Discover
#CelebrateYourLife
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Ania Kanwal N0499812 Fashion Communication & Promotion Communication & Message Module Leader: Claire Phipps FASH 20031
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CONTENTS
What is Air Bnb?
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Primary Research
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Consumer Profile
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Secondary Research
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My Big Idea
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Marketing my idea
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Campaign Outputs
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References
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Appendix
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Research Methodology
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WHAT IS AIR BNB?
Air BnB is a marketplace, which allows people from all over the world to host their free rooms and spaces for rent to other people. It allows the hosts to get to know their tenants and also give them tips and knowledge on the area that they are staying in. I conducted a questionnaire and distributed it via social media. I asked if it would be beneficial if someone with experience of living in the city/area that they want to stay in gave them knowledge and tips about the area, and 86% of people stated that it would be very beneficial.
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PRIMARY RESEARCH
I conducted a questionnaire on Typeform and distributed it via social media. I got quite a few responses. I used a questionnaire because it is easier to get both quantitative and qualitative information about what I wanted to find out – which was about what people look for when they book a holiday and accommodation. I found that 84% of people travel once or twice a year. Considering that the majority of people who answered my questionnaire was aged between 19-25 years old, I have decided that I will target that age group because it is a good age range to market to in terms of gaining new consumers - for example: To rent and maybe even host within the marketplace but also to spread the word to others (parents, grandparents, older friends etc.) about Air BnB and hosting. I asked people what their main concern is when booking travel is and 83% of people said “Finding a good place to stay” and “The cost of hotels and villas”. Also, 64% of people said, “yes” to the question about if they would stay in someone else’s home that can be rented cheaper than how much a hotel would cost and 82%, said that they want to feel comfortable where they are staying - however, only 5% had actually heard of Air BnB. My campaign aim is to raise awareness of the marketplace so that people know where they can find a good place to stay and feel comfortable.
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Find a place to stay
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CONSUMER PROFILE: Gemma Tovey
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Here is a case study of Gemma Tovey. By doing a case study and interview with Gemma, it gives qualitative information about who she is as a person and also what she thinks of Air BnB, as she is already a real life consumer – it is a more realistic approach of collecting data. Gemma is 22 years old - an adventurous young Geography graduate who has always had a passion for exploring new places. Alongside her degree, she has been working in the retail store Marks & Spencer’s to get by and to save up for when she goes travelling. In her spare time, she loves to listen to music and she carries a camera around everywhere as she is easily inspired by her surroundings. She has also explored new places during her summer holidays throughout University. However, she hasn’t always had the money to spend on hotels so she used Air BnB.
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I asked Gemma a few questions about her experience with the marketplace – (See transcript in Appendix). I asked her where she heard about Air BnB and how it is different from hotels and hostels. She said: “I heard about it online and it’s different to hotels and hostels as it has a more personal touch – your name isn’t just a number on the system.” This again, reinforces the brand identity of the marketplace, as it is a more personal ‘VIP’ service - which everyone wants. The results of my questionnaire backs this as 82% of people said that they want to feel comfortable where they are staying and if they build trust with the hosts, then they will get the comfort and ‘VIP experience’ they need.
SECONDARY RESEARCH For my Secondary research, I wanted to find out who Air BnB really are and their concepts behind their promotion. I looked at existing Air BnB campaigns via their YouTube Channel where they create videos to inform viewers about their brand, stories behind their brand, all about hosting and the benefits, and also music or behind the scenes videos to show their community everything that they do so they can be a part of it. “Online video is one of the fastest growing parts of the Internet. There is a rise of mass-market broadband use, coupled with scores of sites where you can post content for free and distribute it quickly to blogs, social media profiles, and websites.” - Return on engagement – Frick, Tim (2010). This supports the fact that Air BnB’s YouTube channel is beneficial. It allows people to copy and paste the links and share them to others via social media and blogs, hence spreading the word to the community.
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An existing Air BnB promotional video that I found was “Living a richer life�. This informs people about why hosting is beneficial to travellers and themselves. It shows people saying what they are going to spend the money on that they get from hosting their spaces, such as saving for their wedding, moving house and one woman said she hosts to improve her English. It allows new consumers to explore other benefits rather than just accommodating someone – such as building new friendships and helping people. Another existing Air BnB campaign is #OneLessStranger. The company give a small donation to their community so they can use the money to do something nice for a stranger, and then make a friend. They then take a selfie with their new friend who is asked to hash tag #OneLessStranger. Not only does this raise awareness about Air BnB, but it also communicates a message to new consumers that tells them what their identity is about: Caring for people and ensuring they belong everywhere they go.
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EXISTING ADVERTISEMENTS ‘Belonging’ I also looked at existing advertisements associated with the concept of “belonging”. In the John Lewis 2014 advertisement they used the fact that penguins belong to their mate for life and turned it into a concept for Christmas: Using a penguin that needs to find a female mate and when he does, the audience feels like he has found his soul mate. In perspective of consumer behaviour, it will allow the consumers to think that John Lewis is the ‘go-to’ place for Christmas presents in that they will find exactly what they are looking for and not be disappointed. In the Sainsbury’s advertisement, it is a remake of ww2 in the trenches at Christmas time. They walk up to each other and say “Merry Christmas” to each other then start playing football. It is clear in the advert that everyone forgot that they were fighting and embraced the moment until they had to fight again. The main two soldiers, a German and an Englishman put a token/gift in each other’s pocket, which makes them feel like they belong to each other as friends no matter what happens. This makes the consumer feel sentimental and softhearted towards the brand so they are more likely to buy from Sainsbury’s.
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Carling space and explorer advertisements – Both of these adverts have a concept of ‘belonging’ behind them. They are about a group of men (as men are primarily their target audience) who are astronauts and explorers and faced with dangerous, bizarre decisions either to leave a friend behind or continue doing what they want to do. In the two adverts the men favour their friend and their catchphrase “Know who your mates are” follows, with the word ‘Belong’ on a pint glass of Carling. These adverts have a sense of humour and make the audience laugh. They will remember this advert when they order a pint of Carling.
MY BIG IDEA
Everyone deserves freedom, a chance to escape from their day-to-day lives and share their happiness. My campaign is called #CelebrateYourLife. The concept is to get people to embrace their life wherever they go with whomever they meet. Air BnB’s brand essence is about belonging to a community and making new friendships so my campaign will reinforce that by reminding consumers to ‘Discover’ life, culture, new friendships and ultimately be happy. I came up with the idea of celebrations when I brainstormed the word ‘learning’. I came up with the word ‘culture’ because people go travelling to learn about different cultures. The words that arose from this were: Colours, languages, celebrations, festivals, laughter, smile etc. The emotions that people get from these events make people want to do it all over again. My video and print campaign is going to include my primary creative research. I went into a busy town and asked different people from my target age group of 19-25 to write one word on an a4 piece of paper about how celebrations, new experiences and making new friends makes them feel. By doing this, It was more a personal approach than just going up to people and asking them the question, and was also a creative way for data collection. I then asked for their consent if I could take a picture of them holding up the paper or just a close up of their hands. I got a good response from all the participants, as they were all willing to do so and they were all interested in my concept. I also thought about including a voice recording of the person who I did my case study about telling the consumers about her experience with Air BnB: “It was nice to be able to get a local’s insight into the area. It made me so excited to discover this new place, I love meeting new people and the hosts really made me feel welcome.” Consequently, I do not want the video to become ‘cluttered’ with words, music and voiceovers.
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In my video, it will feature clips of festivals from different cultures, as I got my inspiration for this idea from researching about festivals and how it makes people feel when celebrating. “Festivals may be arts events. Community celebrations, or political or commercial events designed to promote a particular idea or specific products.” - Richards, G. (2011). [Cultural Tourism: Global and Local Perspectives]. This inspired me because it is a good way to promote my Air BnB campaign idea, as it is filled with positivity from people of all cultures. All the different colours, the music and the energy are what make people smile and laugh. The festivals include the Indian festival Holi, Chinese New Year, Lantern festivals in Taiwan - to the beautiful carnival of Venice. Everyone deserves to celebrate the experiences they take part in life. The video will also include clips of the people holding up the pieces of paper with their word on it, and then the video will end with #CelebrateYourLife (Air BnB logo follows). In between the clips, the key words will show up: DISCOVER, EXPERIENCE, EXPLORE, BELONG and CELEBRATE.
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In my experience of going to festivals, travelling and discovering new experiences I felt ecstatic every time. A campaign that I saw on YouTube as part of my secondary research is STA Travel ‘MOVE’. It shows a young traveller who looks like a student walking and discovering many different cities and cultures. As the video goes on, his face turns into a constant smile and shows him laughing, screaming and clearly enjoying himself. This inspired me to add many different festivals and celebrations into my own campaign video as it makes the audience realise that they can experience exactly what the man in the video is. Once the audience sees my campaign, they will want to enjoy all the different celebrations shown and belong to the Air BnB community.
MARKETING MY IDEA I think that it would be a great idea to market this campaign via a pop up shop and interactive window displays. The idea of this is that people walk past it and immediately be drawn to the window – as interactive window displays are new to modern marketing. In 2012, Burberry set up a whole interactive store. Their clothing has microchips inside them. When the customer looks into a mirror, which transforms into a screen, it shows them what the garment looks like on the catwalk. “Burberry Regent Street brings our digital world to life in a physical space for the first time, where customers can experience every facet of the brand through immersive multimedia content, exactly as they do online.” – MarketingMagazine.co.uk. This is a much more realistic idea of marketing and is why I think this would be a good idea for Air BnB as I believe it is a new and contemporary brand. My questionnaire results support this as only 5% had heard of the marketplace. I got inspiration for the pop up stores from when I visited London. Nike had a small store in an isolated town with hardly any shops with amazing visual merchandising and their latest products with videos of campaigns on plasma screen TV’s hung on their wall. If the Air BnB pop up store was placed in different cities it would be an effective way of promotion. It will encourage spontaneous purchases and will increase brand awareness and hence extend the brand. The U-Touch is a device that allows customers to ‘touch the window’ and interact with the content on it. In the case of the Air BnB pop up shop, people will be able to access the Air BnB website, and will take them to a screen choosing a city or country that they would live to visit. They will then be able to view the outstanding places that the hosts in these places have to offer. It will also allow them to watch the campaign advertisement. If they are interested, they will have a ‘buddy’ who will talk to them about everything they need to know and guide them through hosting, renting and hence celebrating their life.
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CAMPAIGN OUTPUTS
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MY LIFE IS...
Discover
#CelebrateYourLife 23
#CelebrateYourLife video campaign (mock up) URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO94ONIuxa8&feature=youtu.be
(Video Stills)
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REFERENCES
Word Count - 2319
WEBSITES https://www.airbnb.co.uk. 2014. Air BnB. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.airbnb.co.uk. [Accessed 13 January 15]. U-Touch. 2014. Interactive window display. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.u-touch.co.uk/solutions/interactive-window-display/. [Accessed 12 January 15] Marketing magazine. 2012. Burberry Regent Street pilots interactive technology. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1149851/burberry-regent-street-pilots-interactive-technology. [Accessed 12 January 15] Escape normal. 2011. 50 Greatest festivals in the world. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.escapenormal. com/2011/03/29/50-greatest-festivals-in-the-world/. [Accessed 11 January 15] YouTube. 2012. STA Travel UK. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUoYWcbDCXI. [Accessed 11 January 15] BOOKS Frick, Tim, (2010). Return on engagement: content, strategy and design techniques for digital marketing (electronic resource via http://www.sciencedirect.com) [Accessed on 7th January 2015] Rowan, W. & ebrary, I. (2002). Digital Marketing: Using New Technologies To Get Closer To Your Customers. London: Kogan Page. [Accessed on 7th January 2015] Richards, G. (2011). Cultural Tourism: Global and Local Perspectives [Accessed on 12th January 2015] Posner, H. (2011) Marketing Fashion, United Kingdom - Lawrence King [Accessed on 7th January 2015]
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1. Air BnB logo (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.forbes.com [Accessed 9th January 2014] Fig. 2. Lantern Festival (2015) [Online] Available at http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/Things-Do-Before-YouDie-31147739#photo-31147739 via http://www.pinterest.com [Accessed 11th January 2015] Fig. 3. Festival of Venice (2012) [Online] Available at http://pixgood.com/italian-festival-masks.html [Accessed 11th January 2015] Fig. 4. Air BnB Belo image – (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.wearedesignstudio.com/works/airbnb-brand/ [Accessed January 10th 2015] Fig. 5. Colourful eye image (2012) [Online] Available at http://pinterest.com [Accessed January 13th 2015] Fig. 6. Urban Outfitters apartment (2014) [Online] Available at http://urbanoutfitters.tumblr.com [Accessed January 12th 2015]
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GEMMA CONSUMER PROFILE Fig. 7. World Map - http://clipart-finder.com/clipart/world-map-simple.html Fig. 8. Canon camera (2014) [Online] – Available at http://wholelifestylenutrition.com/articles/learn-how-to-useyour-dslr-camera-with-this-easy-photography-tutorial/ via http://www.pinterest.com [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 9. Kerrang magazine (2014) [Online] Available at http://celebmafia.com [Accessed 13th January 2015] Fig. 10. M&S Logo (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.shootfactory.co.uk [Accessed 13th January 2015] Fig. 11. Gemma and her friends [Photograph] Own image [Accessed 9th January 2015] Fig. 12. Hostel image (2013) [Online] Available at http://pinterest.com [Accessed 12th January 2015] Fig. 13. Air BnB Youtube screenshot (2014) [Online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/user/Airbnb [Accessed 12th January 2015] Fig. 14. One less stranger (2014) [Online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/user/Airbnb [Accessed 12th January 2015] Fig. 15. One less stranger (2014) [Online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/user/Airbnb [Accessed 12th January 2015] Fig. 16. People laughing (2011) [Online] Available at http://www.pinterest.com [Accessed 12th January 2015] ADVERT VISUAL INSPIRATION BOARD Fig. 17. Thomson advert (2011) [Online] Available at http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2011/10/19/38553/5m+thomson+campaign+breaks+turn+of+year+tradition.html [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 18. Ugly duckling (2012) [Online] Available at https://www.behance.net/gallery/Ugly-Duckling/4518741 [Accessed 11th January 2015] Fig. 19. Carling ‘Belong’ advert (2008) [Online] Available at http://almostalwaysthinking.com/2008/08/08/fags-andbooze/ [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 20. John Lewis Christmas advert (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/ retailandconsumer/11212166/Watch-Monty-the-Penguin-stars-in-John-Lewis-2014-Christmas-advert.html [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 21. John Lewis Christmas advert (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/john-lewis-christmas-advert-2014-4578155 [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 22. Know who your mates are - Carling advert (2008) [Online] Available at http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2008/carling-you-know-who-your-mates-are/ [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 23. Monty the Penguin (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.pinterest.com [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 24. Sainsbury’s Christmas advert (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/13/ sainsburys-christmas-advert-recreates-first-world-war-truce [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 25. Boy in trolley (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.pinterest.com [Accessed 10th January 2015] 27
Fig. 26 – 34. People holding words (2015) [Photograph] all own images [Taken 11th January 2015] CELEBRATE YOUR LIFE MOOD BOARD Fig. 35. Holi festival (2012) [Online] Available at http://www.99traveltips.com/travel-tips/india-travel-tips-adviceguide-india/ [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 36. Vanessa Hudgens (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.hercampus.com/beauty/beauty-school-blog/10most-interesting-coachella-beauty-looks [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 37. Festival (2014) [Online] Available at http://www.etsy.com [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 38. Friendship bracelet (2012) [Online] Available at http://honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-macrame-bracelet/ [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 39. Children laughing (2013) [Online] Available at http://pinterest.com [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 40. Holi powder pots (2011) [Online] Available at http://indulgy.com/post/FUPs9ZDf41/holi [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 41. Woman making chapattis (2013) [Online] Available at http://www.cucumbertown.com/milletbajra-roti-recipe-dish?image=8325 [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 42. Teenagers laughing (2011) [Online] Available at http://leonardoviotti.deviantart.com/art/In-theRain-200790116 [Accessed 10th January 2015] Fig. 43. Nike pop up store (2013) [Online] Available at http://www.gopixpic.com[Accessed 12th January 2015] Fig. 44. Burberry store (2010) [Online] Available at http://sandinourstilettos.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/burberrys-retail-theatre-concept.html [Accessed 12th January 2015] VIDEO CAMPAIGN CLIPS Rio de janeiro carnival (2012). [Online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aRSKv9IV_A [Accessed on 14th January 2015] RISE Lantern festival (2014). [Online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFcGvmFtR-s [Accessed on 14th January 2015] Festival of Colors - World’s BIGGEST color party (2012). [Online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=Hh-o5g4tLVE [Accessed on 14th January 2015] 30 Seconds to Mars perform ‘The Kill’ at Reading Festival (2011) [Online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=f1aZrWhuVe0 [Accessed on 14th January 2015] 30 Seconds to Mars - Kings and Queens (Audio) Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTMrlHHVx8A [Accessed on January 14th 2015]
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APPENDIX INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT – Gemma Tovey Me: “Where did you hear of Air BnB and how is it different from hotels and hostels?” Gemma: I heard about it online and it’s different to hotels and hostels as it has a more personal touch - your name isn’t just a number on the system. Me: That’s very true! When you rented a place for the first time, were you happy with the service? Gemma: Yes I was, the accommodation was lovely. It was nice to be able to learn the good places to visit in the area and get a local’s insight into the area. It made me feel more comfortable when going out and so excited to discover this new place, I love meeting new people and the hosts really made me feel welcome. Me: That’s good. What are you hoping for your next trip? Gemma: I think I might try to go for maybe a more traditional house in the country that I’m in with my boyfriend. I’m still saving up but there are so many unique spaces in the UK that I have never even heard of. It would be nice to do something different. Me: That sounds lovely! If I asked you to describe your experience with Air BnB in 3 words, what would you say? Gemma: Exciting, Unique and Trustworthy. Me: I wish you all the best, thanks Gemma.
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CAMPAIGN IDEA (Brainstorm)
CONSENT FORMS
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY TABLE
Research Method Questionnaire
Sample size 25 (Both Male and Female participants aged 19-25)
Purpose
Strengths
To gain information quickly by distributing via social media
+ Can get both quantitative and qualitative data + Practical and convenient – as researcher does not have to be present when participants fill it out + Can easily analyse results
Structured Interview
1 Female who had used Air BnB
To gain detailed information about the interviewee’s personal experience
+ Qualitative data – in more depth detail + Can easily analyse the individual’s responses and emotions + More personal and “on the spot” so less likely of social desirability than a questionnaire
Case study / Consumer profile
1 female who had used Air BnB
To get more insight about an individual (In this case with experience with Air BnB) Visual data col- 10 peoTo be more inlection (Using ple (Both teractive with photography) Males and people from Females) my target age in Notgroup and get tingham their opinion town in a creative, centre more personal way
+ In depth information about person and data collected + Good for analysing data and gaining detailed conclusions + Everyone participated and thought it was a fun idea + Realistic opinions, no social desirability + Easy to trust researcher as more personal and friendly approach + Good way to capture emotions
Weaknesses - Social desirability – people may answer the questions in a way they think makes them look good - Low response rate (can’t guarantee how many people will answer) - They lack in detail
Outcome
Most of the questions answered were what I expected e.g. 5% answered “No” to “Have you ever heard of air BnB?” However, 70% said they would stay in someone else’s ‘space’, which surprised me (but the results were beneficial for my research about Air BnB). - However, still a high I got some positive chance of social desir- in depth answers ability – could lie to that were beneficial make themselves look for my research good and backing it up. - Time consuming However, I do think social desirability was there as she answered all the questions positively. - Hard to generalize to I got an insight of others the participant’s - Can be subjective lifestyle -which was - No quantitative data highly relevant to collected my ideal target consumer. She was a good representative. - Can’t compare or gen- Overall I was very eralise pleased with the - Consent needed outcome; everyone - No quantitative or participated and qualitative data gained was more than weltherefore can’t analyse come to do it and results have their picture taken. I got some good words that I am putting in my campaign video.
Effectiveness of research In my opinion the questionnaire was effective because I used it as my first method of research and I was able to quickly gain the information I needed from my target audience. Once I had this, I could then expand into other forms of research such as data collection, interviews and case studies. It was effective in gaining detailed information from someone who had previously used Air BnB. It is a more realistic approach to research.
Effective as it represents a person who has experienced what I am researching. It is high in validity.
In terms of effectiveness, I don’t think it is effective for collecting analytical data but it is good visual research that I can use for my video and report. It is also good for meeting a new person – which is what my research is all about. 35