Business Module Essay

AD6607 1903788 Libby Chamberlin Studio 204 Creative Agency Marketing and Communications Department Part One Roles and Responsibilities

For one of my last modules we have been given the task of formulating and developing a business plan which evidences entrepreneurial skills and imagination. To begin this process, the class was split into three separate groups where our skills matched each other’s best and would be most beneficial to our future careers. The group which I chose was Marketing and Communication. The Marketing and Communication department are responsible for the creation of the zine and the launch night. I was happy with my group choice as it was the group which best suited my skill set and would benefit my learning. I knew I would be able to build my communication, teamwork and marketing skills.

For this module we were given the brief of arranging, promoting and designing the class of 2022’s end of year launch night exhibition to the industry, press, family and peers. The end goal for all three teams was to host a class of 2022 launch night exhibition. In this team, we aim to promote the class of 2022 to industry via the launch night and social media. The process of this included finding a venue, sponsors for the event, save the dates and invitations and a press release. We strive to exhibit a fresh perspective on the work that Studio 204 creatives have to offer, as they venture into the industry and become the changemakers of the future. Providing a professional and long lasting legacy for all Studio 204 community.

There are five of us in the Marketing and Communications department, as a team we divided the roles fairly, ensuring that each member had a role which best suited their skill set and which they could excel within. As a team, our roles consisted of finances, event styling, minutes, creating save the dates and the zine, press release, social media and collating industry contacts. I took the role of event stylist as I feel I have quite an eye for detail and believe I can create and execute the details of our vision. I was in charge of developing a cohesive look and style for our exhibition event to create a social and creative space. It was important to ensure all details come together and make final adjustments on the day of the exhibition. Although my role couldn’t fully be presented till the final exhibition night, it took a lot of thought and consideration up until the event. The starting stage for me was visiting the venue we had secured to get some ideas for possible styling. I started by creating a moodboard to gather ideas and inspiration as to what will work best for our exhibition and to suit our needs of showcasing creative work.

I also needed to think of a color theme, I didn’t want the decor to take away from our work at the exhibition so wanted to keep it quite subtle. As a department, all our work including our save the dates and visuals have had a color palette of pink and orange so I wanted to incorporate this into the styling. As the Storyhouse has a few different venue rooms on different floors I thought it was important to have a sign in the foyer presenting our event and directing people in the right

way. These posters are shown here. I had the idea of hiring large light up numbers of ‘204’, when I spoke to the rest of my department they all agreed this was a great idea. Not only would this market our brand 204 it would provide a great photo opportunity which could be posted on various social media platforms. I contacted various different companies who provided these services and I am continuing the process of price comparisons to get the best value for our department. As well as light up numbers I wanted to have a balloon arch in the venue which incorporated our brand colours of orange and pink.

Another role of mine was researcher. I was involved in researching what other universities with similar courses have been doing to market their course and hold their events. I researched various Universities with creative courses such as Manchester Metropolitan and Bournemouth University to see how they have previously held events such as graduate shows and summer exhibitions. As we had never previously held an event like this it was important to see what other Universities with similar courses were doing to market their courses.

My third KPI was Venue assistant. This role meant I helped to contact and view possible venues in and around Chester which suited our criteria such as dates, times, cost, capacity, and all other general requirements. Alongside the Venue manager, Liv Buckley we began by brainstorming the type of venue we would want our event to be held at. We knew we wanted it to be in or around Chester as this would be easier for people to get to. We discussed dates, times, cost, capacity, and all other general requirements that needed to be met. We emailed and viewed a few different venues which suited our criteria. As Chester is quite a small city the possible venue locations were fairly limited therefore we had to be more open minded when finding our venue. After we had discussed as a department which venue we think would be best suited for our exhibition we finally decided on The Storyhouse. We agreed that this was a great space and would be able to represent our brand well.

As part of this we also needed to create an invoice to show the amount we would be paid for each of our products or services. This invoice would be sent to the buyer indicating the payment terms and agreed-upon prices. It was good to experience creating an invoice as it isn’t something I have ever had to do before and will be a beneficial skill to have in the future. It was quite challenging to figure out the costs as I have never done this type of thing before and I’m not that well educated with how much event stylists and venue assistants earn. However, I did some research to find out the typical amount these job roles get paid and then matched that to how many hours I have completed in this job role when completing my KPI’s. This helped me to improve my numeracy skills as well as my problem solving skills.

Overall, I believe I was able to complete my allocated KPI’s successfully and to the best of my availability. By working alongside my team members we were able to ensure we completed all our tasks.

Part Two Reflection In reflection, the contemporary fashion business module has given me the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the business side of fashion and has broadened my understanding of the skills needed to work in this area of the industry.

I was able to build on current skills such as communication skills, time management by working towards deadlines and problem solving. All of these skills are beneficial and can be taken with me in my future job role. As well as this, having the opportunity to work in a group has given me the chance to develop my teamwork skills which will be very beneficial to me in the future, working in this industry. Working in a team has allowed me to keep an open mind and take on board other team members ideas and feelings to ensure the team works well as a whole.

Working in a team has also enabled me to utilise skills which are not used as much when working individually. For example, collaboration, communication and listening skills would not be tested when working on my own. Another positive about working in a team has been being able to learn from others and thrive off new ideas.

Communication skills have proven to be essential when working in a team as you have to take into consideration other team member’s opinions and ideas. As well as this time management is a key part of team work and can be difficult whis multiple people in a team. Organisation skills have been tested at times making sure all meetings fit around the availability of each team member. My communication skills have significantly improved over the course of this project. I believe as I was a member of the Marketing and Communications department, communication was key to the success of our team.

Another skill which was tested was verbal communication skills. Over the course of the project we had multiple presentations to give feedback and updates to the other groups. Presenting hasn’t always been one of my greatest skills however I believe I have hugely improved on this by presenting quite regularly. As well as these presentations we also had weekly meetings with our team and the CEO, Tracey Hall. Each week we discussed our progress and created weekly to do lists to see what was top priority. This helped us to improve our organisational skills as a team as well as time management.

Looking back I am positive that this was the best fitting team for me to work within. As a team we have all successfully communicated effectively throughout the entire process and managed any problems we faced together. As well as progressing as a team to ensure results we have also progressed very well individually. I enjoyed being able to work in a team as it is something we haven’t previously done much during the past three years in University. Working in a team has enabled me to increase my confidence in the way that I work and helped me to improve on my time management in order to meet deadlines. I have now realised the importance of teamwork when working in this industry and how beneficial bouncing ideas off each other is.

Another skill which I have gained and improved on is collaboration. Collaboration was a key part of this project as I worked alongside my team members from start to finish to fulfill our KPI’s and

make sure all tasks were successfully completed to our best ability. When certain tasks didn’t go as imagined or planned we had to come together as a team and figure out a solution to the problem to overcome the issue. This helped us improve our problem solving skills.

Conclusion In conclusion, this module has helped me to reshape and advance my skill set. I have been able to work in a way which I have not previously done much of before and also looked at things in new ways which I hadn’t before. I have been able to develop my communication and collaborative skills as well as develop a greater understanding in research. Some parts of this module were challenging however I am happy with the progress I have made and the skills I have developed. This project has allowed me to gain a valuable insight into what working within a team in a professional situation entails. I enjoyed working in a team with my department and believe it has helped us to achieve the best possible outcome for our final exhibition night.