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Course Project |
New
Product Introduction through New Media
| Team projects
have become commonplace in business. No doubt many of you are already working within, or
managing the members of, a specific team or group in the performance of your everyday
duties. Accordingly, team course projects offer a realistic setting for management problem
solving. |
| For those of you who have not had the
opportunity to work in teams, this project will give you valuable experience in learning
how to work with others. In business, your team will most likely consist of members not of
your choosing. Many will be strangers to you, or come from other disciplines or other
organizations. |
In business,
your team will most likely consist of members not of your choosing. |
|
Marketing projects typically involve team
members from all the major areas of the organization’s internal environment (e.g.
shipping & receiving, warehousing, traffic, finance, sales, accounting, purchasing,
and production) as well as outside suppliers in the microenvironment (e.g. advertising
agencies, package designers, photographers, and printers).
A digital production team needs expertise in four areas:
|
computer science
(electronic networks, software programming) |
|
human factors
(cognitive psychology, usability) |
|
enabling technologies
(communications, writing, speaking) |
|
design
(visual, verbal, interactive) |
As the content specialist, you may well become the
fifth team member and the team leader. Not only do these other members bring a different
perspective to your project, they almost always bring up problems (and possibly suggest
solutions) that you have not considered.
Team project
Greater Buffalo Savings Bank
| description |
A new savings bank,
called the Greater Buffalo Savings Bank (GBSB), will earn its charter by May 1999. The
bank's development team is currently in the process of filing the necessary paperwork with
the government, raising capital, and planning for their first three branch offices.This is a real project, with
far-reaching ramifications for the face of the Buffalo community for years to come.
Medaille is honored to be chosen to work as partners with the GBSB in bringing this
exciting new banking format to Buffalo.
This is a great opportunity for you and for Medaille
College, and some of the details are listed below. Recall Lou Sidoni's presentation to the
class on November 23rd to get your started on developing a "look & feel" for
the site. Also check out the special page on this
project for information provided by the bank. NOTE: the section of the course web related
to the bank project is password protected, so you'll need to get that information from the
course instructor before you can view it. |
| purpose |
You will work in groups of two to develop a web site for the new Greater Buffalo Savings Bank,
according to their objectives. You are the first Medaille students to have this
opportunity, so make the most of it. You will present the website to members of the
GBSB development team, and the winning web site will actually be used to announce this new
bank to the market. |
|
The
Web will be the reporting vehicle as well as the promotion vehicle. |
|
Your
project will be a prototype Web site that tells the bank's target market about its
attributes and benefits, and solicits investors to help launch this new enterprise. |
In addition, the prototype Web site will be available on the course web for your
instructors and for the next students taking the course. You are free to give the URL to
friends, relatives, and prospective employers.
| due |
January 4, 1999 |
objectives
In addition to GBSB's objectives, this project should
get you to ... |
| ...
think in-depth about marketing strategy in a realistic situation |
| ...
demonstrate ability to plan for & manage information technology |
| ...
use the vocabulary of marketing and new media |
| ...
apply concepts of marketing and new media |
| ...
practice the digital development process as part of a team |
| ...
demonstrate basic mechanical skills for developing Web documents |
| ...
practice oral presentations |
|
| process |
Work in your
teams to develop the web site per the bank's specifications. |
| Specific
Areas to Address |
| audience |
use demographic terms |
| purpose |
goal - objective - tasks |
| content |
visual / verbal balance |
| structure |
preliminary concept map |
| graphics |
interface models and palettes |
| navigational aids |
position and size |
| interactivity |
models |
Some Key Points to Remember
 |
"Positioning" the
GBSB vs. other area banks is the key to a successful project |
|
They don’t
want to be like other Buffalo banks:
- what are the other banks in the area like?
- what do these banks offer?
- what DON’T these banks offer?
- how are the other banks positioned? |
|
Your website should be
"user friendly" -- informative, easy to navigate, etc. |
|
But remember, you’re
dealing with people’s money, so it has to have a "professional" feel to it. |
Oral Presentation
|
Each group will make an oral presentation in
class of their web site to members of the GBSB Development Team. Details to follow. |
|
The prototype marketing web should speak for
itself. That is, if someone found it on the Web, they should have an immediate impression
of its purpose and audience (or at least whether it’s for them). The graphics should
be helpful and relevant. A little surprise and delight wouldn’t hurt. In meeting
GBSB's objectives, the site should give you ample opportunities to demonstrate your
application of the marketing concepts discussed in the course. |
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