DIPLOMA IN BRANDING AND DESIGN

ASSIGNMENTS AND CLASS ACTIVITIES

MODULE 1

Class Activities

Reading:

The Brand Asset Valuator

The below website link takes you to the BAV (brand asset valuator).

https://www.bavgroup.com/about-bav/brandassetr-valuator

Take your time to enter some of your favourite brands along with what you think their
competition is. You should be able to see their score on the four brand pillars.

Discussion Prompt :

What brands do you love and hate?

Write below two brands: One you love and one you hate.

You should then write a short justification for why you love and hate said brands. Is it
their color scheme, name, brand values or something else.

After writing your comment, you should browse the rest of the forum and make a
comment on at least one other student's submission. Do you agree with them, or do
you respond to their chosen brands in a different way? Again, write your justification.

ASSIGNMENT 1
Choosing a brand you love

Instruction:
‘Choosing a brand you love’

In this assignment, you will need to choose a brand that you love, and justify why you
love that brand.

This assignment is important because the choice of brand will impact the whole
learning experience for this course, since all assignments will work on the same
brand and build on each other.

To choose the “right” brand you must feel a strong connection to a brand.
Sometimes brands stick in our heads. If when you hear “brand” a name immediately
comes to mind, then that is the best choice.

If no brand name immediately comes to mind then approach this assignment in a

rational manner. Really think about your life before you choose your brand. Think
about brands that you buy frequently and perhaps feel like “you cannot live without”.

If you have a shortlist of brands that fit the bill, choose the one that you are most
excited about working with. Perhaps you can do your segmentation assignment on
two different brands to push yourself towards your preferred choice.

Your selection and justification should be between 150-250 words.

This assignment is optional. It will not be graded and will not count towards your final
grade.

Here is an example:

Nike is a brand that I love. I find them inspiring and they provoke me to want to
exercise.

Their selection of ‘Nike athletes’ is clearly motivated by a mission to challenge the

limits of human potential, not just by sporting excellence. Their adverts feature
athletes who often have overcome adversity or stand for more than just being a
leader in their chosen sport: Mo Farah (ex-refugee turned Olympic gold medalist),
Colin Kapernick (the first athlete to ‘take a knee’ in protest of brutality against Black
Americans) or Simone Biles (Gymnast and sexual assault survivor/activist).

Recently, they launched a piece of content marketing, which showed a runner with
cerebral palsy being awarded a Nike athlete contract. These inspirational moments
make exercise seem something more than simply burning calories or having fun,
but a fundamental part of the challenge of life. It is a challenge that I feel motivated
to undergo and want to undergo with their brand. Not just a pair of running shoes,
but their entire brand: vest, water bottle…I would even consider buying their
headphones despite them having no experience in electronics
(OPTIONAL READING)

Keller: Strategic brand management.

Below is the reference for the book on strategic brand management by Kevin Keller

Keller, K. L. (2008). Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and

managing brand equity. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Those interested in extending their reading should consider purchasing this book
and reading it.

MODULE 1.1
Assignment GD1
Photoshop Tools - Getting to Know the Work Area

MODULE 2
Discussion Prompt :

What do you think about this positioning statement?

Please examine the positioning statement from McDonald's below.

'McDonald's brand mission is to be our customers' favourite place and way to

eat and drink. Our worldwide operations are aligned around a global strategy
called the Plan to Win, which center on an exceptional customer experience –
People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are committed to
continuously improving our operations and enhancing our customers'
experience.'

Corporate.mcdonalds.com. McDonald’s Mission and Corporate Values ::

McDonald’s. [online] Available at:
https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company-old/mission_and_values.ht
ml

What do you think its strengths are?

Does it have any weaknesses?

How would you go about improving it?

Readings:

Please read the following presentation created on the back of the works of Ram
Charan and Noel M Tichy.

https://www.slideshare.net/ramadd1951/every-business-is-a-growth-business

The presentation begins by exploring Coke and the story of Roberto Goizueta. It
looks at how Goizueta took Coke from a stagnant leader in a mature market to
biggest brand creation of all time.

It then develops to explore the theory set out by Charan and Tichy in their book
Every Business is a Growth Business.

ASSIGNMENT 2

Instructions

‘Advert note-taking activity’

In this assignment, you will need research adverts from your chosen brand and
list 6-10 competitors that it has.

For this assignment, you will start to learn more about the Positioning of the
brand you have chosen. In order to start, you will need to go through a full review
of all communications around the brand that you have chosen and you will also
start to think about its competitors.

You should:

● Look actively for any adverts of the brand: Print, tv, digital, gifs etc.
● Browse the website for the brand. For global brands, if they have multiple
sites then choose the site from your country in your language. Look closely
at the section “About”, if it exists.
● Look at their social media – how do they communicate themselves? What
words they use? How do they define themselves?
● Start jotting down the main competitors. Think carefully of competitors in
two different aspects:
● Straight category competitors – that is, any brand that sells EXACTLY the
same. If you have chosen Nike jogging pants, think of Adidas jogging
pants etc.
● Competitors that you think tap into more or less the same lifestyle /
psychographics or better still motivation. For example, do you want to
work with Nike as a brand for jogging pants or Nike as a sportswear brand?
 ● Think of brands you use for the same reason as the brand you have chosen.
● Based on this thinking, you should come up with a list of roughly 6-10
competitors.

This assignment will not be graded and will not count towards your final grade.

Please submit as a PDF.

Discussion Prompt 2

Judging good and bad positioning statements.

Look at the two positioning statements below.

Are they good or bad positioning statements?

What do you like about them?

What do you dislike?

BRAND X:

X leverages industry standards and technologies to transform organizations into

next-generation enterprises. X are service-enabled, enterprise applications that
can be easily integrated into a service-oriented architecture and made available
as software as a service.

BRAND Y:

For healthy proactive preventers, who want to do as much for the health of their
mouth as they can. Y is the germ-killing mouthwash brand. That gives you the
confidence of a cleaner, healthier mouth. Because it is trusted to kill the germs
that cause the evil gingivitis and is respected by dental professionals as it has
been clinically proven to be thirty four percent more effective than brushing and
flossing along.

Reading 2

Perceptual mapping
Please follow the link below, which offers a step-by-step guide to creating a
perceptual map.
http://www.segmentationstudyguide.com/understanding-perceptual-maps/a-
step-by-step-guide-to-constructing-a-perceptual-map/

The reading, around 350 words and a mixture of text and diagrams. offers a
guide in how to create your own perceptual map. It has an interactive element
which asks you create scores for particular brands and results in the creation of
a real-life perceptual map.

ASSIGNMENT 2.1

Instruction:
‘Positioning on Most Loved Brand’

In this assignment, you will be working on Positioning of your most loved Brand.

Remember positioning touches two different aspects. Therefore, the output for
this assignment will need to cover both:

1. A positioning statement:

● This should be a short statement of about 4-5 lines and should cover all
the elements taught in the course: target, frame of reference, point of
difference and reasons to believe.

2. A positioning / perceptual map:

● This should look like a graph with two axes that define what the category
is about.
● Remember what you have learnt in class: quality and price are never
good axis to work with; you need to question what defines quality in that
category – is it smoothness? Reliability? Precision?
● You can start either part first, but it can be beneficial to start with the
Perceptual Map first. This will help you identify the point of difference
better, as will the Frame of Reference.

In the Perceptual Map, make sure you:

● Start by defining the category well. Do you want to stick to the strictest
frame of reference or do you want to move away into a wider category.
For example, if you chose Nike, is it sportswear? Or lifestyle? Or Healthy
Brands?
● Choose your competitors.
● Identify the points of parity for that category.
● Plot your brands and your competitor brands.
Your perceptual map should consist of three slides.

1. Plot your brands.

2. Points of parity and the point of difference of your brand.

3. Justify your position in the perceptual map.

For your positioning statement make sure you:

1. Write only 4/5 sentences.

2. Follow the order of a positioning statement:
● Target
● Frame of Reference.
● Point of Difference.
● Reasons to believe

Your assignment should consist of a PPT or PDF presentation.

MODULE 2.1

Assignment G2
Basic Photo Corrections

MODULE 3

Reading 1

EXTERNAL VIDEO: Guinness surfer advert

Open the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLAvkbFugEI

It is a short advert from the drinks brand Guinness. It looks at a group of surfers
waiting patiently for the right wave. Think about the emotion this creates around the
brand and how it links with their slogan 'good things come to those who wait?'
Reading 2

Benefit ladder
Please read the following article from a marketing website on the benefit
ladder/brand ladder.

https://www.marketing91.com/brand-ladder/

The reading looks at history of the Benefit Ladder which stretches back to the 1980s
with groundbreaking work from Marketing researchers Phillip Kotler and Kevin
Keller. It explores the four major dimensions of branding and what they each entail.

Reading 3

EXTERNAL VIDEO: Simon Sinek - Start with 'Why?'

Please open and watch the video below from Simon Sinek on strategy and its
relationship with branding.

https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

In this TED talk, Sinek talks about how the majority of companies only know what
they do, but not why they do it. He uses one of the most successful brands of the last
20 years, Apple, to illustrate his point and show how by 'starting with why' you can
change how your customer perceives your brand.

Reading 4

An interview with Simon Sinek

PLease open the link below to read the interview with Simon Sinek for
MarketingMag.

https://www.marketingmag.com.au/hubs-c/simon-sinek-inerview-brand-relationships/

In the interview, Sinek discusses why brands should form a lasting relationship with
customers, not just fleeting exchanges. He describes how, to be successful as a brand,
you need to ensure that your brand stands for something.

ASSIGNMENT 3.2

Create a brand house of a brand you love.

Ready for the assignment?

You will find instructions below to submit.
Instructions :

‘Creating your Brand House’

In this assignment, you will be working on creating a brand house for your most
loved brand.

Remember that when creating a brand house, you need to consider the following
aspects:

● Your consumer insight

● Your market and category insight
● Your point of difference
● Brand values
● Brand personality
● Brand image

The output for this assignment will need to cover all of the above aspects; most of
which you should be able to attain from the brand website.

You can deliver the material in whichever form you choose as long as it covers the
above features. It may be that you want to replicate a traditional brand house, which
looks like a physical house. You may want to replicate a notable example, like Coca
Cola’s brand key. Or, perhaps you want to do something entirely creative, that
uses the brand’s image inside the design of the brand house. For example, there
is a famous Gin brand that uses their diamond log design inside the brand
house.

As this is a visual activity, there is no minimum or maximum word count.

It is worth 25% of your final grade and will be graded on a set rubric by a
minimum of two of your peers. After completing and submitting the assignment,
you will need to grade a minimum of two other students’ work based on a given
rubric.

ASSIGNMENT 3.1

Ready for the assignment?

You will find instructions below to submit.

Instructions

‘Creating a Brand Ladder’

In this assignment you are going to be testing yourself on the basics of the brand
and product equities. When you chose your brand you were also asked to choose
a category, remember? We spoke about Nike, but I also challenged you to choose
jogging pants, or running shoes, or sweatshirts. To be able to create a brand
ladder properly you need to start by looking at the product, because you need to
start by defining very precisely what attributes your product has. Let´s take
running shoes as an example.

The output for this exercise is to have a full Benefit Ladder, which means
addressing four stages. In order to do this well, put these suggestions in practice:

1. The Product Attributes:

· E.g. define exactly the attributes and qualities that make your running shoe
a running shoe. At this point in the exercise you can outline attributes that are
uniquely yours and attributes that are shared with other brands.

2. The Product Benefits:

· E.g. define the rational and tangible benefits that you obtain from having
those attributes and qualities. For example, due to the air cushion the shoe
supports your feet.

3. The Consumer Benefit:

· E.g. define the benefits that you get from those rational and tangible
benefits you have outlined before. At this point you are going to be talking about
what you “get”. For example, the shoes give you flexibility and support.

4. The Emotional end-benefit:

· E.g. define the emotion which bonds you to the brand (it may be irrational
and subjective). The best way to write it is to think about how the consumer
benefit(s) you have defined make you feel. That is, because you get a full training
experience you feel empowered to take anything on.

The benefit ladder does not need to be long. Use few attributes and benefits so it
is very tight and you can go up and down the ladder. You will know you have a
good benefit ladder when you are able to ask “SO THAT” as you go up and
“BELIEVES THIS BECAUSE” as you go down.

This assignment will not be graded and will not count towards your final grade.

Please submit as a PDF.

MODULE 3.1
Assignment GD3
Working with Selections

Assignment GD4
Layer Basics

MODULE 4

Discussion Prompt

What do you think of these logos?

[Picture]

Take a look at the logos above:

● Do they follow the stipulations set out in the previous learning?
● Are there contradictions?
● Is there anything you notice now that you hadn't previously?

ASSIGNMENT 4.1
‘Origin of Logos’
In this exercise you will need to choose different logos to practice on. This will
help you understand and identify their origin. Reflect on the logos that you used
on your Perceptual Map in A2.2. This should be a list of all of your competitors.
With this list, you should have a decent bank of logos to work from.

For each of the logos, you should try to identify the following elements:

· What typeface is being used?

o What does this choice reflect about the brand itself?

o What values are brought forward for each brand?

· What colors are used in the logo and why are these significant for
each competitor?

o How are they different from each other?

o What are the differences in color telling you about which values
each Brand is competing on?

For each logo write 3 personality attributes.

This assignment will not be graded and will not count towards your final grade.

Please submit as a PDF.

Reading

OPTIONAL READING: Designing Brand Identity Alina Wheeler

Below is a link to a fantastic resource and read from famed branding thinker Alina
Wheeler.

https://www.designingbrandidentity.info/

You are not required to purchase this book and it is not necessary for the
assignments. However, it will help you with your understanding of branding and
visual cues.

ASSIGNMENT 4.2

‘Identity cues on your most loved brand’

This exercise will bring all the knowledge learnt in this course to a conclusion. In
this assignment you will still be working on that same brand that you love and
that you have worked on in the previous assignments. However, this time you will
be looking at brand identity for that brand.

In order to complete this assignment, you will need to research your brand
extensively both online and offline. Many brands have brand books and brand
identity guidelines online – these documents will be very useful for your
assignment.

In this assignment, it is best to try to be as creative as possible.

The first thing you will attempt to do is bring the consumer from your consumer
segmentation in Assignment 1 to life. We call this a Consumer Summary, and in
this summary you look for images that speak about the personality traits and
human values this consumer represents, in images, not words. Since the same
picture can be interpreted in different ways, make sure you specify exactly what it
means to you and what it says about your brand, with a written justification
underneath.

The next thing to do is to express the essence of the brand in what we call a
Brand Manifesto. This is a ‘public declaration of intent’ that should include all the
beliefs, values and actions of the brand that together deliver that intention. This
should be around 10 sentences that bring your brand positioning to life by
enhancing it with all the elements that you have identified in your brand house as
a brand story.
The following this step is that you need to address the different identity
touchpoints, one by one. You should describe:
· The Logo
· The Name: reflect on its origin and address the extent to which your
brand name covers the essence of good naming.
o Does it communicate the essence of the brand and the image the
brand is trying to convey? In what ways?
o Does it allow for brand growth beyond the currently portfolio?
How?
o Is it unique and distinctive from the competition?
o What type of name is it? Justify your point of view using the
elements covered in the course.
· The Overall Look and Feel.
o What are the color palettes?
o What are the primary and secondary colors?
o How do these colors build on the brand house?
o How do these colors stimulate brand association?
o Do they build differentiation for this brand?
· Typography.
o What typeface is used and why?

MODULE 4.1

Assignment GD5
Masks and Channels

Assignment GD6
Typographic Design

FINAL MODULE
Final Project References will be shown as per of the class

FINAL PROJECT ON BRANDING AND DESIGN

Consists 70% of Total Grade for this Project
Learning Objectives

● Develop a differentiation plan for a brand and identify its key dimensions.
● Create a value proposition for a brand: How it can be positioned and
mapped.
 ● Develop the structure and the content of a brand guideline.
● Generate different components of a brand identity and understand the
designer’s role when developing it.
● Designing and Producing the necessary elements of brand segmentation
and positioning.
● Designing Advertisements, Brand Manuals, Posters, etc
● Creating Portfolio

Grading for the final project will be done by the external faculty.

Useful Complementary Materials

Reading

Brand-Centric Transformation - Balancing Art and Data

Google, Apple, Nike, Louis Vuitton…just a few of the names on any list of top global
brands. These companies demonstrate without question that a brand can drive
tangible financial impact and increase value for employees, customers, and
shareholders. Of course, the inverse is also true: poorly crafted brand-building efforts
can waste precious dollars from marketing budgets already stretched thin...

You can access the content to this article clicking here.

Reading

A Collection of Identity Style Guides from around the World

It can be helpful to see the various grids, layouts, and details included in the style
guides designers prepare for clients. Here are some for reference.

You can access this material by clicking here.