Working as part of an international team, I developed a new brand positioning and creative proposition for one of the world’s leading manufacturers of premium kitchen knives.  This has transitioned the brand from a prosaic and stereotypical focus on product features (sharpness, quality of materials) to something far more emotional and differentiating – the kitchen knife as a mood changer.

Our research revealed how our mood changes for the better – we feel more relaxed, happier in our everyday lives and more enthusiastic – when we undertake simple, repetitive, creative tasks, such as preparing a meal from scratch.  This may be the reason why market research in many countries suggests that people are turning their backs on pre-prepared, processed food.  Preparing your own food is not only healthier, cheaper and more environmentally sustainable than the pre-prepared alternative, but there is a growing acceptance that it is also better for our mental wellbeing. Psychologists have even suggested that cooking and baking can be a therapeutic tool to help people dealing with depression and anxiety, whereas others have described the meditative experience of preparing a meal as a form of mindfulness.

We used this research to convince that client that changing people’s moods for the better can be a powerful claim for the brand, elevating it beyond the ordinary and the dull category conventions.  It associates the brand with the emotional and sensual pleasures of what we describe as ‘the cutting moment’, not simply the practical benefits of using a sharp, well-engineered knife.  The chopping board can be an ‘oasis’ of calm self-reflection or a ‘stage’ on which the brand’s consumers can showcase their carving expertise in front of an expectant audience.  This insight provides the brand with a distinctive and differentiated platform for its advertising and marketing campaigns that will encourage potential customers to think differently about the brand and its knives.