RESEARCH

Target Audience

The research was conducted to understand the needs of the brand's target audience. Interconnecteen’s target audience is teenagers, and the objective is to fulfill the need for affiliation. Which, according to Felton (2013) is the need to be associated closely with others, a need for a relationship. The research was conducted to get an understanding of the needs and audience. Then understand how to fulfill their need effectively. Understanding why the need is associated with the target audience. The reason for aiming towards fulfilling the need for affiliation is because the purpose of the brand is to create a pro-diverse social group for teenagers. Research on how to market effectively to teens was utilized to create a foundation for the brand to build upon.

According to Asuncion (2023), the brand needs to be authentic, have social media, make the efforts fun and interactive, allow for mobile functionality, and stay on top of the trends. The source was utilized to understand how to market to teenagers. Developing what kind of brand personality would appeal to the target audience. The source provides strategies and benefits for marking towards teens. The advantage of having online social media connections and engagement allows for the reach of information about the brand (Asuncion, 2023). Interconnected focuses on the online personality that is created through social media and the brand website. Allowing for communication to be sent to the target audience and others instantly.

Having an online interface and profile allows the brand to stay on top of the trends that the target audience is viewing daily. The overall brand strategy for Interconnecting is fun and encourages interaction to create an inviting environment for teenagers to interact and connect. Research was conducted to conclude why the need for affiliation is important for the brand’s target audience.

Social functions help people identify common interests, encourage trying new things, and learn social skills (Why Social Connections are Important for Young People, 2020). The source also states that some of the target audience find interest online, making connections with friends through things like video games (Why Social Connections are Important for Young People, 2020). Based on the research, certain features and benefits were created by the Interconnecteen brand that fulfills the need and appeal of the target audience. Features include a location for teens to connect and communicate online and in person. The benefit of the features Interconnecteen provides is a location in-person and online for users to affiliate with one another.

Brand Assets

The research conducted helped with what kind of assets will be created for the brand. Since the target audience thrives on both in-person and online social interaction, assets were created to function for both scenarios. Helping to prioritize what advertisement for the brand will appeal to the target audience the most. According to Outbrain (2019), teenagers share information via social media, enjoy discovering information delivered in real time, and enjoy participating and getting involved. Focusing on creating assets for social media and online that provide information for the brand is a priority. For Interconnecteen, assets like an engaging social media image and a website were created as a way for the user to easily share information about social events hosted by the company. Regarding the apparel, it was based on what apparel appeals to the target audience the most.

Caylor (2022) lists apparel like bucket hats, phone grips, and water bottles as swag ideas that are appealing to students. Those apparel, along with shirts, jackets, and bags, was included in the swag package for Interconnecteen. The source outlines the different apparel and how it appeals to the target audience. For example, water bottles are enjoyable to Generation Z because it is sustainable, and bottled water is the ideal beverage choice (Caylor, 2022). The reason for choosing bucket hats is because the style is gender-neutral and adaptable to mix matching outfits for males and females (Caylor, 2022). The apparel chosen is adaptable to any style and preference that appeals to the target audience. Visually communicating the look and feel, and the values of the brand for its target audience. According to Pelletier (2023), a uniform is a visual representation of belonging to a group. Creating a sense of unity and opportunity to be a part of something bigger. Pelletier also outlines the design work of cohesive apparel and how it supports affiliation. An effective uniform design includes a logo and a consistent reminder of organizational values (Pelletier, 2023). For the apparel, the consistent use of the brand’s colors, logo, and superhero theme reflects the brand and its values.

There are also benefits to allowing for customization and personalization in apparel. It provides a sense of ownership, allowing one to express individuality within the collective group (Pelletier, 2023). This is why the caped shirt provided is consistent in the logo and cape print but comes in a variety of colors to allow the consumer to choose their favorite color. Pelletier also outlines situations where cohesive apparel amongst the organization is beneficial and successful. In industries that provide customer service, uniforms are essential to present collectiveness and affiliation internally and externally (Pelletier, 2023). Hence why having an apparel that both reflects the style of the target audience and the look and feel of the brand will further help fulfill the need for affiliation.

Voice and Tone

The voice and tone for the brand was developed with the target audience in mind. For example, the name of the brand was developed through creating a word through the combination of the target audience, teen, and interconnecting, another way to say connect with each other. According to Munjal (2017), inventing words can help the brand become memorable. Creating a compound word for the brand’s name also gives the brand a personality that is fun because it does not stick to the natural rules of literature. While also directly stating the service it provides and who the brand is targeting. When developing the slogan of the brand, research was conducted on other well-known brands and their slogans. Studying the slogan and how it overall connects to the brand and it’s services.

The slogan for Interconnecteen is “Build your Super Team!” and is similar to Nike’s “Just Do It” and Apple’s “Think Different” (Burns, 2024). It is an action statement that is connective to the overall voice and tone, and services of the brand. When developing the voice and tone of the brand, connecting with the target audience emotionally through understanding their psychographics. According to Jantz (2017) is it natural for teens to be interested in new things they never knew existed or care about before. Interconnecteen utilizes a surprised tone and fun voice was to present opportunities of connection and discovery towards the target audience. Encouraging engagement, connection, and something new for the teenagers to look forward to in an exciting tone.

Look and Feel

The look and feel is the biggest statement and the forefront of the overall brand. The biggest inspiration for the theme of the brand is comic book and pop art style. According to Arruda (2019) color is the most important visual element because it visually communicates brand attributes, emotion, and creates recognition. The colors utilized for Interconnecteen are red, blue, green, yellow, pink, and cyan. The reasoning is because they are colors commonly used for pop art and comic books, and when put together creates a dynamic visual effect. For making strategies, many brand utilized brighter hues of color to appeal to the current generation because it represent feelings of joy and excitement (Naylor, 2023).I nterconnecteen utilizes bright colors to represent fun and excitement but put at a softer hue so that it is not overwhelming to the eye.

For the logo of the brand, it is three simple figures in a heroic pose with capes, along with a wordmark of the brand name. According to Design Rush (2023), oversimplified logos are beneficial because they are modern and is recognizable at reduced sizes. However, an oversimplified logo could lack character and personality (Design Rush, 2023). A simple logo is also more easily memorable and is direct with the visual messaging (Broworks, 2023). For Interconnecteen’s logo, though it is simple silhouettes of the figures, the posing helps create personalities. Even though there are no expressions on their faces, the emotion is shown through the structure of the figure. The logo is memorable whether there is color or not, and it is not dependent of the wordmark of the brand name to be recognizable.

Overall, the research conducted for the thesis project is to gain a better understanding of the foundation of the brand. Utilizing the research to create stronger design decisions. Reflecting the brand's messaging and values. While also fulfilling the needs and appeal of the target audience.

References

Arruda, W. (2019). Digital you: Real personal branding in the virtual age. ATD Press. https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/digital-you-real/9781949036763/

Asuncion, E. (2023, December 20). 7 marketing strategies to target teen audience effectively. web.com. https://www.web.com/blog/successful-way-market-to-teens/

Broworks. (2023, April 27). 6 reasons why your logo needs to be simple. https://www.broworks.net/blog/6-reasons-why-your-logo-needs-to-be-simple

Burns, R. (2024, February 2). 63 iconic company slogans and taglines. ActiveCampaign. https://www.activecampaign.com/blog/company-slogans

Caylor, B. (2022, September 26). 15 Gen z swag ideas for your students. Caylor Solutions. https://www.caylor-solutions.com/gen-z-swag/

De Quia, M. (2023, December 7). Oversimplified logos: Pros, cons and everything in between. DesignRush. https://www.designrush.com/best-designs/logo/trends/oversimplified-logos

Felton, G. (2013). Advertising: Concept and Copy. Norton & Company. 2024, https:// bookshelf.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9780393733921

Munjal, D. (2017, June 6). Council post: Create a memorable name for your business using poetic devices. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/06/06/create-a-memorable-name-for-your-business-using-poetic-devices/?sh=73e74637c048

How to market to teens? strategies & demographics. Outbrain. (2019, November 14). https://www.outbrain.com/help/advertisers/content-marketing-to-teenagers/

Jantz, G. L. (2017, March 7). Teenagers and their quest to find themselves. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hope-relationships/201703/teenagers-and-their-quest-find-themselves

Naylor, T. (2023, September 25). A foolproof guide to the role of colors in generational marketing. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/foolproof-guide-role-colors-generational-marketing-tabitha-naylor/

Pelletier, D. (2023, December). The psychology of uniforms: Boosting team morale with cohesive workwear. Thrive Workwear. https://thriveworkwear.com/blogs/resources/psychology-uniforms-workwear#:~:text=Sense%20of%20Identity%20and%20Belonging&text=When%20individuals%20wear%20the%20same,of%20something%20larger%20than%20themselves.