Rough Pitch (Presented to client, Palo Alto Software)
Approach
Our approach is to take what can seem complex and abstract and use familiar objects to illustrate the simple message at the core of a product or service. In this case, we are going take the rather abstract concept of generic email correspondence and bring into the tactile, real world. We will use the simple, iconic envelope to represent email and will bring it to life with the stop motion animation aesthetic.
These envelopes will be the main characters. They will serve as a visual representation to tell the story of Email Center Pro. A lot of the more complex, detailed features will be communicated through the simple and visually entertaining analogy of these envelopes. The point is to effectively communicate what the service is by using vernacular human examples of customer service. By its nature, technology is not face-to-face, but it doesn’t have to be this way.
In order to illustrate some of the more notable features, these are examples of some of the customer-oriented analogies we were thinking of:
Alerts—
A waiting envelope taps a (dry cleaner’s) customer service bell.
Assigning Email—
Generic envelopes get easily sorted and organized in stop-motion. They will change colour to represent being assigned/treated and will neatly pile themselves, and disperse to the right place.
Avoiding Flooded Inbox—
Showing a growing pile of white envelopes accumulating in a single location and/or crowd of envelopes waiting in line (like the DMV).
Lost email that never got processed—
A lonely envelope is animated as being lost (roaming the halls, out on the street, riding an elevator). It ends up in a lost & found among other typically lost objects (the single mitten/glove, keys, a wallet/credit cards, umbrella, etc.)
Idea of the Envelopes Narrative/Analogy
Generic white envelopes will be used to represent generic email messages. This will illustrate the dilemma that is currently posed by dealing will an incoming of emails. They are perceived as the white envelope analogy suggests: An overwhelming pile of letters that is an organizational mess. As they go through the ECP experience, they will be efficiently sorted, organized, and transformed in a way that lends itself perfectly to humorous, visually entertaining, stop-motion animation. This video will not only make evident and educate people towards the relationship/communication problems associated with how companies approach generic email, but will also illustrate the features that the ECP solution can provide.
Theme and Overall Message
Quickly replying to clients who write to a generic email account builds trust and customer loyalty. Most people will recognize these typical problems they face through this visual analogy. By showing the envelopes going through typical face-to-face customer service experience (for both good and bad experiences), we will be sending out a message that email is actual people and that this is what ECP can provide: good old customer service to a means of communication that is seemingly very technical and ultra modern, but in fact is often far too primitive. People typically don’t treat email interaction like they would in an in-person interaction. ECP is a tool that can help people accomplish this.
Rough Storyboard
An envelope shoots out of a laptop.
It travels down a hallway or street.
Close-up of traveling email.
Flips over to reveal this is a message sent to a generic ‘info@’ account.
Waiting room scene.
Envelope engages in a conversation with other lost & found objects.
Conflicting replies as more than one person replies to the same message.
Assign feature sorts message to staff members.
Post-It note attaches to envelope.
Stock Photos
Waiting Room Environment:
Office Environments:
