Interdisciplinary Branding Practice Transformation Course
Interdisciplinary Practice Transfer Projects
The Interdisciplinary Branding Practice Translation Course is one of the key teaching features of the German University of Branding and Applied Sciences. The course requires students to participate in a complete corporate project to solve a practical problem faced by a company under the joint leadership of a school mentor and an industry mentor before graduation. In this process, students in Exhibition Economics and Management (Brand Management), Advertising (Brand Communication) and Visual Communication Design (Brand Design) team up across disciplines to play different professional roles. The practical transformation project is a real-life training, which can effectively improve the students' professional ability and quality. The Sino-German School of Design and Communication has systematically introduced the teaching model of the German University of Applied Sciences for Branding, and the "Interdisciplinary Branding Practice Transformation" has become an important part of the "Art + Business + Media DCM Branding" series of interdisciplinary platform courses of the School.
01
Project Introduction
Käthe KruseIn 2013, the German partner of Sino-German Institute, HAPE Toys, a world famous toy manufacturer, acquired Käthe Kruse, a classic German brand of high quality dolls, founded in 1905 and well known in the European and American markets. Entrusted by HAPE, the content of this brand building practice transformation project is to develop for Käthe Kruse to enter the Chinese marketRelatedBrand StrategyPlanning feasibleMarketing Activities, , ,And complete the related brand design.
Project by Sino-German School of Design and Communication, Class of 2019Visual Communication Design (Brand Design), ,Advertising (Brand Communication)andConvention and Exhibition Economics and Management (Brand Management)Students from majors teamed up across majors to complete the project, and each team had to include students from all three majors. The team of instructors consisted of Xinyan Zhou, Stefan Waller, Peter Bittler, Di Gao, and Yiping Zhang.
02
Project Process
The task teams worked in the same space for more than 1 month in a concentrated period, all team members worked in the same space, completely simulating the actual work scenario of the company, and students from various majors complemented each other and collaborated, communicating and solving problems at any time, which greatly enhanced the work efficiency.
The Sino-German fusion team of instructors and teaching assistants also provided a lot of guidance to the students. Mr. Zhou Xinyin, a brand communication major, guided the students in establishing the framework of the pre-research strategy and the development of the media plan. Stefan Waller, a German professor, provided the students with implementation advice and route references in the post-visualization section.
During the course of the project, students encounter a variety of practical problems that require them to actively explore and find solutions.
Zhao Yifan's group encountered two challenges: the first was to identify the Käthe KruseProductsThe team considered and weighed the pros and cons. The team considered and weighed the pros and cons and chose the Krusling doll line as the main push to adapt to the Chinese aesthetic habits of dolls. Next is to determineOff-line activity programAs each Krusling doll has its own unique story, in order to allow consumers to experience the features first-hand during the event, they repeatedly pushed through the offline event plan through internal group discussions, striving to perfectly display all the dolls and finally obtained satisfactory results.
Kexin Zheng's group encountered a bottleneck in the diversity of their marketing campaign, and they actively sought the help of their mentors. After talking with their teachers and analyzing their localization research, they decided to book a trip to China for their dolls.
At the beginning, the interdisciplinary collaboration between Zhang Jianan's group and Chen Xuan's group was not smooth, as the members were unfamiliar with each other and did not know much about the personalities of other team members. In the end, both groups used regular online and offline meetings to communicate and bond with each other, and the cooperation became more and more tacit.
Students in each group used various creative management tools such as brain maps for project management. Xia Xiaowen's group used Gantt charts when coordinating the time and task allocation for the group's project work. She mentioned, "A lesson worth sharing from this project is that we need to identify common goals when working together as a team and check them from time to time during the process to make sure the team is on the right track. Gantt charts are suitable for multi-project integrated planning, efficiently arranging and breaking down project tasks, and making even complex plans simple."
The groups report toHape Groupcarry outOnline proposal reporting.
Due to the impact of the epidemic, this closing report is based onOnline methodFive teams presented to the HAPE Group brand management team theirMarket Research ResultswithMarketing Promotion Program.
Yuki ManagerAfter listening to the presentation of each group's proposal, he said: "The students of the Sino-German School of Design and Communication were able to grasp well the Käthe KruseBrand SpiritandBrand ToneThe final project presented by the students exceeded our expectations, with excellent ideas and a high degree of feasibility for Käthe Kruse to enter the Chinese market.Can be practically implementedThe thought process."
03
Project Results Project Achievement
Xia Xiaowen, Xu Bingyu, Li Chan, Dong Yuxin, Zheng XinyiThe group takes "Kiss Kiss" as the theme of the project. Their idea comes from the greatest strength of the brand Käthe Kruse -AffinitywithQualityMost of Käthe Kruse's products are made of organic materials and are very safe. At the same time, in order to highlight the affinity of Käthe Kruse and increase the Chinese audience's trust in it, the team members came up with the theme "Kiss Kiss" after brainstorming, which not only shows the affinity but also associates with the brand name, effectively helpingBrand Communication.
Zhao Yifan, Chen Ke, Zhuge Guanhong, Fang Jie, Liu XinyiThe group first divided the tasks to be completed by the students of each major according to the project brief. In order to ensure the feasibility and rigor of the project execution, they performed all the tasksFocused discussionOrderly implementationProject Backgrounder, ,Distribution of questionnairesand defined the brand to carry out after entering ChinaOnline and offline activitiesThey gave the brand a new direction with the theme of "Big Dreamer". They gave the brand a new direction with the theme of "Big Dreamer" and tried different design approaches. At the same time, they also boldly added the imagination of magic, modeled it into a small exhibition hall, combined with the game to increase the children'sSense of interactive participation. Through simple interactions to make children understand the meaning of dreams, as their slogan says, 'Put on the wings of your dreams', every child is their own big dreamer.
Chen Xuan, Tang Yanling, Shi Jiawan, Zheng Gongyi, Li NaThe group tapped into the selling point that Käthe Kruse toys are handmade and harmless, taking parents of children aged 0-7 as their target customers, revealing the difficulties behind female childbirth and the greatness of maternal love, causing resonance among target customers. They plan to promote the brand on WeChat Weibo ShakeYin and other platforms, so that customers can understand the brand story and experience the brand connotation, and at the same time, they will carry out the Käthe Kruse campaign, allowing customers to visit the offline flash store and experience the toy making process to create a deeper connection with the brand.
Zhang Jianan, Shen Shiqi, Lin Zhongyin, Zhang Hong, Yang ZhiangThe group set up a new brand name for Käthe Kruse, a century-old German handmade doll brand, in China - Körüs. They extracted the connecting pen element from the original English font and cleverly combined it into the Chinese LOGO. There is no lack of ingenuity in the symbolism, "cute", "dynamic" and "thinking", the three elements not only complete the harmonization, but also at the same time are the embodiment of Käthe Kruse brand characteristics. Secondly, they also planned a localization campaign for the brand with the theme of "Me and my friends all over the world", the visual style of the campaign was hand-painted and integrated with paper-cutting elements, the visual style of the combination of Chinese and Western is full of tension and has a strong sense of modern art. The campaign is also intended to use the brand's unique products as a medium to create more awareness and communication influence for the brand, creating a user base and laying the brand tone for the initial localization of the brand.
Zheng Kexin, Cai Zhenyu, Wu Zihan, Tong Yin, Zeng ChiThe theme of the project is "Spread handmade, Spread love". The group was inspired by Käthe Kruse's centuries-old artisanal craftsmanship, which insists on using purely handmade methods and safe and reliable materials to make dolls. In order to let the Chinese audience feel the brand's care and warmth for children, the team members came up with the corresponding theme of "Spread handmade, Spread love" after brainstorming, which not only spreads the brand's consistent philosophy, but also emphasizes the brand's best handmade craftsmanship, helping the brand's communication in the Chinese market. The theme of "Spread handmade, Spread love" was developed by the team members after brainstorming.
04
Student testimonials Comments From Students
1
Zhao Yifan
Sino-German Visual Communication Design 191
"Käthe Kruse is a famous German brand, and it was a rare opportunity for us to complete the questions in the course. It was great to work with two other majors and it was our firstInterdisciplinary cooperation for projectsIt gives us the opportunity to negotiate and discuss and solve problems through our respective professional perspectives. It's just like the real workplace."
2
Xia Xiaowen
Sino-German Visual Communication Design 191
"When international brands enter the Chinese market, it is importantAdaptation to local conditionsThe internationalization of brand communication requires us to make the best use of the brand. The international communication of our brand requires us to make good use ofWord of mouth marketingandEmotional Marketing. In order to strengthen the German traditional doll brand Käthe Kruse in ChinaLocalized communicationWe have come up with many ways for brands to effectively leverage China'sSocial media platforms, strengthenLocal connection to the audience.
3
Tang Yanling
Sino-German Advertising 192
"We are careful to keep the German brand's ownBrand DNAwhile adapting it to the ChineseCultural Background, use a goodCreativityto cross the cultural gap, so that 'foreign' brands in China can alsoGrounded to the ground. Cross-cultural storytelling, that's what we're good at at the Sino-German Institute."
4
Cindy Cheng
Sino-German Advertising 191
"This project made me feelCommunication and CollaborationIt is so important! During the execution of the project, students from the three majors of advertising, visual communication and exhibition worked together with the help of their instructors, from the initialBuild the framework, ,Find creative pointsuntil we confirm the details of the project and complete the landing plan, this 'making something out of nothing' process gives us the opportunity to putTheory into practice."
The Sino-German Institute always upholds
"Industry-education integration, learning to apply"The teaching purpose
I believe that through thisSino-German Interdisciplinary Branding Practice Project
Each student got something out of it
I also hope that the accumulation of these practical experiences
Can help everyone
GetInterprofessional CollaborationThe ability to
Smoother entry into the brand workplace
English