Enthusiastic Enterprises

Hello, welcome to my blog which I will use to document the ‘Enterprise’ module as part of my Television Production MA course at Birmingham City University.

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Enthusiastic Enterprises - The Service (Assessment One)

What is my entrepreneurial idea?

My service involves producing short promotional videos for small independent online vintage clothing retailers, which they can then use to endorse their products and brand. I carried out various processes in gathering my ideas for this project. Some concepts were generated using creative thinking mind maps, whilst others came from constructing a business model canvas, examples of these processes can be found here: (http://enthusiasticenterprisesltd.tumblr.com/post/151758386561/creative-thinking-methods, http://enthusiasticenterprisesltd.tumblr.com/post/151432573876/the-business-model-canvas-this-canvas-is-composed) .  In its infant stages the service will offer basic but bespoke videos meeting the client’s criteria, and steadily becoming more sophisticated as the company develops.  The style of the videos will be dependent on the time period that the clothing originates, for example an item from the 1940s or 50s may be shot in black and white, with the set décor reflecting the era. I will also be offering various formats of video, beginning with simple advertisements and then branching out to content such as ‘how to’ videos. These will give customers some tips on how to modify clothing to best suit them, as well as advice on how to construct vintage outfits.  Examples of high profile retailers who are already doing this can be found here along with some more detail on the videos I will offer: http://enthusiasticenterprisesltd.tumblr.com/post/152698311511/whos-already-out-there.

1950′s fashion models, an example of an aesthetic from a potential 1950′s advert 

Who is already out there?

Advertising is everywhere and there are plenty of freelance videographers out there who do similar things, the fact that I am focussing on a particular niche section of this market will help me stand out and provide a market. Shelly Jones is a London based freelanced photographer and videographer, who works producing fashion related media. Her portfolio is particularly atmospheric; she has completed projects for Revlon and appeared in Italian Vogue. Shelly is an example of a practitioner who works for high end fashion outlets and has risen to the very peak of her discipline. Some of her creations can be viewed at the following website: http://milkandblue.com/. Although Shelly works at the top of the fashion world with a very different type of cliental, her work is very influential as it is my intent to provide the option of distinctly innovative videos.

Shelly Jones’ online portfolio 

Shelly Jones’ -Imperfect Youth 

Who is my target audience?

As this is an enterprise task, approaching fellow vintage fashion entrepreneurs really appealed to me for this service. I will be focusing on clients who want to publicize their businesses further through visual media but possibly won’t have the time, knowledge or resources to carry out this work for themselves, therefore allowing me to bring the service to them. These individuals may be operating their businesses as a side project through social media, with the desire to enhance it to the next level.

What is my existing research?

As part of my existing research, I contacted the owner of a Manchester based vintage clothing company called ‘Hey Retro’. Katie Kenny is an English and film graduate who established the business selling clothing through Facebook and on the website ‘Etsy’, capitalising on her love for vintage clothing. The only physical selling that Hey Retro do is at fairs and boot sales.  I have utilized this particular business as a case study for my service. She was very complimentary about the concept, revealing that she would undoubtedly use it, feeling positive that it would deliver her business a further online presence. I also explored how my service would be supported by contemporary technology. Facebook now plays videos on the user’s newsfeed automatically without the need to physically start them. This means that if my clients customers are following the company Facebook page they will undoubtedly be routinely exposed to my videos, capturing more user’s attention, as they innocently scroll. This feature means that including videos in brand advertising is becoming significantly more effective on Facebook, Hey Retro being an example of a company who could benefit from this feature. Website ‘Digiday’ described auto-play videos as a shift in advertising, the Internet was once like a newspaper and is now becoming more like TV, where content is playing constantly.  

Hey Retros Facebook page 

Hey Retro’s Etsy Page 

What are the next research steps?

The next steps of my research will see me explore further communications with Hey Retro and its customers, I would like their feedback on whether they feel that videos promoting a product influence their participation with the brand. I have located several Facebook groups where people sell their vintage clothing, these pages allow you to set up surveys and so I would pursue the gathering of data on whether these potential clients would use my service and would be more drawn towards artistic videos or more practical, ‘how to’ guides. Setting up some focus groups with Birmingham City University fashion students would also provide me with an important insight into what the client would want from this type of service, what sort of prices they would pay and in what frequency.  Further research would also comprise asking similar questions to an extensive array of existing independent fashion retailers.

Below is my video pitch presentation for this assessment 

Video pitch presentation for Enthusiastic Enterprises freelance service 

Bibliography 

‘Like it or not, autoplay video won’ by Digiday UK: http://digiday.com/publishers/autoplay-video-beat-regular-video-sorry-guys/  

Hey Retro Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HeyRetro?ref=pr_shop_more

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Who’s already out there?

Mrs Mashup Films are a freelance video production company, based in Bristol, who specialize in producing films of vintage weddings. These videos are shot in a aesthetically beautiful manner, and really capture the clients big day in style. Although shooting weddings is not a part of my enterprise concept, the work of this particular company is very influential in the type of artistic productions that I want to form.           

Mrs Mashup Wedding films website, displaying a still from one of their productions 

Shelly Jones is a London based photographer and videographer, who works as a freelancer producing fashion related media. Her work is particularly atmospheric, she has completed projects for Revlon and appeared in Italian Vogue. She is an example of someone that works for high end fashion outlets and has risen to the very top of her field. Her portfolio of artistic productions mirror the type of videos that I want to explore and offer to clients. 

Shelly Jones video ‘Revelation’ 

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England on We Heart It - http://weheartit.com/entry/166446710

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This type of aesthetic really intrigues me, and would be one of the available styles to clients. The colours really make this photograph vibrant, with a very patriotic, 1953 Coronation feel. 

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1950s Home Decor

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As my service progresses, I would recreate scenarios for my videos, such as the one in the post above. Here we would see clothes from the 1950′s being modeled in a room decorated appropriately for that era. 

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Business Model Canvas Focus

Value Proposition

The premise of this business concept is that it acts as a useful service to small online vintage fashion retailers whom either do not have the knowledge, time or facilities to promote themselves through video advertising. Entrepreneurs in their own rights, these individuals will benefit from increased brand exposure through a sophisticated means of promoting their products and brand. Users of social media will take far more notice of visual imagery appearing on their feeds, increasing the profile of the brand. Therefore, online vintage fashion retailers become the clients for this business.  

Key Activities 

Producing, shooting and editing short advertisements and promotional videos are the key activities that combine to form this service. For these to work efficiently I would have to secure the equipment and maintain it’s functionality, ensuring that the correct tools are used for each task. Every clients preferences would be slightly different and so require care and attention towards the direction of the filmed content (filming styles, how they want their products and brand represented). Deadlines must be met strictly on time, building a reputation for efficiency and reliability. This service relies heavily on positive feedback being distributed by the client within their networks and through the quality of the product displayed online.  As well as this, it’s important to upgrade equipment when and where possible, continually building a higher quality service. 

Customer Segments 

It is important that this service targets a niche section of the marketplace, and serves a specific type of customer. In this case very small, entrepreneurial individuals who are selling their items through social media and profiles on larger fashion retailers stores websites are the main target.  Clients can be split into several different pools depending on their individual requirements. Some will be willing to spend more than others on content, and want to promote specific aspects. Going into each job I would have to be prepared that some clients will know exactly what they want produced, down to the fine details, whilst others will be more reliant on my vision and rely on the production for the creative spark. Each client must be evaluated on an case by case basis. 

The Mom Test

A book by Rob Fitzpatrick, ‘the Mom Test’ is a quick guide to the generation of quality business concepts, that is designed to help people find a definitive answer to whether their idea is viable before attempting to kick start it. It’s based on the idea that when you ask your Mother if she likes your idea chances are that she will say it sounds great, regardless of if it actually does, this theory extends to a wide range of people, family and friends for example. It’s crucial that when starting up any potential business venture that you speak to the potential customer in depth and generate a solid structure of how your proposition can work.     

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Creative Thinking Methods

Following on from the session on creative thinking I decided to form a mind map exploring all the possible production options for my enterprise. 

The image above displays the creative process that I undertook to expand on my initial concept and evolve it into something unique. This mind map helped me to immediately explore new avenues for content, areas of which I had not previously considered. During this process I came up with the idea for shooting period pieces that feature a certain level of acting within the relevant time scenario, the consumer visualizing the inception and then the journey of that item of clothing. Offering an original, niche service enables my enterprise to stand out from competitors and offer something specialized towards vintage clothing.  

“If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it. “

- Albert Einstein    

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The Business Model Canvas 

This canvas is composed of nine sections that come together to form the basis for my business proposition, investigating and exploring each aspect of the plan. 

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Enterprise project initial concept

Last year I completed my bachelors degree in Media and Communications, achieving first class honors, as part of the course I was immersed in the world of media production in several fields, which culminated in the creation of a short horror film for my dissertation project. The next stage in my media journey is a MA in Television Production, my work on this module will reflect this. 

After I graduated I completed some brief work in Manchester producing, shooting and then editing some short promotional videos, which highlighted the availability and functionality of a range of disabled living aids. For this module I would like to expand on my experience with creating short promotional videos to advertise retail goods, in particular the goods of a small vintage clothes retailer. 

My role would include documenting the process of sourcing vintage clothing, shooting short advertisements and using video promote the clients brand. I will be focusing on very small businesses, collaborating with fellow entrepreneurs who use mostly social media to sell goods. These videos will then be used on social networking sites such as Tumblr and Facebook to engage with the clients customer base.  The collaboration of creativity is a big selling point for me on this project, working with other operating entrepreneurs is a great opportunity to learn and progress myself. Leadbeater and Oakley describe the importance of collaborative work within young aspiring entrepreneurs in their text ‘The Independants’ (1999), for them the key factor for building your career is strong networks. Combining the aspects of video production alongside people already carrying out what I’m seeking to achieve makes this particular project ideal for me on this module.         

Bibliography 

Leadbeater, C & Oakley, K (1999) The Independents. London: Demos  

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Welcome to enterprise

Hello, welcome to my blog which I will use to document the ‘Enterprise’ module as part of my Television Production MA course at Birmingham City University.