Welcome to the struggle of creative block that has entered the Ideation Station. In previous trimesters, I have been able to ideate an idea and incubate it from the beginning. This trimester has been a little bit different. I don't know what exactly it is, but my mind isn't generating ideas the same way it used to 3 months ago...

I don't want to settle on an idea, as this is somewhat of a passion project for myself, as mentioned in my previous post, I want to get into advertising after I have my degree.

I want to develop a company that specializes in an adult-orientated barcade (bar/arcade) similar to Netherworld, but enhancing the experience through social media interactions, customer loyalty benefits and a South Bank location.

I was happy with the name Level Up Barcade, and ideated and thumbnailed. Upon research, which admittedly should've been done beforehand, the name and premise existed already on the Gold Coast.
Another name I was starting to thumbnail was biOme. Which, again, was taken.

I was leaning towards The Vault, or just Vault. Both were taken - and in Brisbane too...

I was losing my mind. I was losing focus on the idea and a name instead. At this rate, everything had already been done. Until I spoke with a few of my peers through discord and ideated names that said arcade, social hub, and bar.

Some of the names we developed were Battle Bar, Shadowhaus, VVOID, Glitch Please, Turtle Recall, Pro Gamer Move, and Midnight Vortex.

Finally I landed on two. The ARC, and The Friendzone. Personally, I'm at a crossroads with these names as The ARC sounds like a decent name for an arcade. Whereas The Friendzone is a play on words stemmed from the 2005 film "Just Friends".

Despite The Friendzone starting off as an in-joke between friends, I feel that there is potential for success in the branding choices I can make with it. However, The ARC would be much more professional...

So I do not become overwhelmed, I have decided to focus on Heidi's external client projects first as the typographical design she has requested in her briefing would be much quicker to complete than the Wheel of Brisbane - which will be started this week through thumb-nailing.

In our class yesterday we found two successful advertising campaigns and break them down. I chose to take a closer look at PlayStation's "How to Trade Games on PS4" marketing video (2013).

​During the E3 Expo in 2013, Microsoft and Sony unveiled their current consoles. Microsoft announced a highly controversial method of sharing games with friends in one simple way; you can’t. During the announcement, Microsoft opted for a “one user only” digital signature to be attached to every new title purchased at retail making used games require a license to be purchased in order for them to work on anyone else's consoles.

Sony heard the outcry and developed a short 21 second ad campaign that not only mocked Microsoft's practises, but also informed people on how to trade PS4 titles with each other. It was a video of one person holding a game and handing it to another. This generated a lot of online commentary and social media reach given the openly mocking nature of the video which appealed largely to their intended audience as well as those who were on the fence about purchasing an Xbox One over a PlayStation 4. This campaign negatively impacted Microsoft’s initial sales, and has not been able to successfully bounce back from the backlash.

In March of 2019 (Hooked on Tech, 2019), Sony had sold over 92 million consoles as opposed to Microsoft’s 42 million. More than double.

This campaign is currently still running with the release of Borderlands 3 and features a vast array of bland product advertisements that get invaded by Psychotic imagery that makes consumers think twice. The videos are featured on the developers YouTube channel and through sponsored ad spots on Facebook and Instagram. More suited to Instagram, the videos feature beautiful people cut short by glitches and Etta James’ “At Last” at the end of each advert.

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This campaign was successful as it was intended to attract new audiences in the process of appealing to the decade-long established fanbase. I can confirm, as Sarah has never been interested in Borderlands until she saw a sponsored post for the Shampoo ad.

We're back. It's the final trimester for 2019 and I am feeling positive about what is to come this trimester. Advertising is one of the primary fields of graphic design that I want to enter once I complete my degree next year. In order for my peers and I to develop successful branding for a company of our choosing, it is important to take a thorough look at successful advertising campaigns.

Kayla and I had chosen to take a closer look at P&O Cruises "The Best Way to See The Best of The South Pacific" (2017) and Coke Zero's "Just Add Zero" (2014) campaigns.

​​We discovered that the $2-5 million dollar budget that P&O fronted for the campaign was used to increase passenger sales by 20% throughout the wave holiday period. This campaign was used to promote P&O as a cruise company that was smaller and understated in comparison to others, but provided a larger array of South Pacific destinations that other companies did not visit.

This 30 second TV commercial ran during the Big Bash, and was promoted heavily on Fairfax websites. This was a success due to the references to Castaway (2000) and the comical undertones (Effie Awards, 2018).

Coca-Cola's "Just Add Zero" Advert aired in 2014 to target a young-adult market in attempt to re-position Coke Zero from a categorical decline against Pepsi Max to secure categorical leadership.

Despite Coke's brand recognition and catalogue of products, there is a price premium attached in comparison to Pepsi. 45% more expensive than Pepsi products, which increased to 58% higher in 2013.

This advert was also created through extensive market research which revealed out of the young adults that were surveyed, 60% of them had never tried Zero in comparison to Classic. Diet Coke holds a stigma which assisted to the consumers refusal to change or compromise on taste and flavour. Their positioning; "Young adults, like Coke Zero, are driven to get more out of life."

Louder more upbeat music was used to advertise this product as well as a lifestyle. Having a Zero won't take from your life, it will add to it.