Story time: If LS:N Global made an ad campaign

We would take one brand with decades of heritage and another that was new and disruptive. Our strategy would play on the strengths of both, as with the collaborations explored in our Symbiotic Branding macrotrend, emphasising the reach and brand profile of the first, and the flexibility and creative credentials of the latter.

Starting with a microsite, we would tell the story of how these unlikely partners came together. Blurring fact with fiction, we would create a character that represents the best of both brands. We would engage our Hollywood contacts to create a compelling Faction Film to anchor the story. We explored these ideas in our Personality Brands microtrend and our Innovate on Weyland Industries. 

But rather than preach, we would put the consumer in the driving seat. We would add interactive elements to the campaign, making consumers feel in control, as in our You, the Editor micro trend. 

We would also hide extra bits of the narrative in unexpected places so that the most engaged customers feel suitably rewarded. 

But if we were designing a direct marketing campaign, we would mostly dispense with digital and deliver a revivalist, tactile object for our client, as we saw with Australian design agency The Creative Method and South African radio station OFM. 

If LS:N Global made… 2012 is a series of reports reflecting the LS:N Global team’s pick of the best innovations of the year, and those that are most relevant for consumers in 2013.