Rien que la Verite Brand Book by Nockitoff

Brand Book 2009

We understand rules are made to be broken. Since this is a book about the way we look, think and present ourselves, everything in here is a rule. But...if you want to break a rule, we are OK with that. Just make sure you come up with a better idea first.

Concept

What is Rien que la Vérité Philosophy History The Music The Show Viewer Insight

Look

Logos Sizing Typography Color Design Elements

Putting it All Together Positioning Voice Marketing Examples

Rien que la Vérité rqlv.org smallpower production Kinshasa, DRC August 2009

RIEN VERITE QUE LA

Nothing but the truth

POP Culture A glimpse into life in Kinshasa

cREATive

A platform to highlight Congolese culture and talent

A messaging system A Public Service

Fun

Concept Popular Culture Rien que la Vérité is a brand of music, music videos, short films and the television show Rien que la Vérité, which highlights the popularity and extraordinary talent of Congolese musicians and actors.

Behavior Change Communication People change their behavior when presented with both rational and emotional arguments. Rien que la Vérité incorporates these arguments into entertainment like music and TV to encourage the adoption of risk reducing behaviors in DR Congo. Through popular culture Rien que la Vérité is able to reach an audience that most behavior change mechanisms are unable to reach. 1

A Congolese American production. Wait...what? Go to any neighborhood or social event in Kinshasa and you’ll find street theater, stand-up comedy and other performances. Emerging from a difficult period, the Congolese are excited to rejoin the world community and share their talents. Rien que la Vérité gives Congolese actors and musicians an opportunity to be seen and heard. We use advanced American production techniques and technical expertise combined with Congolese talent to create Rien que la Vérité music and television series.

Philosophy Rien que la Vérité operates under the belief that art is a playing field that truly allows two different cultures to grow and collaborate. This makes for not only a more ‘real’ production, but also creates a thriving cultural and creative learning environment. 3

Our Statement Rien que la Vérité is a multimedia platform that entertains and informs its viewers on health and well being issues because it uses an artistic and innovative production technique that: •Assures high quality output •Bridges the cultural gap between Congolese and American entertainment values •Uses popular culture and the BCC model to send messages to the Congolese audience.

Rien que la Vérité Brand Attributes:

•High Quality

•Creative

•Collaborative

•Bold

History Rien Que La Vérité is a PEPFAR financed behavior change communication platform that uses popular culture to reduce the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the DR Congo. RQLV, now in its third year, is broadening its efforts to address other issues affecting the health and well being of Congolese citizens. At inception, Rien Que La Vérité was designed to use the popularity and extraordinary talent of Congolese musicians to craft messages that fuse the emotional and rational arguments for adopting risk reducing behavior. Rien que la Vérité blends American production values with Congolese storytelling, taking the best from each culture to create a unique experience. It quickly became evident that messages delivered via Congolese popular culture were not just palatable, but desirable to broad segments of the population. It also became clear that each part of the project had a natural next step: from music CD to making-of Documentary, to Concert, Music Videos, and TV series: Each step building seamlessly on the previous step in scope, effectiveness, and reach. Rien Que La Vérité is not a simple collection of projects, but a broad messaging platform, with each new project reinforcing the whole. 5

Rien que la Vérité The Music The Rien que la Vérité CD is a compilation of some of the most talented and popular Congolese musicians today. The CD addresses the issues of HIV/AIDS through song. The Rien que la Vérité CD was the first step in Rien que la Vérité ’s progression from music CD to making-of Documentary, to Concert, Music Videos, and the TV series.

Rien que la Vérité Music Products:

•Music CD with 15 Original Songs

•16 Music Videos

•All Day Concert

Rien que la Vérité The Show Rien que la Vérité is at once a family drama, comedy and social commentary that traces a Congolese family as they learn to cope with the past and work together towards a better future.

Rien que la Vérité is also a cultural variety show of interviews, performances, music videos, and public service announcements, anchored by a serial family drama that explores social issues in an immersive and entertaining way. The show is broadcast nationally.

Success so far... •57% of Kinois youth 14-25 have watched the show •61% market share during the Sunday timeslot •69% of Kinois youth 14-25 recongnize RQLV •3-5 million viewers per week •91% who watch indicate a desire to watch more

Rien que la Vérité Viewer Magali has lived in Kinshasa for the past 15 years, since she was born. She lives in Limete and goes to school at the Institute Lumumba. When her brother has the money he goes to play video games after school; Magali usually goes straight home, and if there’s electricity, watches TV. She watches TV at home and at her neighbors house, usually with a group of family and friends. “Usually I watch the Chroniquer music talk shows and Nigerian films, but was interested in Rien que la Vérité when I heard about this new show. The name got my attention, because I thought, the truth about what? Rien que la Vérité is cool because it happens in Kinshasa and I can see the things I see everyday, but on TV. My favorite character is Katya because she shows how girls can be strong. I liked when she wouldn’t kiss her boyfriend and how determined she is. But my favorite episode so far was the one with Bill Clinton, I love his music!” 10

Member of Mont Alba Rien que la Vérité fan club. 11

Look

Bold, but simple Rien que la Vérité is simple but bold visually. We use a bold color (red) and a bold font (impact) in our logo, but the overall design is not complicated. This is reflective of Rien que la Vérité, our goals are bold but simple. 12

Our logo

Black is used only as a reverse, not as the text color. The border cuts just close enough to make sure there is a border.

When a color logo is appropriate, we use this one.

Horizontal logo

Not our logo...

The Technical Stuff Below are a few tips on visual specifications for online and print design:

Print Materials •300 image resolution •CMYK color values •Follow printer margin specifications

Online

72 image resolution• web safe color values• sans serif fonts• 16

In PhotoShop you can check the image size and resolution by going to the Image menu and selecting Image size. The left screen shot reflects a high resolution image, suitable for print. Below shows a web image that is 72 PPI.

If you do not have PhotoShop you can check the image quality by looking at the image properties, as shown to the left.

Typography Impact Arial Arial Black Gotham Family

Color The colors of Rien que la Vérité fit the brand, but are also practical for everyday use. These colors are user friendly, even with low end printers. Rien que la Vérité Red C13,M100,Y100,K3 R206, G24, B31 ce181f web

Rien que la Vérité Black C75, M70,Y70,K90 R0, G0, B0 000000 web Rien que la Vérité White

Design Elements

Background

Thin Header

Thicker Header

Graphic

Pulling it All Together Positioning There are two important positions of Rien que la Vérité: to inform and to entertain. The Entertainer: To the general public Rien que la Vérité should look like pure entertainment. It is one way communication intended to grab the attention of the viewer and entertain them through popular culture. We use this voice for show and music promotion. The Informer: The private voice of Rien que la Vérité is meant to inform. This voice is two way communication with partners and a smaller audience. This is the voice we use when doing outreach activities and meeting with other health advocacy partners. 22

Rien que la Vérité, The Entertainer Tone of Voice & Messaging

Popular Culture Note the word popular; our goal is to entertain a mass audience and grab their attention. Our messages should be entertaining and focus on drama, comedy, culture and music. Talented Rien que la Vérité music and television highlight the talent of Congolese musicians and actors. This talent should always be portratyed in messages about Rien que la Vérité entertainment, by focusing on specific celebrities or popular events hosted by Rien que la Vérité.

Discussion Aide Discussion Topic Ideas • Rien que la Vérité TV series • The show’s actors/actresses • Rien que la Vérité music/Musicians • Upcoming episodes • Upcoming events,concerts • Kinshasa as a character on the show • Mimi, executive producer-ex VJ

Original We are reaching out to a mass audience, but our content is authentic and original. Congolese Rien que la Vérité the music and the television series are Congolese. Our entertainment is one of a kind: we bring the culture of Kinshasa to life through TV episodes and music tracks.

Rien que la Vérité, The Informer Tone of Voice & Messaging

Knowledgable Our goal is to give information that can help Congolese citizens adopt risk reducing behavior for better health and well being. So, we have to be know what we’re talking about, and disseminate accurate information. Raising Awareness Our messages raise awareness of health and well being issues and directs the audience towards the accurate and available information. Connected We can put at risk Congolese citizens in touch with health advocacy partners that are trustworthly and keep personal information confidential. Our mission is raise awareness and distribute information, but we need our partners to treat and advise our audience on specific health issues. Supportive Part of our job is to provide support to our partners and audience. This can mean providing support materials to a partner health advocacy NGOs, or listening to a teenager who has questions when we visit their school.

Approachable Our at risk audience in particular needs to feel comfortable coming to Rien que la Vérité with questions about their health and well being. Likewise local NGOs need to feel assured they can contact us for partner opportunties when appropriate. Respectful Our very specific objective is to increase risk reducing behavior to lessen the HIV/ AIDS rate as well as other health problems. We are never judgemental, and support any healthy method to risk reducing behavior.

Discussion Aide Schools/Fan Clubs Discussion Ideas *HIV/AIDS *Transmission *Treatment *Gender roles *Conflict resolution Health Advocacy Partners Discussion Ideas *Behavior Change Communication *Popular culture as a tool

Marketing Activities

•Presentations with health partners and schools •Mobile Video Units (screening episodes in rural areas to expand reach, and in Kinshasa to raise awareness) •FIKIN festival (Annual music festival in Kinshasa) •TV appearances •Web site •Cross-promotional opportunities •Social media

Outputs: •TV ads •Schwag •Social Media •Web site •Brochures

Examples

sample powerpoint slide

! !

Procédure d’adhésion !" SMS avec coordonnées au 081 711 7096 !" Remplissage correcte de la fiche d’identification le plus important est l’adresse E-mail et le numéro de téléphone, vous pouvez même donner l’adresse d’une personne proche au cas ou vous en avez pas !

Fan club booklets

!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

Kabe, un orphelin, vient vivre avec sa famille restante dans Kinshasa.

Attention !

Kabe ?

Scène de l’épisode 1

J'espère qu'ils comme moi à Kinshasa!

!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

Ses parents sont mort du SIDA

!"#! !"#$! !"#$%&'&('! !"##$%&'($)'*$! !"#$"%! !"#$%&'("! !"#$%&$'($))$! !"#$%&'()*#($! !"#$%&'($)*"+$"(',$! !"#$%&!

SIDA…SIDA… …….SIDA……

!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

Fact sheet

La musique était la survie. Music as Survival

It is difﬁcult to convey how central and essential music is to the Congolese people. When they tell you that the only things that worked during the “difﬁcult period” were beer and music, it becomes a bit more clear. Music was survival. At inception, Rien Que La Vérité was designed to capitalize on the popularity and extraordinary talent of Congolese musicians to craft messages that fuse the emotional and rational arguments for adopting risk reducing behavior.

Email: social@smallpower.org

Our Success

It quickly became evident that messages delivered via Congolese popular culture were not just palatable, but desirable to broad segments of the population. It also became clear that each part of the project had a natural next step: from music CD to making-of Documentary, to Concert, Music Videos, and TV series.

Web Site: rqlv.org

Rien que la Verite on the World Stage After years of difﬁculty brought on by the country’s civil war, Congo’s musicians are enjoying a renaissance and resurgence of popularity not only in Africa, but internationally, regularly headlining shows or performing with the world’s biggest music stars. As Congo itself chooses a path of democracy and unity, the extraordinary musicians featured on Rien que la Vérité herald this new age of rapprochement and harmony by coming together and lending the strength of their voices to help spread positive messaging through popular music.

MySpace: myspace.com/rqlv