Result!

Today, I went into University for my seminar about our Project proposals, our ideas and learning about General Touch Points - the Pre, Present and Post points of the promotional campaign.

I found this seminar useful, as the smaller class size enabled us to discuss our campaign ideas in a more successful manner as we were not each constrained to time to put our idea across and I feel we each received good feedback and opinions from the other seminar members and our Lecturer. I feel it was one of the more successful classes that I have had so far and will therefore try to attend this seminar time (12-1pm) more often as previous times the classes have felt rushed (due to large numbers of people) and not very progressive or successful.

I was able to have a tutorial with my Lecturer and have sorted my idea for my final campaign, which I am very relieved about.

The Plan:

To create an Educational Scheme in association with Early Learning Centre and a charity (possibly WWF), to inspire and stimulate artistic ideas within schoolchildren (initial target age range - Infants to Year 9). Having stages of the scheme appropriate for different ages of children, will implant creativity and an artistic basis of thinking/approaching things at different ages, hoping to evolve more creative thinkers and an increase in those wanting to study more artistic courses later in their education (if more creative people are needed?, like Engineers or Scientists needed in UK at the moment).

• ELC will supply the mechanics and analysis of learning.
• WWF (or similar charity) will supply awareness of animals and nature with an emotional, caring aspect.

• Both will work together to produce an informative module catering for different school ages/stages, with incentives for both the children involved, the charity - spreading awareness, donations likely to be given, and ELC - also brand awareness, but they can learn about the older child outside of their current target range and possibly make their product ranges larger to cater for the older ages.

These sessions will be taught in school during the usual hours. This integrates the activities with the usual educational curriculum, allows all children in the selected schools to participate and does not create any logistical problems (e.g. if the classes were held pre- or after-school or at an ELC store, like my original idea).

A pilot scheme is likely to be positioned in a number of schools in a certain area, for example, disadvantaged areas within London, or a central region within the Midlands, or Manchester, Liverpool, etc. This will develop with further research.

My next step is to look into:

Secondary research

• Any similar projects which are currently or have been present in the past and their results.
• Get Mintel and News reports to set the grounding for my rationale. Why do this scheme?!
• How children learn, integrate and participate.
• Look at suitable charities to associate my scheme with.
• Look at brand values of ELC.
• Lego, Blue Peter, CBeebies and other educational children programmes, how their competitions work, etc.
• Write my proposal to send to my Lecturer, so he can read and send back to me if any changes need to be made.
• Thinking very carefully about my Project Objectives, as these will direct my promotional campaign greatly and all my 'visuals' and decisions will relate back to my set objectives.
• Read and take notes from Brand Marketing books that I have taken out of the university Library.

I am setting Wednesday night as my target deadline for most of these tasks, however this is not realistic for all of them. Another personal deadline is to have all this research complete by next Monday, giving me under a week. As from next Monday, I will be target customer profiling and moving onto my primary research stage.