Peyton Whittington: ENT 3003

Five ways that I think I have human capital: 1. Honest: I've been told that this is my most admirable quality. I never beat around the bush and you never have to wonder where you stand with me. The same goes for my work. I'll never sugarcoat anything and I'm able to adapt when confronted with constructive criticism. 2. Observant: I tend to hang back and take in what is going on around me before I make a move. I spend a great deal of time collecting information and analyzing it before I finally make a decision. I have never been one to behave recklessly. 3. Hardworking: Simply put, I stay on my grind until the job is done. I try my best to not only get the work done on time but to make sure that everything I produce is quality work. 4. Forward-thinking: I always try to stay a step ahead of the game. Being a journalist means that I'm always working in a fast-paced environment, and I have the progressive mindset to keep up with this type of work. 5. Intuitive: I have ...

The segment I picked last time included young people who spend a large portion of their discretionary income on makeup and skincare and are involved in makeup culture. This week, I interviewed a few more of my friends who fit this market segment. Alternative evaluation:  At first, I thought it might be hard to interview the subjects on alternative evaluation since there aren't many alternatives to the product I'm offering. Instead, I decided to ask them about how they evaluate alternatives for makeup and makeup tools to understand how the market thinks about this class of products in general so I can apply it to my own innovative product. One interviewee said that the quality/functionality of a product matters more than brand name, but they'll go with a more expensive brand if the packaging is cool enough to be a collector's item. Another said that you get what you pay for with beauty products, so she usually sticks to trusted brands who are known for their quality p...

1)  Tenaciousness is a competency.  What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course?  Reporting is widely considered to be the most difficult class in the journalism college. On top of getting your weekly story done, you must always be thinking about what you will cover next week. It's a constant revolving door of work that just doesn't allow for procrastination. I've found that the same skills and work "flow" I developed in reporting I am now using to manage my time in this class. You know what's coming every week, so you need to plan accordingly. I'm not a "work a little each day" person, so I usually find a day during the week with nothing else going on and knock everything out.  2)  Tenaciousness is also about attitude.  Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the...

Choosing a segment: For this assignment, I chose my largest, easiest to access segment. This is the segment of ordinary consumers who are beauty and makeup enthusiasts. I spoke to a few of my friends who are really into makeup, all women in their early 20s. I feel like the hotel/Airbnb manager segment is one I have nailed down, but I think I really need to understand the majority of my customers before proceeding. After all, by targeting these managers, they are targeting these same consumers as well. Thus, understanding regular makeup enthusiasts who are interested in this product is crucial to my business' success. Need awareness: All three agreed that the need is most prevalent in hotel rooms. They said they've never been to a hotel with the proper lighting for makeup application. One interviewee said that she packs a portable mirror when she travels so she can do her makeup sitting in front of the hotel room window. This piece of information is good for me because the con...

I read To Be Loved by Berry Gordy. Here are my thoughts: 1. What surprised you the most? I suppose what surprised me most is that Gordy's description of how he treated and paid his artists. I went into the book knowing how many accusations have surfaced concerning him cheating his artists and their creative teams. Of course, this is just his retelling of events, so I'm not sure how much of it is true. The way he explains everything sounds very equitable, but everybody has their side of the story. Gordy was a man who started as a young songwriter, so it makes sense that he would understand where these people were coming from and give them fair pay. Unless everyone involved in founding Motown writes their own book, I guess we'll never know. 2.What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? I admired Gordy's insistence on everyone in the company speaking freely about what they did and did not like, regardless of their rank. He even describes an instance where he hired a...

1. You: I am a senior journalism major at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. I know how to communicate effectively and concisely. I work part-time assisting a freelance graphic designer, so I am proficient in visual communication as well. I know what it takes to catch someone's eye or ear and hold their attention. All of these skills would help me develop and market the product to my target audiences. I have been a makeup lover ever since I was a kid. My favorite beauty product was Lipsmacker's chapstick, and the only way I'd let my dad leave for work in the morning was with the promise that he would bring me home a "tik-tik" (lipstick). He kept a 10-pack of Lipsmacker's in his car and brought one in for me each night when he came home. This is a silly story, but it's a testament to my lifelong love for makeup that it was the only thing that could soothe the pain of missing my dad when he was at work. I know what it...

(My dog cried until I let him in the room with me, so pardon any bulldog snores you might hear.)

Who: Through my interviews, I found that the type of hotel I market the mirror to will be very indicative of my success. A hotel manager of a successful hotel on International Drive said that he'd be very interested in the product to improve his customer experience. However, the manager of a local motel said that the product wouldn't be worth the money to replace all the existing mirrors. Besides, his clientele just doesn't include many people who care that much about their makeup. Others I talked to were regular consumers who just weren't interested in the product. Two college-aged makeup enthusiasts said that nothing can look like natural sunlight except natural sunlight, so they'd probably end up moving around to do their makeup anyway. One middle-aged woman said that she didn't find the lighting bothersome when doing her makeup, so she wouldn't have a real need for the product anyway. What: The problem that the two college-aged interviewees brought up...

In my last post, I described the problem of trying to do one's makeup in poor lighting, whether at home or while traveling. Applying makeup in the wrong lighting can lead to poor blending or discoloration. My interviews in the last assignment revealed that people who use makeup often have to move around when doing their makeup to test their shading in different lighting. I hinted at it, but I think the best solution to this problem would be a mirror that can intuitively color correct the lighting in any room to reflect the appearance of natural sunlight, the best lighting for applying makeup. For example, this mirror would be able to sense the green tones of fluorescent lighting and color correct them to look more like sunlight. This way, the user does not have to move around while doing their makeup to capture the best lighting.  The target market segments would probably be hotels and makeup enthusiasts. This is why I think a hanging mirror would work better than a portable mir...