PPD

The Final Major Project comprises of all the skills we have learnt over the past two years. It is a chance to bring together all the knowledge and experience gained throughout the course. This project has been the most interesting yet challenging project to date but also an exciting piece of work to finish the course on.

The project had to include aspects of the Business Management and Branding and Marketing projects and also, the analytical tools we learnt in our first year.

The objective of a business plan is to discuss the business in question and showcase its viability. This included the use of primary and secondary research of online fashion retailing and areas surrounding this subject. The business in question is an online fashion brand called Shipment, which will launch August 2012. This project is an actual business plan for a real start-up business which made the research very rewarding. Finding figures and understanding market attractiveness reaffirms the reality of this business and the success it could possibly it have.

The market analysis and macro and microenvironment are something that has become second nature to complete due its repetition throughout the course. The analytical side can be justified through research and understanding of the market.

Alongside the facts and figures we were required to research, shoot and edit an advert that coincided with our project. It is always important that throughout my projects there is an equal amount of creativity and visuals. Marketing is an extremely creative industry and it is important to now think creatively and not just strategically. This is why the advert was so enjoyable to create as it brought the whole project together and showcased the passion that is currently being put into the brand.

It is important that anyone who is reading the project can understand the brand and what it is all about. The easiest way to do this was through the advert and the branding. The branding is a crucial part of any fashion business as it is a way to establish the brand and project an image to consumers. Branding also adds to the success of a brand, as it has to be visually attractive before it can even become a viable business. It is evident in the report that visuals play a major role for any online brand as this is the store environment and main means of visual merchandising.

This project also had its struggles, with the finance section proving very difficult to begin with. Since there is no profit and loss accounts for Shipment, the finance had to be made up of projected sales and a budget plan. These are two tasks that are time consuming and difficult to understand if you don’t have the relevant information. The key was to break it down and show the reader that the company is viable and that it is clear what needs to be put into the business to make a successful launch and of course that the business will make money.

Furthermore, the project is not only made up of content from our previous projects but also provide minor mistakes that can be corrected on the FMP. A helpful task in completing this project has been reviewing tutor notes and previous projects to spot easy errors and means of improvement. This project should be a step up from all over projects and should display the vast knowledge that has been learnt over the past two years.

The FMP has certainly been a challenge and a strenuous project to put together, but after all the research and effort that has been put into it, the outcome has been exciting and gratifying.

Avid Media Composer

Last week and this week I have had the pleasure of being taught the basics of a programme called Avid.

Avid is an editing programme used by most industrial professionals. 

Of course this programme takes years to master so my basic training was extremely basic!

We previously had a class on iMovie which is editing software available on the mac. 

Avid is extremely expensive software so I snapped up the chance to edit my advert as professionally as I could.

The advert shows the visual journey of the Shipment products. From the buying process in Asia to the customer wearing the product. The advert showcases the passion I myself and everyone involved in Shipment has for the brand and process we go through. The clothes are carefully hand-picked based on style, design and quality and purchased in small quantities to enhance the unique aspect and the limited availability of many of our products. I wanted the footage to be real and raw therefore I have spent the last 3 weeks organising the filming in Thailand.

The editing processing was extremely time consuming as we had endless amounts of footage to cut down. The end product will show the project required 30 seconds and a longer version on a separate CD. The advert was very difficult to trim down and huge chunks of the story have had to be taken out. Hopefully the full edit can be watched in order to experience the journey of 'Uniquely Travelled Fashion'.

I hope you like it.

Mood Board

It may not be be in the correct layout but hopefully you get the idea of my advert. 

'Travelled Fashion'

I'm documenting the journey of a Shipment product from the buying process to the customer wearing the product.

Gasp.

Finally I have received the footage from my brother in Thailand.
In order for my advert to make sense I was relying on my sibling to shoot the buying process.
As glamorous as it...it is actually extremely rewarding when you find an exciting design.

The advert is an important aspect of my plan as I feel visuals aid the business. When people see a story or a visual representation it makes the whole brand come together and shows the passion that I have an everyone involved in Shipment has.

We may be small at the moment but hopefully we will grow into something new and exciting.
Its a scary industry to enter into but nobody ever got anywhere not taking risks. Hopefully theres room for one eager online brand.

Nearly finished the plan.

Closing soon

It is currently the final and worst week there is in relation to this project.
No matter when you start, the final week is full of pressure and speedy working. The work itself is not difficult as it comprises of everything we have learnt over the past two years, but by no means is it easy. The content of the project is overwhelming and trying to include everything I/my tutors deem appropriate MUST go in. It is all coming together but I don't want to hand this in and think....whoops I forgot to add...?
I've had the time and the resources so hopefully I've included everything.
I'm currently doing the Sales Forecast and the Budget Plan which will hopefully be complete as of tomorrow.
This week will also include the final edit of my advert. I must present a 30 sec shortened version as to understand the concept of a 'real' advert and also my original version which is sitting at around 1min 30 sec.
Fingers Crossed X

Storyboard

I'm no artist but hopefully this paints a picture of my advert. Various scenes have been switched and moved around. The London filming is complete, I'm now just waiting for footage from Thailand.

Sneak Peek.

Here's a screen shot of the advert. I hope all the effort shows in the final cut.

Lights.Camera.

Research

Storyboard

Advert. All done.

I'm extremely relieved to say that the advert has been shot. It took an entire day of repetitive filming but I feel something good will come out of it. The advert has been stylised in terms of how it was shot. I'm not a cinematographer so making the most of what I had and did not have was the goal. 

The advert is based around the journey of the Shipment products more accurately titled 'Uniquely Travelled Fashion'. I wanted the advert to be descriptive and tell a story as opposed to being 'fashiony' or abstract. I feel the visuals in my product can portray that. It was also an opportunity to highlight the 'handpicked' and 'limited' aspect of the Shipment products and the lengths and processes that make it all happen. Obviously most retailers import products but this advert shows Shipments' unique process. 

This brand is a passion of mine aswell as business which is important to always remeber. If you lose interest and drive then the brand will be no better than any other brand.

Market Research

I thought it would be helpful to back up my plan with some fun and easy market research.
The survey is based on online shopping and is simple and straightforward. I want to get a feel of peoples reactions to shopping online with an unfamiliar brand and if something unique would be an attractive benefit.
Here's the survey just incase you'd like to take a look.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KRRC6LR

Storytime

Currently working on storyboards in preparation for this weekend.
My advert/promo is going to be based around the idea of 'travelled fashion'...sort of a 'jumpers journey'.
This means that I need to shoot in the country where the products are sourced and then the process to when the consumer is buying the clothing. Hopefully this will all go to plan. I've been told the key to a successful advert is preparation. As long as I'm prepared then things should run smoothly.
I will hopefully have my storyboard together in the next few days.

Sneak Peak.

Twitter and Facebook set-up....hopefully starting building friends and followers on the next 2 weeks.

I want to have lot's to say with regards to the company moving forward. It's all too raw at the moment.

Here's a sneak.

Flo

After having a much needed tutorial, I 1...feel like everything's going smoothly, and 2... feel like I'm actually on the right track. It's always difficult knowing where you're going as we have very little interaction with our tutors. I guess this is the independent part of the course. It's important to utilize the little time we have with them.
At this point I'm basically just adding to my project and going through the recommended layouts and also adding parts I feel are necessary. Since my project is a small start-up business, my project is very different to most others as most students are doing their project on an established brand. My tutor has assured me this shall not hinder me but I just have to take a different approach whilst including all the necessary requirements.
Next week I'm happy to be receiving some guidance off my tutor in order to help compile my projected sales for the company. We touch on Fashion Business Management on our course but never progressed onto projected sales so this will be an extremely helpful tutorial.

7 P's are my life at the moment and of course I keep reverting back to my Macro Analysis.

Also....this weekend will be thinking about this concept/promotional video I have to do. Hopefully I will have a storyboard and mood board  to show you in the next week.

Final Logo

I thought I'd post a quick visual of the final logo which has developed into something spectacular.

Treading

This past week has been spent doing all the repetitive tasks of tables and tables. The SPICC, PESTLE, and Segmentation are done and I can now move swiftly on.
I do however have a couple of questions to ask in my up and coming tutorial as some areas are a bit unclear. I'm trying to understand whether this is a business plan, marketing plan or both. Talking amongst ourselves just seems to accumulate more confusion.
I've also tried to get a rough idea of a projected sales forecast from the stock that currently have. Since this is a start-up business, everything is carried out on a much smaller scale as the budget is extremely low in comparison. As long as I'm giving SMART objectives and thinking of potential objectives then hopefully the plan will start to come together.
I'm currently at the point where I'd like to get as much done as possible so I'm not worrying about not having done this and that. I'm gradually going through the requirements in the handbook but also looking at power points and previous projects to form my plan.
I like to focus on the written side of this and hopefully the visual aspect can be carried out when I feel the groundwork has been done.

No light.

Everything is slowly coming together.

The most difficult part about this project is the amount of information required. 

At the moment I'm trying to get my projected sales forecast and profit & loss accounts together. 

Since the business is in the start-up phase, a huge part of the accounts has to be predicted. This makes the task more complicated as I am creating figures instead of being handed them. This aspect is extremely important to me as this grounds the business. The marketing and PR aspects seem frivolous in comparison as the moment. I guess once all the numbers are out the way everything else will be much more exciting.

A huge benefit of this project is that it's a real life situation with real figures and realistic outcomes. The brand is really coming together but there is still no light at the end...at the moment.

Make your mind up time

I have finally came to the decision of switching from the Core Spirit project to the the default project, a decision that has been deliberated for many days.
My change of heart is not due to anything against Core Spirit as the recent brief was extremely insightful, it is simply the fact I would like to look back on my FMP and be proud to share it.
My time is divided between University and starting up my on online business....so instead I am doing my business plan on Shipment, an e-commerce shop that I am currently, attempting to and hopefully setting up.
It seemed an obvious decision as this allowed me to dedicate all my time and energy into my out-of-uni project which ties nicely in with my FMP.
With the uprise in online shopping and the computer savvy 21st century consumer, e-commerce is rapidly becoming the future with regards to retailing. If every high-street store things its a good idea, then I do to. This couldn't be a better time to consider starting a small business online. Unfortunately for the next 10 years its probably never going to be a 'good time' to start a business but if I was to take a chance on anything, this would be my chance. Like we say "There's no time like the present".
This will not only be an exciting project as it is something that is actually part of my life at the moment but also I have the expertise of my tutors and the students around me to aid me with my plan and my ideas.

It's a real opportunity to utilise my surroundings and what better time than during my Final Major Project.

Wish me luck!

After having a good think over the weekend about Core Spirit and the project, I realised that I have a few unanswered questions with regards to the Marketing & Business plan. I was happy to be told today that Core Spirit will actually be coming in to do the original briefing and hopefully answer the gaps in our limited knowledge of the brand. I also hope we experience some enthusiasm from the brand as I don't seem to get much from there online and social networking presence.
In order to get a broader understand of the brand I've decided to power ahead with the initial research of the consumer profile, competitors and segmentation for Core Spirit all aspects that I can do before the briefing.
My main concerns and areas that I'm unsure of are: Budget, limitations of advert/Campaign (i.e. clothing) and which collection is to be used?

I'm sure I'll have many more questions along the way but for now it's business research...creativity and marketing ideas will closely follow.

Core Spirit is a brand I have never heard of and a brand that I may never have came across if it wasn't for this Final Major Project Collaboration with London College of Fashion. After much debate, I decided to choose Core Spirit as the brand for my Business and Marketing plan. 

I came to the conclusion that this project would be much more exciting and challenging if I choose an unknown brand that is not necessarily my 'cup of tea' as apposed to working with a brand I know and love. 

In reality such opportunities are hard to find. Core Spirit, a relatively new brand in the UK wants our help with regards to Marketing and PR . Despite already adopting a certain style themselves, the UK market seems to be out of touch with this brand which is unfortunate as the store on New Bond St is extremely interesting.

Core Spirit is a new brand to me and pretty much the entire Fashion Marketing course but it has the opportunity to experience a new direction and will hopefully be a brand worth shouting about.

I look forward to the challenge ahead!