UNIT 1: RESEARCH TASKS Task 1: A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning and management technique used to help a business owner / organization to determine their strengths / weaknesses / opportunities / threats when concluding business assessments. These are of course used to plan future improvements and determine weak points. The format of a SWOT analysis is usually in 4 boxes to set out a clean image that is simply read and understandable. SWOT analysis also determines what the strength of a business is. This can show the business owner what is working. A PESTLE analysis determines the external factors that will/may influence an organization. This can be things such as Political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental. The political factors include governmental policies, leadership, tax policies. This contextual information can be used to help brand positioning, growth targets and risks. It can also determine the validity of existing products and services. Factors like country’s GDP trends, diverse economy, foreign direct investment, tax rate and inflation are all contributing factors in the UK. The UK government launched a £270 million in repayable finances for the creative digital media industry. This money comes from the £1.57 billion arts funding package. Creative organizations will be able to apply for a £3 million loan for their business. This will create a large space for the expansion of culture and arts in the UK. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this sector is estimated to have suffered a 5,000 job cut back
Task 2: Sole traders are self-employed people who run their own business as an individual. These people do not have a legal identity separate from the individual, this means essentially the person IS the business. Being in this position you will need to be entirely in control of its assets and taxes. This business practice offers some upsides. You will have complete control over the business, few fixed overheads and financially awarding. There is no requirement to register the business with companies house or ongoing filings of information. Limited companies are private, their a separate legal entity from the owner(s). This means the owners are only legally responsive for debts of the company only to the extent of the amount of capital they have invested in to the company. The initial set up costs of the company are usually much higher than a sole trader. With a limited company business, your personal assets such as a house or car are protected from being attached to your business, this means if your limited business goes under you will not owe anything that isn’t connected. A business partnership is the legal agreement/relationship between two or more ‘partners’ that are carrying out a business with the intention of making a profit. These partners are responsible for running the business and sharing the profits between themselves. These partners are entirely responsible for personally funding the business. Having more people involved in a business or idea will make the workload a lot more even, it will also allow for ideas to be discussed between multiple people which will lead to constructive criticism. Partnerships will also lead to more capital for funding (this will also allow for more borrowing capacity). Unfortunately due to this being a partnership and not a limited company it can create large liabilities and debts. A social enterprise is an organization that essentially uses marketing/commercial strategies for the improvements of humanity. This can be from financial, social and environmental well-being. These companies seek out maximizing profits while also maximizing their benefits to society and the environment. Due to the type of business, the employees have a lot more motivation because the employees are very passion about the work they are doing, this will lead to more productivity and customer relationships. This type of business has no disadvantages that differ from other businesses. Things like competing with other companies through marketing are rather difficult. Using commercials and other marketing strategies will also lead to strict rules and regulations due to Ofcom (A government office that regulates and has control of broadcasting telecommunications.)
A charity is an organization that is set up to help people that are in need (for a specific cause). An example of this is the ‘RSPCA’ which focuses on improving the lives of animals across the world. These businesses are non-profit which means all money funded (through donations) are put directly back into the charity. These charity can also gather funding through fundraising organizations like the ‘National Lottery’. These suffer very similar disadvantages to social enterprises. To be registered as a charity the organisation will need to stop all non-charitable activities which may stop other avenues of funding. Unincorporated associations are a group of people cooperating towards a common goal. There are no limits to what it could be. It is a group of people that come together for a reason other than profit. These deals have no legal validity and is not separate from its members. Task 3: What is a business plan? A business plan is usually a written document outlining goals of a new business. It will also define methods of obtaining these goals and also the expected timeframe to achieve these goals. A business plan is often lays out a road map for marketing, financial and operational standpoints. Business plans are often aimed at a company’s internal and external audiences. These plans can also be used to attract investment opportunities even before a company has established a reliable reputation. These plans can also help with getting loans from banks etc. because it proves the business owner has done the research and knows the level of success it can have. All banks after asking for a loan will require a business plan just to ensure the money is going to the right place. They can also be served as a way to keep a company’s executive team and workers on the same page about financial and creative decisions. Although these plans are often used for the outline and start of a business they are frequently updated to reflect on current goals and ensure they are met. Good business plans include a summary on its products and services/marketing strategies. Businesses that start without a good defined plan are set up for failure. There are very few businesses that have lasted a long amount of time without one. They are often used to keep on top of what needs to do (some-what like a schedule). They should include a detailed outline of projected costs and possible financial and creative pitfalls of every decision that needs to be made. How a business plan is made You need to start with an essential structure (an executive summary) this should include company description, marketing analysis’ product and service description, marketing strategies and a final predicted financial projection. When making a business plan it doesn’t have to follow a certain outline or template. You only need to focus on things that are relevant to your particular business. Plans will need to include possible funding requests being made. Try and keep your plan from around 15 – 25 pages as a document. Things you will need to define:
Executive summary: This should define/outline the company’s intentions. It should include information on things like the company’s leadership, employees, operations, location etc. Products and services: This should describe the company’s product / service in detail while explaining why it is valuable. What is a business model? A business model is what describes how an organization and company creates, delivers and captures value in the ever-growing economic, social and cultural landscapes. When modifying a business model, it is called ‘business model innovation’ and adds to become a business strategy. A business model is essentially a company’s plan to making a profit. business models need to identify the products or services the business is looking to sell. And how it will target a market. There are 4 types of business models. Business to business models, business to consumer models, subscription-based models and on-demand business models. Almost all businesses fit into these models. A sustainable business model is described as a organization or companies plan for making a profit sustainably. The definition of ‘sustainability’ is “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level”. In this context the term sustainable refers to maintaining the amount of profit a company is bringing in (making sure it doesn’t go below a certain threshold).
Task 4: Vision statement: To allow a space for artistic creativity Mission statement: To act in enabling a platform for artists expressing their creative individuality Value statement: A mission statement is a formally written summary/statement that aims to show a companies or individuals intentions and values. They are used to outline a company’s goals and position in the industry. They are also used for a guide for the future clarifying an organizations purpose and ensuring they stick to that purpose. Every successful business has a publicly known mission statement this gives the opportunity of a good impression from a potential customer or investor. Brand positioning is differentiating from other companies in a similar niche or industry. Doing this will allow customers to hold you in their mind because your idea/brand is different from every other on the market. This will allow them to think of your brand more and most likely lead to them buying your products or use your services. Value drivers are different factors that increases the worth of products, services or assets. This can often be the factor that makes the product an essential for consumers. Businesses are often successful when having a skilled valued staff and a loyal returning customers. This will increase the value of the business for shareholder and investors. Growth drivers, efficiency drivers and financial drivers all are components that add to this. Most businesses use marketing as a tool to drive traffic and sales to their products. This can be done by leveraging social media, using directed advertisements they go straight to the targeted consumer. The targeted consumer can determine from location, age and interests. This is an extremely useful tactic used by businesses and organizations. A business can also use its local awareness to establish a network. Collaborating/working with different organizations from the area. This can bring more attention and potential customers to the business. Every modern business needs to have a website, this can help establish a brand/image that will help with brand positioning. When marketing yourself as a person. It always helps to have your personality shine through. This can help with relatability with customers and will lead to a deeper connection to your fanbase. This will drive the custo1mer to buy products or services from you because they are personally interested in you and your opinions.
A business blueprint is a step-by-step guide to identify your business’s goal and needs. Establishing a blueprint will create an essential framework which will make developing ideas and goals much easier than going blindly. Blueprints will help create a shared understanding of the bigger picture and future plans/goals. This will effect the consumer by creating a more outlined and refined product. Task 5: Intellectual property is an asset created using your mind. This can be from a story to and invention (there are no limits). These are things that can be copy-righted. Patents and trademarks are also other ways to legally protect an idea or product. Copyright is an intellectual property that grants the rights owner exclusive access. The rights owner can do whatever they want with that they have copyrighted. For example if someone made a song themselves and owned the copyright, no one else can use that song without the owners permission. In early 2022, Dua lipa was sued by a band named ‘Artikal’ due to her song ‘levitating” – (https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/3/22/dua-lipagets-sued-by-artikal-sound/) A trademark is a type of intellectual property that protects any word, phrase, symbol, designs etc. These things need to describe your goods or service. This is how the marketplace/consumer will identify your product. If someone tries to use a word you have the trademark for you can sue. A famous example of a trademark is the work APPLE. This word was trademarked due to apple not wanting other brands/companies using their name. Only having one company to a word will help create a strong brand position in the consumers minds. A talent release is essentially a permission slip that authorizes the film maker to use the talents image and voice. This is a very common form used on any well-run set. This form includes the actors name, address, contact information and more often than not a photo. If a talent release is not signed the film maker is liable for being sued for using someone else likeness. A location release form is permission by an owner of land that is given to the filmmaker and their team to show they have the right to film there. This covers all sizes of production, from a blockbuster to indie film. This is an absolute legal requirement and is essential. If failing to do this you could face a harsh lawsuit. A location release will need to have the address and contact information of the owner of land. It will also need the date and times the production team are allowed to film during.
Task 6: What industries make up the creative industry? Tv and radio is by far the largest creative industry. With over 27 million (this number grows by about 100 thousand annually) households with televisions it’s hard not to be. This industry is targeted at all ages and audiences. The British broadcasting corporation has the largest audience share with 61 percent of all viewership in the Uk. This industry also goes hand-and-hand with the advertisement industry. Advertisements are placed in between the programs shown on tv. Businesses pay to run them so their company/brand is shown in front of a large viewership. Television advertisements can be extremely expensive, with large viewership spots like the American Super-Bowl competition charging upwards of 250 thousand dollars per second. This price is due to the 100 million concurrent viewers that the advertisement will be shown to. The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing and monetization of video games pre and post release. In July 2018 the industry had generated 134 billion US Dollars. This sector has expanded by 26% from 2019 to 2021 (this makes it the fastest growing creative industry) This industry is mainly targeted at kids and young adults with the age range being 8-23. Around 300,000 people are employed into the Uk creative industry. Of these businesses 34% are located in London. 72% of these employees are highly qualified often with a higher level education (level 4 or higher) In 2021 and 2022 the UK creative industries (as a collective) pulled in a total of £1.05 billion.
Task 7: A regulatory body is a government appointed establishment to ensure consistent national standards. They are responsible for legally regulating human activities. Regulatory bodies oversee different sectors of the economy, this includes transportation, education and the sale of food and pharmaceuticals Regulatory frameworks are legal models that can be used for reforming and enacting regulations in the most effective and logical way possible. Policymakers will often develop different frameworks for specific areas of interest, this will make the solution much easier to target. They are designed to mitigate the risk of primary targets/objectives are not met. These models and frameworks are used in everything, from schools to hospitals. Ofcom is a government approved regulatory authority for broadcasting to the British public. Ofcom ensure that the British public get “the best from their broadband, home phone and mobile services.” (https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/what-is-ofcom). Ofcom are also responsible for problems related to censorship on British tv. The Electronic Communications Framework is the regulatory framework that applies to all transmission networks. Task 8:
In film making. There are many different options for financing. One way is self-funding, this allows the creator to fund their own product with their own money previously made by either previous projects or something unrelated. When self-funding it allows the creator to have full creative control. Not letting anyone else have a say in the creative process. Another way is crowd funding. Made more popular with the internet, crowd funding allows the general public to donate money to the project to ensure it is put into production. Another option is acquiring money for investors or large studios. With this route comes expectations and a criterion from the investors. This can dictate the final product and rarely allows the creator to have creative control. Most insurances in the film industry are very general. This includes workers compensation and equipment coverage. Workers' compensation essential puts the liability of the employee's wealth fare on the employer. So, employers will have to pay out money to the employees if they get injured or hurt when at work. Equipment coverage essentially provides coverage over damage or loss of expensive equipment. If a piece of equipment is damaged or lost the insurance company will have to pay-out to the company or individual In film making. A lot of the creative process is available to be made in the comfort of your own home (considering if you have all the equipment needed). Pre-production (the planning stages) is very easily done just using a home computer or laptop. And postproduction can be done but maybe more difficult. Considering a lot of film makers may not have powerful enough equipment for editing etc. Depending on the project the filming stages may also be accessible from home. However, this is rare. The business rates include; paying for rental equipment, paying cast and crew and paying for locations and sets. Prices will always vary from production size and budget. For example, a higher budget project will most likely use more expensive camera equipment and larger casts. With jobs like editing and sound engineering. It's not essential for the employee to live or work close to the actual production. It’s just not necessary. However, having someone with that job description on set during production can help give ideas to make the end product better. Of course, jobs like cast members and camera operators are essential to be able to make it to set for the duration they are needed. This means employees needing to travel to locations which are usually accessible by car. Or if they need to travel internationally their travel will most likely be covered by the production company.
Task 9: The Department for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) assist in the growth and enrichment of the British media industry. It promotes British culture to other countries overseas. It promotes the British culture and artistic industries to help innovate highlighting Britain as a tourist destination. This drives more tourists and travellers which helps grow the British economy. This puts not only more money into the country but also the creative industries. They work with 43 different agencies and public bodies including major national museums and art galleries. The DCMS originally comes from the Department of National Heritage (DNH), which was created in 1992. Before this the former ministers of the Arts and Sports were in different departments. DCMS was the in charge of co-ordination during the successful bid of the 2012 Olympic games. Without their pitch it would have been hosted in a different country and not in London. This brough a huge increase to the British's reputation and economy. It brought in £134 Million. The most recent announcement made by the DCMS is the deal made by Australia, Canada and USA signing uo to the UK’s vision of a stronger 5G supply chain. This deal will boost efforts and reduce the current strain on the small number of telecommunication companies who produce 5G networks.
Market research: What is primary research pros amd cons What is secondary pros and cons Market research is organized research gathering information about target audiences and the average consumer. During this process you will need to determine who the target audience is and what they need/want from your product. This is an essential business practice and a major factor in brand positioning. To gather market research, you can convey surveys and interviews to determine what your audience needs. You can also create focus groups on your product, critiquing it on how it could be improved. When starting or maintaining a business, market research will have to be obtained either by you or an external company. When selling a product or service you will need to make sure it is actually in demand. Do they want my product? Do the need my product? This research is focused on target audiences and whether there is a market for your product. You will need to determine the size of the market and how to communicate your product to consumers. Primary research is information when the researcher is directly involved in the data collection process. This can be from interviews, surveys, questionnaires, photos/videos and focus groups. This information are highly specific to what the researcher wants and needs. This information is also a lot more reliable than secondary information. Secondary research is also a lot more broad than primary. Secondary research uses a much larger collection of existing data. This information can be found through resources such as books and the internet. With this it makes research a much less cost effective