This blog post is part of an assignment for COMM 465: Marketing Management, with Phaedra Burke. 

My experience working on this marketing project has reminded me that I need to be assertive when working in a group. When things need to be done and no one is stepping up to do it, I can step up and do it. At the same time, I also need to remember to stand my ground. When I feel like I’m starting to do other people’s work, I need to address it and be assertive in asking others to do their part. I am also reminded of the importance of acknowledging the hard and good work of my teammates and how important it is, as a team, to stick to agreed-upon deadlines. It really affects the efficiency of meetings when the team is able to get together in person. For team work it is also very important to always have a devil’s advocate because “just rolling with it” can result in ending up with a project that isn’t as well thought out as it could be.

I developed my ability to edit videos a little bit, as well as my ability to communicate my ideas to teammates, especially conceptual ideas for something creative like this. I also developed my ability to be assertive and not worry so much about being perceived as “bossy”. I always kind of end up in the position of delegating and reminding teammates though, so I’m experimenting and trying to figure out how to not always be stuck in that position. It is exhausting but necessary. Next time I would like for a team to function so well that there doesn’t need to be a picker-upper/reminder person, but I’m still trying to figure out how that happens.

With regards to marketing, this project has really taught me that thorough research at the very beginning is extremely important, as well as research during the project itself and keeping up to date with the company’s news. These things can greatly affect strategies made/sectors chosen. It is also important to remember that what I want as a consumer is not necessarily what is best for the company. Additionally, segments that seem the most profitable (i.e. they are rich) are not necessarily the segment that a company would do best to target. Positioning and where most competitors are are factors that need to be considered carefully. Some positions might seem appealing but there are too many competitors in the same area. It may be more profitable to actually position a company somewhere unexpected but where there are next to no competitors.

All in all, I learned quite a few things about myself, working in a team, and about marketing through this marketing plan assignment.