Reflective log by SamanthaAbraham

FASHION BRAND ANALYSIS REFLECTIVE LOG

SAMANTHA ABRAHAM (201023984)

INTRODUCTION

For this Fashion Brand Analysis module, it consisted of two parts where the first section was a group report on a brand of our choice where we have been encouraged to further our skills in teamwork. Alongside this, I have to produce a reflective journal where I will document my experience of participating in a team for a group project as well as highlight any issues, what I have learnt and what I will take with me for future experiences.

THOUGHTS ON THE GROUP WORK Since starting university, this has been the second time participating in group work. I would say that the first group work was not that successful due to it being our first project as well as us not knowing each other. Although this could have made people feel like they had to make a good impression, however there was a clear divide where I became a leader. This was something that I did not want to happen in this group work and therefore when participating in this group work, I took past experience into account.

For this group project, we got to choose the groups, where naturally we chose friends that we knew well. My group consisted of four people that I live with and another girl who is our friend and we thought this would be very practical in order for us to meet up a lot and have good communication. Conversely, at the beginning of this project we took advantage of this point and did not put as much effort into the work from the beginning which links well with Gibbsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (1994) idea of friendships creating a lazy environment. After two to three weeks we realised that we were taking the wrong approach to this and then decided to have proper weekly meetings, however away from the flat in order to create a more appropriate working environment.

CHOOSING THE BRAND

To start off, we had to decide on a brand that we would be able to analyse fully as well as appropriately answer the brief of the project. One of the main brief points was that the brand had to have had challenges that they have overcome, which we all agreed was the most important point in order to make the report suitable. From this, we all thought of different brands that have survived through their challenges. Many brands were brought up such as H&M, American Apparel and Nike, however we decided to analyse Urban Outfitters as we all agreed that it fitted all aspects of the brief and we would still be able to gain knowledge and learn new aspects about the brand.

PLANNING THE PROJECT

Due to the brief having three main bullet points that we had to mention in our group project, we split ourselves into three groups and delegated the points out. We did this tactically, where each person would complete a part that they were strongest at which would help the group project be more successful (Rogerson, Rice, Saunders and Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan, 1996). For example, since I completed Business Studies at A-level I suggested that I worked on the part that focused mainly on business terminology. With the parts sectioned out, we started researching out points. In order for us to know how each other are doing, we created a Google Docs. We found this very helpful so that it would ensure our work was not lost as well as it created a better communication system between the group. In addition to this, we created a Facebook group chat so that when we were not with each other, we could still continue talking about the group project, such as if there were any problems or if someone did not understand their part.

MY ROLE The role of this group project was to analyse and write up the bullet point about the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;theoretical underpinnings of branding within the current marketing environment, taking into account global economic trends, and consumer trendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. When Ellie and I discussed how we would write this part together, we decided that I would write about the economic trends whilst she wrote about consumer trends as I was more comfortable with this part. During the first scheduled group meeting, I started my research, looking up global economic trends that could effect businesses. At first, I thought this was relatively easy as I was able to collect a vast amount of information. However, once I tried to adapt these links to our chosen brand of Urban Outfitters and the brief, I found this quite difficult. Once the lectures had covered my section of the group project, I researched once again and focused on Brexit. With this, I had to look at it in theory to the brand as it is still quite impossible to know how Urban Outfitters have been affected. Therefore, with more research I was able to apply how past events may help them now as well as link how their branding strategy is linked with any aspects of the global trend.

ISSUES

During this group project I would say that not many major issues arose and this was because we worked well as a team. On the other hand, one of the first problems we came across was that we lacked in communication within the first few weeks which was aforementioned due to us taking advantage of us living together. This was quickly altered when we realised this and we ensured we did weekly meet ups and if not, we kept each other informed on our Google docs and group chat. Another issue that we faced was that it seemed as though for mine and Ellieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s part we could not contribute as much at the beginning due to our point being mainly mentioned in the last lectures. This did cause us to feeling very rushed when writing our points so that we stayed up to date with the rest of the group.

LEARNING OUTCOMES & CONCLUSION Overall, from completing this group work, it has made me value the importance of working with other people as it can bring many benefits to future work prospects as team work is classed as a vital skill in the professional world (Caruso, 2008). Furthermore, through working in a group, it allowed us to bounce ideas off each other which was interesting to see what a fashion marketing and graphic design student thought of the point. I have therefore learnt how important it is to ensure that in group projects to utilise each team members skills in order to create a balanced and more varied response. We communicated well as a team and overcome our issues, which has made me feel confident in the level of our work as well as there being an equal split in the work set. This group project has made me feel a lot more self-assured so that in the future when completing similar tasks, I will know how to be successful.

REFERENCES TEXT REFERENCES 1.

Caruso, H.M (2008). Harnessing the power of emergent interdependence to promote diverse team collaboration. Diversity and Groups. 11, 245-266

Gibbs, G. 1994. Learning in teams : a student manual. Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff Development.

Rogerson, S., Rice, R., Saunders, C. and Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan, T. 1996. Successful group work. London: Kogan Page.

IMAGE REFERENCES 1.

Urban Outfitters. 2017. Instagram . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BS9BzQAAR2-/?takenby=urbanoutfitters. [Accessed 01 May 2017].

UO Blog. 2017. UO Interviews: The Class of 2017 - Urban Outfitters - Blog. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.urbanoutfitters.com/blog/uo_interviews_the_class_of_2017. [Accessed 01 May 2017].

Lamb, T. 2017. Urban Outfitters 2017 Spring "Skate Girls" Campaign | HYPEBAE. [ONLINE] Available at: https://hypebae.com/2017/2/urbanoutfitters-2017-spring-skate-girl-campaign. [Accessed 01 May 2017].

Fashion Gone Rogue. 2013. Rachel Rutt and Stella Maxwell Go on the Road for Urban Outfitters' Festival Lookbook. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.fashiongonerogue.com/rachel-rutt-and-stella-maxwell-forurban-outfitters-festival-lookbook/. [Accessed 01 May 2017].

Highsnobiety. 2017. Vans & Urban Outfitters Tap Sasha Lane for New Campaign. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.highsnobiety.com/2017/03/21/vans-urban-outfitterscampaign/#slide-13. [Accessed 01 May 2017].

BeautyFrizz. 2014. Urban Outfitters March 2014 Lookbook. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.beautyfrizz.com/fashion/street-style/urbanoutfitters-march-2014-lookbook/. [Accessed 1 May 2017].