interesting stuff to see

hey guys since we're really into the "old people" spirirt by now, here's a nice video for all you guys to watch..
http://www.vidmax.com/index.php/videos/view/806

~ed

more thoughts

one thing we could actually mention about really understanding our customers and thinking for and about our customers would be that we join in the activities organized by the community centres, for the elderly

(note: we're just gonna SAY this. we'll probably put it into action when the business begins for real)

in this way, we are in close contact with the elderly, we can chat up with them, really understand what they need and would like to have
and we can do this for a period of say, 6 months, twice per month
only by understanding the customers this way would we be able to come up with unique activities that really appeals to them and goes straight to the heart.
its not enough to just have a board of advisers. we need to feel them. FEEL what they need. FEEL what they desire.. FEEL what they.. ok moving on..

i was thinking, organizing a bakery class and selling whatever the oldfolks made, with the "Oldschool" logo sounds like a good way to get the elderly involved with the company, with the brand.
but how many oldfolks like to bake? and how does this idea sound to them?
can only tell by mingling with them.

organizing guest lectures, and hobby classes and so on sounds good, but it isn't unique enough
how bout giving the oldfolk a chance to conduct their own lessons or talkshows?
we give them the venue, discuss with them about what to say beforehand, how to make it funny, and when the day comes, bam! lights on, people there, just to hear the old guy/lady talk about embroidery.

it'll probably be a fun event for everyone there, but of course, this is from my perspective.

we still need to get down to the ground (not literally, though. i know varun and jj's thinking about stomp the yard and lp's thinking of black guys) to find out what makes them tick

let's bring the classroom down on tuesday then. big bang and..

"They're stomping the yard. Where're you from?"

~ed

Market Analysis

Samm, Lora, and Reve.. heres a few details on market analysis. First each portion is described, and then there are a few examples on each.

3 slides should be sufficient, one on survey results, I'll email em to you tonight.

As for the marketing plan, it can be detailed, with about a page per topic..

This information is from the marketing plan pro cd. Do not use the same stuff :P

1. Market Demographics

Markets can be described in terms of geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral attributes. Analyzing your market from this perspective can be a useful way to categorize what you know about the people that you want as clients and lead to identifying and confirming opportunities the market presents. You may find that your information is limited, and just capture what you know. This can also help identify areas needing additional research.
Market Demographics - Individual's preferences, and the frequency of their spending are often associated with demographic information. Demographics consider information about your market's age, gender, nationality, education, household composition, occupation and income. Are there common demographic factors that describe the people you expect to be included in your target markets?
Market Geographics - This factor address where your service receivers are physically located. A health care clinic may serve those people within a specific climate or region. If you are providing your services over the Internet, your physical location may be irrelevant.
Market Psychographics - The market can also be described in terms of psychographic information. It is more challenging than the previous categories because it is less quantifiable and more subjective. Psychographics categorize people on the basis of their lifestyle or personality attributes. For example, the lifestyles and personality attributes of people in a large metropolitan city are going to be quite different from those of a small agricultural-based community. Consider the general lifestyles or personalities that best describe your market.
Market Behaviors - Users can also be analyzed based on their knowledge, attitude, use, or response to a service. These behavioral variables may include the occasions that stimulate a purchase, the benefits they realize, the status of the user, their usage rate, their loyalty, the buyer-readiness stage, and their attitude toward the service you offer.
Document what you know about each of these areas. If you have an existing client base or previous experience with this market, think about your "best" clients. You may want to know where they live, their age, gender, occupation, what is important to them, and why they want your services. If you do not have historical information, check to see if there are resources that you can use to help you understand and describe the attributes of your market. Complete what you can and return to this section as you learn more.
For example, a market may be described in these terms:
Geographic - This Chicago suburb has a population of 65,000.
Demographic - The average income of this predominately female group is $40,000 and more, most have attended college, are between the ages of 35 and 50, and have children at or out of the home.
Psychographic - They consider time as their most limited resource and security, both physical and financial, is important.
Behaviors - After checking with people they know and trust, they choose professionals and services that have been "tested" and remain loyal to service providers. The relationship they develop with the professional is critical to a successful ongoing experience.
Examples

Market Geographics—All4Sports serves the Jackson County area with a total population in excess of 170,000 people. With a majority of participants from Medford, the program also has participation from surrounding communities, including Central Point, Jacksonville, White City, and Ashland.

Market Demographics—An estimated 45% of households in this area contain children under the age of 18. Each of these households averages 2.1 children. Therefore, an estimated 39,000 children under the age of 18 are potential All4Sports participants. This number is determined annually from grade school enrollment within the areas served. Past data indicates that the highest level of participation occurs after Grade 2. Participation begins to drop in the middle school years, with a significant reduction in participation at Grade 9. A total of 59% of the participants are male and 41% female. Boys dominate football and girls dominate volleyball. These percentages constantly change due to trends in choice of sports, other alternatives offered in the market place, and other factors impacting participation and availability of these experiences.

Market Psychographics—One of the most typical profiles of families interested in this type of program can be described by the following:

· The parent/guardian works full-time in a traditional "8 to 5" schedule.

· They have more than one child living at home.

· They are relatively active in their child's life, but feel they have limited time.

· They value the physical and social experience their child receives more than actual sports and skill-development aspects of the experience.

Market Behaviors—All4Sports continues to enjoy a positive perception within the community. Studies report solid support of the concept and purpose of the organization and an awareness of the problems inherent in a program that involves thousands of volunteers. Based on research conducted in April of 1997, more than 86% of the population in Jackson County area has some awareness of All4Sports. Most people report they are familiar with All4Sports through knowing a young person who has participated in an All4Sports program. Individual awareness levels are highest among adults in the 25-54 age range, and business owners and managers have a 93% awareness level. More than 82% of this group considers our program to have a positive influence on youth and a potential deterrent to violence and other anti-social behavior. This is one of the primary reasons people continue to support this program.

Individual Accounts - The base of individual accounts serves to offer consistent revenues for the firm. Approximately 20% of these accounts also depend on the firm for ongoing financial planning of their investment portfolios. The balance of the clients primarily look to the firm for tax planning and preparation.

Organizations of Over 50 Employees - Our most profitable business clients fall into the "over 50 employee" category. These corporate accounts generate the highest revenues on a per-hour basis and also generate revenues on the most consistent basis throughout the year. Many of these accounts are in the medical/health, dental, and lodging industries. These clients are also more likely to look to Franklin & Moore for the widest range of services the firm offers, such as assisting with pension planning and investment management services. Target clients in this category have annual sales over $3 million, operate more than one location, serve a national customer base or more, and are publicly owned.

Organizations Under 50 Employees - Organizations under 50 employees represents some of the fastest growing clients within the firm. Franklin & Moore offers attractive services that understand and meet the needs of these clients. Again, many of these clients are in select vertical markets, including medical/health, dental, and lodging industries. The key clients in this category have annual sales between $250,000 and $3,000,000, serve customers in the Southern California market, have a local or statewide customer base, and are privately owned. The long-term strategy is to grow with these clients as they expand and their needs for our services increase.

Large manufacturer corporations: Our most important market segment is the large manufacturer of high-technology products, such as Apple, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Siemens, or Olivetti. These companies will be calling on Acme for development functions that are better spun off than managed in-house, for market research, and for market forums.

Medium-sized growth companies: Particularly in software, multimedia, and some related high-growth fields, Acme will offer an attractive development alternative to the company that is management constrained and unable to address opportunities in new markets and new market segments.

We focus our marketing on three types of target consumers:

1. Corporate Executives: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://stats.bls.gov) reports there are 14.4 million executive, administrative, and managerial employees in the United States, and that number is growing at 1.6% per year. We estimate the top 1% of that number, 144,000, as our market, and we're suggesting the number is growing at the same 1.6% annually.

2. Small Business Owners and Executives: According to the most recent data available from the Small Business Administration (SBA), there are between 13 and 16 million small businesses (500 employees or fewer) in the United States. That includes about 5.5 million employers and 11 million self-employed people. We take the top 1% of 15 million, to make our potential market of 150,000. We estimate growth at 2.5%, a composite of different sources.

3. Home Offices: According to a story in Home Office Computing magazine, there are 36 million home offices in the United States. That means a home office in 27% of the households in the country. The U.S. census reports that in 1997 there were 16 million households in this country with incomes of more than $100,000 per year. The 27% of those that have home offices are our potential market. That's 4.4 million households (of 132 million total). Our market is the top 10% of those, 440,000, which we estimate is growing at 5% per year.

4. Other: We will also sell to some buyers outside the United States and outside of these targeted market segments. We estimate 100,000 other potential customers, a number that we estimate will be growing at 5% per year.

The home offices in Tintown are an important, growing market segment. Nationally, there are approximately 30 million home offices, and the number is growing at 10% per year. Our estimate in this plan for the home offices in our market service area is based on an analysis published four months ago in the local newspaper.

Home offices include several types. For our plan, the most important are the home offices that serve as the only offices of professional firms. These are likely to be professional services such as graphic artists, writers, and consultants, also some accountants and the occasional lawyer, doctor, or dentist. There are also individuals who maintain home offices for part-time use, including "moonlighters" and hobbyists. This segment is not who AMT wishes to sell to; our marketing focus consists of professionals and entrepreneurs who maintain a full-time office. In this plan, we will refer to customers in the home office segment as HOs.

Small business in our market includes virtually any business with a retail, office, professional, or industrial location outside of someone's home, and fewer than 30 employees. We estimate 45,000 such businesses in our market area.

The 30-employee cutoff is arbitrary. We find that the larger companies turn to other vendors, but we can sell to departments in larger companies, and we shouldn't be giving up leads when we get them.

2. Market Needs


This may be the most important topic in your marketing plan. Always emphasize the market need that you seek to fill. What value are you providing? Your marketing efforts will always benefit from focusing on the benefits you are providing your community. It isn't what you do exactly, but rather, what fundamental needs you are satisfying.
Value is realized in tangible and intangible forms. Are you saving people's lives, their health, their well being, their time, effort, or money? Are you enhancing their self worth, their self-confidence, or their potential? Are you enriching their skills, their sense of security, or their self-esteem? Are you minimizing their real or perceived risks, fears, or liabilities?
Examples



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The initial reasons for All4Sports remain constant. School-sponsored sports programs are severely limited in terms of age and range of events. Based on the April, 1997 study, 59% of the people in the Jackson County area surveyed believe the public school system fails to meet their sports experience expectations. Driven by economics, most notably with the passage of state legislation limiting school funding, many sports programs have not survived increasing economic pressures on the public school system. Property tax modifications may further impede the public school system's ability to offer any more than the most basic classroom experiences.

All4Sports seeks to serve all interested children from kindergarten through high school regardless of what the school they attend offers. There are absolutely no expectations regarding skill or experience, only the desire to participate. The All4Sports program is orchestrated to make this experience as accessible and affordable as possible to this audience.

Franklin & Moore LLC provides tangible and intangible value. Our objective is to minimize the tax exposure of our clients and adhere to all state and federal tax laws. The bigger picture means that we are providing peace of mind for our clients -- they are legally using their financial resources in the most productive manner possible. We work to make the complex understandable. We act in an advisory role to our clients that will enable them to better influence and optimize their personal and/or corporate wealth. We desire to make them more money and give them a better night's sleep.

When a company, like those that are our clients, wants to open a new market, there is a temporary need for very high-powered expertise. They need to establish distribution, evaluate distributors' merits and problems, select and open new channels.

Our clients come to us for scalable, temporary expertise. They understand that our kind of expertise would be very difficult and expensive to get from full-time, permanent employees. Furthermore, their needs are temporary: the crunch is at the time of opening the new market and setting up the channel; later on it is not as important.

From the individual point of view, as managers, our clients come to us at least in part because we reduce their sense of risk in the management and politics of new market introductions. If things go wrong, they have experts to blame. If things go right, they get the credit. There's the old saying that "nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM," meaning choosing a highly respected visible source for computers. We are that kind of low-risk option for opening new markets.

Willamette gives the discriminating personal computer user, who cares about design, quality furniture, and quality of working environment, a combination of the highest quality furniture and an integration of the latest technology, at a relatively high price. Willamette provides this discriminating customer with more than a piece of furniture. We provide a quality working environment that includes the integration of technological components that generally exist as part of the executive setting. The quality of manufacturing, materials, and ergonomics found in our products serves to enhance the appearance of an executive's office atmosphere, in turn adding to their status and effectiveness as a decision maker, innovator, and leader.

We understand that our target market needs more than just office furniture. This need grew out of the special requirements of personal computing, when combined with office furniture -- keyboards at correct height, monitors at correct height, proper channels for cables, and other amenities. Our target customer wants to have all of that, plus fine furniture. There is a need for quality wood and workmanship throughout. We don't just sell office furniture, we sell design, workmanship, fine materials, and a total-quality office environment.

Our target HOs are on average as dependent on reliable information technology as any other businesses. They care more about reliable service and confidence than about the rock-bottom lowest price. They don't want to rely solely on their own expertise, so they choose instead to deal with us with our promise of service and support when needed.

Our standard HOs will be one-system installations, no networks, much more powerful systems than the average small business. Fax modems, voicemail, and good printers are likely. They tend to be interested in desktop publishing, accounting, Internet, and administration software as well as their job-specific software needs.

It's important that we realize we won't be selling to the price-oriented HO buyers. We'll be able to offer an attractive proposition to the service-oriented and security-oriented buyers only.

Our target SBs are very dependent on reliable information technology. They use the computers for a complete range of functions beginning with the core administration information such as accounting, shipping, and inventory. They also use them for communications within the business and outside of the business, and for personal productivity. They are not, however, large enough to have dedicated computer personnel such as the MIS departments in large businesses. Ideally, they come to us for a long-term alliance, looking to us for reliable service and support to substitute for their in-house people. These are not businesses that want to shop for rock-bottom price through chain stores or mail order. They want to be sure they have reliable providers of expertise.

Our standard SBs will be 5-20 unit installations, critically dependent on local-area networks. Back-up, training, installation, and ongoing support are very important. They require database and administrative software as the core of their systems.

3. MArket Trends


To describe market trends, think strategically. What factors seem to be changing the market, or changing the business? What developing trends can make a difference? Market trends could involve changes in demographics, or changes in customer needs. Much of this depends on what service you offer.
For example, a health care facility might note the trend toward an older population of aging baby boomers. A youth center might talk about the growth of gang violence. A day care center might talk about the trend towards single-parent households, or both parents working.
Understanding market trends may enable you to "get ahead" of your market and allow you to know where it is going before it gets there. Seizing a potential window of opportunity can be critical to establishing a competitive advantage. Timing is critical to any marketing strategy.
Some quick research regarding trends can be a tremendous help. Your industry's association may be able to provide information on key trends. Magazine publications that address industry issues are another potential source. Financial analysts track trends for investment purposes, and you may find this information useful. Some markets, particularly in larger metropolitan areas, have detailed market trend information that may be available through your local library or university. Remember that the Internet can be an efficient source of information for inexpensive and accurate market trend research.
Once you have acquired this information, adapt it to what you know about your target market.
Examples



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The significant market trends are as follows:

· Diminishing financial support at all grade levels form public schools to facilitate sports activities for students.

· Increasing demands from children and their families to offer sports experiences at early ages, beginning at kindergarten.

· Heightened awareness of the positive correlation with involvement in sports and reduced potential for involvement in violent activities.

· Increasing interest from corporations to sponsor and support these types of community activities when they receive attribution for this involvement.

Market trends fall into three general categories: static tax laws, increasing use of software, and key client growth.

Static tax laws — Although minor revisions have been made in past years, tax laws have not changed dramatically since 1988. This enables greater efficiencies within our firm, but reduces involvement with our clients and can result in a decrease of billable hours.

Increasing use of software — Tax software is one of our major competitors and continues to erode revenue from individual clients with simple returns. This includes products produced by Intuit with their "Turbo Tax" line and Block Financial with their "Kiplinger Tax Cut" products. Software has also been a resource to increase efficiencies within the firm. For example, we are producing in excess of 50% more work, and therefore billable hours, with the same resources we did in 1995 due to the computer systems now in place.

Key client growth — A cluster of our premier clients have experienced substantial success and growth. Meeting these client's needs will "bring us along" to offer additional services and provide an opportunity for us to strategically expand the services we offer. As we gain expertise and establish our reputation in these areas, we market those to other clients and use them as a point of interest to attract new clients. Pension planning services are one example of this phenomenon.

We stand to benefit from some specific market trends:

· There is a major trend towards internationalization. The Internet has brought a larger world into direct communication with the manufacturers. Europe has created a major new unified market, this time for real. Latin America is healthy and growing. Asia, despite recent setbacks, is still a very good market. Our potential client base, the manufacturers, wants to expand into new markets.

· Communications technology is a new industry explosion. Also because of the Internet, growth in communications technology items is explosive. Modems, network cards, communications software, routers, cables, connectors, all of these are growing at 35% per year and up. Margins aren't great in the more standard hardware categories, but growth is enormous.

· Contracting, consulting, and ad-hoc management teams are a trend. Even the larger businesses are turning more frequently to temporary expertise instead of permanent fixed cost employees. This is the latest new application of the buzzword "scalable." Acme Consulting is an especially attractive alternative to our clients, because of the economic advantages of variable vs. fixed costs, and the growing liabilities and overhead of taking on long-term employees.

Our market has finally grown to recognize the disparity between most of the standard office furniture sold through channels and our own products.

The development of the high-end office worker, office owners, and the baby-boomer executive is an important trend for us. We now have people who are using computers and also appreciate the old-fashioned workmanship of good furniture.

Today's high integration of technology in the work place, especially in the multi-task oriented, executive environment, sets the stage for growth in the area of high quality, technologically integrated office environments. Similarly, home offices and small business owners continue to demand more advanced technologies and their integration into the office atmosphere. A sense of craftsmanship and quality of materials, such as oak and cherry, is timeless. The synergy of this desire for the classic cabinet-maker look, and use of technology is inherent in Willamette's offerings.

The SB buyers are accustomed to buying from vendors who visit their offices. They expect the copy machine vendor, office products vendors, and office furniture vendors, as well as the local graphic artist, freelance writer, or whoever, to come visit their office to make their sales.

There is usually a lot of leakage in ad-hoc purchasing through local chain stores and mail order. Often the administrators try to discourage this, but are only partially successful.

4.Market growth


Use this topic to explain and discuss market growth. Is the market growing, is it static, or is it shrinking? Documented market growth enhances the implied value and potential of your organization. Ideally you will be able to cite experts, a market research firm, trade association, or credible journalists describing projected growth. This is particularly important when your plan is used to communicate with those outside the organization, such as for donors, board members, or advisors.
Cite growth rates in terms that fit the available information. Determine if growth is best expressed in the number of potential users, projected dollar funding, projects completed, website projects, tax reporting hours, or whatever best fits your organization and your audience.
Whenever you can, relate the growth rates cited in expert forecasts to the growth in potential users that you have included in the market analysis table. This will calculate total market growth over a five-year period, using the assumptions in your marketing plan forecast.
Check for reality. Are your growth rates reasonable based on the characteristics of your market? Are they believable? Can you defend them? Unreasonable growth rates can create unrealistic expectations and a marketing plan that is doomed to fail. Grossly understated growth rates may minimize the potential of our marketing plan and make this process more difficult for you next year.
Examples



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The program has experienced an average annual participation growth rate of 6% for the past five years. This is indicative of the growing needs of the market we serve. Based on school attendance projections, we expect to experience increased participation growth between 9% and 11% annually over the next three years. The most dramatic growth is expected in the soccer programs, which have an equal mix of boys and girls, with relatively static participation expected in most other sports. These trends are monitored, and to the degree possible, used to help predict future program demands.

The growth rate of our combined target markets has averaged approximately 8.6%. This is due to the growth of established businesses as well as movement into the San Clemente area. This growth rate has plateaued in the past years and is expected to remain constant for the foreseeable future.

The U.S. Association of Marketing Consultants reports a 30% growth in average revenues for consultants focusing on marketing of high-tech products. We are a subset of this market, possibly due for even higher growth than the mainstream. The local electronics industry association in California reports a trend towards additional consulting solutions, as manufacturers turn to variable cost solutions.

We talked to industry associations in Japan and several in Europe. Overall, the growth in interest for moving into new markets is phenomenal. Tahahashi Sato, director of the local association in Tokyo, told us "we don't have statistics, but the growth in new international marketing projects has to be greater than 100 percent per year." Jens Lundeson, of the Association in Europe, said "We see growth in this kind of project at 40 percent or better per year."

According to [source omitted], the market for office furniture is growing at XX percent per year, and is projected to increase. The market for PC-related office furniture is growing even faster, at YY percent per year, and is projected to top $XX billion by the year 2005.

Most important is the growth in home offices with personal computer equipment. As the cost of the computer goes down, steadily, the number of home offices goes up. According to [source omitted], this is about 33 million right now, growing at 15 percent per year. Households spent $XX billion last year to equip home offices, and 15 percent of that was spent on furniture.

Overall we see our market growing at about 8-9% per year, over the next few years, in terms of potential customers as small businesses and home offices. This is just a simple number of locations and users, however, as the more interesting growth is the continued skyrocketing growth in the user of computers in business.

The next big wave is connectivity, LANs, and the Internet. The growth figures in these areas are spectacular. According to Harper's Internet Index, there are now 57 million Internet users in the United States, and that number has doubled in two years. There are 6 million websites now, up from 100,000 in 1996.

Meanwhile, demand for personal computers continues to grow. The IDC forecast for this quarter suggests 14.1% growth in sales of personal computers in the United States, compared to the same quarter a year ago.

5. Market Analysis


This is the Market Analysis table, which you use to define your target market segments and estimate how many potential prospects are in each segment.
Although this is your plan, not ours, and you can use it as you prefer, we recommend that the market analysis focus on potential prospects, not actual prospects. For example, a potential market segment for the Sierra Club might equal the total number of charitable people in the United States; it wouldn't be limited to the people in the united states that currently contribute. You might measure it as adults, households, or households and businesses.
To manage the table, you insert rows as needed and use the Edit > Row Label command to change the names of your market segments.
The growth rate column establishes a straight-line growth rate that will be applied to the first year to create the estimated growth for future years. You can also override the standard calculations by simply typing in the market numbers you want to show for future years, regardless of growth rates.

Old Schools X-Factor or WoW factor

Since we're first, we will be pre set up. Already have brochures on everyones desks, etc.

I liked the idea of having an old person coming to our presentation and listening in. That way they can add in on comments, questions, and feedback at the end of our presentation. If we bribe them to be positive feedback then Andrew will be impressed.

At the end of our presentation we do an anouncement and bring the old person up to sign a contract that makes them The first official member of old school. Someone takes a picture of the old person with our CEO shaking hands and holding the contract(or plaque resignating as first member). And we say this will be used for a press release for this summer, because we actually plan on getting it up and running this summer.

Also, we could give Andrew a give certificate/coupon for free lifetime/or one year membership to Old School. Valid upon May 2008 when Old School anticipates to be up and running. Or for when Andrew becomes eligible (over 55).

I got some feed back from a member who presented and listened to presentations. He said the fewer presenters the better because otherwise it interupts the flow and wastes time. Don't be serious the entire time, crack some jokes, make em laugh 3-4 times in the presentation.
When you go over the marketing trends and analysis, go quickly, because he only cares about the 4 p's and finance, in the final presentation.

Make sure to do Bar graphs of profit and user members (pictures are better than tables)
Do a timeline of user members and Old School growth

When doing the slides, try to only have pictures, seriously I think that would be awesome if we had no words, only pictures. Seriously.
Forexample, when we talk about promotion and we put newspaper and radio on our power point, use the pictures I have uploaded on the ivle community of the media logos. ( theyrre in the powerpoint document)

LP: the soft copies are on the ivle community in documents sections, Ididn't know how to shrink them into postcard size, so good luck try to do that. Hehhe

Sorry Varun that you didn't like my imperanation of you in the previous blog. I can't believe I forgot a Marketing Exec.

Snce, I'm gone for the weekend in KL (but working hard on the project at night!) I'll be meeting with Varun on Monday night in YIH at 7pm to catch up on the details of the final presentation.

few more things

Hey guys,
this is in addition to the post below:

1. LP, i dont have the final idea generation presentation. If you do, could you place that and the biz cards in the workbin? Thankya

2. Who wants to do the market analysis bit during the presentation (this is basically survey results, + market trends, growth, segmentation. I should think 3 slides should be sufficient). Whoever is doing this bit, start working on the slides, we will try to compile everything tomorrow.

3. THE BOARD of ADVISORS. any ideas for people apart from the director of sage? anyone know any important seniors?

yup, cya guys tomorrow =)

varun

moving on

Right, Hey all
Thanks JJ for masquerading as me in that post.

NOW...... THE DESIGNATIONS

Now, here's the REAL designations, jointly decided by me and Ed and LP, the only 3 people who came down for this meeting.

1. P and CEO - Varun
2. VP Finance, JJ
3. VP Marketing - Ed
4. VP PR and communications- Lora
5. VP Operations- Reve
6. VP HR and admin - Samm
7. VP Tech and Creative Director - LP

Yup, these are the ones that Prof Andrew said we should have. Any strong objections? Let me know if any of you want to know more about each role.

And write up a small paragraph about each of yourselves, I thought that was a good idea, and we put it either in our brochure or make an "who we are" brochure.



Next.. the PRESENTATION

Alright... these are the sections we are going to present:

1. Intro (Ed is working on short flash intro) + mission statement/objective(me)
2. Market Analysis (need presenter * )
3. Four P (me and someone else * )
4. Finance/cost analysis (ed)

So basically we will have 4 presenters. I was thinking JJ and I might present on the 4Ps.
Who else WANTS to present? if you WANT to present.... reply here or let me know tomoro so we can work it in.

ALSO, PEOPLE, start thinking about gimmicks or something we could do that might add a certain degree of oomph to our presentation. (For example, what if imitouch comes in with models, or if the indian food people bring indian food? how are we going to beat em?)


NEXT... THE BOX

We need to submit the box with all our material inside it. right now, this is what we're aiming for:

1. one cd with our 2 video and one radio ad
2. the testimonial things JJ made (can you pass the softcopies to LP, we'll get it printed out)
3. the posters laminated.
4. the flipbook of services
5. the brochure (JJ, hows it goin? need help?)
6. the "who we are" on ourselves... just a flyer kinda thing...
7. the business cards.

8. NOW, are there any more ideas for promotional material, etc, we could give out?

9. marketing plan, which is due one week after the presentation.

We're in the home stretch guys, keep on working hard.
I'll cya guys tomorrow at 330 pm.

whats gonna keep them coming?

heya.. just wanna add in something to the discussion as well..

we're primarily doing consultation and activity services
(the amount of money to be reaped from the financial consultant and travel agency is really, really inconsequential compared to the amount we fleece *ahem* i mean earn from the membership fee)

so i think we need to come up with something else that makes us stand out, and get people to keep coming back

what is it about our consultancy services that we offer?
we are very customer-oriented? we are good listeners? good-looking? empathic? easily excitable? able to build instant rapport? experience a wide variety of activities such that we know what to recommend? deep knowledge of human psychology?
lora progressively showing more skin as they come back for future consults?
(just kidding. about the easily excitable part. we dont want to injure anybody)

so far, we have not come up with a comprehensive list of what we are going to do during our twice-a-month-meet-other-old-people-so-you-can-be-reminded-that-you-are-old gatherings.
we need to make it perhaps a bit special, something that they probably can't get elsewhere.

only then can we justify our increase in membership which is essential cos at this point in time, my financial projections say that we break even in the 5th year with each of us getting $1500 a month. we have 9500 members at the end of the 5th year.

so if you have the time, maybe can think of "what is it that'll make them come?"

(i'm thinking lora but we'll need more than that. she can't handle 9500 people. can she?)

~ed

Executive Council, LP make finalized bus. cards

Hey, its Varun.

I've delegated company positions, if you don't like them tough, I don't care.
This is important for our business cards, which we will hand to everyone at the beginning of our presentation. Also we will be introducing ourselves at the beginning of our presentation so we need to quickly explain our background.

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer-Yours truly, Varun

Vice President, Finance-JJ
Vice President Communications-Reeve
Vice President, Business Development and Strategy-Edric
Vice President, General Counsel-Lora
Vice President, Engineering, Operations & Technology-LP
Vice President, Human Resources and Administration-Samm

Please write up a quick intro for yourself and some of your achievements. This will be fore when we present on Tuesday.

Example:
My name is Varun, I'm 20 yrs old, born in India. I'm currently studying at NUS majoring in Engineering. I have a goal of being CEO of an aironautical company like airbus. After that I might go for world domination. Blah blah blah.......

BULLETIN

Dear all,

Sorry for the delay as I've been on a hectic schedule juggling between dance rehearsals and attending my uncle's wake. Now both are over, I'm now rushing all my projects papers that I've requested for extensions as I have not been attending school the past week.

Here is a draft of what I've done for the bulletin. I would appreciate if you guys could send me more photos to include into the BULLETIN as well. Check out the word document in IVLE FILES FOLDER. I was thinking of printing it out on nice high quality paper that has borders and patterns. Sorry, it looks quite plain now due to the lack of photos.

Anthing just sms or call me at my hp. Thanks =)

Travel Services

We provide great hot deals and premium travel packages if you plan to travel overseas whether for work or leisure. Whether you intend to visit somewhere popular, exotic or off the beaten track, we would ensure the best arrangements to cater to your needs. Thanks to the collaboration between our company and a whole comprehensive list of global travel partners, traveling has never been easier and more rewarding. We provide a wide array of travel services to meet your needs at utmost satisfaction so do check out with our consultants for any queries.

Financial Services

Discover the flexibility at investing in a wide range of financial products at your convenience without the usual hassle and delays. We provide you with ample assistance and knowledge through the expertise of our very own in house financial consultant. Whether you’re looking for a short, mid or long term investment, we are committed in finding the best to suit your needs and risk profile. So start planning for your future today!

Health & Nutrition Services

The growing recognition on the importance of one’s individual health and nutrition needs is one that increases with age. We provide expert knowledge and advice with regards to lifestyle and diet to help you reach your optimal health potential. Through the personalization of your individual health profile, we would analyze and design nutritional programs to help you improve your overall well-being. By working hand in hand together, we will step towards the goal of achieving a whole new health, vitality, youth and stronger immunity.

Social Activity Club

Upon signing up with us as a member, you would be entitled to participate in a whole variety of activities and exclusive events that we organize on a regular basis. Not only do you get to learn new skills and knowledge, you would also be able to interact with other members and broaden your social network. It would be filled with loads of fun and excitement in order to give you a fulfilling experience. So start building a personal relationship with us and rewarding friendships with other members today. Your first step towards happiness begins with us!

Community Centers’ Activities

We have tied up with the various community centers in Singapore island wide to offer special discounts to all activities organized by them. Instead of having the need to go down to the community centers to sign up personally for the activities, we would save you all that unnecessary hassle by providing you the knowledge of the activities they provide and ensure that you get first priority in successful enrolment. We would also help to filter out a list of activities that would cater to your interest based on your own individual preference. Such personalized services only show that we care for your best interests at heart!

Employment Services

Feeling bored with too much free time at your hands? We provide employment services at your convenience. Access our free online portal to look for jobs or allow us to recommend you suitable jobs based on accessing your previous work experience or personal preference. By collaborating with various professional employment agencies, we have a whole range of positions suitable for all ages and levels of skills. Be assured that we promote your best interests and aim to match your individual skills and personality to a quality career. We are committed in finding the right job for quality people like you!

-------------------------------------
LORA CHRISTELLE LIM
94764707

Lunch with the prof

Today Edric, Varun, and JJ had a wonderful lunch with Prof Andrew. We met in Holland Village and went to Hogs Breath Cafe. We talked with him about marketing and consulting. We got lots of great advice, and had the privledge of listening to some of his interesting stories.

We decided that we are going to start off our company as a non-profit organization. This is because we wont be making a lot of money the first few years so it will be important for sponsorships from the government such as SAGE. If we are non-profit it should be easier to collect sponsorship money.

We decided to meet on Sunday at YIH at 2pm and collaborate everyone's part of the marketing plan to create a final draft. Please come to YIH at 2pm on Sunday or atleast submit your work of the marketing plan via email before 2pm.

We need more creative marketing ideas!!!

Today in class we played our Youtube commercials. Now we have to out do ourselves for next weeks class. My idea is an art gallery/poster of old people smiling, and each poster has old school logo on it. Then we can also play edric's radio advertisements.

So we need to go somewhere and take candid pictures of old people smiling.

Anyway, we have our next meeting on Thursday night at YIH at 7pm.

Progress Report

Today we discussed the parts that we had accomplished on the marketing plan etc.

I know we are all busy, but we have to have our parts done by tuesday when we come to class. Serisously. OK lah. If you need help, give a shout out to everyone.

About the webpage. Its not working but it is;

oldschool.uwinnovators.com

I got a domain name for free
I have a friend who is providing me with a free host
But, one minor detail, I need someone with FrontPage, so I can design the webpage.

Does anyone know anybody with Frontpage or where I could find it? Ask around.

We all have our own email addresses now (they actually work try em out):

Lora@oldschool.uwinnovators.com gets sent to whitegalgal@hotmail.com
Varun@oldschool.uwinnovators.com get sent to varmavarun@hotmail.com
Jonathan@oldschool..... gets sent to jjackson21@gmail.com
Reve@oldschool......gets sent to tancheefong@hotmail.com
Lp@oldschool......gets sent to priyalakshmy@hotmail.com
Ed@oldschool.......gets sent to archxangel22@yahoo.com.sg
Samm@oldschool.....gets sent to christcrazie_sam@hotmail.com


We are going to ask prof. Andrew to see the past business and marketing plans of other projects during break, and maybe checkone out for a week.

Then we are going to ask prof. Andrew if he is free for lunch or, if not, dinner on Saturday.
We are going to treat him, and ask him for his advice on our COMPLETED marketing plan. That way we can make revisions intime for the submission.

For lunch/dinner with Andrew on Saturday, only four of us have to go. (We prefer Laura is one of the)



Our business is shaping up nicely, and I think we will all be proud of the end result and our grades. We need to continue to work hard and stay on track.

See you guys on Tuesday.

Sincrely yours,

> JJ

Credibility

What do we know about old people? We don't have a passion for old people?

Ways to convince prof in our business plan is a strong board of advisers

We could come up with 7 members for our BOA, many of them old, and people with MBA's or strong business or marketing knowledge, or people with a good network/connections.

We don't have to actually ask the people to be on our BOA, we just say that they are. So just think of people to put on our BOA

Who does what

VERY IMPORTANT!!! READ ENTIRE BLOG, EVEN THOUGH IT IS LONG

IT WILL BE IMPORTANT INFO TO KNOW WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING FOR THE GROUP MEETING

NEXT GROUP MEETING IS: We will be meeting on Sunday for (Breakfast/lunch)

Place: Sakae SushiNoon
Time: Noon
Location: Choa Chu Kang in Lot 1 Shoppers' Mall (Near MRT)

We will be meeting at Choa Chu Kang station (BP1/NS4) and take bus service 927 to the zoo.



Group needs to come up with/brainsorm chinese names for old school

Varun's Responsibilities:

research/brainstorm creative marketing techniques and channels of distribution that will beat the pants off of Tin Yien's group and report back to group

1.0 Your Company

1.1 Mission
1.2 What you Sell
1.3 Competition
1.4 Key to Success
3.0 SWOT Analysi
3.1 Strengths
3.2 Weaknesses
3.3 Opportunities
3.4 Threats

6.0 Marketing Mix

6.1 Products
6.2 Price
6.3 Place
6.4 Promotion
6.5 Service

Lora's responsibilities:

research/brainstorm creative marketing techniques and channels of distribution that will beat the pants off of Tin Yien's group and report back to group

Laura you have been designated as our first consultant for old school, you are encharge of creating our promotinoal consult outline, (the free one we offer for people to come check us out) mock consult, lasting for 30 minutes, outline what your going to talk about etc. Create a script. (this outline of the 30 minute consult should be easy to create, take less than a 30 minutes on it, it doesn't have to be just something to show the Professor, so we can say we did it)

How you are going to create rapport with the customer. You also are incharge of creating a binder of the different activites old school offers. The binder should have a page of each activity old school offers (one page about financial partner and include why managing your money is important, and include that we offer a discounted financial services because we get a group rate. Another page should be about CC's and it should include a website link of where they can find different activities to sign up for. Another page should include community services activities they can get involved in in Singapore and should have contact person's for each community service organization, another page should be on our Social Activity Club (the inhouse service) that describes the events we put on, the price ($249 a year) and other stuff) The list goes on for how many pages we need to make. Each page doesn't have to be too detailed because no one is actually going to read each page, just something the professor can flip through and thinks is presentable during our 30 minute free consult. This may be a lot of work/time so we'll discuss if this can be split up among the other members

LP's responsibilities:

research/brainstorm creative marketing techniques and channels of distribution that will beat the pants off of Tin Yien's group and report back to group
biz card
posters
banners
promotional old school pens www.pensrus.com
livestrong bracelets that say old school
printing brochures




Edric's Responsiblities:

research/brainstorm creative marketing techniques and channels of distribution that will beat the pants off of Tin Yien's group and report back to group

find out what costs will be involved in starting, sustaining, and growing our business

7.0 Sales Forecast

8.0 Budget Analysis

9.0 Implementation and Control

9.1 Milestone text
9.2 Breakeven Analysis
9.3 Marketing Organization
9.4 Contingency Planning


Samm's Responsbilities:

research/brainstorm creative marketing techniques and channels of distribution that will beat the pants off of Tin Yien's group and report back to group

2.0 Market Analysis

2.1 Market Demographics (segmentation)
2.2 Market Needs
2.3 Market Trends
2.4 Market Growth


Reeve's Responsiblities:

research/brainstorm creative marketing techniques and channels of distribution that will beat the pants off of Tin Yien's group and report back to group

5.0 Strategies
Marketing Objectives
Financial Objectives
Target Marketing
Positioning
Market Research

JJ's responsibilities:

research/brainstorm creative marketing techniques and channels of distribution that will beat the pants off of Tin Yien's group and report back to group

movie
brochure
porters 5 forces


Group meeting Responsiblities:

10.0 Summarize the Plan

10.1 Situation Summary

10.2 Market Summary

10.3 SWOT Summary

10.4 Strategy Summary

10.5 Executive Summary

Gentle Reminder, Final Presentation is approaching in 25 days!

Filming...A success?

On Saturday from 4pm to 8pm, Varun JJ LP and Edric filmed Old School first two commercials.
Although every prop, background, etc didn't go perfectly to planning, overall everything worked out nicely. Varun stars as the young boy in a rock band playing "play that funky music white boy" to an old man with "semi-white hair" and glasses still rocking at the age of 80.
Edric stars as the old man shredding it up on the guitar to "rock and roll" by led zeplin. On Monday morning, JJ will be doing the editing of the two commercials in the digital media center in YIH where they supposedly have video editing software. Hopefully the final product will be done for a group viewing during break on Tuesdays meeting.

Very Important! We have decided to keep our two commercials confidential/secret, ONLY letting people find out about them during our final presentation. SO DO NOT TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THE COMMERCIALS!!!

Still have lots of work to do, people need to come up with individual projects they want to pursue. Example is maybe one person being responsible for creating a brochure. Another being responsible for creating a poster/banner/a booth for an exhibit or display for an MRT station.

NOoooooo!

Really...you think so....Nooo! Ya! Comon give me a break. (HAhahahahahahahah)







Read the comment about this post, its funny.

OK La, next meeting is Saturday, 3pm on Campus, specific place yet to be named.



So tonight we decided that Varun, Edric, and JJ and anyone else who wants to join are going to meet at the IT expo at noon at Suntec City mall. We'll then be going to campus to have meeting where we'll be doing our tv ads. This means that we'll probably get back from the expo and to campus around 3pm. Lets all meet on campus at around 3pm.

We've decided to do two commercials:

1. Old School: Life's Jazzy

plot: We start with Varun, an old guy walking with a cane into the scene on the right side towards the left side of the screen. There is a white wall background with a table to the left that has a cd player on it and a chair and guitar in the center of the room. It starts out silent, you only hear the clicking of the cane on the floor. Then the old man goes to the cd player, opens an old school cd case and puts a cd into the player. He goes and sits down. The music starts. The old man picks up the guitar and starts calmly playing with the jazz music. Then old of a sudden it breaks out into a really quick exciting fun jazzy guitar solo. The old man gets really into it with his entire body. Then the solo ends but the music keeps going. The screen fades black. Our old school logo appears on the black screen and underneath it says: Keeping Life Jazzy.



What we need from you guys:

We need Samm or Lora (you guys need to discuss who will bring what) to bring makeup and powder and whatever else to make Varun and our other actor look old.
Varun is bringing the guitar and guitar stand. we need a cd player, preferably with a clear top so you can see the cd spinning. we also need someone to design the cd cover case, because when we show the old man taking the cd out of the case we may want to show the case which could have the old school logo. But at the same time I was thinking it might be nice to safe the old school logo for the end and only show it at the end of the clip.


2. Old School: Rocking Out

Plot: Empty Rock concert Stage, hear audience roaring, actor comes on walks to the center of stage with guitar and stands in front of microphone. Sign Says; ______ age 18. Rock music starts and actor plays and head banging. Music keeps going, but screen fades black. Sign comes up and says _______40. Then fades to the picture of an older looking actor rocking to music with their guitar. Then fades to a black screen. Sign comes up that says: _________ age 80. Then screen fades to old looking actor rocking out on guitar head banging. Then music stops and audience roars and screen fades black. Old School logo comes up and underneath it say: Keeping you rocking.

Varun has the electric guitar.
We need to pick a rock song, we were thinking guns n roses.
Who ever is the actor needs three different outfits.

We don't know where we should meet to do the filming. Any suggestions? We need a rocking chair preferably or a just a wood chair, does any one know where on campus either of these things are?

We also need a stage that looks like a rock concert, maybe a LT.


I'll get the video camera.

Anyway, some of the other work that we have to do is create a marketing plan for Old School. We need concentrate our time on it. You can find the layout/outline of the marketing plan on IVLE workbin.

p.s. If you didn't understand the joke at the beginning of the blog, don't worry we'll explain it later. Edric's impersonation is really funny!

Sunday Morning

So this Sunday morning we had a long, hard meeting. This is what happened in the course of those 4-5 hrs: (pardon the shorthand.. theres a lotta stuff)

1. we discussed our prcing strategy. and our marketing strategy.

• as per survey results, introducing one time visits. first time free when we just talk to them about how we can help them. will they abuse free visits? for second visit 20$ or 30 for home visit (1 hr).
• apart from consultancy fees, 2 other srces of revenue, cuts from other businesses, and membership to the social interaction groups (240 per year).

professional services:

• health/dietary
• travel
• financial

not so professional:

• hobbies (yay CCs!!!)
• community service
• social interaction (membership, 2 activites a month, members get free consultancy)
• public lectures (might fall under social interaction)
• employment (free listing, small cut from employer, if at all)

Liasion officers:

Lora: health/dietary

Reve: Travel

Finance: Edric

Varun: hobbies, comm service

JJ: Social interaction

This week, refine pricing strategy further, start on cost projections.

Marketing stuff:

• brochure (Varun started work on content)
• namecards (LP: upload new cards after removing the elderly people's picture, and coming up with a logo; we are to have a chinese name on teh card as well, will speak abt this tmr)
• Poster/print ads (yay LP!!!)
• radio/television (JJs getting camera this weekend probably, Edric with the cool voice working on script for radio ads)

and for the record:

• we have now visited 3 CCs
• we have spoken to the CEO of SAGE
• we will be speaking to PA soon (the guys in charge of CCs and RCs)
• we know people from AIA (finance), travel, and health (so we got professional services covered)
• and on a lighter note, my uncle is an angel investor, working with some VC (so we don't need to win a competition for our intial investment if we really decide to start up, although that would be nice:P)

Also, we need to start working on our report/business plan, with complete details on well... pretty much everything.

Alright guys, approx 20 days to crunch time.
Keep on moving!!

pics to consider

here are some pics.

Hey... The new business card... i'm not uploading it yet though as we need to finalize our company name. Post any feedback on the tag board. =)

Back on Track!

Gong xi fa cai everyone! Hope everyone is enjoying their *long holiday* (except edric an me, who just have 2 days).





The presentation the other day went off quite well, but as the prof said, we need to get more surveys, streamline our business model, and see how we want to charge (and how much we can).

So now, this is now our plan of action:

1. LP, could you modify the business card, and upload into the workbin by say wedneday? let me know if you need help.

2. We need to have a meeting (a short one, about 30 minutes) so we can modify the questionnaire a bit to suit our slightly-different plan. Alternately, we could go ahead with the same survey, but I think its too simplistic and wont give us the info we need. Also, we need to decide a good day for us to visit places like SAGE, and other CCs, etc. We can split into teams so people can visit places closer to their homes. what do you think? (comment!!)

Our aim should be to have most of our surveys complete by the end of next week (march 2). so that we know how to proceed.

i should think that's pretty much it for now. write a comment about which day youd like to meet (tomorrow anytime, or wed/thurs/fri after school)

alright, thats all. take care everyone, and enjoy your hols!

rock on!