Brand Strategist
Becoming a Partner to Small Businesses
Client
Role
Strategic Positioning
Consumer Research
Messaging Strategy
Competition Audit
Team
Date
2022
Background
Adobe is a software company that makes solutions for creation and publication of a wide range of content including graphics, illustration, animation, video, print etc. Their flagship products Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere help in their mission which is to change the world through digital experiences.
Challenge
Adobe has industry leading products such as Adobe Creative Cloud Express and Adobe Acrobat which provide small businesses with everything they need to create engaging content as well as stay organized. But many small businesses don’t know enough about Adobe to see them as relevant or instrumental to their success. The brief given to us was to develop a fresh, breakthrough brand campaign that puts Adobe on the map as the must-have brand for small business success. The challenge was to create a big idea for the Adobe brand that builds lasting connections and establishes them as an invaluable partner to small businesses for years to come.
Insight
Instead of looking at the audience as small businesses with up to 100 employees, we looked at a particular stage at which Adobe can best establish itself as a partner. We observed the ongoing economic trend of the Great Resignation in 2021 in which employees voluntarily resigned from their jobs en masse. We introduce the ‘Great Resignator’ - people who have quit corporate jobs and started working for themselves within the last two years.
By reaching out to the Great Resignator, Adobe will resonate with all resignators , those thinking about resigning and those who want to make their side hustle their main hustle - and also capture the future Small Business owners.
From our research we uncovered that these small business owners want to grow their business and have control over their vision but are limited by their time and expertise. The true potential of Adobe lies beyond a provider of products - it lies in establishing Adobe as seriously empowering.
Strategy
Adobe is uniquely positioned to speak to this audience as they were a small business themselves and first set up in a garage. But they made it out of the garage - and so can the Great Resignator. As a metaphor for the pursuit of success, Adobe can help small businesses make it - in more ways than one. Out of the garage, cubicle, sketchbook, room or zoom. Or Make it from wherever they are to where they want to be.
Creative Solutions
The big idea of ‘Make it out of the Garage’ has been planned to establish a long lasting connection with the audience. We propose three broad areas for activation.
1. Social-first Campaign
The social first campaign is guided by a manifesto to the Great Resignator. A dedicated Instagram page will be created to form a community, activated by the hashtag ‘make it with Adobe’. This campaign will feature real life resignators and small business owners.
2. Summit for Small Businesses
We propose an additional, new version of the original Summit event for small businesses. This will show that Adobe wants to be part of their community by providing a space dedicated to them.
3. Strategic Partnerships
The campaign and community building will be supported by strategic partnerships, which can strengthen the perception of Adobe’s commitment to this audience.
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