The Challenge:
A leading nationwide electronics retailer wanted to step up its game during Back-to-School season. The key challenge was to differentiate itself from the myriad options available to students and offer a truly unique and valuable brand experience tailor-made for student needs.
Approach:
We started by joining 20+ students and their parents on a multi-week ride-along that included a variety of activities online, video chat conversations, and in-person ethnographies around BTS shopping. We then teamed up with parents, students of all ages, and client stakeholders to co-create new-to-world concepts and market offerings designed specifically for students.
Results:
This work helped craft an entire ecosystem dedicated to technology empowering education. We crafted student and parent personas along with a series of I wish statements related to product, marketing, and brand/shopping experiences. Our work was wide ranging, including development of a variety of new concepts to meet student needs, insights to drive a creative brief for a new campaign, new online and in-person shopping experiences, and delivery of technology services directly to schools. The crown jewel was how our research informed the design of teen tech centers across the country whereby students are empowered to develop skills in a variety of careers.
The Twist:
We built an immersive client experience that felt like a day at the Met. It started with receiving your own magazine-style field guide that featured photography, quotations, and stories from the field to whet team member appetites and lead them through the session. Part playbill, part journal, part activity guide. Then, stakeholders experienced a gallery of murals, soundbites, artifacts, and artwork from the field. We acted as docents, adding texture to self-discovery. Client stakeholders not only got up to speed on key learnings and opportunities but were connected back to their lives as students, letting nostalgia and empathy inspire them. And like any good culture-filled day, we capped it off with lovely meal together to recap highlights and share stories.