Brandcenter Update

The Tap Project is well underway. Our class tomorrow should create more tasks but a much clearer path to the project. As Project Manager, I look forward to hearing everyone's ideas and really look forward to making this as successful as possible. We met today with a couple folks from the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and they were extremely excited about our project and said they would help out when they could. While we didn't necessarily get their support, its nice to know people will arrange meetings with others if necessary.

On to my Independent Study. I had a bit of a hiccup with presenting my project plan. After further review of what I originally handed in, I added some more detail and flushed it out in a few areas. Here is the current Project Plan:



Company:

Path 101 is a NYC-based startup company focused on career discovery on the web. The site helps everyone from college students to professionals in late-career transition figure out their next career steps using innovative analysis of publicly available resumes and profiles, community powered advice, and personality assessments. Users can figure out what "people like me" are doing with their careers and the site aims to be the first stop for career research--a "pre-Monster.com".

Challenge:

As a company of two, Path 101 has little time to focus on their marketing tactics after launch. They are spending most of their time working toward launching the site and gathering enough information to become a useful site for its audience. The CEO believes that marketing is important but with its main audience being college students and young professionals, he isn’t sure how to reach both in a cost-effective yet powerful way.

Objectives:

1. Develop a brand awareness strategy for professionals aged 25-34
2. Develop a marketing strategy for college career centers
3. Study the marketing habits of consumer startup websites

Research:

In order for me to achieve the three objectives we have established, conducting a wide range of research is vital. I have already conducted two meetings with University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Career Centers in order to introduce myself and get to know their offices better. This will allow me to lean on their offices for more in-depth research when necessary. I also plan on surveying career centers across the country in order to discover a smart marketing strategy for Path 101.

Thankfully, I know quite a few people who are unhappy with their careers and will be able to speak with them in depth this semester. I have asked a few of them to write daily entries about their thoughts pertaining to work at certain times of the day. This will begin in February. I will also survey a large number of young professionals in order to figure out more information concerning their career choices.

Another type of research I have started is to look at the marketing habits of startups. I have developed a questionnaire that will help me understand where startups spent most of the marketing budget and why. The questionnaire and talking to entrepreneurs will give me and Path 101 a better sense as to where to spend their marketing budget after launch.

Some other research techniques I plan to try:

I. Reading industry Blogs/journals/articles

II. Competitive Analysis

III. “Days in the Life of” personal journals

Project Plan:

Week 1: Submit Project Plan

Week 2: Finish surveys and questionnaire. Begin to look at industry Blogs.

Week 3: Distribute surveys and questionnaire. Continue industry readings and begin deep dive on competitors.

Week 4: Continue research.

Week 5: Continue research.

Week 6: Begin to finish up research.

Week 7: Comprehensive plan outline completed

Week 8: Begin to look at research findings.

Week 9: Uncover insights.

Week 10: Uncover insights and begin plan.

Week 11: Comprehensive draft completed

Week 12: Tie up any loose ends and prepare for presentation.

Week 13: Final plan completed and submitted to faculty

Week 14: Oral presentation to brand management faculty and Charlie from Path 101.

Other Information:

I have started a blog to document my experience with Path 101. It is important to me that I provide them with sound recommendations and a realistic plan. Considering they are a startup, I plan on prioritizing my marketing recommendations and allowing for them to decide what makes the most sense depending on how much money is raised in their second round of funding. My blog is here: www.adgrad.blogspot.com.