Independent Component 2

Literal
(a) I, Stefanie Paz, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) I did an analysis of various marketing materials/devices within the AEON Medical Equipment & Supply Inc. as well as from MedTrade Spring Convention 2012. The analysis was based on the LIA format of learning. I also recreated the four marketing materials used by AEON.




Binder

LIA Analysis

Drafts and Revisions

Flyer

Brochure

Postcard

Flyer (retired)

Revised Marketing Materials Analysis


Interpretive
For each marketing analysis, I broke it up into an LIA format, to help me better understand the purpose of the brochure.

Literal
Type of marketing device: [Flyer, brochure, etc.]
Product: [What is being sold?]
Company: [What company is behind this?]
Facts learned about the product: [What does this product do?]
Facts learned about the business: [What does this company do?]
Interpretive
Main purpose of the device: [What is the device trying to say or do?]
Benefits of the product: [Good marketing focuses on the benefits. What are they for this product?]
Identifying the target audience: [The people that the business should be focused on when marketing their product.]

• Geographics: [location, climate, atmosphere]
• Demographics: [gender, age, income, education, etc.]
• Psychographics: [ideas, behaviors, interactions, beliefs, etc.]
• Behaviors: [needs and wants, buying patterns and behaviors]

Applied
Suggested improvements to the design/delivery of the device: [Things I would do to change the the theme of the device, if I could.]
Suggested improvements to the content of the device: [Information that I would like to know about from this device]
Comments: [Final commentary on device]

Each of the four AEON devices took me an average of six hours to recreate, and another two to write up the analysis and prepare it. It takes me 20 minutes to do a thorough analysis, and I have analyzed twenty-one different marketing materials. In addition, the two presentations that I was able to attend accounted for a total of one and a half hours. This is approximately equal to thirty-four hours of work.

Applied
This component helped confirm my answer two: "Freely communicate with your target audience and clients in order to make them feel comfortable with what they want." It may even become my best answer, as soon as I am able to narrow the five answers that I have down to three. As a marketer, sharing your message clearly and creating a connection with your target audience is important when marketing medical supplies. In each of the other marketing materials I encountered, it was evident that the material was made for the intended reader. It wasn't just in the language of reffering to them, but it was also in the way that the information was given and what information was given to them .
For example, the ones with more advanced terminology are meant for those who are knowledgeable about medical equipment and terminology, like doctors. Devices that marketed comfort and quality are directed at patients and their families. Ads that talked about portability are for those with active lifestyles that can't let clunky medical equipment stop them. The only reason I was able to come to these conclusions was by placing myself in the shoes of whoever would feel the most comfortable reading the device. The more comfortable I felt in that mind that, the more effective I know that the marketing device was.

Independent Component 2 Plan Approval

CONTENT:
(1) Write a description of what you plan on doing for your independent study component.
(2) Describe in detail how you think your plan will meet the 30 hours work requirement.
(3) How does your independent study component relate to your EQ?

1. For my second independent study component, I will be analyzing the different ways sales people in the medical supplies business market their products: either from manufacturer to supplier, or supplier to doctor/hospital. I will be analyzing the materials used for these presentations and see what makes it an effective tool for them to market their product, as well as determine whether or not there can be something done to improve it.
2. Each meeting lasts about 45 minutes, and then I will take about 15 minutes asking questions and analyzing the presentation and materials given. I have already witnessed two of them, and will only need to watch at least 28 more. If I'm not at the office that day, and if someone comes by and they leave behind materials, then I will take half an hour to ask about the person and analyze the materials left behind. This should all be completed by the end of April.
3. What I am studying for this independent component is what happens when marketers/sales people market their medical supplies. In order to get word of their product out there, sales reps and marketers visit the places that they sell their product to and try to sell their product and make their consumers aware of their presence. This component will give me a chance to witness first-hand what happens when medical suplies are being marketed, and will hopefully give me a possible, more direct answer to my EQ.

Independent Component 1

Literal:
a) I, Stefanie Paz, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents thirty hours of work.
b) I enrolled in an "Introduction to MicroEconomics" class taught by Prof. Amrik Dua at Cal Poly Pomona, every Tuesday and Thursday, from 1-3PM. I have also completed all assignments and all (except one) extra credit assignment for the class, and all three test dates and the final for the class.
Calendar:


Assignments 1 and 2

Assignments 3 (original misplaced, scored 13/15) and 4

Extra Credit Assignments 1, 2 and 3

(Notebook used for class will be in senior project binder)

Interpretive:
Each two-hour class is spent reviewing and discussing the concepts of MicroEconomics- the basis of Economics. There are also homework assignments to be completed outside of the classroom, and I've taken an extra hour studying for a test or final. The twenty sessions alone represent approximately forty hours, and the twelve study sessions that  I'm recording have taken approximately fourteen hours, leading to a total of fifty-four hours.

Applied:
This class introduced me to the basic structure of economics, and helped me understand some of the logic behind profitable businesses. The knowledge that I've gained from this class has given me this answer for my Essential Question: What is most important when marketing medical supplies is understanding the market in that which the supplies are being sold.
In addition to following MAP policies set by the manufacturers, suppliers have to figure out if there is a demand of their product is in order to set their prices accordingly and attract business (law of demand). Since medical supplies are elastic goods, any price change will greatly affect the demand for the good. Based on what I have learned in the class, medical suppliers are what keep the distributors from becoming large monopolies.
Economics is the study of how people satisfy their wants by using their limited means to obtain whatever can give them the most satisfaction. Microeconomics is the branch of economics that focuses on the individual's financial choices. It also is one of the introductory classes for economics, as it is usually recommended that Microeconomics be taken before Macroeconomics (another economic introductory class that focuses on how countries and big groups make financial decisions). Because effective marketing targets a specific audience or type of individual, it is even more important for the supplier to understand the market that their consumer has become a part of and appeal to their needs.

Independent Component 1 Plan Approval

1. For my first independent study component, I will be attending a Introduction to Economics (Microeconomics) class taught by Prof. Amrik Dua for the fall 2011 quarter at Cal Poly Pomona.
   
2. I go to class twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Each class is 2 hours, and there are 20 total classes that I have attended/will attend. I also have to complete 4 assignments, 3 tests and one final for this class. It takes me about half and hour to complete an assignment, and an hour or two to study for the test. Total= ~42 hours (rough estimate.)
   
3. My independent study component relates to my EQ, because Economics is the study of how people satisfy their wants by using their limited means to obtain whatever can give them the most satisfaction. Moreover, microeconomics is the study of how the individual person spends and why they would spend the way that they do. Part of marketing, no matter what type of marketing it is, is researching your target audience, and if you know how they spend and why they spend the way that they do, then you could easily market to them to satisfy their needs.