Week 8 EOC: Creative Content

I am planning to manage and do all of the creative content of the bar. I would really like for the bar to be as visually appealing as possible. The creative content would include the logo (which is first), the layout, the colors, and menu. I am capable of taking the photo of the place of the bar and later opening the photo into Photoshop and adding the logo onto the building. Although I am not a graphic, I am pretty savvy when it comes to Photoshop since I am a photographer. I also know some pretty good resources for some tips and tricks in Photoshop and I am a fast learner.

Next is that I thought about somehow accessing the inside of the place to make a layout of the bar, but if not, I will sketch up some sort of blueprint. Then, the menu is something I would like to work on and spend most of my time on since it’s the most important factor next to the beer. I would like for my top seller to be a meal that traditionally uses meat, like a veggie burger or a veggie BLT. I am planning to come up with a great veggie burger recipe, try it out and after some trial & error, maybe offer free samples of it to draw in people and advertise my bar. I am thinking that most people still eat meat because of taste preferences, but offering a menu that has traditional meat recipes will cater to these omnivores and not just vegetarians/vegans.  The last thing I want people thinking about my bar is that it is just for non-meat eaters, which is absolutely untrue. My bar is for everyone. Maybe I would somehow mention that when advertising.

Another good idea I would like to do is design and website for it. If I weren’t a photography major, my other choice would have been web designing. I used to make web layouts when I was either thirteen or fourteen years old for a hobby. I am also current taking basic Web Scripting class this quarter so the information I’m learning from that class would be very helpful. For the content of the website would include pictures of what some of the menu items look like, like the veggie burger, since that meal I would like to be the most successful.

Finished! I have a logo included into my website which I had someone make for me.

Go to Verdura Bar & Restaurant website

Implementation Evaluation Control

Of course what would be of a restaurant if there were no customers? The concept of veganism is about eating what is right and the support of animal rights. Animals do not have a voice of their own and we are the ones who can speak up for them; vegans are the voice of the voiceless (sounds noble, doesn’t it?) The Verdura Bar and Restaurant wants to connect with its customers as much as possible, by relating to each other based from our dietary choices. If the customer and the restaurant understand each other, it is bound that a good long-term and deep relationship will ensue. How we establish a relationship with our customers is on a personal level. The restaurant likes to partake into events that promotes and supports animal rights, such as adoption events for animals that are in need. So by doing this, local adoption centers and other animal lovers will provide the proof of how good of a reputation we have.  Having outside association will spread our good deed for animal rights and hopefully others who are not vegan understand our views on how we as humans should treat animals. “Many managers think that “doing things right” (implementation) is as important as, or even more important than, “doing the right things” (strategy). The fact is that both are critical to success, and companies can gain competitive advantages through effective implementation.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 57) All of this event plannings and gatherings may seem like a lot of work for one person, but that is sort of the idea behind it. If we can get as many people involved, maybe more people will understand the word of veganism and hopefully become vegan themselves. Then as vegans, they are most likely to turn out to become activists and get more involved with whatever rights they are fighting for. Together as vegans, it can happen. “If the company is very small, one person might do all of the research, selling, advertising, customer service, and other marketing work. As the company expands, a marketing department emerges to plan and carry out marketing activities.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 58)

Price

Price is definitely important when it comes to running my restaurant! All the time I hear excuses on why people choose to continue to include animal products into their diet and the most popular one seems to be, "Eating healthy costs too much!" Yes, I can empathize with those who use this rebuttal since I have used it before too so once again, not only the vegan restaurant will cater to everyone but it also includes those who still want a healthy animal-free meal without spending big or taking the time to research and learn how to properly follow a vegan diet.  However, the pricing must be set right so it can meet the costumer’s satisfaction and bring in some good revenue. “ If customers perceive that the price is greater than the product’s value, they will not buy the product. Product costs set the floor for prices. If the company prices the product below its costs, company profits will suffer.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 275) The pricing for the vegan restaurant is going to be beneficial for both the restaurant and it’s customers. Wouldn't it be more fair if people who are vegans get the option to go and eat out too, just like those who are not vegans and also do not want to spend a whole lot for one night’s out for a healthy meal? That is what I am attempting to do. However, the customer’s do need to see that the meals that are offered are indeed worth the price they are set at. The restaurant and the costumers both need to meet in the middle on the price so that it benefits everyone in the end. “More and more, marketers have adopted good-value pricing strategies—offering just the right combination of quality and good service at a fair price.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 277) Sorry to say, but since I am not finding Vegas to be trending with the vegan lifestyle, I may be able to manipulate the customers by using their ignorance towards veganism in believing the prices are fair. Not saying that I do not have morals either though.

Promotion

I was already hoping that the uniqueness of my restaurant would offer the experience to the customers that I am trying to give them. It is at least unique to the local area since Las Vegas is lacking a place to go out to enjoy a vegan meal. I have preached before about how I don’t want people believing that my vegan bar and restaurant is only for people who live a vegan lifestyle. My restaurant caters towards absolutely everyone, and if it were okay to say, I would prefer people who are NOT vegan to eat at my restaurant. That is the entire purpose of it: to promote the idea of veganism. So if someone was to come in and had no idea what the concept of veganism was, they would get a vegan experience by merely ordering something from the menu. The place would show that you don’t have to include animal products to enjoy a meal out or even at home (since maybe the restaurant could inspire some folks into attempting a vegan meal at home). That is also where the idea of offering a menu with dishes that traditionally have animal products in them, are given a vegan spin comes from. I have also thought about giving away free samples of some of the things that are offered on the menu. It would be better to try a little taste of it instead of walking into the restaurant and paying for a full meal that you did not end up liking. But that kind of talk is silly since everyone will like it. “Samples are offers of a trial amount of a product. Sampling is the most effective—but most expensive—way to introduce a new product or to create new excitement for an existing one.” (pg. 434)

So since veganism is such a foreign idea to Las Vegas, when a customer is engaging in a vegan act just by eating something should already be an experience itself. To up the ante for the experience, that is where the bar comes in. Serving alcohol can be for anyone (unless they are underage of course) regardless of what type of diet they live by. But if worse were to come, I may have to resort of offering discounts. Hopefully the restaurant can establish a good relationship with the customers so we can offer something like a loyalty card for returning. “In general, however, rather than creating only short-term sales or temporary brand switching, sales promotions should help to reinforce the product’s position and build long-term customer relationships.” (pg. 433)


Finished! I have a logo included into my website which I had someone make for me.

Go to Verdura Bar & Restaurant website

Distribution

As a vegan restaurant, I would like to aim as close as possible in obtaining fresh ingredients. However, we are located in the desert and our best bet in using fresh items would be California, in terms of proximity. I remember hearing that Mexico is also a distributor of produce in the United States so that country could also be a consideration as well. There are local grocery stores that could also have what we need, like Whole Foods. “Marketing success will require building relationships with other company departments, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customers, competitors, and various publics, which combine to make up the company’s value delivery network.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 67)

But what about the restaurant and how are we involved in distribution for our customers? I guess aesthetically, we would like to distribute the idea of veganism and our products and values will help distribute that concept. We would also distribute the starting point for people to become vegan and hopefully will become inspired. Now… back to reality, I guess we could be about to distribute what we serve by offering a restaurant of course. This would be just a small restaurant to start giving out something different so it’s not like we could rely on retailers to start selling our packaged menu items. “Whereas, large-scale retail chains dominate the U.S. scene, much retailing in other countries is done by many small, independent retailers.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 502). A few small vegan joints would be an interesting idea, but this is a bar as well. Like in other nations, it depends on the location and population, so small distribution structures are formed so people could walk or use a bike to get there. Las Vegas you kind of have to use a car to get around town and from what I have witnessed, there are many joggers and people on bicycles that get around the area (Green Valley) so I think having one restaurant in town will do great.

Product

The products that the restaurant will have are pretty obvious: absolutely everything in our ingredients to make a dish has no use of animal products in it; it MUST have no animal products, otherwise the restaurant would not be vegan (and there goes my whole project). Most products would be fresh fruits and vegetables as well as some grains and nuts. This is also the basis of the entire vegan experience. “When designing products, marketers must first define the core, problem-solving benefits or services that consumers seek. A woman buying lipstick buys more than lip color. Charles Revson of Revlon saw this early: ‘In the factory, we make cosmetics; in the store, we sell hope.’” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 210).

Our products are more than just eating a simple vegan burger or a slice of vegan cake. We want people to see why veganism is a promotion for the greater health of your body and the greater freedom for animals’ bodies. The essence of our products and restaurant is to offer a promising and healthy future by choosing to go vegan. “Product planners must build an augmented product around the core benefit and actual product by offering additional consumer services and benefits.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 211) This is also the foundation of why I would like not just people who are already vegan, but to reach out to those who still use animal products in their diet and inform them of an alternative lifestyle that would benefit them in the long run. Animals also get to have these benefits as well since their bodies or any of their “products” are not utilized in the vegan diet.

Target Market Strategy

Our marketing strategy aims towards people who want to life a healthy lifestyle and live longer. The promotion of the concept of veganism is the strategy and the people who are unfamiliar with the idea is the target. Our marketing strategy, to simply put aesthetically is, “If the rest of the world is going green, our bodies should go green too.” There really is nothing bad about following the vegan lifestyle and the only thing one can do is gain health benefits from it. I have reiterated this before but it really is the target marketing strategy of the restaurant so it is always worth repeating and the restaurant is up for that promise. “The company can offer greater customer value either by charging lower prices than competitors, or by offering more benefits to justify higher prices. But if the company promises greater value, it must then deliver that greater value.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 53).

So why us? Our mission statement offers the reasons why perfectly: Veganism keeps the body up to optimal health and to live longer. Following a vegan diet improves health such as clear skin, easier digestion, lower risks of diseases, and better weight management. An improved health means a better life. It also benefits animals since they and their children are not used in a vegan diet, which is the definition of being a vegan. If one decides to start following a vegan diet, nothing can go wrong, which is why I am so confident in this restaurant. It is a win-win situation. “Once the company has chosen a desired position, it must take strong steps to deliver and communicate that position to target consumers. The company’s entire marketing program should support the chosen positioning strategy.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 53)

Situation or SWOT Analysis

The strengths of the restaurant are pretty much the core of what we are trying to do; promoting veganism. Since the idea of a vegan lifestyle is not all that common here in Las Vegas, I see this as a strength. I am offering something new and different to the local community to engage into. My restaurant is unique enough to get the populace curious enough to find out more about it. Another strength is that it helps the animals and attempts to enforce their rights since they cannot speak for themselves. We also infer towards local vegans to give them a place to go out instead of being homebound to their meals since there are not a whole lot of vegan options in Las Vegas.

Weaknesses would include the acquirement of fresh products. If there are distributors that are willing to change that, that would be great but seeing as we are in the desert we may have to rely on imports from others states maybe even countries too. Another weakness is how the word “vegan” somehow became tainted. I know, I know… most vegans that people have talked to tend to be pretty stuck-up and condescending towards people who still choose to eat meat and other animal products. We are not like that at the Verdura Bar and Restaurant. We are simply inviting people to come and give it a try and have a vegan experience; just something different for once. “The company should analyze its markets and marketing environment to find attractive opportunities and identify environmental threats.” “(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 56).

There are plenty of opportunities for the restaurant. Recently was Saint Patrick’s Day and we all know how the color green is heavily associated with this holiday. Of course, green is also a symbolic color for the care of the earth and being more energy sufficient. “Going green” is also part of the slogan for the restaurant. Any chance that the color green can be involved with the restaurant is a very helping factor for promotional ideas. Another opportunity would be the involvement of animal rights activists. The restaurant could be involved in charities, donations, and such for the support of animals. I even thought of the restaurant possibly hosting adoption events.

I could only think of one threat that the restaurant could have and it is absolutely a dreadful one and that is lack of interest. Maybe there is a possible reason for veganism to not be so popular here in Las Vegas. It is likely that the views and opinions towards being a vegan have already been established and frankly, it is not so good. Las Vegas probably already has put its foot down about going vegan simply the residents here are not much of a fan of the idea of the vegan diet. If the entire city of Las Vegas already has no interest in a vegan bar and restaurant then there would be no point to continue with this idea. The only thing that I see out of this is to erase what negative opinions Las Vegas has and attempt to reshape it into something positive so it can serve as a factor in strength. “It should analyze company strengths and weaknesses as well as current and possible marketing actions to determine which opportunities it can best pursue. “(Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 56).

Objectives

The objectives of the restaurant are pretty broad and ambitions. It marketing terms, we always want to make our customers happy and earn something back from them in return. With offering a vegan bar and rest, our objective is giving customers a healthy lifestyle by choosing an alternative diet. For those who already following the ways of veganism, it is to give these people a place for an outing since they do not have that kind of options in this particular area. ”An organization exists to accomplish something, and this purpose should be clearly stated. Forging a sound mission begins with the following questions: What is our business? Who is the customer? What do consumers value? What should our business be?” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 39)

(Our objectives, in broad terms can be read in our mission statement. “If the rest of the world is going green, our bodies should go green too. Veganism keeps the body up to optimal health and to live longer. Following a vegan diet improves health such as clear skin, easier digestion, lower risks of diseases, and better weight management. An improved health means a better life. It also benefits animals since they and their children are not used in a vegan diet, which is the definition of being a vegan.” “Mission statements should be meaningful and specific yet motivating. They should emphasize the company’s strengths in the marketplace.” (Marketing: An Introduction for Education Management Corporation, pg. 41). The company would have to do some research to get us start, like what demographics would appeal to the concept of being a vegan to get us started out and are those demographics enough to make it worth it? I have the restaurant already planned out to market towards a young group of demographics since veganism is trending with young people (maybe around the ages of 18-30).

Business Mission Statement

The Verdura Bar & Restaurant a vegan bar and restaurant. If the rest of the world is going green, our bodies should go green too. Veganism keeps the body up to optimal health and to live longer. Following a vegan diet improves health such as clear skin, easier digestion, lower risks of diseases, and better weight management. An improved health means a better life. It also benefits animals since they and their children are not used in a vegan diet, which is the definition of being a vegan. "Consumers usually face a broad array of products and services that might satisfy a given need. How do they choose among these many market offerings? Customers form expectations about the value and satisfaction that various market offerings will deliver and buy accordingly." (pg. 7)

We obviously do not include any animal products in our food so not only do we cater out towards those who are vegan, but support animal rights. Las Vegas seems to lack a spot for a place for vegans to sit and enjoy a meal out of the house, alongside a bar to meet other vegans as well. Not only is Verdura a place for vegans, but our menu has veggie spins on dishes that usually include animal products, such as the Veggie Burger, Veggie Spaghetti, and Vegan BLT. The last thing we want people to believe is that the Verdura is for vegans-only, which is not true. We have something for everyone regardless of what anyone’s diet is, so everyone's experience will be something unique and different. "A company’s mission should not be stated as making more sales or profits—profits are only a reward for creating value for customers. Instead, the mission should focus on customers and the customer experience the company seeks to create." (pg. 41)

Week 8 BOC: Progress on My Final Project - Bar

The progress on my final project is still making baby steps. After finalizing with the Japanese bento box idea, I have happened to remain on the fence between this idea and my original, which was a vegan bar. It was a great idea at first because I thought it had a lot of potential. Other than not having a name, my pitch towards the instructor went very well. I even had a great slogan for my vegan bar: “If the entire world is going green, why shouldn't our bodies go green as well?” Okay well, at least I thought it was great. Anyways, it has been a week now and I should come to a consensus on what kind of bar I want to open. As I have explained before, the Japanese bento box idea caters towards children and will be established as a family restaurant. But if it is going to be a family restaurant it might be difficult to actually even call it a “bar.” Besides my indecisiveness everything is going well. I have the location picked out for my bar here on Green Valley Pkwy; it is near the school and I also live here on Green Valley. I choose the location here on this street because I am a familiar and comfortable around this part of town.

Now that I am putting more thought into it, I think I will go back to my vegan bar idea. I think my Japanese bento box is flawed and I am having a little trouble conjuring the idea and how it will go in my head. And if I cannot see more good than bad in this idea, I might as well not go with it and scrap it. So… vegan bar it is! Alcohol is vegan after all.

It is called Verdura (still not sure whether or not to add "The" at the beginning of it), the bar will feature a "go green" theme and will offer many different vegan types of recipes, even recipes that originally require meat or other animal products, like veggie burgers, vegan ice cream, and vegan bacon (yes, it exists!). Some options on the menu will also include veggie spins on recipes that include meat like spaghetti. So even if people are not vegetarians/vegans, the options on the menu will be for everybody. I think the bar will be for people who are in their early twenties--a young crowd. I think the alcohol will be the biggest money maker since after all, it is a bar. I would like to do all of the visual appeals for this bar, such as the design, the logo, the layout, the colors, and menu. I am capable of taking the photo of the place of the bar and later opening the photo into Photoshop and adding the logo on the building, even though I am not a graphic designer (using Photoshop is my strong suit since I am a photographer). I thought about somehow accessing the inside of the place to make a layout of the bar, but if not, I will sketch up some sort of blueprint. Lastly, the menu is something I would like to work on and spend most of my time on since it’s the most important factor next to the beer. I would like for my top seller to be a meal that traditionally uses meat, like a veggie burger or a veggie BLT. I am planning to come up with a great veggie burger recipe, try it out and after some trial & error, maybe offer free samples of it to draw in people and advertise my bar. I am thinking that most people still eat meat because of taste preferences, but offering a menu that has traditional meat recipes will cater to these omnivores instead of just vegetarians.  The last thing I want people thinking about my bar is that it is just for non-meat eaters, which is absolutely untrue. My bar is for everyone. Maybe I would somehow mention that when advertising.

I think the bar will be a success since Las Vegas seems to be lacking something that infers to people who choose to not use animal products for consumption and this bar will be a fair option for those people. I think this will make my bar from everyone else's since it is unique.

Week 7 EOC: Restaurant Bar Pitch

My pitch for a bar/restaurant is a vegan bar. Las Vegas seems to be lacking in catering towards its vegan residents. Sure, some bars and restaurants do offering some vegetarian/vegan options on their menu, but my bar offers a full green menu for all that are herbivores. Right now, I’m still coming up with a name for the restaurant. I had one in mind call Sprout but that name has already been taken apparently. Other name that I had was Garden Grub but after doing some research on Google, I found out that garden grubs are actually pesky worms that destroy plants. That would not be a very appealing name at all.

Okay, scratch that entire idea on opening a vegan restaurant. I talked this over my sister and brainstormed about my idea a little more I have finally settled on opening a Japanese bento box restaurant or at least something like it. I figured that I would go with that instead of a vegan bar/restaurant since I know a little more about bento boxes instead. I’ll feel comfortable working with something that I am familiar with instead of attempting to wing my project. My bar/restaurant is inspired by obviously, the Japanese bento box. A bento box is like a lunch box for children in Japan, like of like how Americans use lunch boxes for our children. Bento boxes are taken to school and eaten for lunch. Some bento boxes have either one to two tiers stacked to separate some foods from each other. Usually, the bottom tier is the largest and contains the rice while the top has other small bite-size foods like fruits, vegetables, and pieces of chicken or beef (or any other meat). The bar/restaurant will be established as a family restaurant and yes, alcohol will be served but it will be catered out more to children. The name of my restaurant will be either “The Bento Box” or maybe just “Bento Box.”

Week 6 EOC: Me Times Three

Haha, this EOC actually reminds me of that TV show that used to be on MTV where people in search of a significant other raid the rooms of their potential dates and who’s ever room they liked best or was most comfortable with were the winners, out of two other choices totaling three rooms to select from. The room raiders (I think that is actually the name of the show!) have no knowledge of what their possible date looks like and can only make their judgments based off of what they gone through and found while invading their personal spaces.

I guess if I were a contestant on the show and I was a potential candidate for some dude’s next date, he would probably speculate that I am a gamer, a photographer, and that I am always using the computer based off of these three items:

My precious DSLR ah yes. What promising professional photographer does not have one of these? This was the camera that I received as part of my kit when I first started to attending this school. It’s too bad that the newer students who did not become enrolled here sooner were left without one of these in their kits. That is if they did not already own a DSLR already. I know a few students in my class who were already DSLR-owners and simply returned the ones that they got into their kits and it was taken off their tuition. I guess based off the circumstances when first going to school here merits whether or not getting a DSLR in your kit is a good or bad thing.

I said that I was a gamer so there would obviously be some sort of gaming console lying around somewhere in my home. Actually there are three lying around but the one that I’m going to write about it my Xbox 360 console. I do own a Wii and a PlayStation 3 as well, but nothing consumes more of my weekly hours away from school and work as much as my Xbox 360. I think the reasoning for that is due to the superior matchmaking services when compared to the PlayStation 3. I also find that there is a better game selection for the Xbox 360 and my favorite games of all time can only be found for this console. I love my Xbox.

Lastly and certainly not least would be my laptop computer; a Dell Inspiron 1545. The first computer that I have ever owned was some Dell desktop and I first got it when I was 12 years old.  I think another year or two later I a received a laptop. More years later, it became slow and was on its way to deprecation so I picked this one up. It runs on Windows 7 which was new at the time and the programs you would find on it are Google Chrome and Adobe Photoshop, which are the most used. I have been trying to optimize it for gaming, but that’s a silly notion to think of since it is only a laptop. Sooner or later, I am going to purchase myself a desktop computer. My laptop is starting to become feeble towards my needs of faster processing and space.

Week 5 EOC: Super Bowl Commercial

A lot of different ads were aired during the Super Bowl 2013 and one of them I remember standing out the most for me was the ad for GoDaddy.com. The ad was part of a campaign called Sexy meets Smart and their idea of it was to pair a sexy blonde super model up with a red blotched face chubby computer nerd to make out for awkward amount of time and pretty audibly too. I share my disgust with this commercial along with thousands (maybe millions?) of others who were a little grossed out and I sympathized for those who were possibly offended. In fact, it was rejected twice by CBS because it was deemed as too inappropriate to air. “Go Daddy further claimed that two other versions of this ad were rejected by CBS for being too indecent, so perhaps this is the mild version.” - Adweek.com. Regardless of all our feelings towards the commercial, its outcome was a success. GoDaddy.com posted reports of new customers and new sales than more than any other day throughout their entire Super Bowl history. “According to Mashable, that translates to the company’s biggest sales day in history, with hosting sales jumping 45 percent, domain sales up 40 percent, and new mobile customers up 35 percent.” -  VentureBeat.com. The Sexy-Meets-Smart commercial also was the most tweeted about compared to any other Super Bowl ad, regardless of how inappropriate it was. I guess an ad doesn’t have to necessarily be positive to be the most tweeted about. “GoDaddy's ad, in which model Bar Refaeli makes out, rather grotesquely, with an overweight "nerd," netted 290,000 reactions on Twitter — 126,000 more than the runner-up, Budweiser.” - Mashable.com. So after reading the statistics and no matter how good or bad a commercial can be, it can still be deemed positive in other ways, just not always visually.