Unit two: recommendation report and consulting
After going through the process of researching, writing, and designing the backgrounder, our 420 class is now focused on building a recommendation report. Throughout the assignment, the students will be working as a sort of consulting team in order to work through the following scenario: I am an independent business owner who just opened up a vintage clothing store (Kairos Clothing) in West Lafayette that specializes in slightly worn, high-end clothing. I'm new to the area and have yet to establish any connection to the local community. What I'm looking for is a way to establish myself locally (essentially creating a brand).
As such, each group will begin researching my needs as the business owner in order to create an advertising "package". Essentially, the groups are competing for my business. We have four groups currently working: Group 1 is focusing on incorporating social media through mobile technology, Group 2 is a design firm looking at the possible promotional materials they can create to further build interest locally, Group 3's specialty is working with physical promotional materials such as t-shirts, frisbees, etc., and Group 4 is keen on building my digital presence in a way that will be beneficial to building my own identity while connecting with the community.
In addition to traditional research (polls, surveys, demographic information), each group will focus on an actual community event here in the Lafayette area where I can get the word out (such as Mosey Down Main Street, a football game, etc.).
The goal here is to recommend a series of strategies, keeping in mind an initial budget of $1500 for promotional materials, that will best situate me within the community. This will be put together in a recommendation report, which will hopefully build upon their prior individual research.
