What Would You Do?

In the movie Tootsie, the main actor brands himself and creates a certain reputation. This reputation is not one that most people want to have though. Michael has not had a job for two years and wonders why. He talks to his agent and the agent says that no one wants to work with him because he is to much maintenance. This is when we first see the “brand” that Michael has created for himself. “A company entering a crowded market place with a new product may rely on their existing brand to help it succeed” (More Than A Name, 17). In class we have discussed that people look at the past to see what is to come. They use the past to help determine if the brand is something they want to be apart of or not. Based on his past actions, Michael is having a hard time becoming a true actor. The number of actors seeking careers in New York is very high meaning that Michael is trying to compete with a lot of people. However, he is also competing against himself. The existing reputation he has is very poor and in order to get hired he needs to prove that he has changed. If producers had experienced better situations with him then Michael might not have such a hard time finding a job as an actor.  I think that throughout the movie though he has one good quality that could ultimately achieve his goal in getting a better reputation.

In order for a brand to succeed, there must be passion. Michael is very passionate about acting. In the movie Michael is at his birthday party and rather than enjoying it, he is asking people about acting. This helps us see that he cares very strongly about his career as an actor. “The key to good product design…is to care about what you are creating: “It is about focus and caring…Bad products testify to people not caring. Our goal is to develop the very best products we can. Some things you rely on intuitively to say ‘yes, this is right’”(More Than A Name, 170). Michael cares so much about his passion to act that he dresses up as a woman. He does this in hopes to change the way that producers look at him. He wants to gain their respect so that he will be able to get hired more often. Overall, Michael does whatever it takes to overcome what he did wrong when branding himself which was creating a negative outlook that people in the acting business have on him. 

Tag Line

My tag line as a professional in Fashion and Retail Management is "An engaged and enthusiastic person making your brand the best it can be."

Emphasizing your specialty and your five key talents, weaving in your most important values, passions and skills

My specialty is helping people to make fashion choices that will help them show the world who they are. “Branding is a melding of marketing and design, and this crossover between business and creative has generated its own lexicon” (More Than A Name, 9).  My skills and talents allow me to use my business sense and creativity to promote a brand. I am a hard worker and have always been able to do well in school.  As I learn more about the business end of the fashion world I will be able to assess what will be successful and what won’t be.  My creativeness will help a brand expand by providing different solutions for different situations. “The brand language makes concepts easier to explain and is a way of bridging the gap between business expression and creative description in order to describe both the process and the inputs to that process” (More Than A Name, 9). My creativeness and communication skills will allow me to use the brand language to pull people in and get them interested and engaged with a brand.  “Every product or service that operates in a competitive environment needs to be supported by branding and communication to explain to its audience why it exists or why it has changed” ( More Than A Name, 45). My passion for fashion helps me to always be alert to the new trends in the fashion world and to experiment with different ways to work fashion into our lives.  My communication skills and ability to lead others to solutions helps to promote and update a brand.

Statement Of Your Specialty

People have to make many choices every day that touch the fashion world one way or another.  There are hundreds of thousands of brand decisions people make every day.  I believe that all my skills, values, talents, and passions will help me achieve success when dealing with these variations. “60 per cent of the brand should be about the experience, and 40 per cent on the promise” ( More Than A Name, 163). Due to my creative abilities, work ethic, and other skills, I am able to create different experiences for each person I work with. I help customers find products that fit their individual style. “People want to interact and try out products, to see new concepts, and to learn about how they can get the most from their existing product” (More Than A Name, 166). By being able to talk to people in simple terms and actively listening to what they want, I can pull people in and interact with them so they feel a closer connection with me and my brand. This is very important because if they feel connected to the brand then they will keep coming back and will be a regular client.  My creativeness will allow me to help to repurpose clothing and accessories, thereby encouraging customers to stay with my brand. “We expect more from brands and are influenced by changes in society, like globalization, travel, media proliferation and coverage of brands, and wider and greater individual spending power” (More Than A Name, 9). Brands have to change with society.  Today brand information has to be catchy, quickly accessible, and long lasting.  Everyone today has a voice about brands because there are so many media options to express the good and bad aspects of a brand. 

Top Five Talents

Out of all my talents and qualities, I believe the ones that best tell my story and have helped to develop my strong work ethic include the following: my strong organizational skills, my communication skills, my ability to lead others towards solutions, my creativeness, and my attention to detail. “The ‘human factor’ talks about how brands and individuals are now seeking to connect at a different level with more audience participation and truthful engagement” (More Than A Name, 214). I think that the qualities I possess are important in the fashion industry and will allow me pull in customers even more. 

Talents

As a kid I always felt the need to be successful.  I learned early in life that in order to be successful I would have to have great communication skills, listen to others well, work hard, think quickly, and be very organized.  My teachers, parents, and peers have always recognized me for my strong work ethic and organizational  and communication skills. I was always the one student that would turn in all my work completed and on time. I still complete my work on time and keep it organized. This helps me be responsible.  Being organized helps me realize deadlines and stay on track. Another talent I have is paying close attention to detail. As a result, I am very good at analyzing different situations and coming up with solutions.  I have always enjoyed communicating with others in ways other than with words.  I love to draw and to dance and I have been blessed to be able to share such talents with others.   “A SWOT analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats…” (More Than A Name, 36). A SWOT analysis is something that every brand promotion needs in order to see what steps must be taken for success.  I am very good at reviewing details, planning things, implementing a resolution or plan. “No brand exists in a vacuum, and a PEST analysis helps a company determine the political, economic, social and technological environment the brand will live in” (More Than A Name, 73). This is another type of analysis that can be done in order to determine if a brand will be successful - looking at all the details and assessing the overall plan. I have always been a very creative person as exemplified by my quilting, scrapbooking, and school projects.  When I was younger, my projects were always the most elaborate. I would staple fabric, rhinestones,  and all other embellishments to poster boards to make them stand out. “The brand experience is the real and tangible showcase of the brand and is expressed through dozens of individual opportunities” ( More Than A Name, 162). I use my creative talents to help create a special experience for someone whether it is a customer or someone else. Another quality I have is leadership. In high school I was the senior class vice president. If there is a problem, I am willing to speak up and offer another way to achieve the overall goal. I believe that I work harder than most people and look deeply into my work so I can notice every detail. “The consumer is buying something larger than the product or service: they are buying into the philosophy and the spirit behind the brand” (More Than A Name, 162). One of the last talents I have is being able to work with other people. In branding, you must work with many different people. “The relationship and level of involvement between the two will depend on the company. Marketing and R&D will come together at specific review stages of a product design process” (More Than A Name,170). People from different parts of the company will at some point need to work with each other and it is important for them to be able to get along. If they don't then it will be hard to make choices that will move the company forward. By having the talents and qualities mentioned above, I can give a brand or company the best service possible.

Passions

As cliché as this sounds, my passion is for fashion. People are always trying to find different ways to express themselves and one way to do this is through fashion - clothing, accessories, and scents.  Everyone’s style is different and unique from one another.  A shy person can have confidence if their clothing makes them feel good about themselves.  The vice president of Apple says, “It is about focus and caring. We know every bit of the product inside-out because we need to understand what is possible. Bad products testify to people not caring. Our goal is to develop the very best products we can. Some things you rely on intuitively to say ‘yes, this is right” (More Than A Name, 170). My passion is to help people express their personality through their clothes. As part of this, it is very important to me that things are done right and that a product/brand will last over time.  “Brands often struggle with trying to be all things to all people. One simple story will help focus the aims of the brand or the brand project and create a single goal” (More Tan A Name, 75). I believe in simplicity.  It is belter to be simple in branding so customers can understand the brand and easily associate it with various things. 

Core Values

There are many core values that matter to me as a student in the fashion and retail management industry.  The primary core values include respecting the customer, consistency, honesty, creativity, along with a good work ethic.  These core values will help to provide the customer with a good experience.  I feel that a person in the fashion industry should always be thinking about the customer’s experience and satisfaction. “Any successful brand needs to be part of a clearly defined set of objectives” (More Than A Name, 41).  One of the objectives for a brand should be to create something that the customer wants. In order to do this successfully, there should be a clear set of objectives.  If this is completed then the customer will be happy and the brand will be successful. Another task that will make the customer happy is service. “Service is the key seller for business and consequently it is the relationships between people that matter. Businesses selling products differentiate themselves by the after-sales care and support; by dedicated sales people who look after the client; and by an acknowledgement that maintaining the client relationship is important” (More Than A Name, 114). If you provide a customer with great service they will want to come back to you, your product, or your store repeatedly. The customer’s good experience will allow them to feel respected and result in increased profits and sales.  “Brands need to have a deeper connection with their consumers if they are to thrive and prosper” (More Than A Name, 73). I feel that a significant connection is important because it can build long lasting relationships with customers, which will enable brand expansion, more sales, increased profits, and satisfaction.  Overall, the one thing that really matters to me most is providing the customer with a great experience.

Primary "Product"

At this point in my career, as a student, I am learning and growing as a professional in the fashion and retail management field. As such, my “primary product” is not an actual product but rather a service – based on my many traits, skills, and talents – essentially my personal brand.  “Every part of a marketing communications mix impacts the brand: advertising, design, market research, public relations, investor relations and social responsibility” (More Than A Name, Melissa Davis, 9). In marketing my personal brand to others I will need to clearly communicate to my target audience and advertise my skills, traits, and talents which include a good work ethic, great listener, well organized, detail oriented, responsible, a good communicator, passionate, creative, and up to date with the latest fashion trends.  This will help people to be drawn to my personal brand.  As well, I will need to package myself so that it is consistent with my message.   “Knowledge of trends can be used to generate ideas or campaigns, or be fed into a longer-term brand strategy” (More Than A Name, 128). If a company is looking for someone that will work hard, stay up to date on trends, and explore new and creative ideas that will make the brand stay “fresh”, then they have found the right person.   “A brand may succeed in getting your attention, but to be memorable it must ‘engage’ you” (More Than A Name, Melissa Davis, 106). I will need to promote my brand in such a way that people are so interested in it that they actually search for it.  This will not only attract new customers but will hopefully attract them to all items associated with the brand.  This will increase the successfulness of the brand and increase profits and sales. A brand should be more than just getting customers through the door. 

How has fashion, design, and creativity changed you?

Over the years I have not really thought about who I am as a person. Not until recently did I really start to think about the question "Who am I?". I did not grow up in a place where fashion and design were important to people. As a result, I always felt alone in some way until just recently. I just moved to Las Vegas a couple months ago for my first quarter of college. It is the first time I have had to deal with the real world and have many first-time experiences. With these situations I have faced I have tried to learn from them and grow as an individual. “Creativity has been pegged to conducive environments, perfect collaborators, personality traits, serendipity, and even spiritual muses” (http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/creativity). Due to the fact that I am going to the Art Institute in Las Vegas, I am surrounded by creative people everyday. I am always seeing new trends and looks and I find them inspiring. “…pointing to inspiring people and allowing ourselves to be impressed is very important.  It teaches us that great things are possible” (http://www.relaxfocussucceed.com/Articles/2003040001.htm). Being inspired by all the students around me has made me realize that there is nothing to be afraid of. Over the years, I have been a very shy person and I have not had the confidence to say what I am thinking. This is because I fear that if my ideas are different compared to other peoples then I am wrong, but after seeing how creative people can be I have realized that difference is good. People are never going to view something the same way. It is always going to be different. “The fashion world understands that creativity is a collaborative and community affair” (http://learcenter.org/pdf/RTSControlofCreativity.pdf). Since I am studying fashion, this realization has led me to try new looks. It is making me expand my ideas and outlook as a fashion professional and it will continue to grow as I experience more in my lifetime. 

How To Make It In America Analysis

In How To Make It In America, I was able to see what to do and what not to do when trying to create a brand. From the beginning of the show Cam and Ben did not have a plan whatsoever. They simply just went with the flow. When they first created their brand Crisp they were searching for a supplier of denim but payed no attention to the fact that they needed a pattern maker first. This wasted a lot of their time that they could have spent creating a pattern and selling their product. They should have created a SWOT analysis to help identify there weakness’ and strengths. “A SWOT analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and can be used in many different situations” (How Brands Are Made, 36). Cam and Ben also did not make very smart investments. They got their loans from a loan shark which ultimately lost them some money rather than make money. One thing they did very well was network. They were always going to events and talking to people that they knew were in the business. “Brands can also use promotion to set a brand experience and product expectation even before the product or service is launched” (How Brands Are Made, 163). Cam and Ben were promoting their brand and trying to talk people into helping them with their product. I think that if Cam and Ben were more organized and created a list of objectives with their brand and the development of it they would have been a lot more successful. They would have been able to identify their competitors, their overall cost to make the product, the time needed, and many other things. “Any successful brand needs to be part of a clearly defined set of objectives. Good objectives are often described as ‘SMART’”(How Brands Are Made, 41). SMART is the minimum objectives that one should look at when starting a brand. It stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time. If they would have looked at all these objectives then I think they would've been able to do a lot more with Crisp than just selling 300 t-shirts.