Global health food giant Danone is looking for Concepts – and taglines to support them – to form the basis for their latest and most ambitious corporate brand positioning to date.

This brief is unlike any other we’ve ever offered on Tongal. 

Because this time our client is asking you to help us express their brand positioning and create a global movement.  We hope that sounds exciting to you – because creating excitement is a big part of this project.

However, before we get to the specifics of the creative assignment, we want to provide you some background about the brand that is asking for your help.  As with all of our creative challenges, the better you know the brand, the better your creative work will be. And in this case, knowing the brand is especially important – because the movement we’re asking you to create is intended to fully express their soul, spirit, and ongoing mission. 

About The Client: Danone

The client is Danone – depending on where you live, you may or may not be familiar with that name.  But most of the world – 140 countries across the globe -  is familiar with one or more of Danone’s iconic brands.

For those of you in the U.S., you will likely recognize at least the sound of their name – that’s because Danone is the parent company for Dannon Yogurt.  Across the world, Danone is a leader within four distinct product lines:

• Dairy – Danone is the number one brand in dairy products (including yogurt!) worldwide
• Early Life Nutrition – Food for the little ones: Danone is number 2 worldwide with brands like Aptamil and Nutrilon
• Waters – Danone is the #2 provider worldwide with brands like Evian, Mizone, and Aqua Total
• Medical Nutrition – Danone leads in Europe with brands like Fortimel and Nutrison.

Key Point: Danone is NOT just a yogurt company!! So do not think of them as such for this project.

Truly Global: Danone’s global reach is expressed not only by their presence in 140 countries, but also by the fact that more than 50% of their sales are currently made in emerging markets.

Danone’s Mission

Danone’s 100,000+ employees are all dedicated to a unique mission: 

Bringing health through food to as many people as possible.

Though it’s very much in vogue these days for brands to explore positioning that envision a greater social purpose -- Danone has long been an advocate and pioneer in this regard, declaring the vital inter-dependence of social good and economic health as far back as 1972.  In fact, health has been at the center of Danone’s mission from the company’s inception in 1919.  And their mission has been reflected in their business actions – which is why the Danone product portfolio today is 100% health-focused – unique in the food industry.  

Social Initiatives

Danone’s engagement on social initiatives is massive. Below are just a few examples:

·       Danone Communities: A "social businesses network". Its mission is to fund and develop local businesses with a sustainable economic model, oriented towards social goals: reducing poverty and malnutrition. 

·       Danone Ecosysteme: Its mission is to co-create innovative business solutions with not for profit organizations that generate social and economic value for the small players in the local economy and Danone.  

·       Danone Livelihoods: An unprecedented carbon investment fund that helps rural communities in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America restore their ecosystems by generating financial resources for projects with high social, economic, and environmental value. 

Homework is encouraged.  This is a great video briefly covering Danone’s brands and mission around the world.  Please give it a couple viewings – and feel free to dig in deeper on your own.  The Wikipedia page on Danone is also a great resource.  Additionally, on the Assets tab, we have included the company manifesto and a corporate presentation. The manifesto should be considered required reading. The presentation is for those wishing to do a deeper dive. Dig in and learn as much as you can!

How To Start A Movement

You may be thinking that starting a movement is a lofty ambition – and it is – but someone’s gotta do it!! But what constitutes a “movement” exactly?

A movement is something rooted in human truth and human emotion - something that resonates deeply of its own relatable volition. It’s the veritable wildfire that starts with one lit match. Apple’s “Think Different” was WAY more than a tag line. It was a movement. It challenged people to look up and out and forward – to consider things they had never before considered.

The #LikeAGirl campaign from Always was a simple hashtag that started a movement. As with Apple, they challenged pre-conceived notions. In this case, of what it means to run like a girl, throw like a girl, fight like a girl – and how that notion gets co-opted as a young girl transitions into adulthood. Incredibly powerful stuff.

And Dove’s moving “Sketches” campaign became the veritable mirror for women everywhere – proving that how they see themselves is almost always in a less flattering light than how the rest of the world sees them. Why is that? How can we change that? That was the probing question Dove wanted to answer.

All of these examples prove that a simple yet deep human truth – if properly revealed and articulated – can strike a chord so powerful and so self-evident that you couldn’t turn it off if you tried. And that’s what we’re after here. A rallying cry that is so much more than the words that form it. Rather, it inspires people everywhere to line up and say “I’m in – I agree with this – I think other people should see this too”.

A lofty ambition no doubt, but we suspect you’re up for it… Go ahead. Change the world.

Danone has never before taken their overall corporate mission to the public at large.  They are very active with social programs, but they have never before engaged all of their customers – globally, across all of their brands, with their internal mission.  They want to make their mission public in a big, bold, and persuasive way.

• To do this successfully, Danone wants you to help them create a rallying cry.  Something concise, inspiring, simple, memorable -- a rallying cry capable of both starting and carrying a global social movement.  You can also think of this in terms of a tag line. It must establish Danone as a change mark and a symbol of people power, enabling them to create better health for themselves, better lives for their communities and a better world for everyone.
• They want the rallying cry to be motivating at both an individual and collective level.  Danone recognizes that any movement they create will be built one person – one choice – at a time.  And choice is a key component of the rallying cry they’re trying to create.  Danone wants their rallying cry to contain both the power and consequence of choice. 
• To date, they have expressed this choice with the following phrase: “Each time we eat and drink we can vote for our own health and the world we want to live in.” …Danone likes this idea but they want it to be bolder, more concise, and more uplifting. Ultimately, they want to create a campaign that is able to raise emotions, generate discussion, and build a movement to “live the change for a healthier world.”

This is exactly where YOU come in...

Tag Line / Rallying Cry

Based on everything we’ve shared above – give us the tag line or rallying cry that can serve as the conceptual “North Star” for this project and this movement.  We’re looking for something that’s open, inviting, and enduring -- but also a rallying cry that carries with it a sense of individual challenge and commitment.  Make it short, make it stick, make it matter.  You have 140 characters to work with – but you certainly don’t have to use all of them.  However many characters you do use – make sure each one counts!

Why ?

You have 500 characters to tell us WHY this is the right rallying cry for Danone.  While we’re ready to hear your version of Don Draper’s “carousel” speech – you don’t have to hide.  Feel free to tell us exactly why your rallying cry means a lot to YOU personally.  We’re after that old magic – where language that is very deeply personal, also has the potential to be universal.

One important nuance to keep in mind as you formulate your thoughts: while sustainability is important to Danone as an organization it should not be the focus of the rallying cry and is not pertinent to this brief. The is about health, starting at a personal level, but then expanding to a local, regional and global level.

--Key Marketing Messages:

• Each time we eat and drink we can vote for our own health and the world we want to live in.
• Personal health and global health are intrinsically linked and fully interdependent.  We can’t be healthy unless the planet is healthy.  A better world helps grow healthier ingredients.  And the cycle starts anew …
• Bringing health through food to as many people as possible.

--Target Audience: Planet earth.

--Executional Mandatories: Think big. REALLY big.

--Tone: Resolute, empowering, uplifting, game-changing.

--Exposure: Planet earth.

This Project will be worth a total of $3,000 and consists of 1 Phase: a Tagline and Concept Phase. Be sure to read the following information carefully as well as the Official Rules.

PHASE 1: TAGLINE AND CONCEPT – Tell us your Tagline and Concept for Danone Project.

• Text (REQUIRED): 500 characters or less that conveys your Concept.
• Tagline (REQUIRED): 140 character or less. Remember, a Tagline should be a short, memorable slogan or phrase that gets the thought across without a lot of explanation. 

The winning Tagline and Concept creators will receive $1000.

1. Unless provided otherwise, all work must be your own original creation and free of any copyrighted material. You shall provide detailed information of your work regarding the source, the creator and background information as requested by Tongal.

2. In the event you utilize any third party materials, such as music provided by a third-party music provider not provided by Tongal, you must obtain full written license and consent from the owner of such third party materials and provide such license and consent forms to Tongal.

3. BY SUBMITTING AN ENTRY, YOUR SUBMISSION IMMEDIATELY BECOMES THE SOLE PROPERTY OF TONGAL OR ITS ASSIGNEES – SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES. YOU MAY NOT PUBLICLY SHARE OR PUBLISH YOUR SUBMISSION IN ANY MANNER AND YOU MAY NOT POST OR UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION TO ANY WEBSITE OR VIDEO HOSTING SITE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE OR VIMEO), WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF TONGAL.  FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF YOUR ENTRY IN THE PROJECT.

4. Submissions cannot contain any profanity, offensive language, nudity or otherwise objectionable material, the determination of which is solely at the discretion of Sponsor.

5. Submissions must not portray Sponsor in a negative way, the determination of which will solely reside with Sponsor.

6. By submitting to this project, you acknowledge that your work may become subject to public voting on the Tongal site. Public voting may be used to help the project sponsor determine the final rank order.

7. Taglines must be in the English language or subtitled.

8. Limit 5 submissions per member, per Phase.

9. You must be at least thirteen (13) years or older to enter.

10. In the event that fewer than 100 Taglines and Concepts are received, the Sponsor reserves the right to repost the contest for up to fourteen (14) days at their discretion.

11. See OFFICIAL RULES for additional contest information, terms and conditions. If there is any conflict or inconsistency between these requirements and the Official Rules, the terms and conditions of these requirements shall prevail.