Project Brief

Problem Statement

Vann’s is looking to source a TV ad to drive as much traffic as possible to their Memorial Day sales event taking place May 21st through May 25th. Vann’s wants to establish that they are the place to shop for consumer electronics and appliances on the Memorial Day weekend.

Client

Vann's

Product

Vann's

Goals

1. Drive traffic to Vann’s retail stores for Memorial Day Sale.
2. Create the perception that Vann’s offers the best value in their markets for consumer electronics and appliances (the best name brand products at great prices).

Audience

Vann’s typical audience is the head of a household. They’re married with kids and own a home. They have a college education and an income of $70K or more. They’re technically savvy perhaps even to the point of being an early adopter. They’re fairly equally split in interest between our products — consumer electronics and appliances.

With the economy as it is currently (not good) they are split on financing or paying with credit — some don’t want to tap into a nest egg to make a major purchase, while others would prefer to pay cash rather than commit to financing charges.

An initial concern of Vann’s audience may seem to be price but it is actually value — they want the best value on a product. For instance, they’d prefer a name-brand TV at a reasonable price rather than a no-name TV for a rock-bottom price.

Client Context

Vann’s is making a return to an ad format that we previously used but with some new additions. The ad will need an opening, middle (donut section - with video and audio bed but ability to potentially reuse later) and an end with an invitation to come into our stores.

Vann’s would potentially like to re-use the essential elements of this ad as a template for other future ads — for instance if the opening was slightly more generic like “Vann’s is having a huge sale this weekend” versus “Vann’s Memorial Day Sale is going on this weekend” then the opening could be repurposed with minimal effort again later.

The middle donut section could again be repurposed at a later time — at least a video bed and music bed, offer content may change as well as some overlaying graphic elements for tying together our print and broadcast advertising. Again the end could be repurposed later if it were slightly more open in tone.

We’d like the ending to be an invitation from a spokesperson to come into our stores. We’ll provide potential ending script lines. Additionally some of the design elements that we would use in our print advertising for the same event would be provided to be overlaid or worked in to the ad.

All the above being said — if you have a better idea that fits the other required elements, we’d definitely consider it.

Media Context

The ad will be shown on local and cable television during the 5:30 pm and 10:00 pm news. The audience may, but is not likely to, see ads from competitors during the same broadcasts.

During a typical evening of television viewing, the audience is highly likely to see ads from two or more competitors. Some of the competitors ads are predatory in the perception they give — such as recent Wal-mart ads that claim they have the “same” products as their recent Bluray ad or the “got it at Wal-mart” ads.

The audience has the potential to see the Vann's ad on consecutive days. The audience will be viewing the ad in their homes, and may or may not actually be sitting in front of the TV.

Additionally the sound may be muted during the commercials so crucial information should be communicated both verbally and in a text treatment.

Past Vann's Ads

Helena Grand Opening

President's Day Sale

Bozeman Grand Opening

Ad Promise

The best value around on brand name consumer electronics and appliances during a sales event.

Product Promise

No real singular product other than the company as a whole. Vann’s as a company sells a wide variety of consumer electronics and appliance products. However this is an ad for an event not a product. If the “product” is the company or the event the product promise is the same as the ad promise.

Proof

How should the ad should deliver on the ad promise? This is a great question. It’s not the easiest thing under what has been described so far. Perhaps a negative proof may work — like regret for missing out on such great pricing? Or spending more than one has to, etc..

Character

The ad should be energetic, enthusiastic and urgent. It’s kind of loud but not over the top.

The audience should feel like they’re hearing about an event they can’t afford to miss out on. It’s upbeat. Time sensitive. An open and honest invitation to come to our stores.

It’s not overly cheesey. There’s no yelling. It’s not agressive. It doesn’t feel like you just spent an hour with a car salesman.

It should feel like a good friend just excitedly told you about a great deal they don’t you want you to miss. It’s as genuine as possible.

Requirements

This is a 30 second TV spot. It must include an “invitation” to come into Vann’s stores at end — Vann’s will provide suggested script lines for this.

The final ad will need to be delivered in DVcam format (a digital copy may be acceptable).

Vann’s has a certain standing within the communities in which our stores are located — we’re very “middle-of-the-road.” Nothing that could remotely be viewed as offensive should be included in the spot (scantily clad actors, sexual innuendo, made up swear words, etc.).

Extensions

This ad may also appear on the videos section of our website Vanns.com, on our social site fanns.vanns.com or on our YouTube channel.

This ad may be the building blocks of future ads with a similar feel. Think template.