Week 1 - Week 4
Wang Shengxiao/0369380
Bachelor of Design(Honours) in Creative Media
Creative Brand Strategy / Task 1: Case Study & Campaign Proposal
TABLE OF THE CONTENT
- Lecture
- Instruction
- Process
- Submission
- Feedback
- Reflections
Lecture
Week 1: Module Introduction (MIP)
In the first week, the class was conducted online. Mr. Fauzi introduced the module and briefly explained the Module Information Pack (MIP). This session helped us understand the overall structure of the course, assessment requirements, and learning outcomes. It gave us a clear direction of what to expect throughout the semester and how branding knowledge would be applied in practice.
Week 2: Branding Process & Brand Experience
In Week 2, the lecture focused on the branding process, with particular emphasis on brand experience, creative strategy, and campaign visual identity.
We learned that brand experience refers to the overall feelings and reactions people have when interacting with a brand. This experience can come from emotions, thoughts, senses, or direct interactions. A strong brand experience leaves a lasting impression and shapes how consumers perceive and remember a brand.
One key takeaway from this lecture is that a brand’s reputation is built through experience. If customers have positive experiences, they are more likely to trust the brand and remain loyal. On the other hand, poor experiences can quickly drive customers toward competitors.
The lecture also explained what contributes to a good brand experience:
Direct marketing, such as websites, advertisements, and visual design, plays an important role in expressing brand values and personality. A well-designed and user-friendly platform helps create trust and positive emotions.
Indirect marketing includes employee behavior and online interactions. Employees can act as brand ambassadors, while social media engagement and digital presence strongly influence first impressions.
Personalization is increasingly important, as customers like to feel valued and understood rather than treated as just another buyer.
Overall, this lecture highlighted that branding is not only about visuals, but about how people feel when they interact with a brand.
Week 3: SWOT Analysis in Branding
Week 3 introduced SWOT analysis, which is a strategic tool used to evaluate a brand’s internal and external environment.
SWOT stands for:
Strengths – internal advantages that give the brand a competitive edge, such as strong reputation or effective distribution.
Weaknesses – internal limitations that may reduce performance, for example limited product offerings or poor online visibility.
Opportunities – external factors that the brand can take advantage of, such as emerging markets or changing consumer behavior.
Threats – external challenges that could negatively affect the brand, including competition, economic changes, or new regulations.
We learned that SWOT analysis is especially useful when developing strategies, entering new markets, launching campaigns, or responding to industry changes. It helps brands understand themselves, their consumers, and the wider marketplace before making decisions.
This week also emphasized the importance of understanding consumer behavior and building a belief system that encourages loyal and responsible customers. Concepts such as smart consumerism, ethical consumption, and online presence were discussed, especially in relation to attracting both adults and younger audiences.
Week 4: Brand Positioning
In Week 4, the focus shifted to brand positioning and its role in branding strategy.
Brand positioning is about defining how a brand wants to be perceived in the minds of its target audience compared to competitors. It clarifies what makes the brand unique, valuable, and relevant. A strong positioning helps customers quickly understand what the brand stands for and why they should choose it.
We learned that effective brand positioning:
Differentiates a brand in a competitive market
Builds emotional connections with consumers
Encourages long-term brand loyalty
Requires consistency across all brand touchpoint
The lecture outlined key steps to developing brand positioning, including understanding consumer needs, analyzing brand capabilities, and studying competitors. Once a positioning is chosen, it must be reflected consistently through design, communication, products, and services.
Different positioning strategies were also introduced, such as convenience-based positioning, niche positioning, and problem-solution positioning. These approaches help brands communicate their value clearly to the right audience.
Examples like Apple and Coca-Cola showed how successful brands align their positioning with consumer identity, lifestyle, and emotional appeal.
In Week 4, the focus shifted to brand positioning and its role in branding strategy.
Brand positioning is about defining how a brand wants to be perceived in the minds of its target audience compared to competitors. It clarifies what makes the brand unique, valuable, and relevant. A strong positioning helps customers quickly understand what the brand stands for and why they should choose it.
We learned that effective brand positioning:
Differentiates a brand in a competitive market
Builds emotional connections with consumers
Encourages long-term brand loyalty
Requires consistency across all brand touchpoint
The lecture outlined key steps to developing brand positioning, including understanding consumer needs, analyzing brand capabilities, and studying competitors. Once a positioning is chosen, it must be reflected consistently through design, communication, products, and services.
Different positioning strategies were also introduced, such as convenience-based positioning, niche positioning, and problem-solution positioning. These approaches help brands communicate their value clearly to the right audience.
Examples like Apple and Coca-Cola showed how successful brands align their positioning with consumer identity, lifestyle, and emotional appeal.
Overall Reflection
Across Weeks 1 to 4, the lectures helped me understand how branding works as a complete system—from defining brand experience, analyzing strengths and weaknesses, to establishing a clear market position. I learned that successful branding is not just about aesthetics, but about strategy, consistency, and understanding people. These concepts will be essential when developing branding campaigns and real-world projects in the future.
Across Weeks 1 to 4, the lectures helped me understand how branding works as a complete system—from defining brand experience, analyzing strengths and weaknesses, to establishing a clear market position. I learned that successful branding is not just about aesthetics, but about strategy, consistency, and understanding people. These concepts will be essential when developing branding campaigns and real-world projects in the future.
Instruction
Process
TASK :
1A : Case Study
You are to analyse a well-established Rebranding Campaign of your choosing.
1. Identifying its brand strategy: The Brand Story, Objective & Purpose, Brand Values, Vision & Mission, Target Audience, Brand Positioning.
2. Understanding its brand experience: features and activities.
3. Reviewing its key visuals and the applications: identity and usage from different platforms.
1B : Campaign Proposal
You are to propose a Branding Campaign. The campaign will be for a a glimpse of your choosing and may be conceptualised as a rebranding exercise to introduce a new concept or as a new product line launch.
The suggested proposal outline:
Campaign Description, Brand Story, Objective & Purpose, Brand Values, Vision & Mission, Target Audience, Organizers. SWOTs, Brand Positioning. Furthermore, you are to identify the Brand Touch Points by producing a Customer Journey Map.
At the initial stage of the project, we need to conduct discussions and brainstorming to select the brands that can be used for the case study. The aim is to choose an object that is clear in terms of brand strategy, visual identity, and brand experience, and is suitable for analysis. During this stage, I mainly focus on fashion and lifestyle brands because these types of brands usually have a complete visual system and a clear brand personality.
1A : Case Study
You are to analyse a well-established Rebranding Campaign of your choosing.
1. Identifying its brand strategy: The Brand Story, Objective & Purpose, Brand Values, Vision & Mission, Target Audience, Brand Positioning.
2. Understanding its brand experience: features and activities.
3. Reviewing its key visuals and the applications: identity and usage from different platforms.
1B : Campaign Proposal
You are to propose a Branding Campaign. The campaign will be for a a glimpse of your choosing and may be conceptualised as a rebranding exercise to introduce a new concept or as a new product line launch.
The suggested proposal outline:
Campaign Description, Brand Story, Objective & Purpose, Brand Values, Vision & Mission, Target Audience, Organizers. SWOTs, Brand Positioning. Furthermore, you are to identify the Brand Touch Points by producing a Customer Journey Map.
At the initial stage of the project, we need to conduct discussions and brainstorming to select the brands that can be used for the case study. The aim is to choose an object that is clear in terms of brand strategy, visual identity, and brand experience, and is suitable for analysis. During this stage, I mainly focus on fashion and lifestyle brands because these types of brands usually have a complete visual system and a clear brand personality.
During the initial research phase, I focused my attention on the two brands,
Golden Goose and Acne Studios. Both of these brands enjoy high
recognition in the contemporary fashion industry. Additionally, from a
personal perspective, I have a particular preference for Acne Studios' brand
style. Its simple, rational and concept-driven design approach closely
aligns with my usual design style, which further enhanced my interest in
conducting in-depth research on this brand.
After comparing the two brands, it is clearly observable that they differ in
terms of style and brand structure. Golden Goose has a more diverse
visual style, incorporating retro elements, strong narrative elements, and
rich brand expressions. This multi-layered style is highly recognizable, but
when it comes to brand adjustments or strategy optimization, the overall
structure is relatively complex and is not suitable for a systematic
reorganization in this project.
In contrast, the brand style of Acne Studios is more clear and
restrained. Its visual language is simple, unified and structurally
coherent, making it easier to analyze and expand. At the same time, this
design direction is also more in line with my personal preference for
simple, rational and conceptual design. Therefore, Acne Studios has
higher operability in terms of strategy adjustment and brand
deepening.
Finally, Acne Studios was selected as the brand for this case study.
Overall, this brand not only has a clear brand foundation, but is also more
suitable for in-depth research and strategy optimization in this project.
The SWOT Design by Wang Shengxiao
Submission
The Slide Design by Wang Shengxiao
Feedback
Reflections
Through this project, I gained a much deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the brand Acne Studios, which I had been very interested in for a long time. I no longer merely focused on its visual style or personal preferences, but conducted a systematic study of it from the perspective of brand strategy and analysis. This case study enabled me to gain a further understanding of the brand's positioning, values, target audience, and overall development direction.
One of the most important learning outcomes in this project was the practical application of the SWOT analysis method. By analyzing Acne Studios' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, I learned to evaluate a brand in a more rational and structured manner, rather than relying solely on subjective feelings. The SWOT analysis helped me organize the information more clearly and understand the development conditions of the brand in both internal and external environments.
Apart from deepening my understanding of brand strategies and the SWOT analysis method, this project also enabled me to have a clearer perception of my own personal design style. During the in-depth study of Acne Studios, I gradually realized that I prefer a visual style that is simple, rational, and structurally clear. Such brands emphasize conceptuality and consistency, which aligns more closely with my usual design thinking approach.
Overall, this learning experience has taught me to strike a balance between personal preferences and rational analysis, and has also strengthened my confidence in making clear judgments in future design projects.
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