At 9.15, the FCP group met with Charlie to discuss our steps moving forward with Final Major Project after submitting our Feasibility Study Reports and Project Management Documents last week. During this session, we brainstormed the best methods for recording our project management strategies by engaging in group discussion and looking at previous students' work. As a result of this session, I revisited this website - previously used as a digital space for my Critical Journal and Placement Year diary entries - and made some small adjustments (such as the title, description and tab system) in order to tailor it to suit the needs of the project requirements. In this session, I also discussed the idea of creating a 'Rebranding Document' as opposed to a Brand Handbook, as this concept was unfamiliar to me. I concluded between discussion with both Guy and Charlie that a 'Rebranding Handbook' hybrid would be best suited to my project idea.
During this session, I also had a quick five minute chat with both Charlie and Guy about my initial branding brainstorm on a proposed name. This initial idea stemmed from Marks and Spencer's historic St. Michael label, which I feel is especially recognisable to the previous generation of Marks and Spencer consumers based on access to the M&S Archive. By adopting the name 'Saint', I felt that this would acknowledge both the extensive heritage of the brand as well as a more contemporary future ahead. By experimenting with typefaces which emanated the historic label of the Marks and Spencer brand, I attempted to further this way of thinking. Charlie and Guy brought up useful arguments regarding this logo and name idea, such as the name's similarity with the All Saints brand - especially given my plans to align the M&S womenswear label to suit a more premium market positioning - as well as the potential disadvantages to taking inspiration from Marks and Spencer's past strategies.
After lunch, I focused my attention back to sourcing clothing for my photoshoot on Monday 25th March - TWO WEEKS TODAY! 😳 I found it to be quite a time consuming activity as it took up most of the time I had allocated to project work today. To aid my organisation, I set up a powerpoint file on Google Drive which is useful because I can access it anywhere and it is automatically backed up. The styling process firstly involved going through a selection of online brands and organising my clothing selections into each brand with the corresponding web link to revisit the product before purchasing. Then I began to style up the looks by creating new slides with a combination of garments from each brand, ensuring that each look is cohesive by deliberately assigning a model to each look and laying looks side by side. In order to record my purchases, I created a spreadsheet which monitors the costs of each order and the estimated arrival day/time.
As well as focusing on styling today, I continued my search for a hair & make-up artist by sending a couple of follow up messages and liaised with the model booker at J'adore regarding the models' train expenses, booking their trains and sending over the confirmations. I also created a new Gantt chart for this week. I should have done this yesterday but I was too tired after a long shift at my part-time job, so therefore made an executive decision that it could wait one more day!
Tuesday 12th March
Today I saw Kendra and Jade during the drop-in studio session, where we covered topics like event, project management strategies and marketing reports. She showed me her old work and went into detail about the kind of things she included in her marketing report, then went on to discuss the logistics of planning an event. I showed her my new project management system of recording diaries and plans to restructure the way I approach my weekly Gantt chart. I left the session feeling optimistic about where to begin with Part 2.
In the afternoon, Sophie, Charlotte and I went shopping in Leeds to source additional items for our photoshoots. I purchased accessories from Topshop with the intention to return them as soon as possible once my photoshoot is over. From Primark, I purchased a pair of sunglasses and several pairs of earrings which I will not be allowed to return although consideration was taken into my selection as I will most likely choose to wear them myself. In order to keep track of my purchases and returns I will continue to update my styling spreadsheet and keep any receipts and confirmation emails safe.
Wednesday 13th March
On Wednesday I worked from home in order to wait for my many packages to arrive, full of clothing for my upcoming photoshoot on the 25th March. I set about renewing my Gantt chart system by constructing a planner on an A2 foam-board which I can change each week with ease. This visual, hands-on system is much more suited to my way of thinking in comparison to the Excel spreadsheet Gantt system which I trialled during the previous two weeks.
As well as making my Gantt chart for the week commencing 11th March, I revisited my research file by ticking off my 'to-do list' of things to update within it. I also reviewed all of the responses I received to my shopping experience primary research, and gathered useful data from it which I arranged in a collective spreadsheet of all my primary research results. Finally, I began writing my Marketing-Communications Report which Kendra suggested would be a good place to start during our tutorial yesterday. To keep organised, I initially wrote a long to-do list of contents which I will need to cover over the coming weeks within the report before beginning to transfer relevant information from my Feasibility Study and refine it. I also began to update my research file by ticking off the to-do list that I had been writing over the course of the last week. Elements I added included my styled up looks, print outs of order confirmations for clothing and reasoning for my styling choices.
Thursday 14th March
Today I continued developing my research file by making a moodboard for my desired hair and make-up look for the day of my location shoot, which I then also liaised with my hair & make-up artist about. I then focussed my attentions on my marketing report, beginning to write the SWOT, PESTLE, AIDA and 7 Ps analyses.
Friday 15th March
Today, I began by making a final review of my styling for the shoot on Monday 25th March and made my final online orders as a result of identifying missing pieces or opportunities for pieces in the looks. Then I brainstormed event ideas by creating a mindmap and made a distinction between the launch promotion and press elements of my event strategy before continuing with my implementation of PESTLE, AIDA and the 7 Ps analyses.
Sunday 17th March
On Sunday, I completed the first elements of my marketing report - my SWOT, PESTLE, AIDA and 7 Ps analyses - ahead of my tutorial with Guy on Monday morning. I then reviewed my week's progress by revisiting my weekly Gantt chart and readjusting it based on the reality of my working week. I then reflected on this progress in a blog post before creating and uploading a new Gantt chart communicating my aims for the week commencing 18th March.
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