Creative Brief
Parks and Recreation
Daniel Ennis

Key concept
The characters from Parks and Recreation are what make the show so compelling, and since people may be behind on the series, these ads should be a way to make them feel like they can catch up if they get to know the characters.

Problem that advertising must solve
Parks and Recreation is a TV show that many people say that they wished they watched, or they’d heard a lot about it but just never got around to watching it, or they saw the first season but then lost track of it.

Advertising objective
This campaign will motivate people who are aware of Parks and Recreation to become knowledgeable and watch it on a regular basis, or at least feel like they don’t have to worry about getting caught up on the seasons they haven’t seen.

Creative strategy

Target market: The target market is men and women that are post-college graduates, ages 25-34 that are living in urban areas. These are the type of people that still live an apartment, don’t have much savings, and can’t afford to eat out often. They may not even have cable, but watch TV on Hulu instead. Despite being on a strapped budget, they still have friends that talk about things in a cult-like way, such as their favorite bands and TV shows. They’re light-hearted and generally optimistic about the future.

Principal competition: Other TV shows that air at the same time, as well as other TV shows that may be of more interest.

Grey’s Anatomy
Viewers of Grey’s Anatomy are similar to the target market of Parks and Recreation, but the viewers of both are looking for different things. Although Grey’s is more directed at women, and is generally more positioned as a drama, it could be a threat for some of the same demographic.

The Office
Parks and Recreation is often compared to The Office as “that show that’s kind of like The Office, but set in a parks department,” so people think they’ve had enough once they’ve watched The Office, but the shows are much different from one another. This would mostly be competition for those people that watch Hulu or shows online, or don’t have time to watch two shows in one night. The Office is targeted at the same demographic generally.

Key consumer benefit: People that watch Parks and Recreation will be able to keep up with the conversation with their friends when they’re making inside jokes and they won’t feel left out. It gives people a chance to catch up that aren’t caught up.

Reason(s) why: The show is easy to catch up on, but not many people realize this. It isn’t very sequential like other shows that require you to watch every episode, and things can easily be caught up on within a few episodes.

Tone: The tone is humorous and minimal, matching with the show.

Mandatories and Policy Limitations
Parks and Recreation title, NBC logo, time that the show is on, day that the show is on.