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.
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
‘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
