Creative Brand Strategy-Project 1

25/4/2025-9/5/2025(Week 1- week3)
Lee Jia Rou (0363293)
Creative Brand Strategy / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media /
Project 1

Instructions 

  Lecture  

 WEEK 1 
This week is a introduction of this module- Creative Brand Strategy. But some of our class mate have the packing design module in this semester, so they have to meet their project partner, our lecture combine the class to the MLE MEETING with TBS & SLAS in this class lecture. At first, me and some of my class mate are very confuse when we listen the project brief, because I have taken the packing module and the project brief are so familiar to the packing design module we taken before.

After we ask our class mate, we finally realize that this is the meeting to them. But our lecturer still need us to write report of this section. so this is what the lecture look like.
Fig. 1.0 MLE MEETING slides
 WEEK 2 
In week 2, we start our lecture by learning brand process. 
This lecture focuses on understanding the branding process, including what brand experience is, what a creative strategy involves, and how campaign visual identity works.
-Brand experience refers to the overall feelings, thoughts, and reactions people have when they interact with a brand.
-Creating a good brand experience is important because it helps build positive connections between the brand and its audience. It increases brand awareness and recognition
-A good brand experience is made up of many factors and not just one thing. Therefore, a company needs to put effort into every area to make a strong impression.
Mr. Fauzi also get us her personal experience of how creative process works.
Fig. 1.1 Lecture slide week 2
 WEEK 3 
This week lecture is about SWOT, Customer Journey Map and Brand Touch Points.
SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
-Strengths -Internal advantages over competitors
-Weaknesses -Internal limitations or disadvantages
-Opportunities -External chances for growth and expansion
-Threats -External challenges that could harm the business

When to Use SWOT Analysis
-Developing a new business strategy
-Launching a new product or service
-Entering a new market
-Evaluating the competitive landscape
-Responding to industry changes (e.g. regulations, economy)
Mr. Fauzi also let us do some practices of the SWOT analysis 
Fig. 1.2 Lecture slide week 3
 
  PROJECT 1  

Task 1A : Case Study
Requirement:
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.

In this task, we are request to done this task as 1-2 person a group. At start, I have get mistaken that each of us will do this task individually, so I start research on the brand -INNISFREE. After some dissection with my classmate, I have interested in grouping with Lim chenyi because the topic we are choosing are same as makeup and beauty brand- Glossier.

Fig. 2 Innisfree brand research
Fig. 2.1 Glossier brand research
After some research, we know that Glossier is an influential American beauty brand founded by Emily Weiss in October 2014. It originated from the popular beauty blog Into The Gloss, which Weiss created to explore authentic conversations about self‑care, skincare, and real‑life beauty without glamorized perfection. It is firstly an online beauty brand in 2014 and opened its first offline (physical) store in November 2016.

Glossier rebranding in 2023 to evolve from a niche, millennial “cool girl”  direct-to-consumer brand into a more inclusive, accessible, and retail-driven beauty company.
Fig. 2.2 Glossier brand research 
At the same time, Mr. Fauzi also explain with us the use of SWOT analysis and he give us a simple exercise of the SWOT analysis. By listing out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats we know what is the current brand position and where should we go. It helps a lot in out planning when we step to the next task that we have to do a campaign of Glossier.
Fig. 2.3 SWOT analysis of Glossier


Task 1B : Campaign Proposal
Requirement:
-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.
-Propose a Branding Campaign. The campaign will be for a a glimpse of your choosing and may be conceptualized as a rebranding exercise to introduce a new concept or as a new product line launch. 

In this task, we have to propose Glossier a Campaign to help solving the pain point. By knowing what is the pain point is, we start doing the Customer Journey Map. It is a visual tool that outlines the steps a customer goes through with a brand—from awareness to loyalty. We how do our customers experience that brand position. 

Fig. 2.5 Customer Journey Map
Fig. 2.6 Glossier-Task 1B CAMPAIGN PROPOSAL 


  REFLECTION  

Experience
Working on the Glossier brand case study and campaign proposal was a hands-on, enriching experience that deepened my understanding of creative brand strategy. Although the first lecture was slightly confusing due to the merged session with the packaging design module, the following weeks gave us a clear structure, especially in learning about the branding process, brand experience, and analytical tools like SWOT and Customer Journey Mapping.

Every stage of the project, from researching Glossier’s story to developing campaign strategy, gave us real insights into how brands are responding to cultural shifts and consumer behavior

Observations
Rebranding is more than a look change. It involved strategic shifts like retail partnerships inclusivity, and product innovation to meet the needs of a changing audience. Doing a SWOT analysis helped us better understand Glossier’s internal strengths like community engagement and external opportunities like Southeast Asian market expansion. By visualizing how a customer interacts with the brand from awareness to loyalty, we saw where the gaps were. 


Findings
Campaign planning helped us understand how brand storytelling, customer experience, and strategic tools all come together to create an impactful campaign. This project was not just an academic assignment, but also an opportunity to apply brand theory to real life. By researching Glossier and proposing a marketing campaign based on its evolving brand image, we were able to perfectly combine creativity and strategy. Through lectures, group discussions and practical assignments, I learned the importance of understanding a brand not only in terms of what it is, but also in terms of what it means to its audience and how it can grow and develop.