Critical
Reflection on Professional Practise Inquiry
When
beginning to think about my questions for this module I struggled to find a
subject that I was both interested in and that would help me professionally.
Since completing my diploma I have changed the aim of my career and therefore
felt I did not know enough about my new vocation to understand what would
create a good inquiry. I started with vague questions such as ‘Is Singing a
Transferable skill’ (Appendix A – Olivia Warner from my blog on 20th
Feb 2014). This is a question that interested me but on further reflection I
realised it would not be a great benefit to my career because I already know
the techniques and skills I learned as a performer and still use in the office.
My next thought
was to ask questions purely about marketing. I had been helping a work
colleague find bloggers that we could hopefully persuade to talk about a
product we were marketing. This led me to think about asking how social media
could be used to market a product. I was happy with this idea and started to
develop it but decided I needed to check with my tutor first. When talking over
Skype Adesola advised me that I really needed to include elements of my
previous experience with music into my inquiry in to marketing. Through critical
discussion with her I realised doing a project on how to market a new music
artist would effectively merge both worlds and I came up with the question: What
method or combination of marketing methods is most successful in raising the
profile of a new music performer? (Appendix B – Olivia Warner from my blog on
26th April 2014)
The next step
was to think about the ethical considerations of my inquiry. When first looking
at the ethics part of the module I did not have an inquiry in mind so I looked
broadly at ethical ideas and what became clear was that personal ethics have a
huge influence over professional ethics and should always be your first
consideration (Appendix C – Olivia Warner from my blog on 11th March
2014). When looking at my project I realised that one of the most important
ethics would be to ensure my project was completely for the benefit of my
artist and not just to get my degree. I also needed to think about the
importance of data protection (Appendix D – Gov.co.uk explanation of the data
protection act). The other main consideration was the collection of data from
any minors. I realised parental consent would need to be obtained if taking any
data from a minor occurs in my inquiry (Appendix E – An extract from my Ethics
Form).
The
final stage of my plans completion was considering and evaluating inquiry
tools. One of the methods I used was creating a Facebook group of performers I
know to gain their insights on music marketing (Appendix F – My performers
Facebook Group). I also used my SIG group of classmates from the course to discuss
ideas (Appendix G – Olivia Warner from my blog on 26th April 2014).
I took the methods discussed to an interview I organised with a successful
artist and gained useful knowledge about where other performers go wrong and
how an outside perspective like mine can be the element that takes a performer
from amateur to professional (Appendix H – Olivia Warner – My interview with
anonymous artist).
When
reflecting on module 2 I can see how much my understanding of how to structure
and create a project has developed. I never realised how much ethics need to be
taken into consideration. This learning will directly help me to develop and
grow at my new company. I will continue to develop my professional skills
through carrying out this project in module 3.
Appendix A - http://livwarner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/task-4a.html
I have just
got a new job as Junior Accounts Manager of Highjam a marketing and promotions
agency. I start on Tuesday and am very excited! This means that I am stuck as
to what to question as the job is not performance based in anyway and so is not
something I have previously been familiar with. The first questions that spring
to mind are about the day to day activities of the job. This is obviously
something I will find out when I start so will not take me far with my
Professional Inquiry. I am worried that as most people on the course are still
performing or teaching some kind of performance discipline that my questions
will not overlap with others. Bearing that in mind I am going to try and have
some performance element to my questions.
1) How will
skills learned as a performer translate into an office environment?
2) Does being
able to act give a person an advantage in different situations such as client
meetings and networking.
3) How can
dance skills be applied to a sit down job?
4) Is Singing
a transferable skill?
I don't know
if any of these questions will help to develop my eventual Professional Inquiry
but I hope they are a start and that others can identify with them!
Appendix B - http://livwarner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/4c.html
My final
Questions!
I have
decided to make the most of my new career in marketing and my past experience
in music that for my inquiry I need to combine the two. The main context of my
inquiry will be as follows:
What method
or combination of marketing methods is most successful in raising the profile
of a new music performer?
Further
questions will include:
What is the
potential target audience for this performer?
What form of
marketing is most likely to reach this audience and increase the size of the
fan base?
What aspects
of his performance does he most want to promote?
Which
promotional techniques are most effective in achieving the greatest exposure
and conversion into tickets sold and tracks sold?
How can an
achievable cost-benefit ratio be accomplished?
I think these
questions will help me to grow professionally and further my career. I was
struggling to find a way to link my diploma experience with my new career but I
believe I have finally found it!
Appendix C - http://livwarner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/5b.html
I found some
'rules' for making ethical decisions in the work place on this website:
http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/leader_model/development/media/Targeted%20Lessons/workplace_ethics.htm
SOME BASIC
PRINCIPLES TO HELP YOU MAKE ETHICAL DECISIONS
A key reason
why decisions that have ethical implications may be difficult for leaders to
make is that they may be encountering situations that they have never had to
deal with before. This lack of
experience may be characterized by a great deal of ambiguity in terms of what
to do. Some basic principles may be
useful in helping to guide the ethical decision-making process:
1.Don’t allow
personal gains to outweigh the good of the organization
2.Recognize
all perspectives when making an ethical decision
3.Respect
people and their rights
4.Keep
promises and honour contracts
5.Use
feelings to help decide morale dilemmas
6.Get all the
facts
7.Treat all
people fairly
8.Define who
you are, your company & personal values
9.Always
challenge your decision to be in line with your values, beliefs and morals
10. Never compromise your integrity
11. Ethical decisions must use fair procedures
and account for unjust action
12. Don’t choose the easiest answer; consider all
the options (don’t just go for a quick fix)
13. Don’t overstep the bounds of what outsiders
will tolerate while balancing company’s & outsider’s interest
14. Consider the risk of setting & trying to
achieve overly ambitious goals
15. Communicate that all employees have a
responsibility to keep the company’s moral & ethical standards in check
16. When in doubt, don’t
17. Instill proper checks & balances of ethical behaviour that don’t create
bottlenecks
18. When possible seek the input of effected
individuals at a moral crossroads
I think what
stands out most about these point are how much your own personal ethics should
influence you. Even if your companies values are clear if you do not feel you
can apply them to yourself then you shouldn't use them. In most places there are
probably easy solutions to differing ethics or they are vague enough that you
can alter them to fit your own. From reading this I have realised that if I am
ever asked to conform to ethics that I can't agree with I should just give in
because it is company policy. Personal ethics are just as important workplace
ethics!
Appendix D - https://www.gov.uk/data-protection/the-data-protection-act
1. The
Data Protection Act
The Data Protection Act controls how your personal information is used by
organisations, businesses or the government.
Everyone who is responsible for using data has to follow strict rules
called ‘data protection principles’. They must make sure the information is:
·
used fairly and lawfully
·
used for limited, specifically stated purposes
·
used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive
·
accurate
·
kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary
·
handled according to people’s data protection rights
·
kept safe and secure
·
not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection
Appendix E –
An extract from my Ethics Form
Although this is an inquiry to help me achieve my degree
it also directly involves someone’s career. Everything I do in the process of
the inquiry must start with the aim of helping Tom get exposure, sell tickets
and generally promote himself in a positive manner. It would be easy to get
side tracked and spend too much time on methods that are not working. I must
always ensure that Tom is completely happy and on board with everything I am
planning and that at the end of the inquiry he will be majorly benefited.
It is also essential that I comply carefully with
regulations on approaching the public and cannot be seen as employing pressurising
techniques. Anonymity will also be an
issue that needs to be considered when asking people to fill in questionnaires.
If follow up questionnaires are to be used people must be made aware that I
will be using their personal contact details.
All data must be kept in a protected environment that
cannot be accessed by anyone other than me. No data will be passed on to any
other companies and fans will not have to worry about receiving junk mail after
giving their details.
Care will need to be taken if any of the target audience are
minors. Parental consent will need to be obtained for any information taken and
anyone under 14 wanting to come to a gig must be accompanied by an adult.
Appendix F - https://www.facebook.com/groups/429924147095115/
Appendix G - http://livwarner.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/my-sig.html
I have been
talking with my SIG group about what excites them about a new artist. From our
discussions it has come to my attention that there is a chance a new artist
will not even be noticed unless there is a physical presence of their branding
in the run up to any gigs or events. To accommodate this I have decided I will
need to employ promotional staff to flyer for my artist (Tom Savage) in the run
ups to his gigs. I will also develop posters to be put up in key areas so that
his brand becomes familiar to people in those areas. I need to do some research
into the most ways of doing both of these things!
Appendix H –
My interview with Anonymous Artist
When you
first set out with your career did you realise how important marketing was to
your success?
No not at
all! I thought I could just get by on my talent, I thought that people would
realise I was good and my career would take off from there. I spent a whole
year getting it wrong and getting frustrated as I could see others succeeding
where I was failing.
When you did
realise the importance of self promotion how did you start putting it into
practise?
The first
thing I did was to create a logo for myself using my name. I started displaying
this at my gigs so that my name had an image that came with it. I then got
posters made and started displaying in the venues before the event. I then used
the same poster to advertise my events on Facebook.
Did you think
of putting posters up around the whole area surrounding the venue?
I did not do
that at the time as budget was always an issue. I did not know if the cost of
printing the flyers would benefit the ticket sales enough to justify it.
Do you think
if you could have read someone else's inquiry into marketing a new artist that
you might have done better in the first place?
YES YES YES!
I had no idea what I was doing. At first I didn't even realise I should be
doing anything and even when I did I was clueless as to what. I looked on the
internet for ideas but there is just to much information! There are hundreds of
ideas and reviews but it is all dotted all over the place and it is hard to
know who is right. If there was a review that specifically looked into what
methods are best for promoting a new artist it would have helped me! A lot of
sites I looked at don't take cost into account and obviously for someone just
starting out that is a big issue.
Did you ever
think of fundraising?
I fund raised
for myself all the time! But I never thought to do it specifically for
marketing. It was always to buy a new guitar or mic. If I had done it for
marketing I might have got further faster!
Did you
realise how powerful and necessary digital is to promoting new music like you?
I used
Facebook to promote my events to my friends but I have never been that great
with technology so probably still don't use it as effectively as I could.
I have been
researching how pages and events get so many views on Facebook and have found
out that for a relatively small cost you can advertise to a targeted audience.
If you had known this at the time would you have done it?
Now I
definitely would use that promotion method but at the time I would probably
have felt the same about that as I did of the posters. I would not have known
that my money would have a definite improvement in sales.
What do you
think of leafleting?
I think that
as long as the leafletters are enthusiastic about the artist they are great. On
the other hand I think they can also have a very negative effect if they are
not. People who just try to shove leaflets into peoples hands to get the job
done just annoy the people they should be targeting. I think you need to be
very careful about the image they give out and consider if it is the right
thing for the artist.
What do you
think, from a marketing perspective, helped you to get where you are now?
I think the
best decision I made was bringing someone in to help me with the promotions
side of the business. I couldn't see what needed to be done from the inside and
needed an outside view to help me!
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