Communicating the brand positioning

Clear communication is essential in business if appropriate messages are to reach the relevant target audience. Philips needs to communicate its new position to relevant customers/consumers and to the market as a whole.

Advertising campaigns designed to communicate its repositioning exercise focused on a core target group, consisting of the 20% of people doing 80% of the buying. The affluent decision makers in the 35-55 age group identified earlier.

The campaign was designed to be true to the concept of Simplicity. To get the message across, Philips sought to use a different language than the ones we have come to expect from a technology company - fresher, cleaner, more human.

Every advertisement and insert that is used in the campaign tells part of a story. One advertisement reinforces another, so for example multiple insertions are used in consecutive TV commercial breaks.

The advertising campaign is a global one and features existing Philips products that fit the new brand positioning. The campaign cost around EUR80m and was run via broadcast, print and online in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy the United Kingdom, the USA and China.

Communication has been to a range of audiences in addition to consumers, including Philips' employees, the media and the marketing community, through integrated PR activities and an advertising campaign. As well as the television advertising campaign, Philips has used a variety of media including the Internet, face-to-face launches and poster campaigns.