Creative Brief & Communications Framework

Melinda Flores, Associate Director of Content Strategy @Havas

THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: Position Playground Sessions as an innovative, interactive way to learn to play an instrument

THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: Position Playground Sessions as an innovative, interactive way to learn to play an instrument

FROM: TO:

Boring lessons about chords and sheet music

Fun, engaging how-to’s with a specific goal in mind: learning the songs you love

Boring lessons

Long, lonely hours practicing your instrument

Social learning with friends/family and an element of friendly competition

Physical interaction with the instrument itself

Mobile apps and games/rewards to help you learn

Little to no interaction with other students

An online community dedicated to helping you learn, as well as the opportunity for face-to-face learning and support

THE COMMUNICATIONS GOAL: 750,000 qualified visitors (conversion rate > 0.75%) to the Playground Sessions site in the next 12 months

while learning how to play favorite songs on guitar or piano.

For young adults who love music and want to learn to play, (but may need some external motivation)…

Playground Sessions provides a uniquely social, connected environment built around sharing and competing with friends….

WHO

WHAT

WHY

THE VALUE PROPOSITION

First Time Teens 45% of players first start playing because of a parent Leverage Quincy Jones as an influencer to increase awareness among parents of first time users Improve SEO strategy to optimize search when teens are researching how to play songs/trying to teach themselves Offer discounts, free trials and giveaways to encourage brand awareness, interaction with the product and social sharing

Relapsed Teens The majority of young dropouts have parents who are not all that engaged in their children's progress, practicing, etc Get parents more involved with this audience; offer financial incentives for parental involvement/joint media learning— also leverage group discounts for friends who want to learn Improve SEO strategy to optimize search when teens are researching how to play songs/trying to teach themselves

About to Quit Teens The majority of young dropouts have parents who are not all that engaged in their children's progress, practicing, etc Get parents more involved with this audience; offer financial incentives for parental involvement/joint media learning — also leverage group discounts for friends who want to learn Offer more online resources/support as well as options for users to meet in real-life and real-time

Current Audience Overview: •  Skews heavily male (~70%) •  About 60% are between 19-30 years old •  About half (maybe even slightly more than half) of users are outside of the US •  Income is mostly <100k, 40-50% are students •  Driven to site by partnership with David Sides and earned media from Fast Company, etc as well as PR stunts like military

giveaways

TARGET AUDIENCE SEGMENTS & INFLUENCER STRATEGY Keeping in mind that the parent is the primary influencer—and purchaser—in this group, what is the relationship between parents and the target audience in each segment?

First Time Teens What engages them: Excitement about playing a song they like, trying something new, a new app/game Key message: Playground Sessions is a fun, affordable way to learn that teaches you how to play the songs you love.

Proof points: •  Learn guitar basics by studying

your favorite songs at the Beginner level

•  Learn with your friends or with other online students who share your taste in music

•  Get a free trial and other deals just for becoming part of our social community

Key performance indicators: Increased brand awareness with parents/first-time users; 50% of site visitors take advantage of a free trial and earn points for sharing information about PS on social networks

Relapsed Teens What engages them: Leveraging the knowledge they already have for a specific goal, with resources/support always at their fingertips Key message: Playground Sessions is a fun way to brush up on your guitar skills while learning how to play the songs you love. Proof points: •  Brush up on the basics by

studying your favorite songs at the Intermediate level

•  Learn with your friends/family or with other online students who share your taste in music

•  Get constant support, via information and encouragement, from the PS online community

Key performance indicators: Recruitment uptick: 30% of new users invite friends to join PS with a members-only discount; Twitter following increases 40% due to coupons/giveaways

About to Quit Teens What engages them: Leveraging the knowledge they already have for a specific goal, and amplify the social/gamification aspect to stress FUN Key message: Playground Sessions is a fun, social way to learn that teaches you how to play the songs you love.

Proof points: •  Learn with your friends/family

or with other online students who share your taste in music

•  Enjoy a little friendly competition while you are learning through gamification/badges

•  Get constant support, via information and encouragement, from the PS online community, with the option of real-life and real-time meetups, etc

Key performance indicators: Joint media learning among users (+ friend or +parent) increases by 45%; 50% uptick in earned media impressions around this approach to learning

COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY:

•  Improved SEO strategy to optimize search results •  Focused media buy in key digital spaces for young adults who

like music—Vevo, MySpace, YouTube, Spotify, Songza •  Influencer strategy: endorsements from artists & users to build

brand awareness among teens and their parents

•  Encourage awareness and provide financial incentives for parents on coupon/giveaway sites

•  Earned media PR campaign around gamification of learning,

joint media education •  Seeding/nurturing conversations on Quora/ Reddit, etc about

learning to play an instrument

CURRENT CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: Consumers are interested in the product, but they’re not buying it. They are sharing information, so awareness is high, but conversation rates are low.

DESIRED RESPONSE: Consumers are interested in the product and are not only buying it, but engaging with it in social channels and on mobile devices. They are competing with each other for points—from Guitar Zero to Guitar Hero, for example—and sharing their success with their friends.

RELEVANT CHANNELS: Facebook, Twitter, Google+ (hangouts), MySpace, YouTube, Vevo, Tumblr, Reddit, Quora PHASE 1 MESSAGING Want to learn how to play your favorite songs on the piano or guitar? Playground Sessions is a fun, interactive way to do it!

PHASE 2 MESSAGING Learning to play an instrument used to mean long, lonely hours of tedious, hard work. Now you can get expert advice while you’re learning, share tips with other users and even compete against your friends while learning your favorite songs!

PHASE 3 MESSAGING People everywhere just like you are learning to play their favorite songs using the Playground sessions computer program and mobile app. Invite your friends to learn along with you, or make new friends along the way—you’ve got the entire Playground Sessions online community behind you.

Relevant media channels Google Ads, YouTube videos, MySpace/Spotify/Vevo ads, coupon/giveaway websites (for free trial), earned media re: gamification, joint media learning, apps, etc (parent outreach)

Relevant media channels Google+, Facebook, Twitter and website posts, as well as key influencers in social media; earned media on popular music sites

Relevant media channels Television/radio ads, Facebook/Twitter ads/sponsored posts, YouTube videos/ads, influencer blogs, Tumblr, earned media from tech and gadget blogs, conversations on Reddit/Quora/Makeusof

COMMUNICATIONS FRAMEWORK