Diary Entries: Week Commencing 18th March

Monday 18th March

Today I began creating a new weekly Gantt chart which proposes my expected progress for the week ahead, being conscious to consider that I learned from the previous week by not underestimating the sometimes lengthy time process involved in completing seemingly small tasks. I then attended a tutorial with Guy where he reviewed my AIDA, SWOT and PESTLE analysis, giving me particular advice on the content of the 'Legal' segment of the PESTLE analysis and discussing things to consider in the 7 Ps section I plan to complete by the end of today. We also discussed again how I can ensure that the existing M&S consumer is not alienated, perhaps by widening my target audience age demographic. I raised the idea of my new vision of M&S womenswear being a suitable brand for Kate Middleton to wear, and so we discussed the logistics of gifting to royalty as opposed to paid promotion and how I would integrate this idea into my marketing strategy. Finally, we discussed the suitability of Holly Willoughby to the Marks and Spencer brand, where Guy suggested I consider taking the brand in the direction of a more up-and-coming public figure. I also pointed out the current disingenuousness of Holly's collaboration with Marks and Spencer's, where she is rarely seen wearing the brand either in her day-to-day life or live daily on This Morning - an opportunity which I feel should be more greatly utilised.

For the rest of the day, I liaised with my photographer by finalising some new mood boards and communicating the logistics of the day with her as well as communicating with my hair and make-up artist. I then continued with my marketing report, based on the feedback I received from Guy.

I also received my feedback for my Feasibility Study today, and was happy with a final grade of 83%. My preliminary research received a particularly high grade, which gives me the confidence to uphold my findings and integrate it more confidently into my marketing plan and branding. I also received a particularly high grade for my project management, and feel confident that I am bettering the management I displayed in the Feasibility Study even more for Part 2 of the project by working with a digital blog-style diary system and visual hands-on Gantt chart system which works well for me.

Tuesday 19th March

Today I arrived at the library early to begin a day of marketing report writing, deciding not to attend the drop-in session with Jade and Kendra in favour of staying focussed on the task ahead. I completed the 7Ps, having now written a generous chunk of the appendices to my report. I then worked on the structure of the report by breaking it down into five relevant chapters and then began writing the Executive Summary, Introduction and Background Information. Finally, I revisited my Aims & Objectives, editing them to reflect the feedback I received yesterday regarding my Feasibility Study. Earlier on in the day, I sourced styling kit essentials across town including masking tape for the bottom of shoes to be returned, double sided tape and safety pins to potentially use to manipulate clothing or bag straps for shots and a disposable camera to capture behind-the-scenes images on the day.

Wednesday 20th March

On Wednesday I sourced the remaining items for my styling kit ahead of my photoshoot next week. I then veered from my proposed plan for the day by continuing with my marketing report rather than focus solely on the data-based analysis of my primary research findings and consumer profiles, mainly due to the fact that I feel confident with what I have been writing in my report and would like to maintain that momentum. I was also feeling quite tired from a 5am start for work, so made the executive decision to avoid anything with numbers as this is not my strong point even with a good night's sleep. I will no longer be assisting on Charlotte's shoot tomorrow so plan to rebalance my work schedule for the week by completing these tasks then. 

Thursday 21st March

Today I conducted an in-depth analysis of the many PR and advertising opportunities available to review and discuss in my marketing-communications report. I bought 12 women's weekly and monthly magazines with varying target demographics and reviewed each page, highlighting areas of 'missed opportunity' which the new Marks and Spencer label could utilise promotionally as well as areas where the Marks and Spencer brand is already promoted. This strategy is something I learned during my placement year so it feels good to be implementing it into my final major project strategy! I plan to additionally purchase more monthly magazines, specifically those such as Tatler and Elle.

I had also planned to begin my consumer profiles today, however I feel that this detailed research into media strategy will benefit the development of the consumer profiles to be much more justified and well-researched. By constructing a table of demographics for the target audiences of each magazine and examining all of the content within each magazine (relevant specifically to my project or not), I now have a much clearer vision about the kind of target audience I should construct for my new M&S label. Finally, I took photos of each look with accessories included as I begin to get organised for my photoshoot on Monday.

Friday 22nd March

On Friday I attended the 'True Cost of Fashion' lecture at university, which has informed me of some interesting conversations and arguments surrounding sustainable fashion. This is something that will inform the choices for my project, such as the contradiction of organic cotton and the difficult balance of promoting an 'eco-friendly' garment which may still harbour significant environmental damage. I will need to consider this delicate positioning within the branding of the Marks and Spencer label. After this, I put together a final booklet of the looks which I'll be styling on Monday's photoshoot which I can refer back to throughout the day to ensure I am fully organised.

Sunday 23rd March

Today I undertook the final preparations for my shoot tomorrow morning by gathering up the contents of my styling kit and packing them, as well as ironing and packing each item of clothing - taking great care to ensure that nothing is forgotten and left behind. I then reflected on my week's progress by referring back to my Gantt chart and created my Gantt chart for the following week to measure my performance and project management skills.