gained from
the research.
In order to achieve my aim, I first need to achieve the following objectives which are
the steps towards my aim:
To understand consumer’s opinions about brands and advertisements. This will

lead me to a clear understanding about how consumers describe some brands, the
personality of the brands and their advertisements.
To understand how advertising agencies work, what their beliefs are and what the
relationship with their clients is. Achieving this objective will be much help as I would
also realize the research that the advertising agencies follow before proceeding to
the advertisement creation process.
To choose, describe and review several brands and their personalities in

comparison with their advertisements. During this objective I will have the chance to
recognize the true personality of the brands as well as judge successful and
unsuccessful advertisements.


METHODOLOGY
The method tools chosen for my research were appropriate as they helped me obtain
knowledge and valuable information. The information was obtained with the use of
primary research; interviews, questionnaires, focus groups and secondary research;
selected data from my design research projects, periodicals, books, case studies,
websites.
My design research projects gave me the opportunity to study advertising design and
gain much knowledge on that field. Therefore, I decided to select valuable data from
my design research projects to continue my dissertation which has a very closely
related subject. The projects were a very useful resource as they helped me to
observe the situation properly and understand the interaction between the
stakeholders of the system.

During my secondary research I looked for information about advertising and brands
in books and periodicals by using library resources. Websites also helped me to get
additional information as well as information concerning advertising agencies and
brand consultancies. I studied several case studies about advertisements and their
design. Case studies included the aims and objectives of several advertisements and
a general critic of their design. Since case studies demonstrate examples from the
real world, they helped me to improve my understanding and analysis on real
situations. I will analyse all case studies later on during the discussion section.
Using secondary research tools I was able to develop a more comprehensible
perspective on my topic area.
Primary research tools were also used which gave me the opportunity to interact with
people and obtain desired information. Focus groups provided me with a subjective
understanding of how people think. The focus group consisted of eight persons which
I already personally knew. During the discussion the group expressed their own
thoughts about specific brands and advertisements as well as their likes and dislikes.
Although focus groups do not produce valid data, I believe that they do establish a
clear understanding about individual thinking. The discussion helped me to realise
which brands are more attractive, popular and arguable to consumers.
Tools such as interviews and questionnaires were particularly important for me

because I had direct involvement with people from advertising agencies, brand and
design consultancies. Secondary research led me to the creation of a questionnaire
with some interesting questions based on advertising design and brands.

I had the chance to contact seven employers. The questionnaire which consisted of
14 ‘open’ questions was answered by Jack Bryce who is the Principal and Design
Director of the Minale Tattersfield and Partners (also known as Minale Bryce Design
Strategy or Minale Bryce & Partners), by Hayley Roe who is the Client Services
Director of the Haines McGregor Company, by Vinay Parihar who is and Innovation
Consultant of the Viadynamics, by Kate Harper who is the Board Director of the J.
Walter Thompson Company and Kitty Lun who is the General Manager & Executive
Creative Director of the Arnold Worldwide Company in China.
Minale Tattersfield and Partners is an independent design organisation, ranked

amongst the world’s leading design consultancies by the Financial Times. They focus
on producing outstanding design and service as they expertise in many different
areas such as branding, packaging, retail, advertising, web design etc.
Haines McGregor Company is a brand development agency. The agency is formed
and resourced to work in partnership with clients throughout the process of
developing and leveraging brands from the strategic location of an opportunity
through to creative delivery. Their services includes packaging, design analysis, print,
graphic etc.
Viadynamics is a specialist consultancy with the proven capability to deliver the
promise of innovation, from strategy to action. Their aim is to help clients create
sustainable consumer and shareholder value through innovation.
J. Walter Thompson has the global reach and resources in every discipline to build
relationships between brands and consumers across countries and cultures. JWT
ranks as the fourth largest global agency and the largest U.S agency. Currently, the
agency works for thirty of the "Top 100 Global Marketers."
Arnold Worldwide is one of the world'
s top 20 advertising agencies, serving such
prestigious clients as Volkswagen, McDonald'
s, Levi'
s, Nike and more.
In 2000, Arnold Worldwide became the lead agency of the global advertising
network, Arnold Worldwide Partners which is one of three networks owned by Havas,
the world'
s sixth largest communications group.
I also had the chance to have a phone conversation with Joe Bouch who is the Vice
President and General Manager of the Cramer-Krasselt Orlando Company after
contacting him by email. CK is the fourth-largest independent advertising agency in
the United States. The agency focus on making the brand recognisable, meaningful
and liked by exercising in advertising, brand planning, media, public relations etc.
During our phone conversation I explained what my dissertation exactly is about and

what I wish to achieve. He then accepted to answer my questions shortly over the
phone and provided me with additional information by email.
Finally, I had an interview with Kate Harisson, who is the Head of Account
Management of Leo Burnett Company in London. Leo Burnett is a top ten global
agency network.
A second questionnaire was created and involved consumers and their personal
views about advertising design and branding. The questionnaire showing
advertisements of 16 different brands (Adidas, Benetton, Louis Vuitton, Dexter, Nike,
Diesel, Sisey, Fcuk, Pepsi, Burger King, Mc Donald’s, Altoids, M&m’s, Heinz,
Smirnoff, Absolut) was followed by six questions. This questionnaire helped me to
understand consumers, their thinking and opinions. Consumers were able to express
themselves more creatively, since the questions were ‘open’ and not multiple
choices.
The information obtained from secondary and primary research was gathered,
analyzed and evaluated in order to satisfy the objectives of the research.

RESULTS
Successful results must provide advance knowledge and contribute to the

understanding of the research. My findings are derived from the analysis of tools,
which were used for research collection and measurement of data.
The focus group consisted of eight persons. The discussion took place in Greece and
specifically in a friendly environment in the woods. The discussion was based on
fashion brands, food & drinks brands and advertisements. The team had to discuss
and express their personal opinions, preferences, favourite brands and
advertisements.
The first task was for each of them to choose two fashion and two food & drink
brands of their choice. The results are shown below:
Diesel: 31,25%, Sisley: 25%, Nike: 18,75%, Benetton: 12,5%, Levis: 12,5%

Coca Cola: 25%, M&m’s: 25%, Smirnoff: 25%, Heineken:12,5%, Heinz:12,5%
After choosing their favourite brands, the team had to look several advertisements.
The aim of the second task was to understand consumers and their opinion about
advertisements and brand personality. The team stated what they liked and disliked. I
found their comments useful as they also provided me with ideas about what
advertisements were more interesting for my research. Having considered the team’s
choices and my personal opinion, the team was shown advertisements of the
following brands: Adidas, Louis Vuitton, Diesel, Nike, Sisley, Benetton, Fcuk,
Dexter, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Heineken, Levis, McDonald’s, Burger King, Heinz,
Absolut, Smirnoff, Altoids and M&m’s.
The consumer’s choices on the first task were quite different with what they decided
later in the second task. Although they preferred Coca Cola to Pepsi, the majority of
the team believed that Pepsi’s advertisements were more interesting. They also
described Coca Cola’s advertisements dull as they couldn’t actually remember any
specific ones. When Altoids’s advertisements were shown to them, the team
described them as weird, unusual but also interesting about what they might ‘mean’.
They described Benetton’s, Sisley’s and Fcuk’s advertisements as provocative
whereas Louis Vuitton’s as stylish, creative but sometimes boring. The team chose
Smirnoff and Absolut as they found their advertisements more creative and cleverer
than Heineken’s. They also preferred Diesel’s advertisements to Levis’s because of
their unusual creativity. Finally, they described Dexter’s advertisements as clever and
interesting whereas M&m’s, Heinz’s, McDonald’s and Burger King’s as clever and
funny.

As a result, I decided to basically focus my research on 16 brands (8 fashion brands

and 8 food & drinks brands) that I and the team chose as the most popular and more
interesting ones according to their advertisements. The brands are: Adidas, Louis
Vuitton, Diesel, Nike, Sisley, Benetton, Fcuk, Dexter, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Burger
King, Heinz, Absolut, Smirnoff, Altoids and M&m’s.
The questionnaire that was sent to consumers was made in QuestionBuilder.

QuestionBuilder provides a web based software that allows users to create
questionnaires and analyze respondent data via the internet browser.
The questionnaire consisted of 16 advertisements of the 16 chosen brands (see
above) and six simple ‘open’ questions. The questionnaire was viewed 134 times but
only 35 of the viewers completed it. The questionnaire was designed carefully with
significant effort in order to provide me with satisfying results.
At first, the consumers were asked about their names, gender, age and occupation.
Names of respondents as they were written:
Matina Karali Ezzidin Alwan

Mutiat Mgbadamosi Tibo De Souza
Xiao Feng Thomas Papasmiris
Zoe Kerasioti Ayten Soylu
Chris Dolka Fanis Balafoutis
Sombat Sunthoncharu Valia Doukaki
e55at Catherine Mc Guiness
Yang zhang, George Konidakis
Elizabeth Katouda, Afroditi Augousti
Mssuh95 Stamatis Keckagias
Titi Adeolaawomolo Esteban
Jack Belinda
Jeetez Efi Antoniou
Mario Ryan O’Rourke
Angelica Lascar Katerina Axemo
Vassia Mantzana Aris Bartzokas
Konstantinos Dolkas Saj
Sofia Makris

Under 20: 3%, 20-25: 68,5%, 26-30: 20%, 31-35: 8,5%, 36-40: 0%
Student: 71,5%, Graduate - unemployed: 20%, Employee: 8,5%
Female: 48,5%, Male: 51,5%

The questions exactly as asked on the questionnaire and a summary of the answers
are explained below.
Question 1
Do you believe that design in advertising can communicate the brand’s
personality effectively? Please explain your answer briefly.
All answers on this question were positive. Advertising was described as a medium
that can create desire and can persuade the consumers to purchase the brand. They
argued that advertising design can communicate the brand’s personality effectively
as long as the design process is done properly. It is design that can make an
advertisement look attractive and interesting. Consumers might remember an
advertisement if it has good design and strong concept. Design’s role is to
communicate the brand’s personality and this can be done by the use of
photography, type, colour etc. When consumers view an advertisement they instantly
connect it with a type of personality exactly like how they do with people.
Question 2
What words would you use to describe the personality of the brands according
to their advertisements above? (E.g. Funny /Humorous, Natural, Authenticity,
Provocation, Imagination, Luxury, Comfort, Clever, Sexy/Erotic, Quality,
Friendly, Adventure, Stylish, Power, Dull/Boring, Cool, Rebellious,
Sophisticated, Whimsical, Emotional, Unpredictable, Ideal, Sweet, Pleasure,
Tasty, Innovative).
The advertisements are shown below.



The respondent’s answers for each brand are shown below.
Adidas
Others: Dodgy, Disgusting, Abnormal mentality, Strange / Weird
Benetton
Others: Discomfort, Colourful friendly, Racist, Stereotypical, Angry, Rebellious, Sparks debate

Louis Vuitton
Others: Sexy/Erotic, Dull/Boring, Stylish, Fairy tale
Dexter
Others: Whimsical, Not innovation but authenticity, Funny, Didn’t get it, Innovative, Don’t
know the brand, Exclusive

Sisley
Others: Confident, Provocative, Rebellious, Perverted company with perverted adverts,

Exclusive
Fcuk
Others: Innovative, Stylish, Original, Good, Sexy/Erotic, Cool, Trying to be clever

Nike
Others: Creative, Exclusive, Don’t understand, Confusing, Well suited, Strong image
Diesel
Others: Work fashionable, Meaningful, Irresponsible, Don’t get it, Clever, Funny

Pepsi
Others: Tasty, Innovative, Very relevant, Clever, Irresistible, Quality
Absolut Vodka
Others: Abstract, Authenticity, Shame, Rude but true, Cool

Smirnoff
Others: Innovative, Quality, Brilliant, Ideal, Cunning
Altoids
Others: Satire?, Clever, Mystery, Don’t know the brand, Uninteresting

Burger King
Others: Simple but boring, Very obvious, Not really accepted the meaning, Tasty, Good
McDonald’s
Others: Stylish, Corporate image with company character, Ugh McDonald’s, Authenticity

M&m’s
Others: Innovative, Creative, It'

s absolutely chocolate and funny child care, Character
marketing, Classic
Heinz
Others: Boring, So graphical but not interesting - not match, Satirically humorous, Crap,
Playful, Tasty, I don’t get it, Uninteresting, Silly

Question 3
Brands tell a story within advertisements. Choosing one ad from the above,
please explain briefly what the ad ‘tells’ you.
Benetton: 2,85%, Dexter: 2,85%, Burger King: 5,7%, Heinz: 5,7%, McDonald’s:
5,7%, M&m’s: 11,4%, Smirnoff: 11,4%, Nike: 11,4%, Absolut: 14,25%, Pepsi: 28,75%
The aim of the question was to focus on consumer’s thinking and preferences as well
as to understand their perception of the advertisements. The majority of the
respondents chose the “Pick me” advertisement by Pepsi. The Absolut advertisement
was also a popular choice. However, everyone had a comment and explanation of
their choices. Some comments are shown below:
“I really like the Pepsi one. Imagination, the story is delivered, communicates the
brand message, which is the need for Pepsi. I LIKE IT.” - Matina Karali
“Very clever. The ice cubes all want to go into the glass of Pepsi because they love it
so much.” - Mutiat Mgbadamosi
“Pepsi. Popular, cool and tasty.” - Xiao Feng
“Pepsi’s ad shows that everyone wants to drink it even the ice cubes!” - Zoe Kerasioti
”This ad says to me that Pepsi tastes so great that even the ice-cubes are fighting for
a space in the glass.” - Titi Adeola Awomolo

”It tells me Pepsi is a drink with nice flavour as even the ice cubes want to be in it.” -
Jeetez
“Absolut advertisements are always clever, imaginative and special.” - Konstantinos

Dolkas
“Absolutely funny and different. They always find ways to create the bottle.” -
Katerina Axemo
“Nike. If you want to be fit, go with Nike.” - E55at
“Nike. I feel like its showing perfection.” - Thomas Papasmiris
“McDonald'
s. It is a fast food brand, and in the ad, it uses a blur image to mean it is
too fast to see it clearly. So easily understand, and reflect the brand value.” - Yang
Zhang
“Heinz is so tasty that even if I am carrying something very precious I have my mind
on Heinz.” - Elizabeth Katouda
“Dexter. Comfortably, security fine...” - Mssuh95
“Smirnoff advert. It tells me that a wolf’s fantasy is being among a lot of sheep. Just
like people.” - Jack
“Burger King. The burgers are extremely hot, so much so, it could be possible that
your mouth is so on fire, when u take a drink (which would be necessary to cool you
down) you could burn a mouth mark into the cup.” - Mario
“M&m’s tells me that the chocolates are so sweet that even if they cry, their tears will
be molten chocolate. So I guess that the ad represents M&m’s flavour.” - Fanis
Balafoutis
“Benetton. Honestly I don’t like it. It doesn’t tell me anything and I think it’s shocking
and deplorable.” - Ezzidin Alwan

Question 4
Do you think that the chosen advertisement achieve its communication
objectives? Please explain your answer briefly.
Nearly all respondents stated that their chosen advertisements do achieve their
communication objectives. Although some respondents provided simple answers
such as “yes” or “no”, there were also some interesting comments.
They claimed that Pepsi advertisement communicates the brand as a desirable,
fresh, soft drink that can make consumers “enjoy the moment” of drinking. The
advertisement itself was described impressive and the message clear and straight
forward. Since all the ice cubes want to be picked, this make consumers think that if
ice-cubes find Pepsi refreshing, then it must be.
Nike had also positive answers since consumers believed that the physically fit
woman in the advertisement indicates sports and style.
It was only Benetton’s advertisement which was argued to be provocative. Ezzidin
Alwan stated: “I believe that Benetton is a fashion brand with stylish and colourful
clothes. However, this advertisement does not provide me with the idea I had in
mind. I don’t understand how clothes and crime link together. I know the ad wants to
pass a message but isn’t this quite embarrassing for the person in the photograph?
After all I believe that advertisements should try and sell the brand. And this ad
doesn’t try at all.” The answers made me realise how positively or negatively the
respondents were impressed.

Question 5
What do you consider to be the most important factors of creating the ideal
advertisement?
Although I believe that an ideal advertisement can be very rare, these answers
provided me with many different views about what consumers believe.
The opinions varied as some respondents believed that the most important factor can
be the image, the brand character, creativity, comedy, originality, the photograph and
more. Some interesting comments are shown below:
“Brand Personality. To show what it is about your brand that you want to share with
your audience that would make them want to become a part of your world” - Mutiat
Mgbadamosi
“Demonstration of creativity with experiential sympathy that is easy to recognize” -

Xiao Feng
“Creativity, a clever but simple slogan can attract attention and influence consumers.
I think this is ideal.” - Ryan O’Rourke
“Colour because everything has to do with the eyes and how the mind perceives
something.” - Esteban
“Use great images and express simple meanings” - Yang Zhang
“The advertisement should have imagination and a clever concept. It has to be

relevant to the target market.” - Elizabeth Katouda
“Their own brand character with image.” - Mssuh95
“Initially identify the target audience, from here, you can choose areas such as text,
graphics and colour schemes to match what the audience can relate to. A good
product to advertise itself.” - Mario

Question 6
In an advertisement what elements (e.g. colour, copy, photograph, design etc.)
help brand personality to be communicated? Are all the elements equally
important? Can you distinguish the most important one? Please explain your
opinion.
This question was the most interesting of all because the respondents answered
truthfully with their valuable thoughts and knowledge.
Catherine McGuiness is a Multimedia graduate student and stated that all elements
have the same value: “An advertisement must have the sense of balance and unity. I
believe that one thing leads to another. The eye of consumer should move around
the ad and conceive everything at once: the photograph, the message, the design,
the brand, the concept.” Many respondents had the same opinion.
“All the elements are equally important, but when you use its tool it has to be
considered to whom you are talking to. To some groups, illustration expresses them
more, to some others, photography is an evident clue, and they prefer it the most.
Although colour is about the composition of your ad, is always important. Finally copy
is important, because it’s used in a different way, than illustration or photography.” -
Matina Karali
“Its a mixture of all these elements, a brand message is brought to life through its
advertising and in communicating this message from a graphic design perspective
the right balance has to be achieved with the use of all these elements to get the
message across. Although it should be noted that the nature of the message itself
that the brand wishes to communicate to its audience will also dictate the question
about what this ‘right balance’ is. As a result the designer & copywriter must ask
themselves what they are trying to say and how best this can be done -so from there
they must decide what devices can be used that would be most appropriate to getting
the message across clearly. This approach could then lead to any or all of the
elements becoming the most important. It all depends on the message they want to
put across.” - Mutiat Mgbadamosi
“All elements are important. There are different ways that a consumer might be
attracted and influenced. Some get attracted by the design, some by the photo, the
copy or whatever.” - George Konidakis

“I think that in some cases it is definitely a combination of all. Design, type,

photography etc. Take for example Absolut. From the moment you see an advert
with that certain style you know that it is Absolut. The same goes for Stella Artois.
You just know because of their style of design.” - Titi Adeola Awomolo
Mario is a graphic designer. He stated his opinion about logos and ended up saying
that colour and design are the most important elements: “All successful brands have
a logo which is easy to distinguish, and allows a consumer to relate to that product
without the need of text. Such as the golden '
M'of McDonalds, the tick of Nike, the
symbol of Mercedes etc. Without such a graphical logo, companies will experience a
difficulty in being able to establish themselves within the minds of the consumer.
Once the logo is embedded into their minds, advertising becomes more easier, as no
matter how relevant the advertisement becomes, so long as their is the logo of the
company present, it is possible for the consumer to identify the brand of the
advertisement. Therefore, colour and design are the most important factors in helping
the brand to distinguish itself from the other competitors. “
Some other respondents stated that the photograph is the most important element of
all because it speaks a thousand words.

Interviews and questionnaires proved to be very valuable tools. The questionnaire

which was created mainly for advertising agencies consisted of 14 ‘open’ questions. I
received five email responses and obtained information from one direct and one
phone interview.
EMAIL RESPONSES
Name Role Company
Jack Bryce Principal and Design Director Minale Tattersfield and Partners
Hayley Roe Client Services Director Haines McGregor
Vinay Parihar Innovation Consultant Viadynamics
Kate Harper Board Director J. Walter Thompson
Kitty Lun General Manager & Executive Arnold Worldwide Company
Creative Director
DIRECT INTERVIEW
Kate Harisson Head of Account Management Leo Burnett
PHONE INTERVIEW
Joe Bouch Vice President and General Cramer-Krasselt

Manager
Hayley Roe, Jack Bryce and Vinay Parihar were not able to answer all questions
related to advertising because of their roles. However, they provided me with useful
information on other question fields.

Question 1
Is it necessary for the advertising agency to understand the personality of the
brand? What methods do you use to achieve that? How important is that to the
advertisement'
s creation process?
“It is essential that agencies – advertising and brand development understand the
personality of the brand – but the real objective is to understand what drives the
relationship between the brand’s essence (i.e. the most pivotal reason that
consumers buy x brand over y) and a consumer’s need.” - Hayley Roe
“Vital to process as this is the connection point ultimately with consumer. Many ways
to access this – most commonly used is qualitative research with consumer – a
successful brand will keep sense checking with consumers as the brand develops
and refine communication accordingly.” - Kate Harper
“Yes. The Arnold approach is a model called brand architecture and we interrogate
the brand essence – we believe every brand has a rational core and an emotional
wrapping. In order to interrogate the brand essence thoroughly, we need client to
provide the brand’s ID card with the entire brand’s functionality; previous advertising
and marketing communication form a good historical check. Consumer research is
also the key. If there is no data, we usually run consumer focus groups.”- Kitty Lun
“Yes – not just the brand and brand values – but every aspect of their client – where
they are today – and where they want to be tomorrow.” - Vinay Parihar
“Absolutely, for commercial success, an agency must understand the personality of a

brand, guide the personality of a brand (be brand guardians), build the personality of
a brand or help change a personality of a brand if markets/consumers demands.
Agencies use many methods, but qual/quant testing is the most widely used. The
creative development of advertising to support any brand in market is centred around
the brand message required – the message that is most credible, relevant and
motivating to the consumer. However the brand personality is important to increase
or maintain differentiation and appeal and hence this plays an integral role in creative
development.” - Kate Harisson
“Yes. We utilize a process called bridging. The truth is that creative organizations
thrive on chaos, change and midnight pizza. So a process is never as paint-by-the-

numbers as agencies, including C-K, often imply. Conversely, the theories behind
most processes are never as complex as they’re often made to seem.
At C-K, our work is driven by a simple truth: People ignore ideas that ignore them.
Bridging is a tool we use to make sure our work connects. The goal of Bridging is
quite simple and literal: to connect your brand to the people it must attract and close
the distance that exists between them. This distance is a real thing. No matter the
nature of your brand, there’s a gap of untapped potential. Bridging, with its built-in
consumer dialogue and its ability to inspire powerful creative closes the gap. Finds
the connection. And creates opportunity.
Rational Strength The brand at its most Emotional insight into the
magnetic people we need to reach
BRAND-------------------------THE BRIDGE---------------------CONSUMER
Here’s how Bridging works:

It’s a simple process, really. We’ve worked hard to keep it that way.
But it does take a lot of homework, some bare-knuckled analysis and a lot of
imagination. We begin with some deep and fast learning about your category, your
brand and your target. And we make sense of what we learn by distilling key insights
into a concise Knowledge Inventory:
BRAND: Category, Competition, Life, Consumer
This becomes the essential reference point for what comes next. And that’s a
Strategic Brainstorm. Here we first work as a group to reach two critical areas of
agreement:
The target bottom line

Who are they, really?
What drives them in the category?
The brand bottom line

What fundamentally does it stand for?
What equities or attributes should we leverage?
We put these two bottom lines next to one another. And, invariably, we see the
opportunity gap between them.

Now we’ve reached a critical juncture in the process. Here analysis meets
imagination as we identify potential Brand Connections to close the gap. Usually
there’s more than one Brand Connection that seems true, so we typically move into
Evaluation mode, searching for the Connection that will make the brand truly
resonate in the lives of the target.
And once we’ve found it… once the truth clicks into place...we build all our
messaging around the Connection.” - Joe Bouch
Question 2
Have you even had any difficulty in communicating the brand'
s personality in a
print advertisement? If yes what do you think went wrong?
“Yes we had an example of recently with some fragrance advertising where we had
to demonstrate a ‘daring’ brand personality using a well known celebrity whose own
personality attributes were well known for this – all good in principle but hard to
communicate in a static medium.” - Kate Harper
“No. What can be articulated can be communicated. Creativity is the key.” - Kitty Lun“
“In a full-page age, communicating the brand’s personality can always be

accomplished. But if you are confined by space, communicating a personality can
become a very difficult task, and is likely a waste of budget for the client.” - Joe
Bouch
Question 3
What kind of information do you get from the brands before you begin the
creation process?
“We try to uncover the brand’s essence – using a number of techniques.”- Hayley
Roe
“This varies hugely – we might have some qualitative or quantitative research as well
as the marketer’s feedback. We might also do some investigation of our own.” - Kate
Harper

“The brand essence. The brand’s consumer proposition. All the hard and soft facts of
the brand.” - Kitty Lun
“What is their DNA? Namely – what promise do they offer, does the brand and
product mean the same to consumer or something different, how long have they
been around and what is their communications history, who do they appeal to vs
who’s actually buying them, what market/category/business are they in, what
competitive advantage do they offer the client company etc.
What is the marketing or communications task? Namely – what’s the role of
communications as part of the marketing plan? For example, are we attracting new
or existing customers, is the task more brand-led (continue to build
personality/positioning) or sales-led (continue to build personality/positioning but sell
an offer), is it a launch or a continuation, what’s the competition doing, what does
success look like etc.” - Kate Harisson
“Much of this was answered before. When an account is new, we conduct a 2 to 3

day brain dump session with the client to learn everything we can possibly learn
about the brand.” - Joe Bouch
Question 4
Do you believe it'
s possible that design in print advertising can communicate
the brand'
s personality effectively?
Question 5
If yes how do you think this is done?
“Design is an extremely effective medium for driving brand choice at POS/POP –

75% of decisions are made within this space/time frame. As media has become more
and more fragmented – and brands no longer have the luxury of share of voice
above the line it is imperative that design communicates the personality at POP and
is able to motivate, and portray a relevant, distinctive and memorable message.
Consumers look for a design to portray how they look and feel about themselves and
how they wish to be perceived by others – if design is able to tap into consumers
underlying needs – i.e. the need for affiliation, status, comfort in the drinks market
and design against these motivations they have the key to a successful design e.g.
Baileys – need for comfort.”- Hayley Roe

“Yes - through using the full range of brand elements and aligning images and text
that supports the brand personality. Discussing the approach to the print advertising
with the brand designers. Also choosing images and text that supports the brand
elements and the approach of the company.” - Jack Bryce
“Yes - we know from our print creative alone on Rimmel cosmetics that what we
visualise in print has transformed the consumer impression from a dusty old brand
you wouldn’t be seen dead with to a cool edgy brand from London with real attitude
as embodied in the personality of Kate Moss. Simple design additions like the British
flag and other icons can really bring this to life.” - Kate Harper
“Yes. A brand’s personality should be communicated in every ad a company does,

whether it is dedicated to communicate the personality only.
Print is one of the most widely used media anyway. It has no choice but to be
effective as an advertising medium. Personality can be expressed through an ad’s
tone and manner which can be created through the words and pictures you provide.
A good creation will help the effectiveness of the communication.” - Kitty Lun
“Yes, there are many examples of a message being conveyed effectively through
print. E.g. Benetton – the united colours of Benetton and the use of visual imagery to
help bridge cultural barriers. Some of their advertising has been controversial, but
one has to question whether this has actually enhanced or damaged their brand
equity. This is done by understanding all the points I listed above – a deep
understanding of who the company really is and what they are trying to achieve – it
must go beyond bottom line financials – Benetton’s mission was not just about being
the highest volume fashion brand for their target group – but about bridging cultural
gaps and challenging assumptions.” - Vinay Parihar
“The same way personality is communicated through any media on the planet.
Through tone, look and feel.” - Kate Harisson
“Yes. The bottom line is that Design is critical to the creation of brand equity. I think
you will often find instances where a company has great technology and great
chemistry, but they failed because they didn’t get the product design or package
design or print design right, and the consumer couldn’t appreciate what the product
had to offer. Design, whether in print or any other medium, must project an instantly

recognizable brand with a clear brand promise. Consumers must clearly see who the
brand is and what that brand can do for them. “- Joe Bouch
Question 6
How important is design in print advertising? Explain your answer briefly.
“Good design in print advertising wins awards and can capture the imagination of the
consumer – it is incredibly important.” - Kate Harper
“Extremely. It helps an ad’s appeal, stopping power and the design is also a
reflection of what we want to say and how we want our readers to FEEL. The
“design” can be the message.” - Kitty Lun
“Design is vital – particularly the management of the process. One must ensure that
all relevant information has been obtained before embarking on a project. And that
the design team is working towards the right brief.” - Vinay Parihar
“Highly. Design adds craft to print executions through colour, typography or art
direction – the look of the ad is as important as its message as this reflects brand
personality and brand values too.” - Kate Harisson
Question 7
In an advertisement what elements (e.g. colour copy, photograph, design etc.)
help brand personality to be communicated? Are all the elements equally
important? Can you distinguish the most important one?
“As long as the central essence is being captured in the most relevant, motivating
and appealing way the advert should be successful – all elements are equally
weighted.” - Hayley Roe
“Corporate colours, Company Symbol, Name style, Logo, Supporting colours, Sub-
graphic, Positioning text, Project identity and brand elements.” - Jack Bryce
“Print advertising is designed to communicate the brands personality, essence and

also whatever message is being communicated i.e. it could be a launch of a new
product. All elements should be seen to contribute to the whole i.e. size, colour,
choice of typeface in headline can either shout about a brand or play perhaps to a

sensitive message. Choice and direction of photographer, or illustrator etc is also

vital.” - Kate Harper
“Everything. This is not science. You cannot put a number to art. And there is no
rule to creation. A good creator can distinguish what is important every time he/she
does an application. And it will be different every time.” - Kitty Lun
“It is difficult to distinguish the most important element – but again for some
companies words might be more important than images – it all depends on the client,
what their business is about and what message they are trying to convey.” - Vinay
Parihar
“It depends on the brand. It depends on the audience. It depends on the Key selling
points. David Ogilvy would tell you that a full-page ad with only copy, if properly
written to the personality of the brand, can be as powerful and engaging as an ad
with colour and powerful visuals. I happen to think creatives have become lazy over
the years and do not use the written word enough, i.e., they rely too much on visual
and design.” - Joe Bouch
Question 8
Can you please give some examples of your work that you believe that they
communicate the brand'
s personality effectively? What is the objective of the
advertisement and who is the target market?
“Felix brochure for property development used the brand elements consistently
supported by images and text with art directed photography.” - Jack Bryce
“Example is Rimmel cosmetics – audience are 18-24 year old women around the
globe. The brand is all about a streetwise, party girl London attitude which is why we
chose Kate Moss as the face of the brand. All the print and TV work is designed in
terms of look, style, music, fashion to communicate the brand’s personality.” - Kate
Harper
“Alcatel mobile phone in China. Building a brand requires on-going consistent effort
and in every thing we do. Every ad has the responsibility to communicate the brand’s
personality – cool, young, trendy, full of attitude, not afraid to change.” - Kitty Lun

“Fairy non bio “Every part of everybody loves Fairy soft clothes” campaign.
Objective: To continue to build Fairy’s softness brand equity and appeal to mum’s
maternal care when doing her family’s laundry.
Department for Transport – child road safety “Hedgehogs” campaign.

Objective: to continue to make kids aged 6-11 safe road-side by ensuring road safety
messages are fun and interesting and not boring like at school.
Heinz Ketchup “can’t eat without it” campaign.

Objective: to ensure Heinz ketchup is a staple condiment at any table in Britain.” -
Kate Harisson
The following advertisements and comments were emailed to me by Joe Bouch.
Target: Anyone who flies. Target: Spring Break Traveller.

Objective: New Brand Awareness Objective: Butts in seats

Target: Upscale businessmen Target: Women grocery shoppers

Objective: Convince target that Allen Objective: Convince shoppers that Winn-
Edmonds is the shoe for all businessmen Dixie’s private label brand was equal in
– no matter what your persuasion. quality to national brand.
Target: Urban Import drinker who enjoys making unconventional choices

Objective: An escape to the freedoms and lifestyle of the tropical getaway

Target: Travellers who want to be inspired by their vacation experience.

Objective: To convince vacationers that the Outer Banks is a historically significant beach
destination offering natural beauty and family entertainment.
Question 9
Can you please describe with 3 words the personality of 3 (or as many as you
want) brands of your choice?
“Haagen Dazs – Sensual Abandonment

Sharwoods – Spirit of Adventure
Guinness – Power, Goodness, Communion” - Hayley Roe
“Felix – urbane, sophisticated, contemporary

Queensland Government- Sunshine, business, environment
ICC - values, global, the game” - Jack Bryce
“Coca Cola: Family, clean, fun

Nike: unstoppable, American, sweat
Ipod: connection, unlimited, surprising
BMW: class, precision, sophistication” - Kate Harper
“Marlboro – masculine, freedom, Americana

Kodak – warm, family, fun
SONY – innovative, cult, design” - Kitty Lun
“Jeep: Adventure; Great outdoors; All terrain vehicle

Disney: Fantasy, Fun and Big Ears
Nathan’s Hot Dogs: Coney Island; Cotton Candy, and Hot Dogs” - Joe Bouch

Question 10
Can you please give me some examples of non successful print
advertisements?
“Non successful might mean unnoticed or unappreciated. Ads that encourage drivers
to speed, big logos, confused message, too much information, poor quality visual, not
engaging.” - Kate Harper
“Many. Catalogue type print ads that express everything a client wants to say without
any imagination and creativity.” - Kitty Lun
“Most APR/finance advertising from the financial services sector.” - Kate Harisson
“Don’t have time to capture and talk about. But suffice to say that 90% of print
advertising SUCKS.” - Joe Bouch
Question 11
According to your experience do you believe that the real personality of the
brand is the same with the one people comprehend when seeing an
advertisement?
“No.” - Hayley Roe
“Lynx has cool brand advertising that people love but is still bought largely by spotty
teenagers.” - Kate Harper
“Depends. There is a lot of wishful thinking. Client thinks and wishes one way but
does not communicate effective so consumer’s comprehension is quite different from
client’s “visions”. - Kitty Lun
“Sometimes brand and business values are different – but usually connect. Brand
personality implies an implicit reaction to a brand – we react to brand in certain ways
without realising we are doing it… or why. Some exploit this within their consumer
segmentation – but I believe that design has a huge role to play – design connects
business to all stakeholders – and you must get it right and insure that the correct
message is being conveyed.” - Vinay Parihar

“It should be if the advertising is right.”- Kate Harisson
“It better be the same or you’ve missed the mark and likely overpromised.” - Joe
Bouch
Question 12
What kind of research is necessary for the creation of an advertisement?
“Understanding consumers undeclared needs – the ones they won’t readily tell you in
a focus group. Need to get to more fundamental needs – using projective techniques
– understanding consumer behaviour. “- Hayley Roe
“Review of competition, some desktop research, some qualitative and quantitative

check with consumers. Or equally none of the above.” - Kate Harper
“Research is good for many things – understand consumer insights and tracking
results. But I do not believe research helps creation. Otherwise, you don’t need to
pay high salaries to creative people and just get some research people to do it.
People saying research is necessary is only a justification of certain roles and certain
processes.” - Kitty Lun
“None is necessary. Some is sometimes helpful and this can be qual or quant
depending on the nature of the brand, message, media, quality of stimulus material
and time available.” - Kate Harisson
“As much as possible. C-K is a HUGE believer in research – primary, secondary,

grandmother, you name it. Our bridging process, explained above, is wrapped in the
premise of research.” - Joe Bouch
Question 13
advertisement?
“Understanding the key drivers for consumer choice – getting to the bottom of the
consumers relationship with the brand in question – what is motivating them to buy x
over y brand?” - Hayley Roe

“Using the brand elements with a strong simple message and images that support
the image and identity.” - Jack Bryce
“Meeting a real consumer need and connecting with consumers through

communication. Being in the same place as a client and sharing an objective in the
communication. Creating something that captures the imagination.” - Kate Harper
“Creativity.” - Kate Harisson / Kitty Lun
“Ensuring that the project is correctly managed and that the correct number and type
of choices have been exploited.” - Vinay Parihar
“Passion for the brand. You have to believe it is what it is. Abraham Lincoln once
ended a letter by apologizing for its length. “I would have written a shorter one,” he
explained, “but I didn’t have time.” That kind of hard thinking and compression is
what great print is about, and why we ask our creatives to start with print. Paring
your concept down to the barest essentials is a very demanding discipline, but if you
can break it down to just an image and a phrase, you’ve really nailed it.” - Joe Bouch
Question 14
Many people believe that the outcome of a creative advertisement is entirely
down to the agency itself. In your opinion what role does the client play here?
“A wealth of experience – hopefully! On his/her brand – experience of the sector –

experience of how the key stakeholders will react – i.e. internal and external
audiences – Boston consulting group said 90% of initiatives fail if internal
stakeholders have not been covered off.” - Hayley Roe
“Communicate their vision of the company and the project; manage the input of other
stakeholders.” - Jack Bryce
“Client plays a vital role in communicating the marketing need, the agency brings this
to life through communication. But as with many things a good partnership between
agency and client should bring best results.” - Kate Harper
“No no no. The client is more important than the agency. Most agencies are able to
come up with good creative ads. It takes extremely imaginative and smart clients to

understand and believe in creativity and allow the best ads to see the light of the
day.” - Kitty Lun
“The client must provide information of their requirements – not behave as though the
agency is an external entity not worth respecting – if they are to get a good project
they must be willing to share and work together with the agency.” - Vinay Parihar
“It is an absolutely equal partnership. Good advertising is never the product of the
agency alone, but of a joint client-agency team.” - Kate Harisson
“C-K has always believed that the agency and the client have to have equal
involvement in the advertising development process or the process simply won’t
work.” - Joe Bouch


DISCUSSION
In this section I will comment and analyse my results and relate them to my existing
knowledge on the topic area. The discussion will provide a more clear understanding
on the topic. Therefore this will lead me to the answer of all key questions and to the
achievement of my aim.
Brands have a predominant character that identifies their personalities. This
personality can be expressed through advertising design. The advertisements that I
will discuss on this section, demonstrate various personalities of several different
brands. The discussion will be based on case studies and personal comments.
Finally the section will end with a model about how the partnership between
advertising agencies and clients should be in order to work effectively. Design is the
important the most component of the model as it has the vital role in the creation
process and the construction of brand personality.
Adidas
The German company Adidas began in the 1920s as a producer of performance

running shoes, and its reputation remains based on high-quality sports footwear. The
three stripes of the logo, first applied to footwear in 1949, suggest both directional
chevrons and the shape of sports shoes themselves.
The Adidas advertising campaign is composed of a series of pictures that each ends
with the caption "Runners. Yeah, we’re Different."
These advertisements are trying to convince runners that Adidas which is the third-
choice brand in its category understands them better than anyone else. The
advertisements though exclude a lot of average runners but that seems part of the
strategy. Once the advertisements were created, they were tested against the
scrutiny of serious runners. Execution was very important for these ads to ring true.
The images on the advertisements are very relevant with serious runners so that
makes them the target. The advertisements have a documentary look as they
represent situations that really happen. The runner is always part of its environment
and that makes the advertisements very natural and authentic.
The campaign can also inspire runners about how ‘they’ are actually different;
everyone in their own different way.

In the advertisement above, what stands out the most is the extremeness of the man
being naked on a street with mud caked all over his legs and arms. However, his
actions are normal especially when two people are staring at him. The Adidas shoes
are only a small part of this advertisement which proves that the message of the
advertisement is the character itself.
The campaign creates an athletic image by exposing serious runners who are
different from the rest of society. The campaign reinforces Adidas as a top
performance running brand that meets the needs of serious runners. The brand
achieves to connect itself with devotion to sports and develops its brand personality:
passionate, athletic, and authentic.

Benetton
Benetton is one of the strongest brands in the world and is engaged in the
manufacturing and distribution of clothing, undergarments, shoes, cosmetics and
accessories.
Benetton is well-known across the world for its unusual advertising techniques and
themes, most of them bordering on controversy and debate.
The company’s aim was to grab viewer’s attention and to make their brand name
memorable. Benetton means colours and therefore the idea of showing a group of
people with different coloured skin was more or less a very exciting idea. However,
unlike most advertisements, Benetton’s advertising campaigns addressed social and
political issues. Some provocative advertisements include two black boys kissing
each other, with little US and USSR flags in their hair, a cemetery which signified war
deaths, many different brightly coloured condoms, a baby with an umbilical cord, a
priest and a nun kissing, themes based on country’s political battles such as Israel
and Germany, Iran and Iraq, Israelis and Arabs, photojournalistic images concerning
environmental disaster, political violence, war, a dying AIDS victim with his family at
his bedside, a wolf and a lamb , an African guerrilla holding a Kalashnikov and a
human leg bone, homosexuality advertisements such as two smiling men cheek to
cheek, one white and one black holding an Asian baby wrapped in the same blanket,
three identical human hearts with stickers announcing different ethnic groups “white,
black and yellow”, advertisements showed mixing culture and legends like Adam and
Eve, Joan of Arc and Marilyn Monroe. The messages in the advertisements were
also provocative; “All colours are equal, just as all men are equal”, United Superstars
of Benetton” “United Friends of Benetton” and more.

Probably the most popular issue of all was the death-row advertising campaign which
featured prisoners who had been sentenced to death. The advertisements featured
the prisoner’s portrait, their names and dates of execution.

Benetton’s advertisements usually had no copy, headline or product but only their
logo. The company tried more to create a communication to the world about these
issues rather than to sell their products. According to Toscani, his responsibility was
to document social realities that people do not seem to realise rather than promote
sales. The images shown in the advertisements were more likely to be noticed as the
viewers question themselves about the advertisement’s meaning.
Over the years, many newspapers and magazines in many countries refused to print
Benetton advertisements. However, the more the company’s advertisements were
banned, the more Benetton got publicity. Benetton was also sued by many of its retail
outlets that believed the advertisements were driving costumers away. That was
actually true for the reason that loyal costumers were turning against shopping at
Benetton. Benetton, though finally realised the damage that had caused on
consumers minds. Therefore they decided to control their advertisements by using
proper strategy in order to show the world the quality of their products.
Benetton’s advertisements have redefined advertising. Benetton supports and

illustrates the unconventionality in their brand personality as their ads are always to
the point and veers away from the pleasing aesthetics commonly associated with
clothing and fashion brands. Benetton clothes are conventional, but the brand
personality the company promotes of itself is provocative, controversial and
sometimes stylish.

Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton is one of the premier global luxury brands, with an image built upon the
accoutrements of luxury travel in the early part of the twentieth century. Luxury and
style have long been associated with French products and Louis Vuitton is the
centrepiece. Louis Vuitton’s monogram (LV) is an instant indicator of elegance and
taste whereas the gold embossing and leather speak of craftsmanship and quality.
The fairy tale campaign includes advertisements inspired from some popular to all of
us stories. These included Snow White, Cinderella and the Princess & the Frog.
The ‘Cinderella’ advertisement pictures a young woman running. The photograph

basically shows the woman’s legs which makes them the one of the most vital
element of the photo. The first detail that someone can notice is actually her missing
shoe as well as the moon which stands out on the dark sky and has the image of a
clock pointing at midnight. The advertisement illustrates the value and importance of
the shoe since anyone can reflect it with the Cinderella story.
Snow white advertisements, pictures a young woman in a white dress with her eyes
closed, a bitten apple in her hands and a red purse spilling forth more apples.
Another advertisement shows the same woman and seven dwarfs walking behind
her carrying her luggage.

The last one shows a woman looking at mirror that reminds the popular phrase
“mirror mirror on the wall who’s the prettiest of them all”. This advertisement pictures
the beauty that a woman can have when holding a Louis Vuitton handbag.

The Princess & the Frog advertisement shows a woman with her eyes closed holding
a small purse with the shape of a frog. The woman’s eyes and face indicates her
desire to kiss the “frog” exactly as it happened in the fairy tale. The advertisement
actually, has a sense of movement as the viewer imagines the woman moving her
head towards the ‘frog’ purse.
The fairy tale campaign reveals a very dream-like feeling. The Louis Vuitton’s
products become the key elements of the advertisements and emphasizes the
brand’s personality; luxury, imagination and emotional.
Dexter
Dexter is a great and classic American brand. The shoes are attractive but not
exactly high fashion. During the focus group I’ve noticed that Dexter was not actually
popular to the team. However, the advertisements did make a good impression.
People buy a pair of shoes because they look good. Dexter’s advertising campaign
“Comfort in every box” gives the feeling of comfort through a very fashionable design.
The advertisements include a shot of a good-looking shoe in a relaxed environment.
All shoes are placed on a shoebox and viewed from above. The word ‘comfort’ might
mean something different to all of us. For that reason, the campaign illustrates
different mindscapes with different shoes where each one can attract a different
consumer.

Some examples are the advertisements below; a shoe next to bathtub, a couch, a
deck or lounge chair and a swing.
All elements of the campaign are kept simple but yet powerful; the viewer can not be
distracted by the colours and the background of the wooden floors creates an even
friendlier picture. The shoebox which is zoomed out gives itself space in the
advertisement. Therefore, the proportion of space makes the advertisement more
fashionable.
The campaign was a great way to efficiently build Dexter’s brand personality;
comfort, stylish and quality.

Sisley
Sisley is an Italian brand and actually part of the Benetton group. The clothes always
follow the latest fashions and are young in style, modern, sexy and simple. Through
its advertisements Sisley exposes its own personality which is elegant and sexy.
Sisley’s advertisements have been known for its audacious sexuality and outrageous
content. The advertisement below shows the upper body of a naked woman who’s
wearing a woollen snow-cap. The snow-cap has two long strands with woollen
bobbles at their ends which cover part of the woman'
s nipples. Some other
advertisements include strong sexual and half naked poses.
Although the photographs have been described as offensive and unpleasant, the
actually advertising strategy was to use fashionable, trendy, witty but also sexy
images. After all, Sisley is a sexy brand and therefore people should feel sexy when
they wear the clothes.

The women pose according to how they feel: sexy and seductive. The poses can be
described as provocative and shocking but this is a way for Sisley to express its
brand personality; stylishly, sexy and powerfully seductive.
Fcuk
French Connection United Kingdom does not use the company'

s full name, but an
acronym of its name which closely resembles a vulgar term.
Fcuk’s advertisements can often be very tricky. The advertisement below uses
enough white space, a cropped fashion shot and a large headline: “subliminal
advertising experiment”. The words are stacked above each other so that the word
“sex” is spelt. The viewer’s eye might not read the word “sex” immediately. However,
the other three words proves that there is actually a subliminal message hidden and
challenges the viewer to find it out. The involvement of the consumer is the success
of the advertisement. The advertisement creates a distinctive brand attitude and
personality and keeps Fcuk at the forefront of the consumer’s mind.
The “Think my pants off” advertisement looks as it’s following the meaning of the
subliminal advertisement above.
The advertisement below uses black background and a black and white shot of a
man bending over with his back pointing on the viewer. The organ of the human body

can be described as the sexiest one. For once again the headline: “think my pants
off” confuses the viewers and provokes them to get involved.
Although the advertisements might seem shocking to some, fcuk has cleverly created
word of mouth without putting brand’s values into danger. The advertisements totally
represent the fcuk’s personality; witty, sexy and challenging.
Nike
Nike is maybe one of the most popular brands in the world as it controls more than
40% of the US athletic shoe market. Nike designs and sells shoes for just about
every sport such as baseball, basketball, volleyball, golf, tennis, wrestling etc
Nike is the winged goddess of victory according to Greek mythology and the swoosh
represents her wing.
The advertisement below show a woman in two different poses. The unexpected
colour in relation with the sophisticated and simple design creates a powerful
advertisement. The campaign expresses perfection using dynamic photography with
bright colours; green, blue, orange, red.

The people’s bodies are ‘dressed’ with a neutral colour which emphasizes the clothes
even more. So, the clothes are the ones that stand out. However, people’s poses,
portraits and face expressions reveal the sense of stillness and dedication on sports.

Nike does not only sell sport products but it mainly sells spirit which is the
requirement for someone to be the best. The campaign uses body language and
strong imagery to express Nike’s personality; authentic, athletic, powerful and
spiritual.

Diesel
Diesel is an Italian, innovative brand that manufactures jeans and casual clothing as
well as accessories. The brand targets young, funky, trendy and enthusiastic people
with an opinion about everything.
Diesel’s advertisements have managed to apply criticism because of their guiding to

successful living. However, Diesel’s guidance is actually ironic.
For example the '

how to smoke 145 a day” advertisement below shows a woman
sitting one a huge cigarette and a “man, who needs to lungs anyway?” text one the
bottom left corner. But there is also a skull, a busy background full of dollars and a
small paragraph below the headline:
“Why stop at Bronchitis when a faster heartbeat and a shorter life are just around the
corner?145 cigarettes a day will not only wrap you in a cloud of mystery, that ’special’
sexy cough and stunningly bad breath will also win you new friends everywhere. So
join our yellow finger club and get your free copy of holy smoke, the smoker'
s
improvement guide. Just contact the PR department of your favourite cigarette brand.
They'
ll be delighted to assist you!”
The advertisement’s design is very colourful and bright with many texts and that
makes it slightly unbalanced.

The advertisement below pictures the same woman standing whereas in the
background three men can be seen holding guns. The headline:”How to teach your
children to love and care” is followed by a paragraph:
“Modern children need to solve their own problems: teaching kids to kill helps them
deal directly with reality - but they learn so much quicker when you give them a
guiding hand! Make them proud and confident! Man, if they never learn to blast the
brains out of their neighbours what kind of damn future has this country of ours
got???”
The design in this advertisement seems more balanced. Although the background
seems busy, the black and white colour matches the red shirt, text and Diesel logo.
The advertisements are obviously ironic and mention things that are inspired of our
world. Diesel is seeking to appeal to free thinkers and independent souls. Its models
are always gorgeous and so Diesel carries the promise of sophistication and sex
appeal. For once again the brand’s personality is expressed through its
advertisements; rebellious, irreverent, provocative but sexy and stylish.
Pepsi
Pepsi is one of the most popular soft drink brands and has produced some of the
finest advertisements in the world. Although Coca Cola is the most valuable brand
name is the world, its advertisements didn’t seem to attract consumers that much.
On the other hand, Pepsi’s advertisement was chosen by the majority of the
consumers who completed the questionnaire.

The advertisement below shows a Pepsi can and a glass next to it. The ice cubes are
what makes the advertisement look interesting. The ice cubes are so excited to drop
into the glass and taste Pepsi that they actually “raise their hands” when they see the
hand moving towards them. The advertisement is so imaginatively designed that it
actually expresses desire and joy.
The advertisement below again signifies desire. A Pepsi machine is located opposite
of a poster which happens to be one of the most famous ones: I Want You by James
Montgomery Flagg. The man in the poster is actually pointing on the machine
implying that he wants Pepsi.
The design in both advertisements is very simple as the blue colour stands out and
Pepsi’s logo can be seen either on the can or on the Pepsi machine. The ice cubes
and the poster are brought to life through these imaginative advertisements while
they cannot resist the cool taste of Pepsi. The advertisements create the sense of

excitement as well as a young, desirable, spirited, outgoing and cool brand

personality.
Absolut
Absolut is very well known as the king of vodka. Absolut has created over 1000
advertisements and during the past twenty years their campaign has grown and it
has never walked away from its core components. The audience is always
entertained, tickled and puzzled while trying to figure out the meaning of the
advertisement which has strict format: there is always a photograph of the bottle with
its signature glow, a two wit clever headline and all these pictured in a wit, intelligent
and unique overall visual. Absolut advertisements are a combination of design,
simplicity, strategy, communication and clever ideas.
The advertisements below show a lemon peel in the shape of the Absolut Vodka
bottle in a light green background and a two word headline: Absolut Appeal.
The continuity of Absolut advertisements maintains the brand’s image and

personality. The target audience can be any person who is active, youthful,
fashionable and of course legally allowed to drink. The advertisements always follow
its creative principles. The bottle is always the hero. New ideas about how to shape
the Absolut Vodka bottle never stop whereas the headline keeps the fans faithful.

This advertisement below pictures a robot dog in a shape of the Absolut Vodka bottle
and a two word headline: Absolut Fidelity.
Absolut advertisements creates emotional bond because they each of them is

associated with the target’s interests. Absolut Vodka is a successful example that
shows how the use of advertising design can differentiate a brand. Absolut’s brand
personality is; personal, witty, imaginative, clever, abstract and authentic.

Smirnoff
Smirnoff Vodka brand has always been known for its quality. Today, Smirnoff is
known as the most famous premium vodka in the world with distribution in over 150
countries and a number of innovative products, including Smirnoff Ice.
Smirnoff advertisements are well known for the alternative worlds that can be seen
though the Smirnoff bottle. The advertisement below pictures a flock of sheep and a
wolf appearing through the bottle. The advertisements rely on an advanced mixed
montage and manipulation for the perfect image to be achieved. The images have a
quite comical sense but also show a kind of hidden reality since the “through the
bottle” concept shows unforeseen images that otherwise could not be seen.
The design is always kept simple but with a great effort in imagination. The logo is
clear and the headline on the bottom left corner: Pure Smirnoff characterizes the
mystery which can be hidden in everything that looks pure.

The aim of the advertisements is to influence the target audience to drink Smirnoff
because it will make them see things from a different perspective. For example, in
the advertisement above the wolf represents the drinkers and how different they feel
when drinking Vodka. The brand’s personality is presented through Smirnoff’s bottle:
imaginative, creative, authenticity but also surrealistic.
Altoids
Altoids is very well known as the number one peppermint. The “The curiously strong
mints” tag line became the basis of the campaign and measured up to two simple
criteria: that the product and the advertisements are both strong and curious.
The advertisement below pictures a strong man who holds the Altoids distinctive
metal tin. The background colour is a soft dark green which is combined with the bold
red headline: “Nice Altoids”. The black and white hue of the man emphasises the red
colour and makes the headline and the tin stand out more.

The advertisements are all well balanced while the use of space and borders make
the elements more appealing.
The advertisements actually use retro images and elements that represent that
curiously strength feeling. They use things that people can actually relate to their
nostalgic childhood. These can either be robots, spy vs. spy characters, battleships
dolls or so many other.
The Altoids brand personality is expressed through these advertisements as
nostalgic, imaginative but also boring according to the consumer’s responses.
Burger king
Burger King is a popular fast-food industry, with locations in all 50 states and 57
international countries and territories around the world.
The “Undercover” advertisement below shows Ronald McDonald who is the main
character of McDonald’s. Ronald who doesn’t want to be recognised, is wearing a
long coat and stands in front of the till ready to order his Burger King meal.

The fast food market is based on impulse and convenience. The availability of fast
food restaurants is therefore a major factor in the number of customers.
Since the market leader, McDonald’s, has the competitive advantage Burger King’s
advertisements aim to increase restaurant visitor numbers and strengthen its brand
against McDonald’s. In that way the consumer will have the conscious decision to go
to Burger King instead of McDonald’s.
The advertisements challenge McDonald’s using its character and the phrase in the
bottom right corner “It just tastes better” which means that even Ronald prefers
Burger King because it’s better, bigger and tastier.
The following advertisements represent how hot and spicy Burger King is. The first
advertisement pictures a cup which is actually burned because of the hot coffee
inside.

This advertisement simply shows a table in a Burger King restaurant and two
emergency manual fire alarm boxes next to the couches. The image implies that
Burger King’s food is so spicy that the boxes can actually become helpful.
Burger King by the use of simple and clever imagery and a little use of text reveals its
brand personality: tasty, hot and spicy, irresistible and clever.

McDonald’s
McDonald’s is the world'

s leading foodservice retailer with more than 30,000
restaurants, serving nearly 47 million people each day in over 100 countries.
McDonald’s following advertisement
This very well-designed advertisement contains a hidden joke or maybe a

paradoxical situation. The word translation into direct pictures can lead to comical,
absurd and surprising ideas that can be turned into hugely successful campaigns. In
McDonald’s case, the word “food” can be translated into one picture; the service at
McDonald’s drive thru is extremely fast.
The advertisement above is playing with words and specifically with the letter “M”
which is the McDonald’s logo. The advertisement is using words to create pictures
with them. The “lunch time” headline is written normally except for the letter “M” and
the student bag is placed in a way that the “M” is visible. The advertisement shows

how a word can be integrated and transformed into an image without the use of usual
typographic techniques.
McDonald’s advertisements create a brand personality popular to all consumers: fast,
tasty, special, fun and imaginative.
M&m’s
Masterfoods M&m’s is the largest candy brand in the world. The plain chocolate
candies come in six colours: blue, brown, green, orange, red, and yellow.
The campaign, called the "Global Colour Vote" is the largest promotion in the 61-year
history of the M&m’s brand.
The following advertisements from the "Global Colour Vote” campaign shows the
M&m’s characters trying to tell people around the world to vote for the new M&m’s
candy colour: purple, pink, or aqua.
The advertising design and photography is very attractive as the viewer can see the
M&m character visiting different people on their countries and actually trying to speak
on their languages. For example in the advertisement above on the right the tag line
“Favorite color. Favourite colour. Whatever. Just vote okay? “indicates the
differences between the English that US and Britain has. This is therefore another
message that the M&m’s voting is for everyone in the world and that everyone should
take place.

The advertisement below shows the M&m character reading a ‘Thank you’ card and
a chocolate tear in his eye. The advertisement expresses the taste of the M&m’s
chocolate and how sweet they really are. The headline also helps: “Deep down,
they’re all chocolate”.
Strong advertisements reveal strong brands and strong personalities. And these
advertisements show clearly what their M&m’s personality is like: tasty, quality, light-
hearted and funny.
Heinz
Heinz Company is one of the world’s leading producers and marketers of branded
foods in ketchup, condiments, sauces, meals, soups, seafood, snacks and infant
foods.
The following advertisement shows a huge tomato with the Heinz ketchup label on it.
The headline:”Godfather Ketchup!” and the tag line at the bottom: “Ordinary Things.
Extraordinary Taste” emphasizes the Ketchup’s taste and its uniqueness.

Since ketchup is mainly used as a basis for sauces the usage was extremely low.
The advertising focuses on the high quality and taste irresistibility of the Heinz
ketchup and concentrates on the communication of freshness and high quality
ingredients which the Heinz ketchup is made of. The red colour in the advertisement
indicates the importance of the tomato. The elements are all in balance creating a
harmonious environment between the texts and images.
The advertisement above shows a big plastic plate full of tomato ketchup and four
fries in a pack. The advertisement created in the exact opposite way of what people
expected. This however, is an interesting idea that leads to success. Design which is
unusual always indicates imagination and thus creativity.

Heinz designs its brand personality through its advertisements: taste, originality,
uniqueness and imaginative.
The success of any advertising campaign depends on a number of factors. One such
factor is the ability to create a strong brand image within the target audience. To get
the consumer to remember the product or brand at the point of purchase is critical.
Through this section I discussed many different advertisements which tell their own
stories and express the brand personality effectively.
Advertisements can be successful and tell stories in an effective way without the use
of words. Key elements are deployed in the picture in such a way that they say more
about the product than in actually seen. Many of these pictorial messages work
because they invite the viewers, by omission or suggestion to complete the story
themselves, using their own experience and imagination. Viewers are motivated to
work out the meaning in their own heads. An advertisement which represents and
expresses the brand personality effectively is always creative, exactly like the
examples described above: The authentic Adidas, the provocative Benetton, The
comfortable Dexter shoes, the sexy and seductive Sisley, the emotional Louis
Vuitton, the challenging Fcuk, the powerful Nike, The rebellious Diesel, The witty
Absolut vodka, the surrealistic Smirnoff, the nostalgic Altoids mints, he irresistible
Burger King, the fast and tasty Mc Donald’s, the sweet light-hearted M&m’s and the
original Heinz taste.

According to the information obtained from interviews and questionnaires I came with
a general view about how advertising agencies think and work.
Design is vital and extremely important in print advertising which is the most widely
used media. Except for the fact that good design can win awards, it can also be the
“message” of the advertisement itself. After all it’s design and the look of the
advertisement that reflects the brand personality. A brand’s personality should be
communicated in every advertisement a company creates. This can be done by the
use of various methods: by using a full range of brand elements and aligning images
and text that supports the brand personality, simple design, words etc. In whatever
way this is done though, design is critical to the creation of brand equity as well as for
the communication effectiveness. The real personality of the brand should be the
same with the one people comprehend when viewing an advertisement. Otherwise,
the advertisement conveys a wrong message.
All elements of an advertisement are important and equally weighted: corporate
colours, company symbol, name style, logo, sub-graphic, positioning text, project
identity, headline’s typeface, photography etc. However, their use always depends on
the brand, on the audience and on the key selling points.
The ideal advertisement can only be created when advertising agencies have
creativity, imagination and passion of the brand. However, many print advertisements
seem to be unsuccessful, which means that they are unnoticed or unappreciated.
According to Joe Bouch, 90% of print advertising is terrible.
It’s very important for advertising agencies to understand the personality of the brand
and they use numerous methods to achieve that: qualitative or quantitative testing,
consumer research, brand architecture model as said by Arnold Worldwide,
information from the brand’s ID, bridging process according to CK.
Before the creation process begins, advertising agencies have to get some
information from the brands and consumers: some qualitative or quantitative
research, marketer’s feedback, the brand’s essence, the brand’s consumer
proposition and consumer’s undeclared needs. A two day brain dump session with
the client to learn their ‘DNA’ can also provide useful information.
Advertising agencies and clients must have equal involvement in the advertising
development process. In any other case, the process simply won’t work effectively.
Client’s responsibility is to communicate the marketing needs whereas the role of
advertising agencies is to bring life to this communication. So, good results mean
good partnership between advertising agency and client.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
Brand personality communicates deep and fundamental meaning about the brand.
Building brand personality means building an effective bond with consumers. Print
advertising is a one of the most important tools for creating brand personality as it
can show the brand’s characteristics and ‘behaviour’. Advertising design has the
ability to create stories about the brand. The creation of a brand’s personality helps
consumers form a closer relationship with the brand.
Consumers eat, drink or wear products that reflect their own personalities and
lifestyles. Therefore consumers are what they consume. And advertising works
based on that idea. Advertising can build a strong and positive relationship between
the brand and the target audience. Advertising integrate products into consumer’s
minds by adding values, giving life and personality to a brand. Then the product
leaves its vague picture behind and becomes a brand with strong personality that
consumers can identify.
What advertising aims to achieve is to give brands more meaning and more
substance. Through the design and the strategic thinking of advertising the brand can
achieve a strong personality. In order to build and provide the brand with a
personality, advertising agencies need to understand consumer’s needs and
generally how they think. The brand’s core values and essence are also important for
the brand’s personality creation. The advertising agency needs to know everything
about the brand in order to succeed the creation of the brand’s personality. The
transfer of the brand personality to the advertised product is completed when the
brand personality becomes a component of the brand image. After the brand
personality has been connected to the advertised product, the brand personality will
be connected to the consumer. Advertising agencies want the consumers to choose
and consume the advertised brand as well as to become loyal to it.
Consumers interpret the advertisement in order to comprehend and actually “create”

the brand’s personality in their minds. However, it’s not certain that the consumer will
comprehend the real personality immediately as every person thinks differently. After
all, there are so many words that can describe personality characteristics. This
means that the personality is not only created through the advertising design but also
through the consumer’s mind. For this reason, advertising agencies follow some

research methods in order to understand consumers and create a successful

advertisement. Focus groups for example are used to determine how the brand is
seen, felt and experienced.
In print advertising, brand personality can also be created by transferring the

personality of the character placed in the advertisement. A good example is the
M&m’s advertisements were its characters are often used. This gives the opportunity
to consumers to humanize the brand and give it a real human personality.
The feeling and meaning of a brand’s personality can be also be interpreted through
a number of ways; Colour use, space, font choice, headline, character, company
symbol, name style, logo, sub-graphic, positioning text, project identity, illustrations,
photography etc. All these elements and much more can communicate a feeling, a
mood or a persona for the brand. If everything is combined properly, then every
element relies on each other and makes the advertising design successful and
balanced whereas the advertisement itself attractive and visually appealing. Both
copywriting and art direction are important for the advertisement’s creation process
and they should communicate in order to achieve an effective result.
This following diagram visually explains how the advertising agencies and clients
partnership should interact in order to represent the brand personality effectively
though advertising design.
The client’s role is to communicate the marketing needs whereas the advertising
agency is responsible in bringing this communication to life. The agency makes
research and seeks information from consumers and their client (qualitative or
quantitative research, the brand’s essence, focus groups, consumer’s needs etc.)
After the agency gathers all the information, the creation process begins. The
process includes the art direction and copywriting; rough scrabbles, scamps, visuals
sketched in pencil or maker pen, 2-3 alternative layouts, client’s approval,
photography, lettering, typesetting etc. How effective the overall design of the
advertisement is, depends on the imagination, passion and creativity which are vital
for the creation process. The design in an advertisement then communicates the
brand’s personality.

Information from clients: qualitative or quantitative testing, information from the

brand’s ID, consumer research, various methods such as the brand architecture
model and bridging process etc.
Information from consumers: qualitative or quantitative research, marketer’s
feedback, the brand’s essence, focus groups, the brand’s consumer proposition,
consumer’s undeclared needs etc.
Creation process: rough scrabbles, scamps, visuals sketched in pencil or maker
pen, 2-3 alternative layouts, client’s approval, photography, lettering, typesetting,
printing etc.

Essential factors: Passion, Creativity and Imagination.

Design: corporate colours, company symbol, name style, logo, sub-graphic,
positioning text, project identity, illustrations, headline’s typeface, photography etc. All
these to support brand personality.
The importance of the topic seems evident. Advertising is known as the most
important communication tool and with every advertisement brand personality is built.
Understanding how brand personality is created through advertising design is
essential for the improvement of the design and thus the effectiveness of
communication between the advertising agency and client partnership.
A brand is the face that advertising agencies presents to the world. And each face
has a personality which is created through advertising design.


REFERENCES
Bibliography
Belch, George E. (2004) Advertising and Promotion: an integrated marketing

communications perspective, The McGraw Hill
Helen Vaid (2003) Branding. Brand strategy, design and implementation of corporate
and product identity, Cassell Illustrated
O’Guinn, Thomas C., Chris T. Allen and Richard J. Semenik. (2000) Advertising,
Second edition, South- western College Publishing
Amy Arntson, C. (1993) Graphic Design Basics, Second Edition, Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich
Frank Jefkins (1999) Advertising, Fourth edition, FT Prentice Hall
Jonathan Mantle (1999) Benetton: The Family, the Business and the Brand , Little,
Brown
Rita Clifton and Esther Maughan (2000), Twenty-five visions. The future of brands,
Interbrand Newell and Sorrell
Lisa Hickley (2002) Design Secrets :Advertising, Rockport
Gareth Williams (2000) Branded, V & A Publications
Mario Pricken (2004) Creative advertising : ideas and techniques from the world'
s
best campaigns, Paperback
Dave Saunders (1999) Twentieth-century Advertising, Carlton Books
Catherine Stewart (1996) Superbrands. An insight into 50 of the world’s superbrands

Volume II, Creative & Commercial Communications Ltd

Moi Ali (1997) Copywriting, Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd
Angela Goddard (2002) The language of advertising, Second edition,Routledge
Books Nippan (1998) 1998 British Design & Art Direction: The 36th Annual of the
Best in British and International Advertising and Design, Gingko Pr Inc
John Philip Jones (1999) How to Use Advertising to Build Strong Brands, Sage
Publications
David Aaker (1995) Building Strong Brands, Free Press
Kevin Lane Keller (2003) Strategic brand management: building, measuring, and
managing brand equity, Second edition, Prentice Hall
Jeremy Myerson (2002) Rewind: forty years of design & advertising, Phaidon Press
Art Directors Club (1999) Best of European Design & Advertising. Best of European
Design & Advertising, Books Nippan
Naomi Klein (2002) No Logo, Picador
World Wide Web Site Documents
Senthil Ganesan (2002) Benetton group: Unconventional advertising [online], Gobal

CEO. Available from:
www.strangelove.com/slideshows/articles/Benetton_group_unconventional_advertisi
ng.pdf
Scott Davis and Tina Longoria (2003) Harmonizing your touchpoints [online],Brand
Packaging. Available from: www.prophet.com/knowledge/articles/downloads/
Harmonizing%20Your%20Touchpoints%20(SD%20TL).pdf
Nicholas Ind (2003) A brand of enlightenment [online] Beyong Branding.Available

from: www.beyond-branding.com/chapters/enlightenment.htm

World Wide Web Sites
http://www.brandchannel.com
http://www.olinda.com/ArtAndIdeas/lectures/Benetton/benettonIntro.htm
http://www.dmc.co.uk/index.php?bz00MQ==
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/lmg9302.html
http://www.soliscompany.com/fcju4wo.html
http://www.adflip.com/
http://www.emediaplan.com/admunch/Brands/Brands.asp
http://www.clickz.com/experts/brand/brand/article.php/2237521
http://www.indiaco.com/resource-center/building-brands-personality.html
http://www.business2000.ie/cases/cases/case19.htm
http://groups.haas.berkeley.edu/marketing/PAPERS/AAKER/BOOKS/BUILDING/bra
nd_personality.html
http://www.adrants.com/2003/04/sisley-how-does-this-advertising-
make.php?show_id=200116500
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:WVjcXGru9lIJ:www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-
bin/iowa/%3Fpage%3Dcolumn%26record%3D23+sisley+ads&hl=en
http://www.studio5tv.com/pub/sisley/sisley.htm
http://www.diageo.com/pageengine.asp?menu_id=0&site_id=1&section_id=2&page_i
d=1037
http://www.adforum.com
http://www.adage.com
http://www.allaboutbranding.com
Companies list
Amvbbdo - www.amvbbdo.co.uk
Adworks - www.adworks.com
Almapbbdo - www.Almapbbdo.com.br
Amazon advertising - www.Amazonadv.com
Arnold worldwide - www.arnoldworldwide.com
Bates Red Cell - www.bates.no

Bbdo - www.bbdo.com
Bbkstudio - Bbkstudio.com
Euro RSCG - www.eurorscg.com
clifffreeman - www.clifffreeman.com
Cramer-Krasselt - www.c-k.com
Daiko - www.daiko.co.jp
TBWA - Tbwa.com
Doner Cardwell Hawkins - www.donercardwellhawkins.co.uk
Foote Cone & Belding Worldwide - www.fcb.pt
Fallon - Fallon.com
Fcb - Fcb.com
Saatchi and Saatchi - www.Saatchi.com
Free style interactive - www.freestyleinteractive.com
Gilliatt Paris - www.gilliattparis.com
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners - www.goodbysilverstein.com/
Haines mcgregor - www.hainesmcgregor.co.uk
Leo burnett - www.leoburnett.com
Lewis Moberly - www.lewismoberly.com
Martin Williams - MartinWilliams.com
Minale Tattersfield Design Strategy - www.mintat.co.uk
Mullen - www.mullen.com
Ogilvy - www.ogilvy.com
Pentagram - www.pentagram.com
Slaughter Hanson - www.slaughterhanson.com
Brand story tellers - www.brandstorytellers.com
TIEMPO/BBDO – www.tiempobbdo.com
www.turnerduckworth.com

Wcrs - www.Wcrs.com
wongdoody - www.wongdoody.com/
Richards - www.richards.com
Hhcc - www.Hhcc.com
Brandarch - www.Brandarch.com
BBDO - www.Bbdo.com
Bear Advertising - www.bearadv.com
The Brownstein Group - www.brownsteingroup.com
CTS Advertising - www.ctsadv.com
Clarke Goward - www.clarkegoward.com
DDB worldwide - www.db.com
Fahlgren - www.lsy.com
Farago Advertising - www.farago.com
Freebairn & Company - www.freebairn.com
J. Walter Thompson Worldwide - www.jwtworld.com

APPENDICES
Focus Groups
Open discussion – took in place in Greece

The team’s names:
Valia Doukaki Maria Karabaliou
Chris Dolkas Evi Katsouri
Nicholas Protogiros Antonis Paparisvas
Efi Antoniou Pepi Kalpaka
Questionnaire - Consumers
The questionnaire was created with the help of Question Builder

(http://www.questionbuilder.com/).
The consumer’s questionnaire is available on the following link:
http://www.questionbuilder.com/console/TakeSurvey?id=10461
Questionnaire - Companies
The questionnaire was send to all the companies written in the reference section.
The same questions were asked during the interviews.
Covering letter
Dear Sir / Madam,
My name is Marita Dolka and I am student of the MA Design and Branding Strategy
course in Brunel University, West London. I' m currently doing my research on my
dissertation based on print advertising and brand personality. My research is based
on fashion brands and consumer product brands. I would be really grateful if you
could spend some of your precious time to answer some of my questions. My
dissertation deadline is on the 19th of August so I would really appreciate if you reply
to my questionnaire as soon as you can.
Thank you so much in advance. Have a lovely summer.
Best regards,
Marita Dolka

Responses
Q1.Your Name
A. Hayley Roe
B. Vinay Parihar
C. Kitty Lun
D. Jack Bryce
E. Kate Harper
F. Joe bouch
G. Kate Harrison
Q2.Your email
A. Hayley@hainesmcgregor.co.uk
B. vinayparihar@hotmail.com
C.
D. jbryce@minalebryce.com.au
E. Kate.harper@jwt.com
F.
G.
Q3.Your Company and Role
A. Haines McGregor Client Services Director

B. Viadynamics, Innovation Consultant
C. General Manager & Executive Creative Director Arnold Worldwide China
D. Minale Bryce Design Strategy Principal, Urban Design Director
E. JWT – Board Director
F. Cramer-Krasselt Orlando
Vice President, General Manager
G. Head of Account Management
Q4.Your Age
A. 26-30
B.18-25
C.46-55
D. 36-45
E. 26-35
F. 46-55
G. 26-35
Q5. Is it necessary for the advertising agency to understand the personality of

the brand? What methods do you use to achieve that? How important is that to
the advertisement' s creation process?
A. It is essential that agencies – advertising and brand development understand the

personality of the brand – but the real objective is to understand what drives the
relationship between the brand’s essence (ie the most pivotal reason that
consumers buy x brand over y) and a consumer’s need.
B. Yes – not just the brand and brand values – but every aspect of their client –
where they are today – and where they want to be tomorrow.

C. Yes. The Arnold approach is a model called brand architecture and we

interrogate the brand essence – we believe every brand has a rational core and an
emotional wrapping. In order to interrogate the brand essence thoroughly, we need
client to provide the brand’s ID card with all the brand’s functionality; previous
advertising and marketing communication form a good historical check. Consumer
research is also key. If there is no data, we usually run consumer focus groups.
D. Minale Bryce Design Strategy is not an advertising agency. We are a multi-
disciplinary design firm Identity and image design Signage and environmental
graphics Interior design Urban design
Agencies need to be briefed re the brand personality and use of the bran elements
for use in advertising by the design firm that created the brand
E. Vital to process as this is the connection point ultimately with consumer. Many
ways to access this – most commonly used is qualitative research with consumer – a
successful brand will keep sense checking with consumers as the brand develops
and refine communication accordingly
F. Yes.
We utilize a process called bridging.
The truth is that creative organizations thrive on chaos, change and midnight pizza.
So a process is never as paint-by-the-numbers as agencies, including C-K, often
imply. Conversely, the theories behind most processes are never as complex as
they’re often made to seem.
At C-K, our work is driven by a simple truth: People ignore ideas that ignore them.
Bridging is a tool we use to make sure our work connects. The goal of
Bridging is quite simple and literal: to connect your brand to the people
it must attract and close the distance that exists between them
This distance is a real thing.

No matter the nature of your brand, there’s a gap of untapped potential. Bridging,
with its built-in consumer dialogue and its ability to inspire powerful creative closes
the gap. Finds the connection. And creates opportunity.
Emotional insight
The Brand at Into the people
Rational Strength It’s Most Magnetic we need to reach
BRAND--------------------THE BRIDGE----------------CONSUMER
Here’s how Bridging works:

It’s a simple process, really. We’ve worked hard to keep it that way.
But it does take a lot of homework, some bare-knuckled analysis and a lot of
imagination. We begin with some deep and fast learning about your category, your
brand and your target. And we make sense of what we learn by distilling key insights
into a concise Knowledge Inventory:
BRAND
Category
Competition
Life
Consumer
This becomes the essential reference point for what comes next And that’s a
Strategic Brainstorm. Here we first work as a group to reach two critical areas of
agreement:

The target bottom line

Who are they, really?
What drives them in the category?
The brand bottom line

What fundamentally does it stand for?
What equities or attributes should we leverage?
We put these two bottom lines next to one another. And, invariably, we see the
opportunity gap between them.
Now we’ve reached a critical juncture in the process. Here analysis meets
imagination as we identify potential Brand Connections to close the gap. Usually
there’s more than one Brand Connection that seems true, so we typically move into
Evaluation mode, searching for the Connection that will make the brand truly
resonate in the lives of the target.
And once we’ve found it… once the truth clicks into place...we build all our
messaging around the Connection.
G. Absolutely, for commercial success, an agency must understand the personality of
a brand, guide the personality of a brand (be brand guardians), build the personality
of a brand or help change a personality of a brand if markets/consumers demands.
Agencies use many methods, but qual/quant testing is the most widely used. The
creative development of advertising to support any brand in market is centred around
the brand message required :– the message that is most credible, relevant and
motivating to the consumer. However the brand personality is important to increase
or maintain differentiation and appeal and hence this plays an integral role in creative
development.
Q6. Have you even had any difficulty in communicating the brand'
s personality
in a print advertisement? If yes what do you think went wrong?
A. HMc are a brand development agency

B. Print advertising is one of the most challenging and yet important methods of
communicating the brand. It is probably the most accessible for of communication –
but is limited, lacking animation and sound. This constraint requires advertising
agencies and those involved with the creation of print advertising to communicate
their message using pictures, illustrations and text – in order to do this effectively – it
is vital that the agency creating the advertisement understands what their client is
trying to accomplish.
C. No. What can be articulated can be communicated. Creativity is the key.
D. The brand and brand elements should be used consistently in all communications
E. Yes we had an example of recently with some fragrance advertising where we had
to demonstrate a ‘daring’ brand personality using a well known celebrity whose own
personality attributes were well known for this – all good in principle but hard to
communicate in a static medium
F. Difficult question to answer.In a full-page age, communicating the brand’s
personality can always be accomplished. But if you are confined by space,
communicating a personality can become a very difficult task, and is likely a waste of
budget for the client.
G. No.
Q7.What kind of information do you get from the brands before you begin the
creation process?
A. We try to uncover the brand’s essence – using a number of techniques.

Document attached.
B. I am not involved in the creation of print advertising – so my answers are
somewhat subjective – based on what I have seen and heard. But as I have stated –
the agency must have a good understanding of the market in which their client is
competing, understand the client’s entire business system – consumer, channel and
distribution, regulatory, business strategy, supply chain, technology and product
platforms, competitors and brand. They must also know what the company is trying
to achieve strategically – where they are today – want to be tomorrow – and how
they propose to achieve this. The advertising proposals must be in line with this
strategy.
C. The brand essence. The brand’s consumer proposition. All the hard and soft
facts of the brand.
D. Our firms role is generally the creation of the brand.
E. This varies hugely – we might have some qualitative or quantitative research as
well as the marketeers feedback. We might also do some investigation of our own
F. When an account is new, we conduct a 2 to 3 day brain dump session with the
client to learn everything we can possibly learn about the brand.
G. What is their DNA? Namely – what promise do they offer, does the brand and
product mean the same to consumer or something different, how long have they
been around and what is their communications history, who do they appeal to vs
who’s actually buying them, what market/category/business are they in, what
competitive advantage do they offer the client company etc etc…
What is the marketing or communications task? Namely – what’s the role of
communications as part of the marketing plan. For example, are we attracting new
or existing customers, is the task more brand-led (continue to build
personality/positioning) or sales-led (continue to build personality/positioning but sell
an offer), is it a launch or a continuation, what’s the competition doing, what does
success look like etc etc…
Q8.Do you believe it'

s possible that design in print advertising can
communicate the brand' s personality effectively?
A. Design is an extremely effective medium for driving brand choice at POS/POP –

75% of decisions are made within this space/time frame. As media has become more
and more fragmented – and brands no longer have the luxury of share of voice
above the line it is imperative that design communicates the personality at POP and
is able to motivate, and portray a relevant, distinctive and memorable message.
B. Yes, there are many examples of a message being conveyed effectively through
print. E.g. Benneton – the united colours of benneton and the use of visual imagery
to help bridge cultural barriers. Some of their advertising has been controversial, but
one has to question whether this has actually enhanced or damaged their brand
equity.
C. yes
D. Yes –through using the full range of brand elements and aligning images and text
that supports the brand personality. Discussing the approach to the print advertising
with the brand designers. Also choosing images and text that supports the brand
elements and the approach of the company.
E. Yes – we know from our print creative alone on Rimmel cosmetics that what we
visualise in print has transformed the consumer impression from a dusty old brand
you wouldn’t be seen dead with to a cool edgy brand from London with real attitude
as embodied in the personality of Kate Moss. Simple design additions like the British
flag and other icons can really bring this to life
F. I answered that before but in short, yes
G. Absolutely.

Q9. If yes how do you think this is done?
A. Consumers look for a design to portray how they look and feel about themselves
and how they wish to be perceived by others – if design is able to tap into
consumers underlying needs – ie the need for affiliation, status, comfort in the drinks
market and design against these motivations they have the key to a successful
design e.g. Baileys – need for comfort
B. This is done by understanding all the points I listed above – a deep understanding
of who the company really is and what they are trying to achieve – it must go beyond
bottom line financials – benneton’s mission was not just about being the highest
volume fashion brand for their target group – but about bridging cultural gaps and
challenging assumptions.
C. A brand’s personality should be communicated in every ad a company does,
whether it is dedicated to communicate the personality only.
Print is one of the most widely used media anyway. It has no choice but to be
effective as an advertising medium, be it brand personality or other sales messages.
Personality can be expressed through an ad’s tone and manner which can be
created through the words and pictures you provide. A good creation will help the
effectiveness of the communication.
D. See above.
E. Often slowly and overtime -
F. The bottom line is that Design is critical to the creation of brand equity. I think you
will often find instances where a company has great technology and great chemistry,
but they failed because they didn’t get the product design or package design or print
design right, and the consumer couldn’t appreciate what the product had to offer.
Design, whether in print or any other medium, must project an instantly recognizable
brand with a clear brand promise. Consumers must clearly see who the brand is and
what that brand can do for them.
G. The same way personality is communicated through any media on the planet.
Through tone, look and feel.
Q10. How important is design in print advertising? Explain your answer briefly.
A. As above
B. Design is vital – particularly the management of the process. One must ensure
that all relevant information has been obtained before embarking on a project. And
that the design team is working towards the right brief.
C. Extremely.
It helps an ad’s appeal, stopping power and the design is also a reflection of what we
want to say and how we want our readers to FEEL. The “design” can be the
message.
D. Important
E. Good design in print advertising wins awards and can capture the imagination of
the consumer – it is incredibly important
F. Very.
G. Highly. Design adds craft to print executions through colour, typography or art
direction – the look of the ad is as important as its message as this reflects brand
personality and brand values too.
Q11. In an advertisement what elements (e.g. colour copy, photograph, design

etc.) help brand personality to be communicated? Are all the elements equally
important? Can you distinguish the most important one?

A. As long as the central essence is being captured in the most relevant, motivating
and appealing way the advert should be successful – all elements are equally
weighted.
B. It is difficult to distinguish the most important element – but again for some
companies words might be more important than images – it all depends on the client,
what their business is about and what message they are trying to convey.
C. Everything.
This is not science. You cannot put a number to art. And there is no rule to creation.
A good creator can distinguish what is important every time he/she does an
application. And it will be different every time.
D. Corporate colours,Company Symbol,Namestyle,Logo,Supporting colours,Sub-
graphic,Positioning text,Project identity and brand elements
E. Print advertising is designed to communicate the brands personality, essence and
also whatever message is being communicated ie it could be a launch of a new
product. All elements should be seen to contribute to the whole ie size, colour,
choice of typeface in headline can either shout about a brand, or play perhaps to a
sensitive message. Choice and direction of photographer, or illustrator etc is also
vital.
F. Depends on the brand.
Depends on the audience.
Depends on the Key selling points.
David Ogilvy would tell you that a full-page ad with only copy, if properly written to the
personality of the brand, can be as powerful and engaging as an ad with color and
powerful visuals. I happen to think creatives have become lazy over the years and
do not use the written word enough, i.e., they rely too much on visual and design.
G. any advertisement really is the sum or its parts.
Q12. Can you please give some examples of your work that you believe that
they communicate the brand' s personality effectively? What is the objective of
the advertisement and who is the target market?
A. Attached in brand essence document

B. I’m afraid I don’t work in print advertising.
C. Alcatel mobile phone in China. Building a brand requires on-going consistent
effort and in every thing we do.
Every ad has the responsibility to communicate the brand’s personality – cool, young,
trendy, full of attitude, not afraid to change.
D. Felix brochure for property development used the brand elements consistently
supported by images and text with art directed photography
E. Example is Rimmel cosmetics – audience are 18-24 year old women around the
globe. The brand is all about a streetwise, party girl London attitude which is why we
chose Kate Moss as the face of the brand. All the print and TV work is designed in
terms of look, style, music, fashion to communicate the brand’s personality
F. Advertisements send to me via email
G. Fairy non bio “Every part of everybody loves Fairy soft clothes” camapign.
Objective: To continue to build Fairy’s softness brand equity and appeal to mum’s
maternal care when doing her family’s laundry.
Department for Transport – child road safety “Hedgehogs” campaign. Objective: to

continue to make kids aged 6-11 safe road-side by ensuring road safety messages
are fun and interesting and not boring like at school.
Heinz Ketchup “can’t eat without it” campaign. Objective: to ensure Heinz ketchup is
a staple condiment at any table in Britain.

Q13. Can you please describe with 3 words the personality of 3 (or as many as
you want) brands of your choice?
A. Haagen Dazs – Sensual Abandonment

Sharwoods – Spirit of Adventure
Guinness – Power, Goodness, Communion
B.
C. Marlboro – masculine, freedom, Americana
Kodak – warm, family, fun
SONY – innovative, cult, design
D. Felix – urbane, sophisticated, contemporary
Queensland Government- Sunshine, business, environment
ICC - values, global, the game
E. Coca Cola: Family, clean, fun
Nike: unstoppable, American, sweat
Ipod: connection, unlimited, surprising
BMW: class, precision, sophistication
F. Jeep: Adventure; Great outdoors; All terrain vehicle
Disney: Fantasy, Fun and Big Ears
Nathan’s Hot Dogs: Coney Island; Cotton Candy, and Hot Dogs
OK, so I used more than 3 words. Oops.
G. Can’t think any right now.
Q14. Can you please give me some examples of non successful print
advertisements?
A. Don’t specialise in print – none come to mind

B.
C. Many.
Catalogue type print ads that expresses everything a client wants to say without any
imagination and creativity
D.
E. Non successful might mean unnoticed or unappreciated
Ads that encourage drivers to speed
Big logos, confused message, too much information, poor quality visual – not
engaging
F. Don’t have time to capture and talk about.
But suffice to say that 90% of print advertising SUCKS.
G. Most APR/finance advertising from the financial services sector.
Q15. According to your experience do you believe that the real personality of
the brand is the same with the one people comprehend when seeing an
advertisement?
A. No
B. Sometimes brand and business values are different – but usually connect. Brand
personality implies an implicit reaction to a brand – we react to brand in certain ways
without realising we are doing it… or why. Some exploit this within their consumer
segmentation – but I believe that design has a huge role to play – design connects
business to all stakeholders – and you must get it right and insure that the correct
message is being conveyed.
C. Depends.
There are a lot of wishful thinking. Client thinks and wishes one way but does not
communicate effective so consumers’ comprehension is quite different from clients’

“visions”.
D.
E. Lynx has cool brand advertising that people love but is still bought largely by
spotty teenagers (look at BBH agency website for case study)
F. It better be the same or you’ve missed the mark and likely overpromised.
G. It should be if the advertising is right.
Q16. What kind of research is necessary for the creation of an advertisement?

advertisement?
A. Understanding consumers undeclared needs – the ones they won’t readily tell you
in a focus group. Need to get to more fundamental needs – using projective
techniques – understanding consumer behaviour – jung and fraud based stuff this!
Worth looking at Need Scope used by Taylor Nelson Sofres and being bought by a
number of the big blue chip companies
B. Specified above – all areas surrounding the business system
C. Research is good for many things – understand consumer insights and tracking
results.
But I do not believe research helps creation. Otherwise, you don’t need to pay high
salaries to creative people and just get some research people to do it.
People saying research is necessary is only a justification of certain roles and certain
processes.
D.
E. Review of competition, some desktop research, some qualitative and quantitative
check with consumers –
Or equally none of the above
F. As much as possible.
C-K is a HUGE believer in research – primary, secondary, grandmother, you name it.
Our Bridging process, explained above, is wrapped in the premise of research
G. None is necessary. Some is sometimes helpful and this can be qual or quant
depending on the nature of the brand, message, media, quality of stimulus material
and time available.
Q17. What do you consider to be the most important factors of creating the
ideal advertisement?
A. Understanding the key drivers for consumer choice – getting to the bottom of the
consumers relationship with the brand in question – what is motivating them to buy x
over y brand?
B. Ensuring that the project is correctly managed and that the correct number and
type of choices have been exploited.
C. creativity
D. Using the brand elements with a strong simple message and images that support
the image and identity
E. Meeting a real consumer need and connecting with consumers through
communication
Being in the same place as a client and sharing an objective in the communication
Creating something that captures the imagination
F. Passion for the brand.
You have to believe it is what it is.
Abraham Lincoln once ended a letter by apologizing for its length. “I would have
written a shorter one,” he explained, “but I didn’t have time.” That kind of hard

thinking and compression is what great print is about, and why we ask our creatives
to start with print. Paring your concept down to the barest essentials is a very
demanding discipline, but if you can break it down to just an image and a phrase,
you’ve really nailed it.
G. It is compelling but truthful. Creativity.
Q18. Many people believe that the outcome of a creative advertisement is

entirely down to the agency itself. In your opinion what role does the client
play here?
A. A wealth of experience – hopefully! On his/her brand – experience of the sector –

experience of how the key stakeholders will react – ie internal and external
audiences – boston consulting group said 90% of initiatives fail if internal
stakeholders have not been covered off.
B. The client must provide information of their requirements – not behave as though
the agency is an external entity not worth respecting – if they are to get a good
project they must be willing to share and work together with the agency.
C. No no no.
The client is more important than the agency.
Most agencies are able to come up with good creative ads.
It takes extremely imaginative and smart clients to understand and believe in
creativity and allow the best ads to see the light of the day.
D. Communicate their vision of the company and the project, manage the input of
other stakeholders
E. Client plays a vital role in communicating the marketing need, the agency brings
this to life through communication. But as with many things a good partnership
between agency and client should bring best results
F. C-K has always believed that the agency and the client have to have equal
involvement in the advertising development process or the process simply won’t
work.
G. It is an absolutely equal partnership. Good advertising is never the product of the
agency alone, but of a joint client-agency team.

M Dolka

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

M Dolka

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

M Dolka

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Brunel University MA Design And Branding Strategy

DM5098B Brand Personality Creation Through Advertising Design

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 1

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 2

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 3

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 4

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 5

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 6

In this paper I develop an understanding about how design in printed advertisements

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 7

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 8

Advertising is all around us. Advertising has become a strange breed of

Advertising is a paid form of communicating a message about an organisation,

Creativity in advertising is a very important and also an interesting aspect of the

Advertising design is using visually appealing copy, graphic elements or both to

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 9

Consequently there is a reason that brands rely on advertising agencies. Advertising

A printed advertisement process goes though a number of stages. Firstly, the

The development advertising research is used to generate advertising messages and

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 10

profiling are fundamental to effective campaign planning and rely on advertising

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 11

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 12

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 13

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 14

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 15

rely on sales promotion devices, such as coupons, contests, and rebates, as a

The overall impact of an illustration is determined by its most basic components,

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 16

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 17

A brand is a combination of names, slogans, logos, product design, packaging,

A brand needs us to feel an emotional attachment that arises because we regard it

Brand personality is an attractive and appealing concept in the marketing of today. It

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 18

Alternatively, designers can approach it in a '

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 19

costumer care, public affairs, exhibits etc. 9 Each touchpoint is an opportunity to

Communication is a fundamental aspect of human existence and advertising is

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 20

KEY QUESTIONS, AIMS & OBJECTIVES

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 21

Is advertising design always how it should be?

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 22

Aim and objectives

What I wish to accomplish is to enhance advertising design in creating brand

To understand consumer’s opinions about brands and advertisements. This will

To choose, describe and review several brands and their personalities in

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 23

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 24

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 25

Tools such as interviews and questionnaires were particularly important for me

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 26

Minale Tattersfield and Partners is an independent design organisation, ranked

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 27

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 28

Successful results must provide advance knowledge and contribute to the

Panagiota Maria Dolka - 002394/1 29