Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

I'm proud of the fact that I've been able to push myself to immerse and research a topic that I initially had no interest in. I've expressed that I had no interest in the medical or business field, yet I was able to push myself to do an entire project related to those two fields. It's been a very interesting process, especially since I was lost and unmotivated during the first four months, but I'm pleased that I have come this far.

Another thing that I'm proud of (and I'm sure there are plenty of seniors who will agree with me) is the fact that I have completed the senior project. There have been multiple times where I've wanted to give up because of how intense and thorough I had to be. Added to the fact that there was pressure to apply for colleges and scholarships, and I'm surprised (and pleased) that I've made it this far.

(2) Questions to Consider

a. I definitely deserve a solid P for my 2Hour Presentation. I believe that I have met all of the requirements for P consideration and did it well, even with technical glitches and the fact that some of the students seemed tired when they arrived to my presentation. However, I think that I may have earned an AE, because I successfully met the talking requirement, and I did present solid research and knowledge during the timed portions.

b. I would give myself an AE. I have met every single deadline this year. There were occasions where I slightly faltered in my delivery of deadlines, but those were at the beginning of the year for lesser value assignments. Most of my work has been solid, and even better than I hoped then I would have expected it to be. My major assignments (Science Fair, iSearch, etc.) had pushed me to excel and make sure that whatever I was learning wouldn't be wasted time. In the end, I believe that effort was shown, as my stronger assignments were the higher level assignments.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

What worked for me was being able to come to my project adviser (Melogno) for any help that I needed for my project. It helped a lot when I needed to find service learning, or if I felt lost with what I was doing with my senior project.

(4) What didn’t work for you in your senior project?

What didn't work was that I didn't find service learning fast enough. No one I knew worked in business related fields, or marketing. I thought that I would be able to base my experience from yearbook, but then I didn’t really know anyone based in book sales. I was promised a chance to work at the mall if I came back in January, but when I did, that was when I learned that they can’t allow me to serve with them, due to some liability issues. I was offered a chance at a local marketing firm in Diamond Bar, to bounce ideas off, before I realizied that they wouldn't be able to teach me what I wanted to learn. I would be teaching them and giving them feedback, and would not have been able to learn something about marketing properly.

(5) Finding Value

Even if I were to never market medical supplies as a career, the skills that I learned from this project have helped me appreciate the respective fields. Before, I used to dislike dealing with the business field and all related topics. Now that I know that there's a way of looking at it so that it's not just about the profits, marketing has opened the door for me to respect what marketers do and be able to sort out the good from the bad. It also became my first step into the real world, no matter what my career may be. All of the skills I learned about - communication, knowing your audience- were things that I had picked up on during my last few years in high school. This project hit me with the fact that these are things that were crucial to surviving the work force, and that I needed to start practicing these skills if I'm going to go anywhere in my career. After all, we're practically marketing ourselves to companies in the workforce, so this is simply my wake up call to that fact.

My research has also increased my awareness for medical equipment. Maybe it's because I haven't been hospitalized yet, but I used to dismiss medical equipment like walkers and canes before I realized why it's so important. Also, I knew that my dad had sleep apnea, but after realizing what it was through my research, I'm now aware of the importance of his CPAP, as well as the fact that I may or may not develop the disorder. Whatever the case may be, I have the knowledge to be able to address the symptoms in me or a loved one before it puts someone's health at risk.

2-Hour Presentation

[I have no idea how to upload it correctly onto Google Docs so that it's formatted correctly. I'm posting a link to the word doc and the pdf doc. Please email me if you want me to directly send you a properly formatted copy of my 2Hour Lesson Plan. Thank you!]

2Hour (Word)
2Hour (PDF)

Service Learning

Literal
Service Learning Log
Contact Name & Number [emailed to Melogno]

Interpretive
I think that the most important thing was that I was able to experience how medical suppply companies operate. Even if I was idle and had to figure out how to keep myself busy, I was able to observe what was going on in the office. My service learning people were open to me asking questions about who was going in and out of the office, as well as to the events that were happening. During breaks, I got to observe how everyone interacted and dealt with the most important issues of the day.


Applied
Service learning was what gave me the focus for what kind of marketing I would focus on for my senior project. In order to organize the store, I had to know what it was that I was dealing with. It's similar to marketing- you have to know your product in order to be able to successfully create a relationship over it.  When I was categorizing the store, I had to do some research to figure out what it was that I was categorizing, and I was constantly asking why we were selling these items, who we sold them to, and why I had to keep changing the prices.

All of the observations that I made during my stay and the interactions that I witnessed were what gave me the foundation of my first and second answers. Communication within the company was vital. Whenever the biller (one of my service learning people) would ask about a lack of communication with a certain client, the driver would usually have an answer to it, and vice versa. I noted that everyone naturally worked with the focus that medical supplies coincided with peoples' health. It was something that I greatly appreciated as I watched how they all worked together.

Confirmation of Contact Person, Contact Phone Number, and 50 hours completed [pending]

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.

Helping 2013

Interviewee: Jaime Plascencia
Interview: April 20, 2012, 12:50 [approx.]
[Note: Normal= Interviewee, Bold= Interviewer]

[1] What ideas do you have for your senior project?

Well right now I’m just brain storming- I don’t have any ideas. I do have a few interests though that I’d like to somehow turn into [a] senior project. I like soccer, [and] I’m also very interested in weapons mechanics and stuff like that. Other than that, I’m not really sure exactly what I want to do, but I’ll probably come up with something over the summer. 

I’ve been playing soccer since I was like, in the 6^th grade. I used to do baseball, but I kind of let that go, and then I got into soccer. I’ve played a lot since then, and it’s just something that I really like, and… it should be really fun to make a project out of something I really enjoy.

When I was little my dad had guns, and we’d always used to go hunting in Mexico. We’d go up in the sierras- they’re like mountains in Spanish- and we’d go hunting quails. I always had to carry my dad’s one chamber rifle. It wasn’t like the strongest in the world, but it was fun. From there I just started exploring different weapons and it’s something I’m really interested in too.

I think both of those ideas can work out really well… I feel like I haven’t heard many weapons senior projects but I have heard a lot more soccer projects. The weapon idea seems like you have a little bit more of a personal connection to it.

Yeah, it does. I’d like to do that, but my only problem would be finding somebody. We’re supposed to have like a mentor or a professional in the field, right?  I don’t know any professionals in the field. I don’t have any connections other than what I already know and looked up.  I probably have to look around over the summer to find someone who’s experienced in that field.

[2] Yeah, that was actually my next question. What do you plan to do to complete those ten hours [over the summer]?

I could probably choose like a workshop if they have something. I just have to see who knows about this and then see what they do and hopefully they’ll let me volunteer with them. Honestly, I have no idea [what to do for the weapons, but] I’m  going to start on that.

If I were to do soccer- I referee soccer and I also play. The referee one would be easier for me to do, as far as the academic portion of it goes. When you play, you can talk to your coach but you can only [learn] so much [from] him then somebody who’s already been playing soccer for a long time like myself. I already know a lot about the sport. But refereeing- there’s always something to learn. The rules are changing every year. We have professional referees in the league- [the one I know is] FIFA accredited and everything so he can probably be my instructor and mentor for that. That would be a lot easier for me instead of the weapons one.

Soccer sounds like a really good idea. Weapons- you could probably look around, because I know that there are some shooting ranges and gun stores around the area. You could probably look around there for someone who’s accredited. 

[3] What do you hope to see or expect to see when watching the class of 2012 present their two hour presentations?

Well, I’ll go in hoping to learn something just [to get a] feel or just to see what to or not to do next year so that I don’t make the same mistakes. Or even better [if it was good], do the same thing they did. I actually want to see how effective it would be for them to grab people’s attention using very different methods- whether it be like a visual aid… or the activities. [I] just to see what grabs people’s attention; what are people interested in when the person or the teacher is up there doing their thing. I think [for the senior project] you can do all of the work in the world, but if you don’t grab people’s attention, [then] it’s pretty much all for nothing.

That’s pretty true. When you’re watching the two hour presentation, keep in mind that we’re presenting our research, so you should actually watch for if our sources are credible or not. That’s something you should use for your project too. Make sure that, whatever senior project you end up doing, all of your sources are credible enough because that’s what gives your project some value. Also, we have a thirty minute speaking requirement, so you could [try to] help us out by asking us a lot of questions. It might help us add something that we forgot to the information we planned to present.

[4] Do you have any questions for me about your senior project?

Well, not anything that comes to mind right now, but I guess while I’m watching these presentations, I’ll probably come up with something like because I have to see the presentation in order to understand it and in turn- be able to ask questions.

I see you have really good ideas right now, and you have a really good idea on what to do. The four interviews that you’re going to have to do are really, really valuable. Now, a lot of seniors are quoting them because of how useful they are, so make sure you take advantage of them and ask a lot of questions. Try and get your service learning person since you have to do ten hours over the summer, and you get that service learning done. Take advantage of whatever you do or learn in service learning. If there are any opportunities, take it.  Whatever happens, make sure you’ll be able to use whatever you learn throughout your entire life. I might not become a marketer, but at least I know how the process works and I now understand it. A lot of people use some of the stuff that they did now for future careers.

Yeah, that’s what I’m doing for this project. It’s stuff that I would be interested in doing all my life. It’s not just stuff to get me out of high school, but it’s actually something that I want to pursue.

Answer 3

EQ: What is most important when marketing medical supplies?
Answer 3:  Having a  basic understanding of the economy and the market for medical supplies.

Evidence:

• Millions of baby boomers are approaching retirement. Most of the consumers of medical supplies are these retirees, but they are not being marketed to as actively.
• The market for medical supplies is very challenging today due to the economy and the health care reforms being pushed.
• Some patients are not able to pay due to the financial situations and payment plans they are placed in. The relationship between the consumer and the company is at stake, depending on whether or not the company decides to take back the equipment.

Source:

• Independent Component 1- Intro to MicroEconomics (Fall 2011, Cal Poly Pomona)
• Ernie B. Ross, brandchannel.com "Targeting Seniors | Marketing to Older People"
• Fourth Interview- Maria Bonus

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