SYNOPSYS:
New company and new product launch including: marketing strategy, sales strategy, branding, positioning and messaging, logo and corporate identity, advertising, promotion and all copywriting; naming the Company, developing the product naming convention, trademark research, packaging, owner's manuals, trade exhibits, web site development, maintenance and  technical support, contract negotiations, and more.

Was Virtual Creative Director for 2 1/2 years.

FULL STORY:
35 Days, an entirely new product, an unheard of new Company without a name, identity or branding - and the Company's first product, a flat panel speaker that doesn't even like look a speaker.

This is the BW2000, the first audio speaker without a speaker cone.

Day one:
Rob meets with the President, Senior Marketing and Sales staff. He describes how all work will be reviewed and approved via the Internet to meet the deadline. He outlines the entire plan and process.

To successfully brand the product, we determine the essential elements:

• Press Kit on CD-ROM and in printed form
• BW2000 Sell Sheet including product photos
• Introductory mailers to attract distributors
• Trade Show booth and elements including a 40x40' banner
• Retail Product Packaging and Owner's Manual
• Promotional Video to create excitement
• Advertising for trade publications
• Web Site
• Easy-to-remember toll-free number

A budget, schedule and all the required elements are agreed upon that day. Everyone is made aware of how quickly they must react, especially relative to comments, changes and approvals.

Step One - The Branding:
Determining the market demographic to be everyone from 15 -55, and those interested in creative design and innovation, Rob begins to build the brand.

The objectives:
Benwin's branding had to accomplish many objectives. Initially it needed to accomplish three primary goals:

• Lend credibility to the new Company
• Create a unique identity and 'personality' for the Company
• Lend credibility to a product that looks more like a satellite dish than a speaker, and is so innovative, it might be tough to sell.

Rob renames the Brand from Kwong Quest to Benwin
Kwong Quest - the manufacturer - was difficult to spell and remember. It also added an ethnic quality that even if only 1% objected to, would result in 1% fewer sales.

Benwin was a shorter, more generic and memorable brand name with no specific ethnic association. Rob checks with the US Patent and Trademark Office to be sure the trademark can be registered and finds it can.

Rob develops the logo and main messaging to support the brand:

He delivers the new logo for approval via email with the tag line:
'The New Shape of Sound' 
This identifies the key product differences and becomes the basis for the branding.

He then creates the logo in all the necessary formats, for print, the web and video - specifying exact colors to be used in print, the web and NTSC video (CMYK, PMS, and RGB). This insures the color will be consistent in all media, and he also specifies alternate colors when the logo is on a black background and on white.

He then posts all the logos on a private Internet Site so that even the manufacturer in China can download them for the product labeling without any delay.

Next he creates a motion graphic for use in the video, CD and the web Site.


Since the speaker technology involves sending vibrations through a flat panel, the motion-graphic version of the logo reflected that characteristic further branding the product.

All elements are designed for across-the-board media.
All elements are created simultaneously in formats and resolutions so they can be used in all media. This reduces costs by enabling the elements to be reused, expedites the project and insures consistency throughout.

Rob writes and designs the Launch Ad:
With print publications typically needing Ads 30-60 days in advance, Rob writes, designs and produces the first ad that will be used for the launch. Since he writes and designs at the same time, the ad is completed without losing any time in collaborating with an account executive, a writer and a designer.

The initial objective? Make sure people understand that, though it looks very different, this is a completely flat speaker, associate the Benwin Brand with flat panel technology, and let people know the applications for these new speakers.

Why a music video?
In motion, and by using immediately available stock footage, music, special effects and sound effects, Rob was able to create a feeling for the product and the Company that the messaging and the static promotion could not - and produce it very quickly.

In 2 1/2 minutes the video made people associate Benwin and flat panel speakers with excitement and good times. The video positioned the new product line and the Benwin brand, while lending credibility to the Company.

Not only was it fun to watch, it generated a tremendous amount of interest, while it communicated all the product features and messaging without the need for narration:

• Think flat, think thin, think Benwin
• The New Shape of Sound
• Kinda sexy, isn't it?
• 7mm thin
• No cone required
• You've never seen sound like this
• New technology
• Sleek and Flat
• Radical New Design
• Cool, very cool

The music bed, though mainly high-energy and very fast-paced, included transitional segments that were designed to appeal to all buyers - classical guitar, jazz, symphony.
And finally sound effects were added to maintain the excitement and energy.

One video, many applications.
The video was shown on a big screen at the trade show booth, on CD-ROM in the Press Kit, on the web Site and included on CD for purchasers of the speakers as well as used to demo the system in retail outlets and for distributors. It also became a one minute TV spot.

Then there was much more...

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