Assignment 5

Do you ever find yourself browsing through your local newspaper, favourite website, or even listening to a regular radio station and wonder why all the adverts blaring at you are for random unnecessary products/services? The way every single person approaches everyday life revolves around the aspect of word of mouth marketing. The word of mouth epidemic is the spreading of information from one person to another in a very quick and short amount of time. This information is passed through a vast amount and variety of situations such as telephone, SMS, emailing or simple blogging/tweeting. My findings from semester 1 involved the idea that certain brands and services sell themselves through a more interesting and bazaar story, intend of an experience. For example, the rubber soles of Keith Richards (lead guitarist of the Rolling Stones) saved his life during an electric shock whilst on stage. In the 90's, Hush Puppies sales blew the roof and a trend had set. Word of Mouth marketing is that simple.

Throughout the numerous lectures, assignments and seminars of semester 2, I have gained and experienced new design methods and techniques which have helped with the workload of my Graphic Design studies. Having experienced these design methods, it is fair to say that they all gain a great deal of information when looking at the research/investigation side of things. Some methods do work more successfully than others though. For my research proposal, I would like to investigate the personal interests and lifestyles of both close friends and those unknown. This investigation will allow me to experience the word of mouth epidemic in a more hands on, one-to-one situation. Using the method of interviews, I will be able to find out a range of products/services/styles etc these people use/have to teach and spread the genius within the word of mouth marketing.

My research will start with the beginning of a mind map, stating down the key things I aim to achieve in the centre of the page. At the top, I will write down a few personal experiences of word of mouth marketing that I can bounce off of the interviewee incase they cannot understand the point I am trying to get across. Next, I will write down a structured set of questions in which I will ask everyone alongside a few follow up questions of a topic I know they can relate to (if interviewing someone I already know). I feel if I make my interview questions simple and easy for myself to read, then I will create a more laid back and comfortable atmosphere resulting in better answers. A main concern by using this method is the idea that if the questions are just being thrown at the interviewee, it may only result in simple yes or no answers. I want to give them the opportunity and time to respond with hope of also asking a few questions of their own to develop the conversation. Alternatively, if I can relate to any returned questions or answers, then it can create a connection between the both of us as we look back on past 'crazes'. I do not intend to write up each persons answers on neither paper or computer. From personal experiences, I always feel an awkward and tense atmosphere when someone interviewing you stops talking for a few minutes to write down the sentences I had just said. To solve this problem, I tend to record each conversation by using any form of recording device. Group interviewing has always been a successful method to bounce and retain information of one another on a chosen topic. Every month or so I work for a market research group which involves an hour or two of my time to sit in a lounge styled room with five other people, the interviewer, two microphones and a large mirror window taking up half of the room. The group contains individuals of both mixed age, gender and race. The research groups range from a large amount of companies such as Carling or Miller beer who come in to investigate what their next step should be in terms of either advertisement, taste or even product packaging. The style of these interviews only have one difference to the way I wish to perform my technique. When investigating such topics like the unnecessary amount of money spent on trends and products, my interviews will consist of groups of the same age and gender. This will effectively create a connection between each of the individuals to reflect back on these events and with hope, understand the concept of why they actually bought the items. It will also be interesting to see if each person regrets such purchases or following such trends.

Word of mouth marketing, I feel, can only be successfully analysed in the form of interviews. The idea of observing individuals to collect information about the certain trends, products they buy, nightclubs visited and early day crazes can be very difficult. The only way in which I would tackle this method of research can only be through the visual analysis of photographs or the observation of the persons home environment. Although I am a very forward and confident guy, I would still not find myself snooping through ones personal belongings. Assignment one of semester two gave me an insight to 'judging a book by its cover' and making a visual analysis of those I had never met before. Having done the experiment now and the results being almost 100% correct, I still do not feel it is the best way to collect information. 

Having experimenting with other methods and taking each outcome fully into consideration, I can only relate back to the successful interviewing technique. Each human speaks on estimate average of between 2000 and 10,000 words a day. Communication is the key to everyday interaction with one another and whether useless or very informative, we use it as a tool to pass information from one to another. The method of interviewing depends solely on communication, and without communication, their would be no word of mouth marketing.






ACTIVITY 5B



5 BOOKS I WOULD LIKE TO READ OVER THE SUMMER:

- Interactive Media: The Semiotics of Embodied Interaction - Shaleph O'neill
- Ethnology: the fundament ethnical problems, the primary ethical groups - A.H. Ken
- The Lucifer Effect - P.Zimbardo
- Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
- More than a name: An introduction to branding - Melissa Davis and Jonathan Baldwin



5 THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO DO TO MY BLOG:

- Create a new design layout for a fresh year next year
- Make each post more visible and easy to read for the each visitor
- I would like to write more about the work in my Graphic Design modules
- I want to touch up on previous assignments even though the semester is done
- Connect with more followers so I have a greater number of people viewing my work

5 PEOPLE I WILL CONTACT OVER THE SUMMER:

- Any local graphic design companies
- Ewan Sneddon to help him out with a logo design for his new landscape business
- Dundee Law School Clinic to develop initial designs for the Clinic badge
- Dave Reid who is working as a junior graphic designer for Schuh in Edinburgh
- My course mates to make sure I am not slacking with work over the summer