BRAND
SPOTIFY, A DIGITAL MUSIC SERVICE WHERE USERS HAVE ACCESS TO MILLIONS OF SONGS IN STREAMING.
CHALLENGE
INCREASE VALUE AND SUBSCRIPTIONS OF SPOTIFY BUSINESS ACCOUNT  THROUGH A CONVERSATION PIECE BETWEEN SPOTIFY, SWEDISH SMALL BUSINESSES THAT CARE ABOUT MUSIC (BARS, RESTAURANTS AND BOUTIQUES) AND COSTUMERS.
SOLUTION
MUSIC MAGNET, AN APP TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES TO CREATE AN EXPERIENCE AND BRAND THEMSELVES THROUGH THE MUSIC THEY PLAY, ALLOWING PEOPLE TO CURATE MUSIC BASED ON THE PLACES THEY’VE BEEN AND LIKE. 

Starting point:
Spotify ask us to develop an interactive and collaborative playlist where consumers could co-create with staff.  The interactive playlist needed to help owners and staff to curate the music being played throughout the day and attract consumers to the places where the new service would be used. 
My role:
Strategist lead, project manager and participating in ideation and prototyping processes.
Process:
We scheduled the four-week project into; Research & Strategy, Ideation & Concept, Prototyping & Design.

1. Research & Strategy

We talked to owners, staff and consumers in order to get their insights and understand their needs regarding the music that has been playing and also to check Spotify’s hypothesis:

“Small local owners and staff members have user experience problems and need an easy way to interact with their playlists”  and “Customers want to interact with music that’s being played”. 

Relevant insights changed our brief:

On the one hand, owners and staff members didn’t have user experience problems. On the other hand, all targets were skeptical about interactive and collaborative playlists.
DEBRIEF: We proposed Spotify to focus on another relevant fact that we had found:
Even though, staff and owners cared about the music they played, customers didn't care enough (Often, they only realized music was being played if they didn’t like the song that was playing).

So, we decided to focus on customers' behaviour, twisting Spotify strategy. 

New approach and new starting point:

Make people more aware of the music being played in the places where they go, increasing the business' relevance and engagement.

2. Ideation & Concept

We created Music Magnet as an easy and engaging way for people to curate music based on where they go and what they do, being more aware of the music played around them and making small businesses into their new curators.

3. Prototyping & Design

We prototyped our product to better develop UI & UX. A focused design process where users were involved, to validate and test every step we took.
 

proposal: 

We created Music Magnet as an app that lets users collect and explore all the music that’s playing around them from a Spotify account.
They can then see when and where they heard the music, listen to the songs again, add it to their playlists and get new inspiration and curation from the places they have been.
All people have to do is turn their Music Magnet on and they will passively get all the songs. Using the iBeacon that came with the iOS7 (technology allows mobile apps to recognize when an iPhone is near a small wireless sensor and transmits data), phones sense when people are close to an active Spotify account and collects what is playing.
Then, by combining filters people can create their own playlist filtering by; Time, genres, location… which are then saved and listened to in Spotify.
In addition, users have the option to “follow” small businesses and gain access to all their playlists. Furthermore, brands have the opportunity to speak one-to one with their followers and offer them relevant content related to their activities. 

Results

Spotify was engaged with the idea and is waiting for this year’s budget to present it to its stakeholders. 

BRAND
MER IS A LOVED SWEDISH SOFT DRINK BRAND OWNED BY THE COCA-COLA COMPANY.
CHALLENGE
ENGAGE TEENS AND CHANGE CHILDISH MER’S BRAND PERCEPTION AMONG THEM WHILE DRIVING THEM TO THE POINT-OF-SALE.
SOLUTION
WE CREATED THE SHAKE MOVEMENT, A SOCIAL MOVEMENT SPREAD AROUND SWEDEN TO CHALLENGE TEENS AND GIVE THEM TOOLS AND CONVERSATION PIECES TO ENJOY AND EXPERIENCE MER.

Starting point: 
Coca-Cola came to Hyper Island to challenge us with a 2-day Coca-Cola Hackathon with the following brief:  “Come up with a disruptive digital idea to reach Swedish teens and drive them to POS, positioning the brand as a cool brand among the target to be solved in 48hours and presented in a 1-minute video  and a 5-minute pitch”
My role:
Responsible for leading the strategic aspect and pitch, and participating in the process of ideation and creation.

The Strategy

Insight:

We found that even though MER is a much-loved brand among Swedes, teenagers stop drinking it because even they like the product, they perceive MER to be a children's brand. 

How could we change MER’s brand perception?

We believed that in order to drive teens to the POS, first we needed to change the brand perception and connect again with the target. We wanted to position MER as a brand that is cool, fun, spontaneous, and bold – connecting with teenagers' values and attitudes.

How could we engage teens?

Teenagers are energetic, experimental, competitive and love having fun. Friendship is also important and they love to share their experiences in both the real and the digital world.  
Therefore, why not create a simple, fun and engaging competition that they could experience and share with their friends?

We thought about what makes MER unique, in comparison with other sodas. We came up with the fact that MER is not a carbonated soda, so unlike others, it still delicious and refreshing after it´s been shaken. 

Therefore, we translated the product truth into the following benefit: 

Creative idea:

We wanted teens to experience the benefit and spread it in an exaggerated and fun way. 

The Campaign

Interactive vending machines:

To kick off the integrated campaign, we aimed to place MER ‘SHAKE ME’ interactive vending machines in high-traffic areas around Sweden by going on tour. These vending machines will have a ‘SHAKE ME’ copy placed prominently at the front, which beckons the consumers. (A #shakemer will also be created for media shares on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.)  When shaken, the vending machine will light up from red, amber to green (similar to MER’s logo) to show the progress. When completed, a bottle of MER dispenses, surprising the consumer.
People will be able to follow the vending machines on MER’s Facebook page and the app. The action will be recorded in order to produce short clips which greatly promotes MER. The clips will be posted in Facebook and YouTube

Call-to-action app:

We created the SHAKATHON app, a game infused with friendly competition and playfulness to drive them to the point of sales through a call to action.
A simple game where users are competing with their friends in a battle to see who can be the first to fill up a bottle of MER by shaking their phones. The player who wins gets a digital coupon of a free bottle of MER, while the other players win a digital discount coupon.

A big event:

To close the campaign, 200 of the users with the highest ‘SHAKE SCORE’ will be invited to the MER ‘SHAKE FESTIVAL’ party.  It will be a party with trending artists and games, and also where the final competition is who can SHAKE the most! The winner will receive a prestigious title, ‘NATIONAL MER-STER SHAKER’, and receives a truck worth of MER to shake and share with friends.

Results

We were finalists and selected and invited to Coca-Cola Enterprises Sweden to pitch to the local and international teams.

BRAND:
TOSTARRICA ARE BREAKFAST COOKIES WITH DRAWINGS ON TOP THAT NOURISH AND ENTERTAIN KIDS AGED 3-8, CONTRIBUTING TO DEVELOP AND STIMULATE THEIR IMAGINATION.
TOSTARRICA'S DRAWINGS ARE LICENSED CHARACTERS THAT CHANGE EVERY THREE MONTHS.
CHALLENGE:
LAUNCH A NEW PRODUCT TO ADD TO TOSTARRICA’S PORTFOLIO AND INCREASE IT’S MARKET SHARE, WITHOUT CANNIBALIZING TOSTARRICA ORIGINALS.  
SOLUTION:
CREATING A SUB-BRAND WITH A PURPOSE BEYOND NOURISHING KIDS. OCEANIX, AN ENTIRE WORLD WHERE KIDS ARE ENCOURAGED TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE (ENGLISH) WHILE ENJOYING.

My role:
Together with the R&D department, I was directly involved developing the product. And as Tostarrica's strategic planner I led the strategy and was part of the development of the communication campaigns.

Phase 1: Product Development

Research + Analysis + Strategic reflections

A new flavor:

Keeping Tostarrica's brand essence of fun characters that ignite children's imagination, we decided to maintain this on the new product. However, to differentiate the new product from Tostarrica Original, we introduced a new flavor: Chocolate.

Ownable characters:

While the breakfast cookie market is largely saturated with many other brands, we saw the opportunity to compete with regular breakfast cereals. To compete in this new category and compete with cereal's mascots, we created unique characters for Tostarrica. 
After surveying the breakfast cereal landscape, we identified a theme unexplored by our competitors: "Under the sea". There, we created the world of Oceanix and a range of different characters who live there.

Phase 2: Brand Strategy

Brand platform & Brand concept

To take Oceanix one step further, we planned a dual strategy aimed at engaging mothers and their kids:
Insight: Parents are concerned about the mental and physical development of their children; they want to see them grow up healthy and independent.
The uncertainty of today’s world caused by the paradigm shift (“this is more than a financial crisis”) leads parents to believe that the best thing they can give their children are tools that allow them to move around easily in an adverse, changing and global world (“know how to take care of themselves”). Therefore, they always try to stimulate them.

We wanted to become mom’s ally. Besides being a product that helps them to provide a complete breakfast for their children, we wanted to give moms the tools to stimulate and encourage their kids.

Within the current recession in Spain, in which many parents see how young people are increasingly trying their luck overseas, they are starting to understand the importance of English for their children to be able to move around in the future. Many parents themselves lack these language skills.

Therefore, making the most of children’s ability to soak up information like a sponge, we proposed that the Oceanix characters could immerse children in the world of English through fun activities like music and games.

Phase 3: Communication Campaign

The campaign was divided into two phases:

Brand launch:

The first phase, in Spanish, included TV, print and radio ads to quickly achieve brand and product awareness.

Meanwhile, the website was launched, and children had the opportunity to meet the characters and the world of Oceanix through educational and fun content.

They also had the chance to improve their knowledge of music through an app.

Oceanix City launch:

In the second phase of the campaign, we started to introduce English alongside Spanish. Here we also presented Oceanix City, a city full of adventures, where children can learn English by singing and playing with the Oceanix characters.
The second stage had a TV spot which communicated that with Oceanix learning English was kids’ stuff! It also included a new jingle combining English and Spanish.

Interactive site:

Kids were invited to learn English through simple adventures, games and songs.

Across Spain, interactive oppis were placed around the cities inviting children to sing along with them. 
Different apps and exercises printed on the packaging were also created to extend the experience.

Results

Being the first brand speaking English in Spain, Oceanix has become a successful brand that managed to connect, in a short span of time, with mothers and their children, exceeding all the company’s forecasts and becoming the leader brand of Cuétara Group.

BRAND:
GIORGI IS THE EXPERT BRAND IN HAIR GEL FOR MOSTLY YOUNG PEOPLE (18-35 YERAS OLD). A YOUNG, DARING, FRIENDLY SPANISH BRAND THAT HAS A GOOD QUALITY/PRICE RATIO.
CHALLENGE:
CREATE A COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN TO INCREASE PENETRATION IN THE STYLING MOUSSE MARKET AND GAIN ONLINE BRAND PRESENCE, HITHERTO NOT VERY ACTIVE IN DIGITAL MEDIA. 
SOLUTION:
AN INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN TO OVERCOME BIG CONSUMER BARRIERS BREAKING DOWN CATEGORY RULES. 

My role:
As Giorgi’s strategic planner I led the whole strategic process for the agency, giving the brand a new direction in both the offline and online world. 

Scenario:
Being the leader of hairy gel market, Giorgi was perceived as a masculine brand, with expertise in hair gel but not in mousse that consumers translated in:

Insight:

Consumer Barrier:
 Giorgi was positioned and perceived as strong hold which for many women meant: “If all hair mousse dries out and damages the hair then Giorgi mousse will damage it even more” 

The strategy

We decided to create a communication campaign which aimed to:

          -Position Giorgi hair mousse as the best option to define and care for curls.
          -Break down the main barriers towards the brand and in and connect in a relevant and aspirational way with the female target group.

Ran by a celebrity:

To build the concept of aspiration and personify Giorgi's values, we chose singer David Bisbal as the focus of the Giorgi campaign. He is a young, fun, popular, approachable and media-friendly personality who is admired by a large number of Spanish women who were a perfect fit with the Giorgi personality. Bisbal was also an exceptional product match: He is the epitome of the perfect curl in Spain.

Taking risks and breaking moulds:

But, was it risky to use a male celebrity given our campaign objective? Despite our goal of bringing Giorgi away from a masculine identity, we decided to go for it anyway and break the moulds of category communication. We then became the first brand of women’s hair styling products to use a man in its communication.

Campaign concept

David Bisbal told consumers his secret of how to be genuine and continue being successful after 10 years. He explains how fame hasn’t changed him and how he is still himself because he takes care of what he’s got and what defines him, including his curls.

Online kidnapping:

To increase online engagement and social media presence, we created a 2-part mini-series where Bisbal was kidnapped by a group of women for his curls. Viewers were directed to a microsite called "Tenemos a David Bisbal" ("We’ve Got David Bisbal") to watch the story unfold. In the end, the captured curl was auctioned off on eBay and proceeds were donated to UNICEF.

Results

Increased market share by 17%

520,000 visits on YouTube (We've Got David Bisbal mini-series)

75% more fans on Facebook and 2,100 campaign shares.

A campaign with great results that allowed us to strengthen the brand on the Internet, generate publicity in offline and online media, but above all allowed us to connect with the target group and break down the barriers towards the product.

After the campaign, Giorgi overtook Fructis and became the second mousse brand in the Spanish market, behind Pantene.

BRAND:
DESPITE BEING THE LEADER IN YOGURT CATEGORY AND BEING PERCEIVED AS A UNIQUE, HIGH QUALITY, INNOVATIVE, CLOSE AND TRUSTED BRAND, DANONE’S IMAGE WAS DEEPLY DAMAGED DUE TO THE RECESSION.
CHALLENGE:
TO RECOVER DANONE’S BRAND EQUITY AND RECONNECT WITH ITS CONSUMERS. 
SOLUTION:
A NEW LONG LASTING BRAND MANIFESTO BASED ON A DEEP SOCIAL HUMAN INSIGHT THAT WENT BEYOND THE COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN SETTING A NEW MISSION AND A NEW TONE OF VOICE FOR ALL DANONE SUB-BRANDS. 

Starting point:
In the context of the economic crisis, Danone was losing relevance and all its brands were losing market share in favour of private labels. To address this situation, Danone decided to spend most of its advertising budget in counterattacking them and showing its superiority via functional brands like Actimel, Activia and Danacol.This communication was eroding the image of the mother brand and Danone was perceived as an arrogant and cold brand that it was not on the side of Spanish families during difficult times. 

My role:
As the planner for Activia, Oikos/Griego, I was responsible for leading the strategic part of the project along with the Actimel's and Danonino´s planner. 

Non conventional research

To reconnect with consumers, first we needed to know their current needs and motivations. Besides the conducted research, we decided to speak personally to consumers and ex-consumers to get first-hand information.

We discovered that their values had changed.

Old values were the new values. They were attracted to generosity, empathy, resilience, effort, austerity… They needed security for themselves and their families. They were looking for meaningful experiences with people that they love. This gave them a feeling of confidence. And they needed to find reasons to carry on, to encourage them.

We identified a deep social human insight.

“When everything seems negative, it is harder not to get carried away by negative thoughts, but you must try not to do it. Bad moments should be faced with people who you love".

Brand concept

We created a new brand concpet:

At Danone we invite people to enjoy little daily gestures that make us smile and feel good because when we smile we also transmit our well being to those who surround us. 
Because Danone believes that the world would be better if we all had a positive and proactive attitude to life. We would feel healthier and happier.

Creative Idea:

Facing a country suffering from lack of encouragement, Danone brings optimism to every day and acknowledges families and their effort.

The Campaign

Besides the traditional Danone’s campaign channels, (TV commercials, radio, print ads, website, banners, Social Media...) we created: Danone, Inspired by your life.

Helped by famous ambassadors, we invited people to tell us their stories, their small daily gestures that make them feel good and smile every day.
For this, an online platform was created in which users could share their stories and pass on their positive attitude to others.

We also created a daily segment on Espejo Público, a leading morning TV show which celebrities and ordinary people shared stories and weekly advertorials in various national magazines.

Supportive smiles:

A Social Responsibility Campaign was launched at the same time. We challenged consumers for a supportive cause: to increase smiles among those who needed it most – sick children in hospitals.

Our mission was to triple the donations of  Hospital Clown Foundation, through an easy and little gesture. We asked Facebook users to share one smile in their profile. One share meant one smile in the "Smile-o-meter". People proved to be incredibly supportive and the mission was successfully accomplished.

Results

A significant increase in all the pillars of Danone brand equity: Familiarity, uniqueness, relevance, popularity and quality.

 An increase of +16 in sales over the total.

A manifesto that has established a new brand communication model: from Brand-oriented model to User-oriented model in all Danone's brands and a new tone of voice.

Since I joined Huge, I’ve had the pleasure to work for Knorr, Nespresso, SEAT, Hublot and Alexander&James, among others.
Due to the current projects being on going, I’m not enable to publish them yet.

If you're interested in discussing what my role has been so far, please don't hesitate to contact me.