Blog 10

I don't know the marketing jargon for this concept, but I learned how to recognize unmet needs during this project.In our project, we observed 10-13 year old boys quite a few times. Though I've watched my little brother play with his friends for years, it was always more of a passive viewing. When I had to write down my observations and use these notes to create a prototype, my viewing became more active. I finally was able to be creative and use my brain. Every time I saw a 10-13 year old boy in a movie, TV show, or the grocery store, I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about or what his unmet needs/desires were. I started noticing how much imagination every 10-13 year old boy has and how we could utilize this concept in our prototype. One specific instance was when I was observing my brother on Easter Sunday. My mom had just bought him a bunch of fake plastic bugs as an Easter basket filler and I was curious to see how he would play with them. Initially, I thought that Andrew would strategically place them around the house to scare people. Instead, he found a quiet spot in the house to play with his plastic bugs. Curious to see what exactly he was doing, I followed him into that room. Andrew was playing with the bugs like they were soldiers on the front line. He was reenacting WWII with plastic cockroaches and dragon flies. When I asked him what inspired this scenario, he told me that this was a scene from one of his new video games. This was the first time I understood what was fueling his huge imagination and I knew we had to use this information in our prototype.

Prior to this revelation, I had been seeking out other ways to understand the 10-13 year old boy segment. In all of my other marketing classes, we could only use traditional methods of research to collect data. Letting us choose other methods was the most exciting part of this class. I felt like everything could be used as research. I've always enjoyed 'people watching' as well. This class finally gave my 'people watching' a purpose. I knew that observations of my brother and his friends was an excellent resource, but I also thought that the way Hollywood portrayed this segment was interesting and would provide beneficial information. The movie that really shed light on this segment and refocused this project was "Son of Rambo". In case you haven't seen it, the movie is about two 11 year old British boys who decide to enter the young filmmakers competition. Though both the boys have ideas and endless imaginations, one of them has drawn books full of the stories from his head. Not until he watches Rambo does any of this come to fruition though. This movie made me understand that violence is a universal desire. 10-13 year old boys are inspired by blood and guts. In this movie, the boys were constantly pitting good against evil and teaming up. Needless to say, "Son of Rambo" was a guiding light in a murky sea of information.

Getting the opportunity to be creative and think of a new product was a lot of fun. I truly enjoyed this project. Working with my team was also enjoyable. Sometimes it was frustrating dealing with such a large group because of the tendency towards groupthink. There were times were nobody could think of anything because everyone thought someone else would have an idea. On the other hand, however, when one person started rolling with an idea, it was nice to have so much feedback from the other group members. Since I'm graduating this semester, I'm a little cynical of group projects. I've had at least 3 huge group projects each semester for the last 4 years. I know that working well with others is crucial in the business world, but sometimes it is a little inefficient to have 4 people working on one prototype. I really appreciated the group time you allotted during class for team meetings. Without this, it would have been difficult to find a time to meet. You are the first professor who has valued our time as much as we do-thank you.






Third Paragraph
Lastly, describe the emotional reactions you had along the way as you worked on this project. Reflect on the experiences you had with your teammates, the instructor (me), and the process of the project. Do you feel like working with your group contributed to your learning and/or enjoyment of this material? Explain why or why not.