Gloria Omaswa

Detective Strategist

A detective’s trail

At 10, my investigative training starts :

Nancy Drew, The Famous Five, and

Sherlock Holmes were my mentors in

Uganda.

As a teen, my investigations

take me to: Botswana,

South Africa, Kenya,

as well as through:

•Shakespeare

•Long Walk To Freedom

•Anna Karenina

•A Soldiers Journey

Age 19, Law School,

boys! friendships, I

I investigate the US

and Ireland beckon.

In 2003, I am at QG Saatchi & Saatchi, I’ve explored French and Swahili unsuccessfully. I investigate dance and learn Kwasakwasa, acogo.

In 2006, I join ZK

Kenya. I

work on Motorola,

Zain, Woolworths

and many more

In 2007, I start Fresh Ideas Ltd

& move to FIND, Switzerland

On to China in

2008 & then to

VCU

Start here

Cambridge, Boston night life:Lots of people found this fascinating.

Summer 2009

NOAH HAD HIS TROUBLES, JUST LIKE YOU, FOR 40 DAYS HE SAILED THE EARTH UNTIL HE FOUND A PLACE TO PARK

Current favorite quote

Parking lot, Richmond, VA

I’m in there at the back, dancing to Bollywod music.

Things I’ve seen and done on the trail

Case studies :

•Goodwill

•Dr. Bortz

•Noxzema

•Audi

My team won the semester long competitive strategy pitch

and presented to the board of Goodwill, Virginia

Challenge: Increase shopping among 18-24

year olds

Problem : Gen Y’s perception of Goodwill

Goodwill is like an old fashioned

grandma who is trying to get with

the times!

Because of this perception problem, Gen Y and Goodwill aren’t conversing.

They buy vintage for

cheap from Goodwill

And resell for 3 times

the price to Gen Y

Thrift stores,

consignment stores

Who is standing in the way of the conversation?

Fashion

forward

$

How Competitive is Goodwill?

Need supply Clothing store

If Gen Y knew the real

Goodwill they would

shop there.

Positioning:

Real fashion for less

Dated

$$$

PerceptionReality

Rumors thrift store

Who are we talking to ?

The Borrowers:

They borrow from the past

They are the first on the scene

Artists and Entrepreneurs

Leaders and social philanthropists

Real fashion is at Goodwill

Gen Y doesn’t know about it

Conversation is everything

Insights

Strategy

Speak their language:

Be relevant to their lifestyle and the

causes that are important to them

Tactics

Fashion Advisory Board

T shirt design competition

Talk to them online

Dr. Wally Bortz: An eccentric Stanford professor

Challenge: Generate awareness for his message of

healthy living.

Results: Radical media invited us to present our idea to him.

He broke down and cried after our presentation.

America today: 67% are either over weight or obeseThe health message is over played and cliché

Wally’s message: Health is about prevention not a cure .

Aging doesn’t have to mean growing old.

He believes we can all live to be 120 years of

age!

Mcdonald’s addicts Health enthusiasts

Who are we talking to ?

People like me

Care about health But not motivated Countless opportunities to splurge Technology makes life easy

Health = Money

Insight: Living unhealthy is so easy and routine that they are not motivated to change.

Strategy: Inspire them to defy the odds by creating motivation.

Campaign: Wally Bortz won’t die

100% online

Campaign:Twitter contest: choose the day he dies

Betting line: Bet on his death

Miles stones he would have missed

Days of defiance

Blog

Motivation : compare yourself to him on FB

Publicity

Client: Noxzema

Challenge: Create a contextual

strategy to extend Noxzema’s reach in

the skin care category.

Competitive situation

Insight

I’m not at war with my face.

I’m not looking to pamper it

I just want it to be clean.

Target : Men and women

Who is the Simpletarian &

Simpletariana?

They don’t want to use soap but they

aren’t ready for the clutter at the drug store

Opportunity:

Leverage Noxzema’s

no fuss qualities

Brand Experience Path:Where content and context meet

This was a semester long competitive pitch. Our team was one

of 2 teams that won. We made a presentation to the CMO of

Audi.

Client:

Challenge: Engage millenials with the brand.

Problem: Audi is like a blank slate. It stands for nothing,

as a result it hasn’t been attracting many

enthusiasts.

We also found out that millenials were being turned

away at the dealerships.

Challenge: Give Audi an identity

We spoke to Audi loyalists, found out what

attracted them to the car and came up with a point

of view.?

Target :Millenials who appreciate design, are ambitious, but do not crave the

limelight, independent minded people who cannot help but redesign

their own worlds

Insights: This generation has grown up in an age where design is appreciated:

it’s not just smart. It has to be sexy (smaxy). They’ve grown up using

photo-shop, editing videos and doing all sorts of design.

Audi is subtle design, its understated elegance to a successful person

who doesn’t need to show off.

Strategy:

Emphasize who Audi is by emphasizing the power of design

Cultural Observation:

Audi’s product placement in “The Transformers” and “Iron Man” as

well as it’s LED lighting design has given it a lease on life among

millenials.

Creative: The Audi survival kit

Celebrate the design of the Audi by

getting people to enjoy the well

designed aura of an Audi. Do this

by getting them to take a test

drive. This test drive will induce

withdrawal symptoms that the Audi

test kit will help them cope with.

The Audi dealership problem:Millenials didn’t feel welcome at the dealerships.

They shared their experiences with us:

“I asked for an A4 and they showed me an A3”

“I took my car for service and when I picked it

up they didn’t recognize me”

“The salesman asked me if I had enough

money in my account.”

Introduce the dealerships to millenialsRecommendations:•Dealership training

•A booklet that explains millenials lifestyles and purchasing behavior

•Dealership networking application: dealership, corporate, factory

•Create on line experiences by having offline experiences: cocktails, Lemans races.

This led us to our second strategy:

My name is Gloria Omaswa.Mob: 919 749 7098 gloriaomaswa@gmail.com

I have eclectic skills.•Creative and strategic brief writing

•In-depth segmentation studies, insight development,

•Competitive reviews and presentations

•Media planning

•INS, MTC Simmons cross-tab database construction and analysis

I understand branding.Audi, North America- My team won a competitive strategic brand concepts

pitch to sell Audi to millenials. We presented to the CMO of Audi North

America.

Goodwill Industries of Central Virginia - My team won a competitive

strategy pitch rebranding Goodwill for 18-24 year olds. As a result we were

invited to make an encore presentation to the entire Board of Directors.

I have international experience.Branding Intern, Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, FIND

Geneva, Switzerland (November 2007- April 2008)

Copywriter, ZK TBWA Advertising

Nairobi, Kenya (May 2006- January 2007)

Copywriter, QG Saatchi & Saatchi

Kampala, Uganda (Oct 2003 – May 2006)

I have been educated.Summer course: Economic Development in India and East Asia

Harvard University (June – August 2009)

M.S, Mass Communications: Advertising, Communication Strategy

Virginia Commonwealth University, VCU Brandcenter (September 2008 –

present)

Certificate in Elementary Chinese

Worldlink Education, Haidian Beijing

(May 2008 – August 2008)

Post Graduate Diploma in Mass

Communications (Hons)

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

(October 2003- March 2005)

Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice

Law Development Center, Kampala, Uganda

(October 2002- August 2003)

Bachelor of Laws (Hons)

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

(October 1998- September 2002)

I take responsibility.•Makerere University Law Journal, Editor

•Makerere Law Society , Speaker

•Lanugage skills: Ateso, elementary Mandarin,

elementary Swahili

I love life.I read the international press every day. There’s

nothing like waking up early and getting acquainted

with what’s happened on the other side of the world

while I was asleep. Travelling thrills me. Reading

novels exercises my imagination. Hiking exercises

my body. I like to wear my hair long and braided. I

live my life with passion.