Reflective Writing

When I was first set this assignment I was nervous, excited and anxious to get started. I was worried about the amount of work the project encompassed and if I would be able to achieve it in the time scale. Furthermore, one of the main aspects of the project was to create and direct a 30 second advert, when we were first told about this I thought I would really struggle as the majority of my work is academic based with creativity behind the writing.

I found this unit very challenging, but it allowed me to gain new skills and knowledge and put into practice skills I haven’t utilised before, including directing and creating an advert, sales forecasting, excel skills and creating a blog. These are key skills I will be able to bring into a future career and continuously build upon.

The Business Plan I decided to launch was Mulberry Make-Up, a capsule collection of cosmetic products for a designer brand. Through completing primary research, the idea seemed viable and consisted of many interesting aspects I could explore. 

Additionally, Mulberry is constantly growing as a brand and has recently opened a new flagship store on New Bond Street with all product categories available; this also corresponds with their online store where all product ranges are available. Therefore, the next step for Mulberry would be to launch a capsule makeup range in aid of their 40^th Anniversary as they cover all over product types.

Therefore, once I had established my research and was able to justify why I would create this plan I set about planning my Marketing and Promotional strategies, which is the part I enjoy. I was able to put into practice all the skills and knowledge I have gained from the previous 2 years and my work experience at a leading PR company, and created a plan suitable for a capsule makeup range.

Mulberry was a great brand to choose as they publish all their figures including profit and sales revenue, this allowed me to establish a viable budget and sales forecast in correlation with my objectives. Furthermore, Mulberry are constantly growing, with sales and profit increasing year on year, this therefore gave me room to fulfil all the ideas I had.

In conclusion looking back the aspects I would improve and take on board for next time would be my time keeping, and making sure I spend the same amount of time on all stages of the project. This would allow me to work in a strategic fashion.

However, I am extremely pleased with my work and feel I have put into practice all the skills and knowledge taught over the past two years. This project has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and prove to myself I am capable of creating an advert, which I am very proud of.  I would like to thank my Tutors for encouraging me and guiding me to create a successful project. 

Sales Forecast

Completing my advert felt like a weight had been lifted as it was a huge part of the assignment and my marketing and promotions plan/strategy could not be completed until the advert was. Therefore I have now been able to finalize my budget, complete my gantt chart and establish the media i will be targeting.

Therefore, the last part of my assignment that needed to be completed was my Sales Forecast. I established the amount of sales Mulberry would need to make by finding 4% of their sales revenue (£72 million) as my objective is for Mulberry Makeup to see a growth in sales of 4%. This meant in a year Mulberry Makeup would have to make £2,884,000, i was then able to forecast the sales of each month depending on seasonal change and promotional activity and the amount of units that would need to be sold.

This then allowed me to establish my controls and evaluation, make recommendations and conclude.

My Finished Advert

When we were first set this assignment creating the advert was the one part I was dreading, as I am not usually very creative, my work is more academic. However, when I had came up with my idea and saw it beginning to come to life I was extremely excited about the prospect of it turning out much better than I had previously thought.

I cast my two friends Siobhan and Amy as the models in my advert and filmed the advert outside in a garden to emphasis nature, flowers and to gain better light. I am extremely pleased with my advert and feel the message I was trying to portray has clearly been display with a running theme of natural beauty and nature.

This is my finished advert for Mulberry Makeup -

Something Extra

This is the Magazine Advert I created which will be featured in core fashion magazines.

Story Board

This is my Mulberry Make-Up Story Board and the form my advert will be taking. I have already decided on my music it is by Emma's Imagination and is called This Day.

Mulberry Make-up Story Board references

Conquer Maps (2011). Image available from: < http://conquermaps.tumblr.com/page/2> (Image accessed 20^th May 2011)

Daily Mail (2010). Image available from: <

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1296774/Animal-alcohol-free-make-launched-UK-meet-demand-halal-cosmetics.html> (Image accessed 20^th May 2011)

Jamie Nelson (2011). Image available from: < http://www.jamienelson.com/beauty/3/8.htm> (Image accessed 20^th May 2011)

Tallulahdoll (2011). Image available from: < http://tallulahdoll.com/model-lindsay-wixson/mlbry_ss11_campain-jpg-sp-indd/ > (Image accessed 20^th May 2011)

123rf (2011). Image available from: < http://www.123rf.com/photo_8656269_attractive-woman-putting-on-lip-gloss-indoors.html > (Image accessed 20th May 2011)

123rf (2011). Image available from: < http://www.123rf.com/photo_4639612_two-girls-lying-on-grass-with-flowers-in-their-hair.html > (Image accessed 20th May 2011)

Moodboard

This is my Moodboard and portrays my inspiration for Mulberry Makeup and the advert I will be creating.

It portrays nature, flowers, natural beauty, bright colours and soft makeup all key themes I want to capture in my advert.

Inspiration

I am really happy with my brand idea and it has allowed me to be extremely creative in my planning for my advert. This is because Mulberry are innovative, slightly quirky (in their campaigns), have a strong brand identity and step outside the box. Furthermore, when creating my advert i want it to follow the same themes as Mulberry have previously used, so it continues to portray the brand.

Additionally, Mulberrys logo is the Mulberry Tree and the brand is based in Somerset emphasizing nature and natural materials. Therefore, I want my advert to follow these guidelines and the main theme to be outdoors and flowers, and as Makeup is the new product I believe 'natural beauty' is a strong theme.