Problem: Read through the brief but not detailed enough, so I jumped to conclusions thinking it is a digital catalogue at start, but corrected this later on in idea generation part.
Reflection: Should be careful in reading and understanding the brief. An unbalanced footing at the start will make the whole idea not workable.
2. Market research:
Problem: I did not go to JustLife outlets for interviewing shop assistants earlier, only went to The Gardens JustLife outlet a day before the pitch presentation.
Reflection: Should have visited them earlier to avoid ideas become impractical, did not solve real problems and too many assumptions.
3. Company's budget:
Problem: I did not consider much about the budget offered by the clients and chose the idea that is most different from others but had exceeded the budget.
Reflection: Budget is an important aspect on whether the clients will buy the idea or not. If it had exceeded the budget, the likelihood of clients choosing the idea is definitely lower.
4. Idea's effectiveness:
Problem: Video testimonials are great to boost up a company's image, but a lot of resources and manpower are needed (good director, good editor, cooperative customers). The concept is attractive, but the process to realize the idea seemed daunting/farfetched/scary.
Reflection: A balance of creativity and effectiveness is always needed. In my case, effectiveness is lacking. In the future, I must take into account of the creativity of the idea and how workable it is.
If I were to start again, I will provide them two ideas - video testimonial idea and text & image idea. This is because this video testimonial idea will only work if the client have a big a loyal enough customer base and is willing to put in money and effort to make this idea workable. If they don't have the money, they can opt for a second choice, which is text and images to replace the video as the medium.
5. Storyboard:
Problem: I drew the storyboard in Photoshop. But during the presentation, the least exciting part is when I was presenting my storyboard.
Reflection: Probably making it into an animatics will work better, equipped with audio and music.
6. Interface Design:
Problem: I used black squares and unspecific product titles (Food A, Food B) in the mock-up interface designs. This will be a bad impression to the clients.
Reflection: Show more sincerity by putting in actual product pictures and names. Sincerity is important to boost up the impression to the clients, so that clients will not think that I am not dedicated in this pitch session.
7. Q&A:
Not much problems faced when answering questions, but learnt a few good tips.
Reflection:
a) Be open to suggestions. Clients not only choose the idea, but choose the suitable candidate to work with too. They will prefer to work with people that are open to suggestions yet is able to rationalize ideas and communicate effectively.
b) Understand the questions asked, think carefully before answering back. This is to prevent the answers given out sounding not convincing to the clients.
c) Must able to educate clients on things they did not understand, but must be non-offensive or patronizing. Good and friendly attitude is important.
