Future Arts & Learning Alternatives
Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development. - Kofi Annan
01 Why are you here?
| 007 - 008
a. The Challenge b. The Opportunity
02 Who are we?
| 009 - 019
a. This is Fala b. Our Strategy at a Glance i. Vision ii. Mission iii. Core Values iv. Secondary Values c. This is how we work i. Location
ii. Business Classification
iii. How do we deliver value?
d. Organizational Structure
03 Where are we going?
| 020 - 028
a. 01 Profit b. 02 Mission c. 03 Customer d. 04 Marketing e. 05 Technological f. 06 Internal
What is included?
04 Are we sure?
| 029 - 056
a. Industry Analysis i. Educational Industry ii. Information Sector
iii. Platform & Software Development
iv. Combination b. Porter’s 5 Forces Model c. Competitor Analysis
i. Current & Future
ii. Positioning Map d. Scenario Planning e. Situational Analysis
05 Okay. So why us again?
| 057 - 060
a. Criteria for success b. Competitive advantage
06 What to keep in mind: a. Stakeholder Analysis i. Map ii. Rationale b. Strategic Alliances c. Strategic Issues
| 061 - 072
06 How do we get there?
| 073 - 076
a. 06.42 Months b. 24.42 Months c. 36.60 Months
07 Let’s Go! | 077 - 078
08 Proof | 079 - 083
What Is Included?
Social development in holistic education tha and satisfying life jour
The Challenge
Education is a human right. 1 While this declaration directly tackles the challenge that lies within granting and providing access to education to all individuals of all walks of life regardless of their demographic characteristics, it is also important to converse about the type of education provided. Delivering an education is not enough. The education, more specifically its content, needs to be balanced and directly speak to the needs of an individual. Traditional systems for centuries have been developing a rather one-sided perspective on this story. A New York Times study highlighted how even privileged and well-educated students lack the understanding of a social and family life balance,
independent thinking skills as well as content applicable to “real life”. 2 The educational system within the United States is therefore outdated as it does not adjust to modern-day values. This is underlined by an assessment from the Program for International Student Assessment that announced in 2019 that the performance of American teenagers in traditional subjects such as math has been stagnant since 2000. 3 Taking into consideration recent social developments that stir us towards a posttruth era, we can identify a gap between the areas of study provided and the areas of study required to sustainably prepare an individual with the tools to navigate our daily lives.
Why Are We Here?
nduces a shift in values that calls for an up-to-date, at meets the 21st century standards for a fulfilled rney.
The Opportunity With the rise of the world wide web and the dependency that has evolved around it, new possibilities of content delivery open up. The COVID-19 crisis alone doubled the percentage of children 0 - 17 that spent more than 4 hours a day online from 21% to 44%. 4 Entertainmenteducation (also known as edutainment) is a theory developing since the late 60s’ and is used, for example by the John Hopkins University, to incite “behavioral change”. At its core, it “combines the science of analysis and theory with the art of storytelling.” 5 The captivating power of creativity is used to translate knowledge
and perspectives onto any audience. Through its unique delivery methods, it has the ability to communicate subjects beyond what is traditionally known as education. The opportunity at hand is to maximize the emotional and functional guiding principles of holistic education. Emotional talks about the subject and content in itself, what connects with the audience, and the information it holds. Functional describes the language of the story being told, the how to the what. Emotional principles need to be inclusive of areas such as self-disciple, introspective, human behavior, creativity, and
resource usage. To combat the various crises of the 21 century, may it be the climate crisis 6 or teenage suicide 7, we need to understand our environment, ourselves, and our fellow humans better. The functional principles, on the other, need to fulfill the standards for highend education, freely accessible and accommodating for the wide spectrum of individuals. Fala is here to maximize these guiding principles that we have set for ourselves.
This is Fala Fala - Future Arts & Learning Alternatives is a nonprofit educational content developer that modernizes the focus of children’s education and drives the realignment of its value system with the 21st century West. We specialize in creating freely accessible online experiences for any child. Primarily through video and audio content, we bring tools to children aged 6 to 12 that support a holistic educational journey by focusing on our three tiers: the inter-human, resource realization, and simple creativity. Course units can also be directly implemented by educational institutions to offer a universally rounded pedagogy to their customers.
Who Are We?
The purpose of this organization is to do good by offering much-needed educational tools for free to any child that speaks English and has access to the internet.
Our Strategy at a Glance Vision Mission
Replenish children’s education.
To provide all children with the tools they need to navigate an inclusive self-perception, a conscientious togetherness, and an effective resource allocation.
Inclusivity
Core Values Secondary Values
Within our organizational structure, culture, as well as external interaction, Fala actively ensures inclusivity. Not just welcoming, but appropriately recognizing all backgrounds and identities allow us to communicate effectively and respectfully.
Independent Thinking “To find yourself, think for yourself.” - Socrates Integrity Power lies within truth. Empathy Responsible interaction means respectful association and open dealings. Innovation Modern problems require modern solutions.
Creativity Simplicity is key. Our straight-forward structure combats the over-saturation of the media age. It provides the necessary space for individual creativity to thrive. Inspiration is modernized as it functions on the basis of thought-provoking questions rather than examples.
Who Are We?
Equity Fala recognizes the diversity in the situational circumstances of every student. The content delivery is conscientious of barriers such as language, technology accessibility, reading impairments such as dyslexia, and attention difficulties such as ADHD. The learning target remains the same amongst similar students whilst Fala goes the extra step to accommodate for dissimilar starting points.
Learning We classify ever-changing circumstances as opportunities for change and growth. By stepping beyond our comfort zone and being inspired by the foreign and unknown, we live the concept of learning and translate its true value.
Location Fala’s headquarters are located in Oceanside, CA. The Southern West coast is the source of software engineering in the United States 8 and with that, this location allows us to capitalize on employees in the field if we need to. Overall, Fala is an online operating business. As we specialize in online educational content delivery, setting the same standard for our work environment allows us to internalize business values and maximize the learning curve as we can “live” test the principles we want to implement. A remote workforce additionally increases the labor pool and allows us to draw from experts all around the world.
Business Classification 501(c)(3) Fala is an NPO classified as an educational organization as we offer “instruction to the public on subjects useful to individuals and beneficial to the community.” We met the qualification as we are “an organization that presents a course of instructions by correspondence or through the use of television/ radio”, meaning visual and audible content. 9
Who Are We?
Focus Areas and Value Delivery Fala’s products, offered directly to the consumer as well as other businesses, are online educational courses freely available for anyone on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify as well as Fala’s website. It includes video and audio content and is presented in modules that tackle the three tiers: the inter-human, resource realization, and simple creativity. Additionally to creating conceptualizing and producing applicable content, Fala also offers close guidance and professional feedback for educational institutions that merge and replenish their curriculum with ours. Within our delivery, we focus on high-end entertainment as a means to communicate our content most effectively. The first stage of a module production starts, just like any new process here at Fala, with research. Our content developers from all over the
world, experts in the field of neuroscience, pedagogy, psychology, communication design, and artificial intelligence develop a curriculum that tackles a need that we have identified in our target audience. After the curriculum is bulletproof, our team in service design 10 establishes the target outcomes and generates the overall structure of individual course delivery. Next, our design team gets to determine how to creatively best hit those set targets and communicate the content. Each new stage that our content units undergo after reviewed by the teams that contributed to the products prior. Regarding the content itself, it is important to notice that our content developers are hired based on their expertise and change from project to project. We do not exclude the possibility of hiring someone multiple times. However, this policy ensures that we regularly have new perspectives on the
content that lives through its applicability. Our creative teams, on the other hand, remain the same in order to build a strong cooperative culture and even strong brand language. Lastly, our marketing and technical teams get to take a look at a newly developed curriculum to establish campaigns around it and fine-tune its delivery. The exact delivery method, whether it is for example a podcast, an interactive Instagram story, or a 3-minute video, is established earlier and based on the content
itself. The same team that established the curriculum in the first place is also tasked with measuring and observing its effect on communication. This is another reason why we hire module/project-specific, as one content expert can still be fully tasked with overseeing one project while a new one is being developed. Circles of such fashion rotate in an agile workflow and environment. Here at Fala, we are a ball rather than just a circle.
Who Are We?
Proposals to Seniors → Curriculum → Service Design Strategy → Content Unit Mo
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→ Researc h→ ack b ed
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ule od M
→
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xternal Review
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Design → External Review → Content Production → Publication → Maintenance &
F
Advisory Board
Organizational Structure Fala’s organizational structure is a combination of the entrepreneurial and missionary organizational structure. We see the existence of a strategic A pack as well as the operating core that is aided by technical and supporting staff. The structure is flatter as it seems as the lowest positions lay on the same level and are just visually portrayed in a vertical manner.
Staff
Software Engineer
Finance & Account Manager
Fundraising & Investment Coordinato
Who Are We?
or
Board of Directors
Executive Leadership Founder & CEO
Co - Founder & CEO
Executive Assistant
Product Manager
Marketing Manager
Dean of Infrasturcture
Community Support Manager
Senior Content Director
Dean of Curriculum & Educational Architect
Content Contributor
Junior Content Director
Art Director & Producer Volunteers
Content Contributor
Videographer
Videographer
Content Contributor
Motion Designer
Motion Designer
Garphic Designer
Garphic Designer
The following strategic objectives specify the company’s goals and with that, the next steps over the coming three to five years. Individual goals that streamline objectives are connected to one, three and a half, and five years. That allows us to strategically realize said objectives. In addition, all goals are paired with key performance indicators to specify how we measure our progress. Overall, the financial basis for Fala is based on donations as we are a 501(c)(3). With that, a strong focus lies on the expansion of donor based events and the strengthening of public relationships. Additionally, we want to take conscious steps to ensure the success of our mission. To achieve that, we aim to hire more employees as well as volunteers that bring new skills to the table that allow us, for example, to create new modules in different languages. To translate the value of this company from
the inside out, we want to strengthen our organizational culture to maximize our human resources. With that, we aim to implement organic learning cycles to counteract the stagnation that a strong culture often brings. Lastly, Fala will expand its target audience to include children aged 3 to 15 in total. We can do so by investing in research, hiring experts, and publishing new products to underline our relevancy in the market and the product we offer. Ensuring the effectiveness and quality of our product is our number one priority as a competitive advantage is more than necessary in this red ocean environment.
Where Are We Going?
Goal to be achieved in
06 - 24 months
24 - 42 months
36 - 60 months
Cut Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) in half
Shift restricted financial assets from a 75% to 25% ratio to a 50%/50% ratio by navigating donor conversations
Break even Fala’s Net Assets and with that increase deficits from negative $500,000 to zero
Sell 25x $50,000 tickets for Fala’s annual fundraiser in the coming year
Increase endowment accessibility from 60% to 80% of interest rate accessible to fund operations
Negotiate 5 year pledges with California State and the San Diego City council for annual contributions of $100,000
01 FINANCE
01 Objective Increase variable financial assets to create room for growth and investment KPIs: Days sales outstanding; Amount if unrestricted operations and property assets versus temporarily and permanently restricted financial assets; Endowment investment; Liabilities
02 Objective Maximize donations by expanding fundraiser events and private and public donor relationships Fundraiser ticket sales and investment; Endowment regulations; Loan contracts and existence of public pledges
06 - 24 months
24 - 42 months
36 - 60 months
Raise customer satisfaction to 80%
Invest $50,000 in innovative content delivery within 3 years
Expand customer base to target children aged 3 to 6 as well as 12 to 15
Implement Adobe’s experience suite into company workflow through 100% usage of all services offered
Partner with three universities to collaborate on long-term research studies targeting children’s’ needs by 2024
Double number of affected children in impact report to 10,000
03 Objective 03 Increase market share by 5% KPIs: Feedback survey; Outreach; YouTube clicks and Spotify # of monthly listeners; investment; types of customers
02 MISSION
01 Objective 01 Increase product quality through content development and service impact via number of children KPIs: Adobe experience usage; university involvement; number of indirect customer
Where Are We Going?
Goal to be achieved in
06 - 24 months
24 - 42 months
36 - 60 months
Add 4 content series based on learning styles: visual, aural, verbal, and social
Add two new languages to the content produced; Spanish and Mandarin
Increase collaboration between educators and content producers by 75%
Collaborate with 2 more kindergarten and primary school institution to finish a holistic research report on young children engagement and needs by next year
Produce one module that is designed specifically for four year olds targeting the understanding of critical thinking and questioning in two years from now
Establish an advisory board and research team that focuses on understanding puberty and the needs of modernday teenagers by hiring two permanent educational advisors
02 Objective 02 Increase diversity on content deliverables by diversifying workforce to meet “all” children target KPIs: number of learning styles per content series; number of languages used; collaboration survey indicator > 50%
03 Objective 03 Expand target audience to children aged 3 to 6 as well as 12 to 15 by increasing the product range KPIs: # of collaborations and strategic alliances; # of published modules for the youngest age group; HR dashboard
06 - 24 months
24 - 42 months
36 - 60 months
Establish a revenue model for Fala’s sub-service of advising educational institutions as a secondary service offered; present and receive approval for plan by lawyer and board of directors within 24 months
Wind down “free advisory services” by not taking on new relationships and not renewing existing contracts to zero within 3 years
Appoint a executive director for Fala’s additional service and establish an operational structure that supports the expanded service by filling three new positions and breaking even as a daughter company within 5 years; acquire a LLC
Hire one Spanish native that translates three modules into Spanish by the end of the year
Create one social media marketing campaign in Spanish that accumulates 2 million impressions within 24 month
Run one prototype module in each of the following languages within the next three years: Portuguese, Arabic, French and Mandarin
03 CUSTOMER
01 Objective Expand Fala’s advisory service for educational institutions beyond the limitation of product use KPIs: # of approved plans; # of live contracts; Existence of LLC and HR dashboard (one appointed director from within the board and three additional employees)
02 Objective Include a non-English speaking target audience and with that take Fala’s community services overseas KPIs: HR dashboard; Social Media Impressions; # of prototypes created
Where Are We Going?
06 - 24 months
24 - 42 months
36 - 60 months
Create and execute three marketing campaigns; themebased in the next 2 years
Generate 50 million social media impressions across all company channels by 2024
Partake in five educational conferences, such as Ted-Ed
Sell 150 tickets for next years fundraiser event
Adapt an online fundraiser model and host one educator talk event that focuses on wellknown educators within the next year and half
Launch one social fundraising campaign that raises awareness and directly targets parents in schools
04 MARKETING
01 Objective Boost brand recognition by increasing customer impressions KPIs: Number of completed marketing campaigns; social media impressions; number of features
02 Objective Increase the amount and outreach of Fala’s fundraiser events KPIs: # of tickets sold; # of online events and participants; # of fundraising campaigns; Donations in $; # of school fundraising partners
06 - 24 months
24 - 42 months
36 - 60 months
Cross-train content developers to expand videographic skills to pull marketing asset production in-house
Produce all marketing assets in-house by the end of 2024
Reduce brand association items to one visual, one audible and one attitudinal systematic asset
Publish one content experiment and observe for one year on the new distribution channel TikTok
Go live on all channels at the same time; navigate all platforms and increase effectiveness within the next year
Win one platform specific award such as a YouTube play button within the next five years
03 Objective Strengthen marketing assets and brand guidelines through unification and increase in quality of assets KPIs: HR dashboard and job descriptions; percentage of marketing assets produced inhouse; brand guide
05 TECHNOLOGICAL 01 Objective Expand and improve distribution channels via the addition three third-party channels KPIs: Number of experiments conducted; time stamps of content publications; # of awards won
Where Are We Going?
06 - 24 months
24 - 42 months
36 - 60 months
Identify and utilize 5 additional, international recruitment platforms
Host 4 in-house recruitment events targeting untraditional educators and language experts
Expand employee number from 20 to 30 by the end of 2025
Host bi-annual volunteer “recruitment “ events at 5 largest universities in California
Establish permanent volunteer positions on a contract basis in the areas of finance and event management
Increase volunteer number by 100% from 3 to 6 by 2025
06 INTERNAL
01 Objective Increase the team size from 20 to 30 company members KPIs: Number of recruitment platforms used; number of recruitment events; HR dashboard
02 Objective Double the amount of volunteer positions from 3 to 6 KPIs: Number of partnerships and events; HR dashboard
06 - 24 months
24 - 42 months
36 - 60 months
Implement 5 new organizational activities such as the holiday celebration week within the next year
Implement two company workshops that is not necessarily connected to their practice (e.g. individuals at one location can go to a pottery workshop an online example would be the video game Amongst Us)
Increase the satisfaction rate on employee selfevaluation forms to 80%
Increase failure circle speed by 50% from 6 to 3 weeks
Increase rate of transparency (40%) by 50%
Reduce level of middle management to one
03 Objective Strengthen organizational culture KPIs: # of organizational activities; # company workshops; satisfaction rate (amount of points that one can self-assign and get assigned in 10 different areas such as responsibility)
04 Objective Flatten the organizational structure KPIs: Failure circle speed (how long it takes a team to experiment, act, evaluate, and repeat); transparency rate (determined by amount of information that is shared with the entire organization); number of levels
Where Are We Going?
06 - 24 months
24 - 42 months
36 - 60 months
Develop and implement an independent educational cycle for each team member
Double independent conference and workshop proposals from 40% of all employees to 80%
100% of employees present learning outcomes annually by 2025
05 Objective Enhance personal learning curve of employees through the addition of individually identified external trainings and courses KPIs: Number of workshops visited per year; number of workshop proposals brought to leadership per employee; number of employees that complete a learning cycle by visiting and reporting on independent outof-house workshops compared to employees that do not
Industry Analysis As an educational content developer, Fala operates in the following two industries: the educational industry as our institution delivers educational content directly to the customer as well as indirectly to other educational institutions. The second industry we fall into is the informational sector as Fala distributes information and cultural products as well as collaborating with programs to distribute such information.
Are We Sure?
Educational Industry11
Snapshot
Total Revenue in 2021 Anticipated Decline 2015/20 - 2020/25 Anticipated Revenue in 2026 Industry Life Cycle Stage
$1.4 Trillion 1.9% - 1.2% $1.5 Trillion Mature
Main Activities
Key Success Factors
. Elementary and secondary schools . Colleges, universities and professional schools . Professional, management and computer training . Recreation instruction . Nonprofit and for-profit universities and colleges . Educational support services
. Market share in the industry is low; comprised of smaller, local institutions . Having a good reputation . Availability of resources . Ability to establish remote work arrangements for employees
Trends
Challenges
. Consumers will increase discretionary spending on education services . Increases in government funding for primary and secondary education and colleges have driven revenue growth . Many institutions are also implementing a hybrid model that combines both in-person classes and remote learning . Funding for education will become increasingly scrutinized and up for cutting
. Online educational platforms threaten discretionary sub sectors . Governmental funding, which is a key success factor in revenue, is decreasing . Operators need to transition quickly to distanced learning online due to COVID-19 pandemic . May experience unsteady profit due to quick investments into technology for distance learning
Information Sector12
Snapshot
Total Revenue in 2021 Anticipated Growth 2015/20 - 2020/25 Anticipated Revenue in 2026 Industry Life Cycle Stage
$1.6 Trillion 0.3% - 4.1% $1.9 Trillion Mature
Main Activities
Key Success Factors
. Processing data . Hosting data . Software publishing . Audio and video production and distribution . Data processing and web publishing
. Market share concentration is low as the four largest companies account for roughly 27.6% of sector revenue . Ability to quickly adopt new technology . Close monitoring of competition . Access to highly skilled workforce
Are We Sure?
Trends
Challenges
. Profit is expected to increase as both the sector and the overall economy rebounds . While sector demand has increased, revenue flow is uneven and determined primarily by trends . New technology has led to dis-intermediation in the Information sector . The sector benefits from growth in the number of households, particularly households in the higher-income quintile . Revenue for the sector is expected to accelerate after the pandemic abates . The rapid increase in remote working due to social distancing measures have required increased usage of telecommunication services and data storage services, which is likely to benefit operators within those respective parts of the sector
. Revenue for the Information sector is expected to decline 10.3% in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic fuels an overall economic contraction . The ease of entry into online-oriented business segments, the number of establishments in the sector is projected to rise an annualized 2.8% to 589,825 locations over the next five years
Combination To appropriately interpret and understand Fala’s position within the industries it can be categorized as, it is crucial to understand how its challenges, trends, and key success factors work together and what aspects directly address Fala’s role. What could be considered a threat to the educational industry, such as the rather quick transition to online learning, can be seen as an opportunity for Fala. While governmental support is expected to drop, Fala, as a non-accredited organization, can stay independent from that. Within the information sector, a key success factor is to be able to adapt to technological changes rather quickly. That same success factor eliminates challenges in the educational sector that tackle the implementation of the software that Fala develops.
Are We Sure?
. Ability to establish remote work arrangements for employees . Ability to quickly adopt new technology . Access to highly skilled workforce . Effective marketing/Having a good reputation
Trends
Challenges
. The rapid increase in remote working due to social distancing measures have required increased usage of telecommunication services and data storage services
. Revenue is expected to decline as the COVID-19 pandemic fuels an overall economic contraction
. Many institutions are implementing a hybrid model that combines both in-person classes and remote learning . Funding for education and content delivery is up for cutting
y str u d al In Education
. The landscape of the industry will likely change over the next five years; technological innovation is highly fluctuating and unpredictable and therefore, the dependency on such indirectly
I
. Educational support services . Processing and hosting data . Audio and Video production and distribution . Custom application design and development
n io t a m r nfo
Key Success Factors
Se c to r
Main Activities
Porter’s 5 Forces Model The next step in painting the industry and with that the surrounding landscape of Fala is to understand the industry’s weaknesses and strengths. By understanding the competition in the industry, the potential of any new entrants (so how likely and easy is it for a business to join), the power of our suppliers (so how limited are we in terms of changing suppliers or controlling pricing), the power of our customers (meaning who is the dominant force), and lastly the threat of substitute products (describing the accessibility of alternate products), we are able to enhance our long-term profitability. This analysis is driven by the ease of entry into the market we reside in. Low capital requirements paired with no supplier power and little to no regulations due to the lack of
accreditation causes businesses to enter and leave the industry constantly. It is crucial to focus on our competitive advantage that lies within the uniqueness of our services offered.
Are We Sure?
Threat Of New Entrants
Bargaining Power Of Suppliers
Rivalry Among Existing Competitors
Bargaining Power Of Buyers Threat Of Substitute Products
Threat of New Entry . Barriers to entry are overall high in the educational industry due to governmental regulations. This does not apply as Fala is categorized as “recreational instruction services”13 . . Content delivery platforms such as YouTube or Spotify are free to enter for any individual or organization. Therefore, such pre-existing programs offered by third parties, demonstrate a rather low barrier of entry. . Capital requirements are low and easily accessible. Competition can experience higher requirements due to the necessity for highly-skilled, niche workers. . Access to distribution is dependent not entirely on third-party platforms. However, Fala’s website is a digital medium that is independent of third parties. We are only tied to rather impactless limitations such as platform subscriptions and hosting fees that do not present a high dependency due to the high amount of platforms and hosting services offered. . Switching costs are at a medium; disconnect to physical assets; content development highly special. . Fala carries its unique value communicated through marketing and content strongly, giving a recognizable brand identity. . Low to no platform fees increases the ease of entry. So does the absence of government regulations.
Supplier Power . Low Supplier Power . Distribution Software: Google; YouTube; Discord; Vimeo; These suppliers are not to be negotiated with. Their services are free and function as a delivery service next to our own website. . Switching costs are low/non-existent. . Human Resources: International and remote educators, as well as designers, decrease a threat by supply. Even barriers of entry in the Video Post-production Services are low due to “increasingly powerful and affordable editing hardware and software.”14 . All production can be done in-house, decreasing the volume of external suppliers.
Are We Sure?
Buyer Power . The uniqueness of our services and lack of substitute products decreases bargaining power. . Low buyer volume and limited switching costs increase bargaining power. . Within the category of general education support services, the substitute products to the consumer directly are high in volume, indirectly influencing demand. 15 . U.S. - American kids and teenagers, can access the product/service independently. 16 . Buyer profit is limited. However, industry trends predict an increase in spending in this category. . Overall, high buyer power due to low switching costs and challenging communication of external competitive advantage.
Threat of Substitution . Immediate Blue Ocean: the specific value offered thrives within a niche market. Price performance of limited substitutes is similar. . Indirect Red Ocean: Increase in discretionary spending towards education services as well as value appreciation by the customer applies to overall recreational education services. There is a strong sense of rivalry firms due to low barriers of entry. . The threat of substitutes in that area is high. There are many vetted educational platforms for kids that age out there for free: TED-Ed, Common Sense Education, Edutopia, National Geographic, and many more.17
Intensity of rivalry among competitive firms . Market share concentration is low for all applicable industries. Within the educational sector, only 5% are consumed by the five largest operators.18 . Medium to high intensity of rivalry firm. . Exist barriers within the direct competition are non-existent. . The alternative approach to content and education supports a unique and strong brand identity, decreasing rivalry. . Value delivery and competitive advantage are crucial in managing rivalry intensity.
Political
Economic
Social
. The educational sector, as a systemic institution long rooted in society, actively feeds into inequality and inequity19. The BLM movement and social unrest pressure lawmakers to initiate change. 20 This results in funds and research reevaluation and a period of reflection towards community institutions such as schools. . Educational reforms have worked against school diversification and pushed for a more standardized and less applicable curriculum. Reforms are not up-to-date and historically fail21. Political push for educational change is unreliable. . The government funding for the educational system has been steadily declining since the Great Recession, 14 years ago. A negative $1,000 per pupil spending results in an estimated 6% gap increase between black and white students. 22 As schools are funded partially through state tax revenue, the pandemic indirectly resulted in a 20%30% cut on top of the year-long trend. 23
. The overall economy was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its rejuvenation is expected to fluctuate. 24 . The global e-learning industry expanded and was catapulted to another level. Mid-way through 2020, it registered a spike by 36.6%. 25 . Higher and secondary school attendees question the worthiness of their own investment. Post-graduation financial differences between individuals with a bachelor degree and individuals with a high school degree are decreasing. 26This indicates a shift in questioning the relationship between finance and education. . The economic shift within the workforce established that the new normal is remote working.
. There is an increase in university degrees offered in the United States. 28This suggests a social welcoming of further developed educational content. . The COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools to teach online for one year. Educational institutions were not prepared. It increases online learning significantly. Even before the pandemic started, the online educational market is expected to grow to $350 Billion by 2025. 29 . Mobile- and micro-based learning (meaning 3 to 6-minute video increments) are expected trends in the coming year. This increases competition. 30 . Remote learning advantages are slowly recognized and used to benefit remote, disabled, and disadvantaged communities. . 31
27
PESTEL A
This analysis operations. T comprehensi
Technological
Environmental
Legal
. Technology became more and more established in family homes and children’s lives through the COVID-19 pandemic. We experienced an increased digitalization. Internet services rose from 40% to 100% and platforms such as Zoom saw a ten times increase. 32 . We can experience an increase in rivalry aggression due to the opening up of the content delivery market due to COVID-19. The drastically experienced increase in demand created opportunities that motivated competitors and placed more companies on the radar. 33
. Climate change causes extreme weather events that often lead to school closures. 34 This can be a hurricane such as hurricane Irma in 2017 in Florida, or the snowstorms in Texas in 2021. 35 The continuous need for education then often takes place online. . Natural disasters often do cause halts in schooling. A shift to a remote delivery enables excluded communities to participate in education to a higher degree than if no flexible adaptation would be in place. 36
. Online education with the focus of recreational instructional services is highly unregulated by the U.S. government as accreditation is used to regulate content quality. . Creative assets such as music are, as soon as they are not produced in house, subject to licensing and copyright laws that can occasionally increase production costs. . Accreditation standardizes educational quality. The process is a high barrier to entry. 37Hence, Fala is not a governmentally recognized educational institution. . COPPA: “This part implements the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, (15 U.S.C. 6501, et seq.,) which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with the collection, use, and/or disclosure of personal information from and about children on the Internet.”38
Analysis
s allows us to scan major external factors that could influence Fala’s The following six areas highlight influential factors and draw a ive picture of our external landscape.
Competitor Analysis 01 Primary
Our direct competitors, B2C, are institutions that offer educational content with similar learning objectives for free. The delivery methods may vary but the focus areas and the targeted age group is within two years of ours: 06 - 12 years.
02 Secondary
Indirect competitors are organizations, B2C, or individuals that offer extracurricular educational content for free. Here, the age group may expand to toddlers, children, and teenagers. Secondary competitors may transition to primary competitors within three years due to our target audience expansion objective.
03 Tertiary*
Educational content producers that offer extracurricular content to consumers (B2C) aged 0 - 24. The services offered do not have to be for free.
* As we do not offer a different product to other businesses but rather the service of advising if their customers decide to consume our product means that B2B corporations do not present a threat or competition.
Are We Sure?
Degree of specificity)
Group
Name
Segmentation & Attribtes
Outreach
02
National Geographics Kids
This website offers interactive educational content that focuses on the natural world and anthropological topics in a limited manner. Content does include personality quizzes, adding an inter-human focus. All media is to be consumed individually.
520k subscribers on YouTube + website: 5
6
39
01
BrainPoP 40
This website offers traditional interactive courses to children aged 6 to 15. However, it has a new segment called “Social Emotional Learning” that places it directly up our alleyway. They do, however, only run customer interactions directly through their website, limiting their outreach.
Website: 2
7
02
PBSKids 41
This website offers storytelling-based educational content that is highly animated. It feeds into the oversaturation and over-simulation that our media age creates while offering potential lessons through morals placed in stories. Their content is show-based.
YouTube: 1.49M subscribers + Website: 7
2
01
ClassDojo 42
ClassDojo is an interactive platform that primarily targets the classroom directly. However, over the last years, it grew into a function that allows students to take it home and access its features without a classroom connected. It is modulespecific as it builds a profile with the child and allows it to build e.g. monsters. In addition, it highly focuses on interhuman and disciplinary objectives and topics, such as goal setting.
YouTube: 107k + Website + Classrooms: 5
9
02
StorylineOnline 43
StorylineOnline focuses on interactive storytelling videos published on YouTube. Their content educates through intentionally placed themes within the content that is read and acted out for children. Content is also published in Spanish.
YouTube: 460k: 3
4
01
Crash Course Kids 44
Crash Course Kids is a subsidiary channel from Crash Course (12.2M subscribers) and focuses on liferelevant topics that answer very curious questions. Their content is presented in individual videos and does not include a personalized journey from A - B. With that, the content is very applicable but not presented in series. It is only presented on YouTube and more on the go rather than a pre-determined curriculum.
YouTube: 631k subscribers: 6
6
Kids Academy 7
Are We Sure?
02
Kids Academy is a YouTube channel that delivers content in song form. However, it also offers explanations on what social workers are to children aged 4 to 6 and reaches over a million views per video. Their content is rather entertaining than educational and focuses on a very young target audience. They deliver content solely through YouTube.
YouTube: 450k subscribers: 4
4
02
Gimlet Media 46
Gimlet Media in itself is a narrative podcasting company. However, they are one of the biggest children’s podcasts producers and are leading the market on Spotify as well as Apple Podcasts. One of its shows is Chompers, a teeth brushing podcast published twice a day that guides children through the process of brushing their teeth twice a day. This is podcast is targeted for children aged 3 to 7. With the recommended length of 3 minutes, they offer an interactive guide throughout the personal health experience. It, therefore, covers a part of what Fala also focuses on.
Apple Podcasts 47: 4.4 starts out of 1.3k ratings 9: Gimlet Media: 9
7
02
The Infographics Show 48
This YouTube channel is widely successful and offers different feature series. On one hand, it covers unbelievable and incredible stories of individuals. On the other hand, the founder Andrej Preston, a graphic and motion designer, animates storytelling content, as well as human challenges.
YouTube: 9.82M subscribers: 9
4
However, his channel also publishes content such as “What happens to your body while you are having sex?” (16M views) or “What happens when you die?” (24M views). It is highly successful, yet further away from Fala’s content. 02
SciShow 49
This YouTube channel covers, like many others, untraditional but “external” content. It creatively explores content such as why climate change influences the allergy season or how an mRNA vaccine works. The target audience is older children, teenagers, and even young adults. The content is not personalized and does not acknowledge the individual itself.
YouTube: 6.63M subscribers: 7
4
01
MediaWise 50
MediaWise is a Teen Fact-Checking Network that debuted on YouTube and focuses on digital media literacy skills. The content is narrated and explained by young teenagers themselves and with that, underlines the creative approach to content delivery and ensuring effective communication. This directly focuses on our third tier: resource allocation. However, it is not personalized and no constructed user journey.
YouTube: 4.91K: 2
7
Are We Sure?
02
TED-Ed 51
TED-Ed is TED’s youth and education initiative. They share animated content answering life’s questions on YouTube as well as their own website. Guided by Bezos, Sams, Hunter, Gates, Khan, to name a few, advise TED-Ed and indicate the social status of this organization. The content scratches the surface of what Fala aims to do, for a younger audience and personalized.
YouTube: 13.9M subscribers + Website: 10
6
01
California Virtual Academies 52
“With personalized learning approaches, the academies and Stride K12 provide the tools kids need to succeed—in school and beyond.” “as well as selfguided elective courses in Art and world languages or music” As an independent public charter school program, it is free.
Implemented through schooling: 3
8
02
American Councils for International Education 53
02 “Empower individuals and institutions to address challenges in a diverse and interconnected world.” 1,700 participating high schools, colleges, and universities in all 50 states. Free to the individual.
5
5
01
Khan Academy 54
Khan Academy offers extensive curriculum-based content. The extent of its content and even more so its delivery, offering 50 languages, makes Khan a powerful competitor. Its content is free and structured in modules/classes.
YouTube: 6.61M subscribers + Website + Accessibility: 10
10
03*
Domestika 55
University Creative Support with Career Prep. “Buy up to 50 logins for Domestika courses or contact us if you need more.” $45 for one hour and 12 minutes.* *Level 03 competitors are not ranked as they are not inlcuded in the positioning map. See above.
03
LinkedIn Learning 56
“Our goal is to help people discover and develop the skills they need through a personalized, data-driven learning experience.” Lynda.com from LinkedIn; “The shift to online learning has tripled since 2012, and will double again in the next 5 years.” “Over half of all learners value more social, collaborative environments—both in the office and when they are engaged with online learning.” $30 per month; unlimited course access
03
MasterClass57
“With MasterClass for Businesses, you can empower and inspire your team with on-demand classes, live events, customized learning paths, world-class instructors, and powerful, actionable insights.” Visitors to the MasterClass website doubled from last year - 2018. $15 per month; unlimited access.
03
Coursera 58
“Coursera partners with more than 200 leading universities and companies to
Are We Sure?
bring flexible, affordable, job-relevant online learning to individuals and organizations worldwide.” “With over 4100 courses available, you’re sure to find something that strikes your fancy.” Review; Average of $80 per course track
03
Udemy 59
“The leading global marketplace for learning and instruction.” 40M learners. $360 a year per individual in a team; unlimited access
03
SkillShare 60
“Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes for creative and curious people.” “When it comes to the subjects that are covered, Skillshare wins. It is huge, so it covers a lot more topics than Masterclass does.” - Review; $99 per year per individual in a team; unlimited access
Positioning Map The positioning map analyses our primary and secondary competition through the lens of popularity and outreach as well as specificity and holistic module approach. How many people do consume the content offered? To what degree is the content specified and structured? Both variables are ranked from 0 to 10 (small to large). As these mentioned variables are of great importance to understand our competition, the map does not include tertiary competition as they do not fulfill the “free” category. Another aspect important to note is that educational support services often focus on traditional topics such as math and English. These are, according to our categorization, also not included.
Key
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
National Geographics Kids BrainPoP PBSKids ClassDojo StorylineOnline Crash Course Kids Kids Academy Gimlet Media The Infographics Show SciShow MediaWise Ted-Ed California Virtual Academies American Councils for International Education Khan Academy
thin: Secondary Competitors bold: Primary Competitors Outreach: 1-10 Degree of Specificity: 1-10
Why Are We Here?
Outreach 15
03
11
10
06
08
01
04
Degree of Specificity
14
07
09
13 05
12
02
Scenario Planning
Mental Health Crisis due to Online Learning?
What if, ... Community and social interactions are key to our mental and physical well-being62 . The world-wide shift to online-based interactions negatively affects our health. The near future will consequently show what the effect of the modern community is on specifically younger generations. With that, we can experience proof that the online-learning experience is insufficient solely due to its digital characteristics. This would threaten Fala’s strategic delivery and with that reduce our competitive advantage that is driven by our software development. This can be accommodated by a shift in content to function as assets that are consumed digitally but in an in-person environment. The overall consumption of digital content is unlikely to shift.
Are We Sure?
What if, ... One of our identified challenges that inspired Fala roots within the observation that resources, specifically the Internet, is used inappropriately by our target audience. If this problem is recognized on a governmental level, it can cause a public response that heavily restricts children’s access to the digital world.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Laws Intensify?
Fala can accommodate this by shifting its product from a direct experience, to a guided experience that is streamlined through parental guidance. It requires a significant shift in product design and marketing, and with that, threatens Fala.
What if, ...
Human Capital Scarcity due to Pandemic-rooted Economic Collapse?
The globalization of our world has proven to us just how fast a virus can spread. In combination with climate change, we are creating an environment prone to invite viruses from wildlife into civil society and with that its power to halt our economy63 . Our experience shows how that can quickly result in a human resource crisis for individual businesses. Taking into account that Fala’s team thrives within digital application skills, this can lead to a severe human capital scarcity. For Fala, this means to prep and collect resources now that have the ability to inform appropriate skill expansions and HR training in-house. A skilled workforce is crucial in this industry. Hence, this is an extensive threat.
What if, ... As we have seen with the Notre Dame fire in early 2019, LL catastrophes in various fashions can often have an unexplainable social outcry, often quite unpredictable. One church burning has raised upwards of $835 million within ten days 64 , one of the fastest attended social causes in history. What we learn from this is that natural disasters are unpredictable and so are social responses and the donations that follow. With that being said, donations that spin the financial wheel of Fala could fall shirt from one day to another, if the public identifies a bigger and more immediate need.
Are We Sure?
Public good donations go solely to a bigger cause and crisis at hand such as Covid-19?
For Fala, this can create a significant dent in our freedom to take forward-thinking and with that often risky approaches to our curricula and modules. This attitude causes us to only limitedly work with endowments and restricted donations., hence, more public and “large-volume @ small cost”donations. The public support that is so important to us is also reflected in our financial structure.
Strengths . Flexibility on content/ Service delivery via platforms used (topped off by low supplier power) . Low capital requirements . Flexible HR allocation: Employees/ teachers/ content creators can work from anywhere . Service is a necessity product (even though only supportive as of now) . Uniqueness in service brings close to no direct competitors. . Active industry expansion via the addition of languages offered for content.
Weaknesses
Situational Analysis
. High Service Concentration (Educational support services are more and more readily and easily accessible). . No accreditation. . Limited target audience. . Dependency on technology.
This allows us to critically evaluate all internal and external conditions that affect this company. We can in turn identify areas of improvement and opportunities to better support our vision.
Are We Sure?
Threats
Opportunities . Digital content distribution has risen: Postproduction services and “postproduced”, meaning interactive, time-based content in demand. . Primary target audience goes digital. . Increase in annual growth in the information sector from 0.3% (2015-2020) to 4.1% (2020-2025). . High revenue growth for the coming five years in the educational sector: 2.4% (2020-2025)67. . Low Outlier Growth --> steady . Competition is highly influenced by heavy regulations. The differentiation factor of falling into the support category lifts that weight comparatively. . “Some consumers will likely choose to increase discretionary spending on education services”. . “Many institutions are also implementing a hybrid model that combines both in-person classes and remote learning”.
. Consumer confidence levels have risen: higher customer power, demand, and control. . Low growth revenue in 2015-2020 in the education sector65. . High technological change: risky and fastpaced development. . Educational sector can progress into its decline phase in the near future. . Quality improvement in public schooling and staying online in the long-run can decrease the need for support services66. . Governmental funds that support schooling are decreasing, lowering the discretionary spending of educational institutions.
Criteria for Success
01
After diligently examining possible threats, through competitors, the environment, the industry we operate in, as well as the market’s development in accordance to our consumers, additionally to our internal strengths and weaknesses, we can now confidently frame what our criteria for Fala’s success look like.
Relevancy Unique to Us Fala functions on the basis of exceeding a reputation that is hard to exceed. Our design applications, visual brand and identity is memorial, honest, and relatable. The industry’s need for a familiar face is paired with content that is applicable. By prioritizing the customer over all else, we can accommodate all needs through customization within our delivery platform. This directly streamlines our vision by influencing the way we perceive education in the long-run. Our investment into research focused on physiological needs of children allows us to carry and expand the unique value we offer.
Okay. So Why Us Again?
As mentioned before, Fala’s content is delivered on various different platforms. On one hand, we host all content on our own website. On the other hand, mediumspecific content may be published on different platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts for our audio experiences. Running an omnichannel marketing strategy that bleeds into our delivery as we produce free content, allows us to accommodate for various ways that our consumers decide to consume their media. If an individual has set up a Spotify account that they use to listen to podcasts with, then we want to be able to present our content exactly in that fashion. In this conversation, our own website functions as a backbone. The important question here is if such third-party platforms give us the features necessary to deliver a holistic experience? The short answer is no. Hence, the content will always guide the user to navigate different information hubs in a way that is most comfortable and therefore easy to do.
03
02
Practicality that Fits Every Life
High-end Edutainment The modern day customer takes the fusion of audible and visual experiences for granted. The media oversaturation shortened our attention span and with that, the consumer requires the simulation of all senses in combination with psychological engagement. Higher purpose and objectives of presented information cannot be reached unless a certain level of entertainment is achieved. One might place educational content and factual information on a higher level than entertainment on the hypothetical, digital version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This call is answered by Fala’s in-house production and focus on high-quality, interactive content produced by entertainment industry talent.
Competitive Advantage The necessity for Fala grew out of the unattended shift in value in our society. Our problems changed and with that, our requirement for the tools we need to create solutions did too. These tools are passed onto future generations through education, a public sector whose well-being has been disregarded. Through private alliances, Fala is able to provide children with the perspectives and tools they need to navigate the world we are becoming. Our magic lies within the fusion of alternative content that thinks outside the box to truthfully serve our customer’s needs and a unique delivery and distribution that meets the excellence of modern-day entertainment. We not only have what others need, but we are able to provide it in the standard we all demand.
Okay. So Why Us Again?
Our magic lies within the fusion of alternative content that thinks outside the box to truthfully serve our customer’s needs and a unique delivery and distribution that meets the excellence of modern-day entertainment.
Stakeholder Analysis Fala’s stakeholders are groups of people and individuals that have an interest, are affected by, and can influence our decisions. This is highly relevant within the conversation that discusses how to move forward. It is crucial to understand all stakeholder’s positions, their interests and influences to determine our response.
What to Keep in Mind:
high
11 01 02 Involve 03 04 05
Consult
Influence
09
Monitor 07
Inform
06
08
10 low low
Interest
high
#
Stakeholder
Role
01
Leadership
Fala’s founder and supporting lead team direct this organization’s drive. These individuals make influential decisions as the company performs within the industry. Due to man’s inherent nature, their biases, preferences and interests are highly influential to the business. Additionally, they offer utmost care.
02
Experts and Content Developers
This group of employees presents the heart of the company. These individuals develop and strategize the content that is classified as educational. This is the starting point that ensures a high-quality product. These rotating experts not only care but influence Fala tremendously.
03
Service Design Team & Product Manager & Dean of Infrastructure
This team bridges the gap between the established curriculum and the appropriate execution. They strategize communication and measure effectiveness and efficiency regarding content delivery. They decide what medium is used and how. As a crucial step in our production process, they care and influence Fala to a high degree.
What to Keep in Mind:
04
Creative Producers
This group of employees ensures that the high-quality product that reached the consumer is also being consumed. The creative challenge at hand decides the power of communication. This challenge that lies in their hands is of deciding importance and, hence, influential. As employee’s of Fala, this stakeholder is also very invested.
05
Marketing & Finance Team
This employee sub-group prepares the interaction with the customer and raises awareness of the product. This team also manages Fala’s financial background and coordinates fundraising. They prepare and initiate engagement and with that, set the stage for our value to shine. This stakeholder is crucial, with a limited influence and a high interest.
06
Volunteers
Our creative production team is topped off with volunteers that provide support in the areas of videography, motion and graphics design. Due to their temporary affiliation with Fala and the “non-compensation” basis, they highly care for the organization but are of little influence.
07
Children as Customers
Children experience our product individually or under parental supervision. Their demographic characteristics limit these individuals to carry any decision making power nor care as they are incapable of identifying individual needs.
08
Parents as Customers
Parents of children that consume our content show higher levels of interest, as it falls within their responsibility. When it comes to expressing their care, they do consult us directly. However, low switching costs decreases their level of care for the organization. This limits their influence as well as interest in Fala.
09
Government
The legal environment is influential, yet out of our control. Its influence does not engage with us. The level of interaction, through a counselor or member of the local community can raise its levels of influence and with that determine if we not just monitor, but consult the institution.
10
Community
The community that surrounds our operations is through its inherent nature affected. As that is the only direct affiliation with Fala, interest and influence come on the lower end. We are being merely observed, which informs our actions in return.
11
Investors & Donors & Board of Directors
This stakeholder fuels the operation and drives motivation and inspiration. Their contribution to our endowment fund as well as public support are crucial for Fala’s operations. They portrait high levels of care, interest and influence.
What to Keep in Mind:
Strategic Alliances
01
As we are confident deputies of the power of education, we naturally gravitate towards forming aliases with institutions that represent similar values to reach similar goals. Forming alliances for us is about learning. Hence, we work closely with universities in the area to indulge in extensive research. Additionally, we work with different kindergartens to experience and learn from the real-world pedagogical strategies implemented in different models.
Research To ensure the high-quality product that allows us to contribute to society, we engage in continuous research studies and programs that focus on the psychological needs of children and the development of the digital relationship. We analyze aspects that reach from screen-time, to user engagement, to mental health and interpersonal struggles. Pairing with universities such as the Neuroscience department at Duke University68 allows us to innovatively invest into the findings that determine our tomorrow. As we are a socially responsible company, taking the university route allows us to keep our research on public ground and offer insights to the medical industry as well as private groups that hold an interest.
02
Kindergartens To gain the fundamental insight on how to effectively communicate with children, we have decided to pair up with two kindergartens: Oceanside KinderCare 69 and Kiddie Academy 70. Understanding pedagogical action and activities and more so the effect it has on communicating with children early on allows us to gain fundamental insights that help us determine how we need to use and design the media we have to the best of our ability. Within our partnership, we provide all children attending with relevant courses and are able to conduct A/B testing on delivery. Lastly, this is a strategic step in the journey of expanding our target audience to young ones.
What to Keep in Mind:
?
Strategic Issues
1
How are we attracting donations in times of COVID-19 where discretionary spendings are limited? The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on many people’s lives. General household incomes have been reduced as many were laid off from their jobs or moved to part-time 71. The consequential assumption would be a reduction in discretionary spendings. However, over the past year, we could observe quite the opposite. A new phenomenon called ‘panic buying has emerged. Discretionary spendings increased. Americans went on to buy unusual amounts of household cleaners, vitamins and food supplements as well as hair color 72 . In turn, consumers have even less financial means to support organizations such as Fala through donations. Besides this direct effect, Fala
is experiencing an additional cut in financial support as public fundings are reallocated to support those in need during this pandemic. If Fala’s marketing plan does not account for or adapt to a wider audience, then this challenge results in less income which in turn limits the personnel we can employ and the content we can create, thus straining away from our vision. Operating income is the foundation for this business and therefore, this strategic issue holds utmost priority.
?
2 How do we differentiate our value enough to react and combat Khan Academy as a direct and strong competitor? Our external analysis revealed that Khan Academy is now our direct competitor. This non-for-profit publishes educational content on public platforms such as YouTube, as well as their own website, and with that, supports the educational journey of young Americans. They broadened their audience as they now include 36 different languages 73 . Overall, they provide content that rounds up the traditional education system. It is free for the consumer and widely
accessible. They do not just offer the product directly to the consumer but also other businesses such as schools to complete an individual’s journey from the inside out 74 . If not addressed, the consumer could overlook the unique value that Fala content provides to a child. With that, the tools that we want to provide children with, as our mission states, could remain unrealized and with that, we would be incapable of doing the public good we are here for.
What to Keep in Mind:
?
How do we afford licensing for assets crucial to our content production, such as music, especially in the beginning and before productions can be pulled in-house? Our vision relies not just on well-research educational content, but, equally important, on an effective translation, meaning delivery as well. Producing high-end content is costly as the consumer demands to be entertained on various levels of the senses. One video, therefore, requires productions in areas beyond our initial capabilities, such as music. Such licensing can not just be very costly in itself, but carry a huge risk to attract
legal fees in unintentional copyright disputes 75 . Fala must budget accordingly to determine if a change in product delivery or similar is necessary. If such costs are not addressed, accounted for, and collected, the sustainable financial foundation needed to run this non-profit could fall apart. Hence, Fala would not be able to fulfill its intention soon after starting up. This issue, henceforth, is placed high on the priority list.
3
?
4
How do we communicate legitimacy to our audience as Fala is a non-accredited institution? The analysis of our target audience highlighted how important authenticity and legitimacy are to our consumers. As our, arguably, most important stakeholder, children, are in only limited occasions the deciding factor in consuming our content, we cater directly to parental figures. The conversation that Fala operates in naturally is of importance as it debates the power of education, and education is done right, with the consumer. Traditionally speaking, legitimacy in the educational field has been established through
accreditation, a component that Fala is missing (as we saw in our SWOT). If the marketing department and product delivery fail to communicate our product value to the consumer, their skepticisms (which we are asking for primarily to market our product in the first place) will take over and eliminate the demand for our product. If the consumer does not see the value in our product, our vision and mission cannot be realized as we would not influence children’s educational experiences in a positive and replenishing fashion.
What to Keep in Mind:
06 - 24 Months To-Dos
Implementation Plan
Cut Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) in half
Sell 150 tickets for next years fundraiser event
Sell 25x $50,000 tickets for Fala’s annual fundraiser in the coming year Raise customer satisfaction to 80%
Cross-train content developers to expand videographic skills to pull marketing asset production in-house
Implement Adobe’s experience suite inot company workflow through 100% usage of all services offered
Publish one content experiment and observe for one year on the new distribution channel TikTok
Add 4 content series based on learning styles: visual, aural, verbal, and social
Identify and utilize 5 additional, international recruitment platforms
Collaborate with 2 more kindergarten and primary school institution to finish a holistic research report on young children engagement and needs by next year
Host bi-annual volunteer “recruitment “ events at 5 largest universities in California
Establish a revenue model for Fala’s subservice of advising educational institutions as a secondary service offered; present and receive approval for plan by lawyer and board of directors within 24 months Hire one Spanish native that translates three modules into Spanish by the end of the year
Implement 5 new organizational activities such as the holiday celebration week within the next year Increase failure circle speed by 50% from 6 to 3 weeks Develop and implement an independent educational cycle for each team member
Create and execute three marketing campaigns; theme-based in the next 2 years
How Do We Get There?
24 - 42 Months To-Dos Shift restricted financial assets from a 75% to 25% ratio to a 50%/50% ratio by navigating donor conversations Increase endowment accessibility from 60% to 80% of interest rate accessible to fund operations Invest $50,000 in innovative content delivery within 3 years Partner with three universities to collaborate on long-term research studies targeting childrens’ needs by 2024 Add two new languages to the content produced; Spanish and Mandarin Produce one module that is designed specifically for four year olds targeting the understanding of critical thinking and questioning in two years from now Wind down “free advisory services” by not taking on new relationships and not renewing existing contracts to zero within 3 years Create one social media marketing campaign in Spanish that accumulates 2 million impressions within 24 month
Generate 50 million social media impressions across all company channels by 2024 Adapt a online fundraiser model and host one educator talk event that focuses on well-known educators within the next year and half Produce all marketing assets in-house by the end of 2024 Go live on all channels at the same time; navigate all platforms and increase effectiveness within the next year Host 4 in-house recruitment events targeting untraditional educators and language experts Establish permanent volunteer positions on a contract basis in the areas of finance and event management Implement two company workshops that is not necessarily connected to their practice (e.g. individuals at one location can go to a pottery workshop an online example would be the video game Amongst Us) Increase rate of transparency (40%) by 50% Double independent conference and workshop proposals from 40% of all employees to 80%
36 - 60 Months To-Dos Break-even Fala’s Net Assets and with that increase deficits from negative $500,000 to zero Negotiate 5 year pledges with California State and the San Diego City council for annual contributions of $100,000 Expand customer base to target children aged 3 to 6 as well as 12 to 15 Double number of affected children in impact report to 10,000 Increase collaboration between curriculum experts and creative producers by 75% Establish an advisory board and research team that focuses on understanding puberty and the needs of modern-day teenagers by hiring two permanent educational advisors Appoint a executive director for Fala’s additional service and establish an operational structure that supports the expanded service by filling three new positions and breaking even as a daughter company within 5 years; acquire a LLC Run one prototype module in each of the following languages within the next three years: Portuguese,
Arabic, French and Mandarin Partake in five educational conferences, such as TedEd Launch one social fundraising campaign that raises awareness and directly targets parents in schools Reduce brand association items to one visual, one audible and one attitudinal systematic asset Win one platform specific award such as a YouTube play button within the next five years Expand employee number from 20 to 30 by the end of 2025 Increase volunteer number by 100% from 3 to 6 by 2025 Increase the satisfaction rate on employee self-evaluation forms to 80% Reduce level of middle management to one Double independent conference and workshop proposals from 40% of all employees to 80% 100% of employees present learning outcomes annually by 2025
How Do We Get There?
Fala is here to create a better tomorrow by replenishing children’s education. Our values develop with our communities. It is detrimental for our society to recognize and communicate this shift to those that carry the world after us. Fala is a pioneer in this initiative as we strive to change the way that children perceive themselves, others and the world around them by providing the tools needed to navigate inclusive selfperception, a conscientious togetherness and the resources that our kids. The dialogue we foster has the power to fuel a future that means together and not apart, forward and not backwards, inclusive and not exclusive. We are nourished by our own values that prioritize inclusivity, creativity, equity and learning.
By representing diversity in our workforce, we are able to invite these perspectives through our content. Our strive for perfection ensures that we deliver what we claim. We focus on technology as innovative means to distribute and deliver content. Our design spreads the creativity we value to form an attitude where learning is desirable.
Let’s Go!
The magic of tomorrow does not lie in what we do best, it blossoms from how we merge what we do well. Join us, and together we will harness the synergy of modern education. Education, after all, is a human right.
1
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights#:~:text=Article%20 26,has%20the%20right%20to%20education.&text=Education%20shall%20be%20directed%20 to,human%20rights%20and%20fundamental%20freedoms.
2
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-how-to-improveamerican-education.html
3
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/us/us-students-international-test-scores.html
4
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1189204/ us-teens-children-screen-time-daily-coronavirus-before-during/
5
https://ccp.jhu.edu/entertainment-education/
6
https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
7
https://youth.gov/youth-topics/youth-suicide-prevention
8
https://www.zippia.com/software-developer-jobs/best-states/; https://data.bls.gov/cew/doc/info/ location_quotients.htm
9
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p557.pdf (page 25/26)
10
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/service-design-101/#:~:text=Definition%3A%20Service%20 design%20is%20the,)%20indirectly%2C%20the%20customer’s%20experience.
11
Thi Le, January 2021, IBIS World: https://my-ibisworld-com.ringlingcollege.idm.oclc.org/us/en/ industry/61/industry-at-a-glance
12
Jeremy Moses, November 2020, IBIS World: https://my-ibisworld-com.ringlingcollege.idm.oclc.org/ us/en/industry/51/industry-at-a-glance
13
https://my-ibisworld-com.ringlingcollege.idm.oclc.org/us/en/industry/61/ competitive-landscape#barriers-to-entry
14
Eagan, S. (2020, September). Video and Postproduction Services in the US. Retrieved February, 2021, from https://my-ibisworld-com.ringlingcollege.idm.oclc.org/us/en/industry/51219/ competitive-landscape
15
Staake, J. (2020, October 21). 20 Teacher-Approved Educational youtube channels. Retrieved February, 2021, from https://www.weareteachers.com/educational-youtube-channels/
Proof
16
Pope, C. (2021, February 09). Most children Aged 8-12 have smartphones and social media profiles. Retrieved February, 2021, from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/ most-children-aged-8-12-have-smart-phone-and-social-media-profile-1.4479406
17
Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2020, February 10). 8 excellent Educational youtube channels for today’s teachers. Retrieved February, 2021, from https://wabisabilearning.com/blogs/ technology-integration/8-educational-youtube-channels
18
https://my-ibisworld-com.ringlingcollege.idm.oclc.org/us/en/industry/61/competitive-landscape
19
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241739466_Rethinking_Alternative_Education_to_ Break_the_Cycle_of_Educational_Inequality_and_Inequity
20
https://www.icgov.org/project/black-lives-matter-movement-systemic-racism
21
https://time.com/5775795/education-reform-failed-america/
22
https://www.educationnext.org/costs-cutting-school-spending-lessons-from-great-recession/
23
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/10/23/926815076/ americas-school-funding-crisis-budget-cuts-rising-costs-and-no-help-in-sight
24
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225
25
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/11/19/2129923/0/en/Global-E-Learning- Industry.html
26
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/personal-finance/is-college-still-worth-it-read-thisstudy/2020/01/10/b9894514-3330-11ea-91fd-82d4e04a3fac_story.html
27
https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/remote-work-statistics/
28
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=37
29
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ilkerkoksal/2020/05/02/ the-rise-of-online-learning/?sh=74eeab1e72f3
30
https://www.goskills.com/Resources/Elearning-trends
31
https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/midwest/blogs/students-disabilities-remote-settings.aspx
32
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7280123/
33
https://my-ibisworld-com.ringlingcollege.idm.oclc.org/us/en/industry/51121/ competitive-landscape#barriers-to-entry
34
https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2019/05/climate-change-weaken-childrens-education- tropics/#:~:text=In%20the%20most%20direct%20sense,never%20return%20to%20their%20 studies.
35
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/17/arctic-heating-winter-storms-climate-change
36
https://blog.neolms.com/why-e-learning-is-key-to-building-disaster-proof-education/
37
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-accreditation. html#:~:text=Accreditation%20is%20the%20process%20used,%2C%20administration%2C%20 and%20related%20services.
38
https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=4939e77c77a1a1a08c1cbf905fc4b409&node=16%3A1.0.1.3 .36&rgn=div5
39
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
40
https://www.brainpop.com/social-emotional-learning/
41
https://www.pbskids.org/
42
https://www.classdojo.com/beyondschool/
43
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnBdzaRy-Ky9Vh54XJlFz1Q
44
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCONtPx56PSebXJOxbFv-2jQ
45
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqb89GqploCXgz4lsdR-_ww
46
https://gimletmedia.com/
47
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chompers/id1353418080
48
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfdNM3NAhaBOXCafH7krzrA
49
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZYTClx2T1of7BRZ86-8fow
Proof
50
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2DPyDJLFycNPgPcH0jaeHw
51
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsooa4yRKGN_zEE8iknghZA
52
https://cava.k12.com/who-we-are.html
53
https://www.americancouncils.org/about
54
https://khanacademyannualreport.org/#what-if-you-could-change-lives
55
https://www.domestika.org/en
56
https://www.linkedin.com/business/learning/blog/new-courses/launching-linkedin- learning#:~:text=Our%20goal%20is%20to%20help,LinkedIn%27s%20professional%20data%20 and%20network
57
https://www.masterclass.com/
58
https://about.coursera.org/
59
https://about.udemy.com/?locale=en-us
60
https://www.skillshare.com/about
61
https://www.explore-life.com/en/articles/the-importance-of-human-interaction-and- relationships#:~:text=Why%20is%20human%20interaction%20so,divorce%2C%20 redundancy%20and%20moving%20house.&text=There%20is%20compelling%20evidence%20 to,for%20our%20physical%20health%20too.
62
https://www.explore-life.com/en/articles/the-importance-of-human-interaction-and- relationships#:~:text=Why%20is%20human%20interaction%20so,divorce%2C%20 redundancy%20and%20moving%20house.&text=There%20is%20compelling%20evidence%20 to,for%20our%20physical%20health%20too.
63
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52775386
64
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48039770
65
https://my-ibisworld-com.ringlingcollege.idm.oclc.org/us/en/industry/61/industry-at-a-glance
66
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/11/half-of-us-elementary-and-high-school-students-will-studyvirtually-only-this-fall-study-shows.html
67
https://my-ibisworld-com.ringlingcollege.idm.oclc.org/us/en/industry/61/competitive-landscape
68
https://psychandneuro.duke.edu/childstudies
69
https://www.kindercare.com/our-centers/oceanside/ca/301062?utm_ campaign=kc-lg&utm_source=yext&utm_medium=pro&utm_keyword=&utm_platform=&utm_ matchtype=&utm_adgroupid=&utm_content=gmb&y_source=1_ NTA3NTc4LTcxNS1sb2NhdGlvbi5nb29nbGVfd2Vic2l0ZV9vdmVycmlkZQ%3D%3D
70
https://kiddieacademy.com/academies/ oceanside/?y_source=1_ODQ5NzQ3LTcxNS1sb2NhdGlvbi53ZWJzaXRl
71
https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/ tracking-the-covid-19-recessions-effects-on-food-housing-and
72
https://www.jpmorgan.com/solutions/cib/research/covid-spending-habits
73
https://www.khanacademy.org/about#:~:text=Millions%20of%20students%20from%20 all,Portuguese%20versions%20of%20our%20site.
74
https://khanacademyannualreport.org/#learning-what-works-khan-academy-in-the-classroom
75
https://www.musicbed.com/knowledge-base/a-guide-to-music-licensing-fees/124
Proof
Non-Profit Strategic Plan | Sophie Schönbach | BOAD 352 01 | Ringling College of Art + Design | Spring 2021