Blog 8 - Project Reflection

First, the concept that I have grown to understand more is the idea of prototyping.  Entering the class I did not know much about business.  I have been an advertising student for a year and a half now and that represents the closest I have when it comes to business knowledge.  When doing creative work it is always important to write, and write, and write, and write again.  I was not aware that that process existed as it did elsewhere.  The fact that the Dyson vacuum went through so many prototypes was mind blowing.  The connection between designs changing through time and, something that is more applicable to me, the creation of things like new fonts was not obvious to me at the start although now I am completely aware and can appreciate it more.   I was in charge of making the app mockup for my group and as I’m sure was noticed; the app went through a significant overhaul between the first and second prototypes presented.  It was merely a matter of finishing the basic idea and then looking back on it and filling in any areas that I missed before as well as include new ideas that my group members had come up with.  I have now made a greater connection between business and advertising.  I also was able to appreciate the frustration of having an almost perfect idea that required more work still.

The next thing I took away from the course through my group was learning how to use codiqa.  I used this application in order to create our mock app and display it to the class.  I plan on expanding my knowledge of it and using it in the future.  Especially in advertising, the ability to visually show your ideas in a satisfying manner is important.  This can give you the edge when talking to a client because often times seeing is believing for them.  I was quite proud of showing my app and its various functions to the class.  To be honest, I wasn’t sure I would come away form this class with a new found skill and in fact, I hardly used any of what I already knew.  This is probably my greatest take away.

I struggle to think of what did not work for our group.  If I had to give a broad criticism, it would be to give options for what personas should be done.  There should be a slight level of difficulty that I believe varied from group to group.  That being said, my main issue with each group is that being able to pick a persona that some picking more accessible options made for less interesting presentations.  Is my issue one that makes the project worth changing? Probably not.  But I do believe that it would have given students a greater benefit if their persona wasn’t one that they could walk out the door and find on the street.  Once again, just me.  It is more of a personal issue than something that did not work.

My emotional reaction to my group is very positive.  It is especially so because I feel that my group members and I had a good dynamic that allowed us to work well together as well as distribute work evenly.  At no point during the project did it seem like any individual was doing more work than another.  Our work with the professor also left little to be desired.  He was attentive and insightful in class whenever the group would have questions.  Although I may be biased, I believe my group had one of the more unique personas in our Digimom.  He collaborated well with us in order to get a good focus on who she was and what we had to do to learn more about her for our prototype.  The entire process of the project was also delightful.  It was evenly spaced out so at no point during the semester did the class appear overwhelming.  Dividing the project up into five parts was an excellent choice.  The updates set the pace well and worked well as a way to give feedback on how the course of the project was headed as well as keep the group focused on individual steps, which would eventually lead to an easier to complete final presentation. 

Working with a group added to the enjoyment of the project for sure.  Every person brings a different skill set to the table and my group was quite diverse.   In addition, we had a responsible group that completed their tasks efficiently and on time if not early.  This allowed us to set our goals early on whenever we had a class project day, which meant that most of our time spent during these classes, was reviewing what we had completed.  Last but not least, working in a group allowed for everyone having the ability to bring everyone else up.  As I said before, my knowledge of many of these concepts was new at the time.  The length of my knowledge coincided with how many days since the class where it was mentioned was.  My group members were gracious enough to explain some of the terms and ideas that I was still relatively new to so that I could continue to keep my head above water as well as continue being a contributing member to the group.  For those reasons I found my experience with my group in concepts learned, skills earned, and overall dynamic to have been a productive and meaningful venture.

Blog 7 - Ethics of Insight

We live in a world of big data. You’d have to be dense to not know that. It’s also become more and more apparent that we are being watched. For some people it is an outrage. The NSA is getting a lot of flack right now but no one seems to really care about the fact that Google Chrome allows Google to have access to everything we have ever searched on the internet at their disposal. There are some positive ways to look at this. As marketers get to know more and more about us in less obtrusive ways (to us directly I mean) the more insight they get and hopefully use to give us a better experience wherever we may go. That being said, one read of that Bloomberg article on mannequins watching you and stuff starts getting weird.

I’m not against surveillance. It makes me feel safe. It is the act of gathering data from my person while I am completely unaware. I believe the limit should be based on what stores want but that people should be allowed to know. A sign that says that information is being recorded as shoppers go into a new location seems fair enough to me. I don’t mind being researched as long as I am made aware. If I saw one of these signs placed in front of a store I liked I would understand and acknowledge it and continue about my day. If the store wants to improve my experience who am I to stop them?

It seems now though, with data costing less and less to hold it appears like big data may be trying to get it’s hands in the cookie jar just a little too much. Regulations on sharing data would be worth introducing. As I mentioned above, I don’t mind if Lucky Brand watches me while I go shopping for jeans. It’s when companies related to Lucky start contacting me that I would get a little peeved. Another issue I have is the lack of use for something other than watching the masses intensely. Law enforcement tells us they can’t catch criminals any easier, and sending the right message to the right person at the right time? Not from what I’ve seen. The hopes that the government has need to be proven effective before people will jump on board or at least be able to tolerate this surveillance.

Big data should not go into the home unless invited. Maybe pay or reward those who would chose to participate by letting their information be given. Don’t hide information away in long-winded legal jargon that no one will read. If that is a necessity than it should be kept short. The lord’s prayer is less than 70 words, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address had 270, the order for proper transport of eggs within the U.S. is THOUSANDS of words long. Good things are short. In the end it’s just about being fair though. If someone is willing to give their information over than they should be given the option to in exchange for something. If they would rather not than they should be let known loud and clear that that might happen and given an easy out.

Gathering our insights for class involved asking people to donate their time and some of their personal information for us to study so that we may make recommendations later on through those insights. This was volunteered and we made it clear that only we would have access to that information.

Being more transparent is among the best ways to gain people’s trust. A happy combination of having people be able to know where their information is going and what it is without any access to the information itself. Sacrificing freedom for security is probably the least popular idea going around the United States right now. Big data companies need to give the ability to make a choice to allow the people to believe that they have the freedom they deserve. I’m sure there are a number of things that I, as someone not involved with this industry at all, don’t understand at all that would make my suggestions null and void.

 To play devil’s advocate you could argue that not having big data levels the playing field for all companies involved. As far as I have been taught, competition is good. Big data, especially when it is only used by larger companies can be used to easily crush smaller companies that lack the funds to pay for this information allowing for less competition and a worse situation for us all as consumers. Of course as I write this I wonder how much of the big picture I get. There are so many variables and so many pitfalls to both sides that it is difficult to decide whether big data is in the right or the wrong. Fair or not, whether or not the ethics are to be frowned upon doesn’t matter. At least right now, unless we see a catastrophic failure of any of these companies I believe they are here to stay.

Blog 6 - Thoughts on Creativity

My own creativity has apparently brought me to where I am today. It was back in my undergrad as a marketing assistant for Rutgers Recreation that I realized I even had this capability. The first task where I felt especially creative was when we were assigned to promote a “cliff” dive off of one of the schools Olympic height diving boards. One of my co-workers and I spent a decent amount of time thinking about how we would get students excited about this when there were already a number of other videos showing people jumping from the top. There were multiple angles already taken. Some from below, some looking down to emphasize the height, different videos showing different emotions that people had from their first leap until they climbed out of the pool.

Then it hit me, we should jump off with them. Utilizing a go pro camera that our department had and final cut pro to cut out the two minutes of time where I was too scared to move from the top of the diving board we were able to give our audience a unique view of what was to expect. From the walk up the stairs to just before I hit the water. I may be bias, but I felt our video stood out. Advertising was fun.

I believe anyone can be creative. Not all in the same way though. My best friend from New Jersey studies art in London right now and through many years of growing up together I have noticed us be creative in different ways because of the way we see the world.  He has on a number of occasions surprised me with how he envisions things and makes connections. For example: once on a visit he pointed out that a shelf we near our stairs had a pair of pants resting on it and shoes pointing underneath. Nothing odd there. He proceeded to move my roommate’s targeting paper from a recent gun range visit and stick it above the shelf and turned the shoes around so they faced out. When looked at straight on, it made a person. A human torso followed by pants with shoes at the bottom. I was flabbergasted. I would never have made those connections in my head.

With this example I would believe a group of people in an organization would most definitely be able to be creative. Different people are different in their creative habit.  Get a group of people together with just the slightest amount of conditions and rules and amazing things can happen. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of bad ideas will come out because someone lays the golden egg. The important thing is to not shut down the creativity. It’s all about connections, when something is maliciously shot down then that kills a potentially game-changing connection down the line.

I know that feeling very well. I am currently in the advertising program’s creative sequence and let me tell you, you get shot down a lot. It sometimes makes you feel uncreative. I can say that I am in arguably one of the top 5 best creative advertising programs in the country if not world, but being told your idea is bad will cut that thought process down quickly. It’s about having a thick skin and knowing how to tell someone their idea is lacking. As Professor Walls said in class, say things like “No, I don’t think that works but maybe if we...” and take the previous idea from there it can either retain life or force the person who came up with it to focus on the next idea in the circle.

I am not sure if I can say I’ve only ever worked in creative environments.  It might just have been me trying to allow something creative to happen. I took a brief aside from life to be a reporter after school and took this as an opportunity to include myself in my writing. This is not a good thing in journalism. It should be objective through and through. Therefore, after a number of reminders of what I was at a newspaper for (to watch a dying industry perish up close of course) I just played with words and toyed around. I ended up finding a happy medium where the work was objective while I could know that the writing style was distinctly mine within the parameters set by my editors.

We should trust ourselves to a point. In my time here, I have come up with ad campaigns that I loved. I was so proud of myself for being the cleverest one in the room, or so I thought, only to have my idea flounder when put in front of an audience. A creative process should start without parameters but gradually get more focused. Too many parameters early on will not allow the creativity to flourish while too little later on will not allow it to mature into something. It’s a careful balance. That is the main thing in common that most creative processes have. Start big and get more specific as you go on. It’s like a funnel. From whatever idea you start with, let it start out with the potential for anything and then whittle away until the finished product lies before either literally or figuratively.

My creative process starts with research. If I have to create an ad for 409 cleaner you bet I will be online learning everything I can about it. Do I have any idea what Dude Wipes are? No, but I will soon if it is my product. I guess you could say my creative process is learning. I like to get the little details out and then find what is relatable to whomever my ad will be targeted at. Advertising, to me, is learning.

Blog 5 - Visualizing Insights

In order to portray the information given on food trucks I decided to go with a playful friendly infographic in the shape of a food truck. Hopefully you find it more informative if not as equally delicious than your favorite truck in town.

Blog 4 - Personalized Topic Report

The instructions for this entry were to pick a topic that interests us and explore it for our paper. This is not an assignment we get everyday in graduate school. For me, picking was easy. My paper is going to be on something film related. It always was. When most people procrastinate they go on Facebook, or Twitter, or maybe even Myspace. I don’t know to be honest, I’m too busy looking at everything the film industry has decided to put up online for purposes that I believe involve my own indulgence.

Since I’ve started I have noticed a number of things happen within the industry every year. Summer will be chock full of blockbusters, no good movies will come out around my birthday (September is more known as a dumping ground for movies), and movies that audiences give low scores to will die a slow unprofitable death in theaters. So my question is exactly how much influences do test audiences have before the film comes out? Of course studios want their audiences to get into their movie and enjoy it but how far do they bend in order to please them? This goes into more than just preview screenings and such. How does the audience’s reaction affect their marketing of the film? Can a negative test screening actually cause a studio to inadvertently make a film worse? The audience’s insights must have an impact but the size of it remains in question.

We are at a point where large films are coming out and failing often. If you look at this past summer there was essentially a big budget flop every week. In such a crowded marketplace it is important to deliver a quality product that audiences enjoy. According to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas the film industry is setting itself up for a large implosion if the large 200+ million dollar flops continue.  Another question raised is how did these films test with audiences and if so did they have any effect on them before they came out?

The scope of this topic is quite broad but is limited to whatever information is released by the studios. Still, they would do well to gain knowledge on this topic lest the oncoming apocalypse predicted by two of the most prominent men in the industry come to light. Audiences pay the same for a movie regardless of the length or quality. We have all been in a situation when we wished we had just kept our wallet shut and wondered who let that waste of two hours of our lives be allowed on screen.  When this does happen who is more to blame? The test audience who said it was worth a watch (after a free screening no doubt) or the studio, which decided to dump it into theaters. And on the other hand, when we are pleased who gets the thank you?

A number of articles have been written on this topic already in trade magazines and articles scratching the surface of the world of audience testing. Some have managed to get the input of the directors being judged as well. The common consensus so far seems to be mixed. Audiences, while all fine people I’m sure, can still get it wrong.

Articles Used:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-predicts-implosion-film-567604

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/the-future-of-movies-the-blockbuster-apocalypse-not-yet-20130802

http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9809/28/screen.test/

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/19/movies/film-she-lives-she-dies-let-the-audience-decide.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

Blog #3 - Generative Research

I can't live without:

Goals: Without a direction to head in I often feel lost. If I am not working towards something I feel like I am just spinning my wheels and adding nothing to myself.

Occasional Solitude: I consider myself a people person but to be honest it makes me weary sometimes. Even though it's only once in a blue moon I will eventually reach a day where I will leave my cell phone at home and have a "me" day.

People: I love people. To me, more friends equals more fun. Despite what I said earlier I will always choose to hang out with people over just myself 99% of the time. 

Sun: Ah, the sun! Give me sun! I moved from New Jersey to Texas to enjoy the sun! If I ever miss snow or rain I will just google image search them.

I care about:

Balance: I'm a grad student with a lot on his plate. If I didn't make sure I made time to do work and play (not all the time but occasionally) I would might go mad. I respect my workload but know that I need some time to kick back and cut loose to give myself some time.

Running: Running brings me solace. Ever since I started running I felt like my life has gotten more in order. The weight loss that comes with it also helps.

Success: If is something that is not going to help me succeed in anything I won't do it. I strongly dislike anything that doesn't help me in any way even if I try to look at it from different angles.

Digital Ecosystem

National Newspapers Online: The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times were staples when I lived in New Jersey. I have always been a huge fan of newspapers and the ability to read them while being environmentally friendly is a huge bonus. The art of writing a newspaper article is easy to appreciate. Also, these sites have more info than hardcopies of the same paper due. There is always an endless supply of information and news available at my fingertips.

Twitter/Facebook: My background is in journalism. Through four years of college I was lucky enough to make a lot of friends in the business and if there is one thing I can trust it's that when they post an article online it is definitely worth a read. My friends are likely to have similar interests as me being of same age and place of origin so keeping tabs on what they are sharing usually keeps me up to date on relevant information to home. I will also follow their post back to the source Facebook page or twitter handle so I too can keep in the loop.

Blogs & Forums: I frequent Reddit a lot. It's easy to stay up to date following the proper subreddit. While I won't find every article interesting, I will find many that are worth reading for sheer entertainment value.  It's also easy to break down what kind of news I want whether it be international news, entertainment, or science.

Typical Weekday

Peaceful Wake-Up: After a couple dozen snooze button strikes I wake up to the most calming part of my day, 6:45 am. While I get ready for the day I usually turn the tv on and absorb whatever news is being presented at that time. I'll switch between multiple news channels ranging from BBC to KXAN. I have no preference, I mostly do it for the background noise but find myself learning information as well sometimes as I make my breakfast.

Walk/Work Shuffle: As I switch between home, work, and class multiple times for the first half of my day I take some time to go online and read whatever pleases me or do homework if I have any. These days it is mostly the latter. When I actually am performing the former I look at movies, entertainment and national news but when it's a work day I gather work and professional related information. This stops when I am in class of course because I am actively listening and taking notes but will gather events and work related information from my professor.

Home Time: After a long day out I usually go for a run to get away from it all. Unfortunately, every run has led me back to my house so I usually give in and decide to make dinner instead. While I cook I have cooking shows on. I learn as I cook and the music on Chopped makes any dinner you are making seem incredible. Once dinner is out of the way I get my last look at the outside with a game of intramural flag football. Afterwards I prepare for my night of learning, working, and occasional procrastinating as I plan out my days ahead and see if anything I picked up on earlier has evolved in any way.

Blog #2 - Journey Mapping

J decides that for his girlfriend, B’s, birthday that she has earned herself a fabulous vacation getaway for two. During a routine night at her place he asks B about her thoughts on the matter. Of course she responds yes, much to J’s pleasure. Their excitement is at a high because of the excitement and novelty of the idea as this would be their first of many vacations together. Not long after they decide to start planning their trip together. One weekend, two nights, countless memories (they hope). Their first step is to decide where they are headed. “Unfortunately, there isn’t anything super exciting in New Jersey that we haven’t seen before,” says J. Both J and B are New Jersey natives and given their 25 years of age are excited to check out somewhere totally new.

By the end of their first research session, B asks J about his thoughts on San Antonio, TX. B has wanted to see San Antonio for years so J sees an opportunity to take his girlfriend on an adventure as well as make one of her dreams come true. J thinks it’s a great idea and they quickly begin researching the city. They decide that they have to hit the Alamo, the river walk, and Sea World during their time there. “We didn’t want to spend the WHOLE time drinking,” says J. With their plan taking shape J and B needed to take the next step, the one where they really say they are committed to the trip: booking the flight, making reservations at the hotel, and buying tickets to sea world.

“Hotels.com was my best friend that weekend,” says J. J is a manager at Best Buy while B is a student who works part-time. J obviously plans on paying for the majority of the trip but student loans also have to keep him grounded in working around his manager’s salary. One issue they didn’t expect was rough timing. It seems that the only time that J and B can both get off from work is around Spring Break time in Texas. “Apparently San Antonio is a big deal to some people,” said J with a chuckle. With hotel prices significantly higher than during the surrounding weeks J had to dig through what he claims may have been hundreds of hotels in order to find the perfect mix of affordable and “kick-ass.” After a bit of frustration and more than a few glances at his online account, J finds a diamond in the rough. There happens to be one affordable hotel within a mile of the river walk, which makes perfect sense. “We could walk down to the river walk, celebrate, and taxi back.” The hotel was booked. After that J tells me it took little time to book a flight and buy the tickets for Sea World online especially due to Sea World tickets being about 30 bucks cheaper to buy online than in person.

Fast forward a few weeks and J and B are at the airport after being dropped off by a friend. J believes he may be in the running for best boyfriend ever if B’s ecstatic attitude gives any indication. The flight goes swimmingly, they rent a car with little difficulty, they find the hotel easily, J and B are now ready to get their vacation on.

First on the list was a nap, followed by their first visit to the Alamo. J was a history major in high school and he likes to “nerd out on that type of stuff.” B is less than impressed with the size of the historical area. It is smaller than she thought it would be and less epic than many had made it seem. As Schmitt wrote in “A Framework for Managing Customer Experiences” no two experiences are exactly alike. J and B are a perfect example of this at The Alamo. J gets a little frustrated with B but the two retire back to their hotel in order to get ready for dinner.

J picked a famous restaurant on the river walk, an old favorite according to his studies before arriving; he believes B will love it. Unfortunately his cognitive process when making this plan doesn’t pan out to be what real life is. A stuffed fox that sits right next to their table immediately saddens B, a self-described animal lover. J, being the ever perceptual human being that he is finds a way to distract B from the dead canine a few feet away from them by pointing out one of her favorite foods on the menu. Much to his relief it removes her attention from the fox and for a brief time all is well. When the main meal comes though, B isn’t a fan. She sits looking frustrated at J. J begins to feel the pressure as his girlfriend hasn’t been having the best time on their three day, two night stay in San Antonio. Feeling defeated, he returns to the hotel and falls asleep.

The next day, it down pours. The idea of spending the day at Sea World impresses neither J nor B. They talk out the issues with the night before and decide they will make the best of the day they have left. Both decide to stay in. “I go to Sea World to watch animals swim, not to be swimming with them.” It turns out that staying in was the best idea as the two reconciled and reveled in doing nothing for the majority of the day. That night they head back to the river walk and B is excited and content the whole time. When midnight hits the two embrace and celebrate B’s official birthday. J feels like the man. Everything that happened the night before doesn’t matter. Today, he was planner extraordinaire.

The next day, they pack up and check out without a hitch and arrive back at the airport. J considers it an excellent vacation and is happy that he could make his girlfriend happy. He enjoyed the weekend so much he never even told his friend at UT Austin that he was in the state although his friend totally understands. The two are now engaged. A small amount of that may be attested to J’s ability to manage B’s experience this one time.