Reflection

So this is it, the semester has finally dawned a pond us and let me just tell you, it hasn’t been a walk in the park.  For this post I’m going to recap my experiences in the class.  In class we were assigned a couple of task to accomplish for the duration; a practice marketing computer simulation which we worked in groups on, writing a strategic plan for the simulation, presentations, creating an ad, and of course creating this awesome blog for all who are interested,

            For the practice marketing simulation we were to create our own backpacks and market them to see how much profit we make.  The main objective was to experience marketing first hand.  One of the more basic things that I understand is how valuable meetings are, we were responsible for meeting every week in order to make decisions for each turn.  In making these decisions you also learned a good portion of what goes into creating and marketing a product.  Market Segmentation, you learn how important each aspect of your product is when looking for a target market, from the raw materials used to where you advertise your product.  Customer satisfaction is the main thing when creating the product, my team focused on this aspect when creating our backpack but also making remembering that we had to remain cost effective in our choices.

            Coming up for the strategic plan for the backpacks that we created gave us structure in terms of how to go about this project.  Writing this paper was also the creation of the company as we created our mission statement, came up with goals, and developed a strategy to reach our target market and obtain accomplish our goals.  Strategic planning is the piece bought this project to life. It allowed me to experience what it feels to enter the introduction stage as you prepare to begin marketing your product. 

            In class we had to do a total of three presentations, two ad presentations and one Ted Talk presentation.  I just so had the fortune of being the first to present an ad in class.  The purpose for this was to get us more comfortable with presenting in front of people because marketing is a large percentage of face to face discussion.  My first presentation was on an old spice commercial, this was a good move because the comedy helped loosing me up before I actually presented.  I still submitted to nerves and began using a couple of fillers which was also a part of the object.  When it came to presenting my Ted Talk, that experience is definitely one that lives as a learning one.  I forgot what I was supposed to say in the middle of presenting and got stuck, that taught me that some things happen that are uncontrollable you have to learn how to adapted when something doesn’t go as planned, in that moment my reaction time wasn’t fast enough and that’s something that I have to practice in order to be better prepared.  My last ad was on a videogame and I feel like that one was the best because it felt more comfortable when I was presenting it. 

            Also for the practice marketing assignment we had to put together a video ad to promote our bags.  This is when branding really came into play in the class. We had to come up with a name that we felt described our brand, and a logo that would be seen as appealing to our target market.   In making the ad, it was very important to pay attention to all aspects of our promotion.  For example we had to do several takes from different angles to give a visual for our bags that shows consumers why our product is desirable.  Making sure that the tone of your scene’s are all in sync with one another or have good transitioning points to make sure viewers are always engaged. 

            This blog has been a great asset for learning this semester.  I used social media for business instead of just pleasure.  When you create a blog you have to understand that you are going to have to market that as well in order to get people to read what you have to say.  Staying updated with what’s going on around was also a take away, when relating chapter topics discussed it’s best to do so with up to date news and that was something that I stuck with during this assignment.  

Today's Promotion

As the semester comes to a close it's only right to promote this show one more time.  Son's of Anarchy is finally over after the seven years it's spent taking it's audience on an emotional roller coaster.  Still looking out for all of those who aren't caught up, no spoilers but I do highly encourage you all to hurry up and get caught up because the ending was amazing.  Thank you for sharing this blog with me.