1. Define character.
King of shaves Creative Brief
Account Planning School of the Web
Justin Thor Hoyer
whatinfluences.wordpress.com
King of Shaves Creative brief 1

2. What is the business problem we are going to solve?
King of Shaves is currently at 9 percent market share. Gillette dominates the world razor industry with 72
percent market share. Schick is the second largest but a meager 15 percent share followed by BIC 6
percent market share.
We are currently in a $20 billion per annum industry where the amount of blades on your razor is king. There
is not enough emphasis on the process or art of shaving which is where the King of Shaves prime and
protect lotions and gels can compete more dominantly on the playing field. King of shaves also has their
own freshly designed razor, the AZOR, however, we don't want to get into a blade swinging catchup match
even though we are proud of the razor we promote.
King of Shaves products aren't notorious enough to the emerging market to increase our market
share to take the number 2 spot at 18% market share.
Who are we talking to and what is our key insight?
We want to talk to people at the origin of their shaving needs (male and female teens to mid 20's). At the
time when we can have the most influence to help create a good process with great products that create a
amazing result.
Shaving has fast become about getting a close shave at a lightening pace. We want to displace this by
generating aspirations of character. What it's like to become the man or woman you hoped to be when you
grew up - Important, defined, confident, proud and wanted. Note, this doesn't mean that they have to be
clean shaven. Definition of character could come from manicuring the perfect gotee.
Puberty creates the need for shaving. It's also when character development begins. We all have
idols and desires. Let's harness character building with the act of shaving - Allowing the King of
Shaves products to become synonymous with building their character.
What do we want them to do?
Currently those first starting to shave will grab whichever product has the right familiarity with the right price
tag, or have this option handed to them.
We want the target to associate the 'best buy' as the solution that will give them the best result according to
their personal needs of character.
We want the target to purchase the range of King of Shaves products - A primer, a shaver and a
protector, knowing that they will be better off with these three products than a single gimmicky
blade-filled razor.
King of Shaves Creative brief 2

3. What and who influences their choices?
Culture, peers, stars and idols, parents (you can't buy what you can't afford)..
Shaving and defining a style can be as complex as defining yourself via the clothes you wear and music
you listen to.
But be conscious that just because someone listens to death metal, they may also listen to classical, as
the musical compositions may be similar.
Culture and our experiences define us. Nature or nurture, which ever is done better or more
prominently in the eyes of our target.
We are all categorised on sight within seconds of first meet. REMEMBER: Judging a book by it's
cover still leads to a story somewhere.
The proposition – keep it single minded, simple and unsexy.
Define yourself by the way you shave.
In a word: Character
How can we back this up?
Jocks, geeks, metro-sexuals, farm boys, surfers, mods, models, rockers, transvestites, hippies,
girl-next-door types, burlesque dancers, you and the person sitting next to you...etc..Every 2-6 weeks we
replenish our shaving stocks. And every year more people join our target audience and strive to define
themselves.
And with every new cycle comes a new opportunity for the target to consider King of Shaves products.
Everyone grooms themselves in some way at regular periods. Every new period is a chance to
redefine or create anew.
What's our personality and how should we behave?
We want to target defining roles of character. Using the principals of a man dressed in a three piece suit
from the roaring 20's, complete with handkerchief and pocket watch - now living today.
Someone who takes time with the finer things to make the right impression of their character.
King of Shaves Creative brief 3

4. What does success look like?
Business wise: Growth in sales. We want to double our percentage within two years and take the number
two spot.
A viable alternative from the clean shaven poster boys of present.
Culture wise: You can always tell between the real thing and a knock-off. We want people to assume that
when they see great results, those results are from using a great process (prime, shave, protect) a process
delivered by King of Shaves. It could be men spending more time in the bathroom, it could be more barber
shops appearing in shopping centres, It could be King of Shaves co-opting with charities and causes that
help define character of all-round young up-and-coming individuals.
Success looks like a character driven youth. With morals and defined characteristics to match.
Where at the age of puberty, future men and women reach for King of Shaves products over others.
Mandatories or considerations
Please consider how the King of Shaves was born. A man in his kitchen working on a better priming gel.
From this came the protecting lotion, and then the shaver. Challenging the majors at their own game
(Sports stars and razors) is a fruitless quest.
The name and the ideology must remain. The ladies' products look and feel has just changed and
that also must remain. Everything else is at your mercy.
Media
Month 1 - Awareness of brand: Teaser Campaign (eg. internet only)
Create interest: Either traditional methods like:
Radio, TV, Print/Press ads, Banner ads, Posters, Billboards, Sponsorships, On pack
promo, Celebrity/Paid tweets
Or non-traditional: like interactive choose your own adventure youtube video
Months 2-3: Campaign launch
Create dialogue and engagement:
Either traditional methods like:
Radio, TV, Print/Press ads, Banner ads, Posters, Billboards, Sponsorships, On pack
promo, Celebrity/Paid tweets
Or non-traditional: like interactive choose your own adventure youtube video
Months 3-6: Campaign re-engage
Try, like, prefer: If King of Shaves own it. Use it.
Especially any form of media that can leverage conversation between the brand the target
audience.
This list contains, but is not limited to:
.com (Brand/product web page), King of Shaves australian blog, Facebook page, Youtube
page, Brand Tweets, eDM, the King of Shaves boat, the lady barbers
King of Shaves Creative brief 4

5. Why not?
! Create a competition to find the King of Shaves characters amongst it's users (utilising above
media). See above (What's our personality and how should we behave?).
OR
! Create a King of Shaves barbershop in a couple of capital cities around the country, which are
staffed by the best barbers of the area, where people are able to get a proper shave using King of
Shaves products. Here they can discover their true character - be it bad boy, the boss, the wanted
lady, the sports hero. etc. (They'd pay for the service via interaction on a social media platform to
get the word out)
Create share value: Utilise emotion of: Lively/Able/Happy/Inspired
Stage 1
Get people to interact with brand creating content utilising emotion
Stage 2
Curate and publish socially made content
Stage 3
Give audience the ability to curate, publish and share their own version
King of Shaves Creative brief 5