A break through!

Okay, so panic had started to set in because I still hadn't heard back from Ernie, he hadn't returned my emails, only sent two, one with the questions and explanation about my training for new job and one to find out if he had received my previous one. Anyway, Friday afternoon I decided to email Zoe deals with Customer Care and who I had originally contacted. I did this to see if Ernie was actually in the office and also to see if she would be able to answer some of the more general questions I had. About an hour later I had a call from Stuart Gooding, one of the guys who set Finisterre up. (To call them anything official like Company Director's seems way to formal for these guys.) He explained that Ernie had had an offer of an outdoor event in Scotland that was way to tempting to turned down and had phoned Stuart on Sunday evening to tell him he wouldn't be in work this past week. This explained why I hadn't heard anything. Stuart confirmed that it wasn't because Ernie was ignoring me and he would get him to reply when he got back. I had a chat with Stuart while I had the chance and he was able to answer a few of my questions. I have also been in touch with an ethical surfer/ blogger in Melbourne who has written reviews and features on Finisterre since 2007. He has been really helpful in giving me an overview of how he goes about researching Finisterre and their products and how he and Finisterre mutually help each other aided by Web 2.0 tools. This is all brilliant information for my report.
In my head I know how I would define Web 2.0 and I can also see how Finisterre use it but to write a definition down on paper I am finding really difficult. I am working on the basis of finding a number of definitions and finding the common links to make a definition of my own. About a week ago I contacted Whiteflame, who designed Finisterre's website to find out how they define Web 2.0, they haven't replied yet so they obviously don't think it has anything to do with sharing information, or not with me at least!

Still hard to pin down

The quick response I got from Ernie regarding my first set of questions may well have been a fluke because now I can't seem to get hold of them at all. I explained about my new job starting and sent a few more questions for him to think about before I got to organise a meeting. After another follow-up email as well as a phone call I still haven't been able to pin Ernie down for a chat. He was out of the office when I phoned. I think I just have to accept they are busy people at the moment and will get back to me in their own sweet time, the joy of relying on other people for information. Something I will have to get use to in the big bad world of communications. Some of the questions are not directly related to marketing alone so I think I am going to try and get hold of the office administrator for some of the answers at least.

Luckily the answers I got from Ernie first time around were very in depth so I have been able to make a good start on the report. I am also lucky enough to be basing my report around a company who do the majority of their work and communication online so I am able to get an awful lot of information from there. Today I am going to contact some of the online blogs which have featured reports and reviews on Finisterre so I can get an idea of the process Finisterre have used to get their products featured on these sites. I am also going to contact some of the people who regularly write on the Finisterre Facebook page to see what their relationship is with the company, consumer or otherwise.

Laid-back but hard to pin down

This past week has been a very mix bag, I started the week by looking into definitions of Web 2.0 as I needed to get it in my head as to what it actually is, the more I read the more confused I have got. I have however devised a table with which I have come up with the key terms that have been used to explain Web 2.0, from this I hope to be able to come up with a definition of my own which I will use during my report. I will also take into account what Ernie thinks Web 2.0 is as this will be an interesting evaluation to see if they are achieving what he believes Web 2.0 can do for Finisterre.
The one thing I have discovered during this week is that there is no definite answer for what Web 2.0 is, which I guess is not surprising when it is based on a collaboration of information from a variety of sources.
On Tuesday I sent an email to Ernie asking when it would be possible to come down for a visit. He emailed back saying next week would be good whenever was good for me. So emailed back and asked if Thursday would be okay. He emailed back and said he would see what he could do. Haven't heard anything back from him yet so will have to wait and see.

The rest of the week has all been a bit confusing. I started a new job on Thursday so all day Thursday I was training in Penzance. It felt like 6 weeks training in 6 hours and by the end of the day I just knew the job wasn't for me. Friday morning was spent regretting ever handing my notice in at my current job and Friday afternoon was spent trying to find a new job. I have now managed to find myself two part-time jobs, so Friday evening was spent wondering when I would fit them in including uni work. One finishes in January so I think it should be okay! But, and the reason this is relevant, is, I am due to be training next week.

I will need to contact Ernie on Monday to arrange a phone interview next week and once things are settled down in my job I can go and see them during the Christmas break.

On a more positive note, I am making great progress with the report content and have really got a feeling for the Finisterre brand both through trawling almost obsessively though the internet, as well as the responses I have got from Ernie himself. Because of this I have decided to specifically look at how Web 2.0 helps Finisterre develop the community feeling they have built around the brand which is actually fairly unique in comparison to many other Surf/Outdoor Wear labels. I am already gaining some sort of structure in my head as to how I think the report will be written which will be good for my question and answer session with Ernie next week.

I have made a decision- Finisterre it is

After doing some general research I think I can find a better focus on the Finisterre company rather than Avon, it has also proven far more interesting so far. I would also like to focus on a local consumer company as it may provide me with positive contacts for the future. Overall I think this focus will be far more beneficial to me and something I can interact with rather than being on a very superficial level.

I have made a start by emailing some general questions to Ernie Capbert, the marketing guru at Finisterre, who, and I quote, thinks it's a 'rad project and would be happy to help-wicked.'

Positive start, and gives me some idea as to the type of people I am going to be interviewing and chatting to over the next couple of weeks. I am wishing that I had at least thought a little more about organising a placement with them, but hopefully if I can getting chatting with them and show them what I am producing they maybe impressed enough to let me gain some work experience with them when I finish my degree.

I have made a start on looking into web 2.0 tools, definitions and types as well as benefits for a company. This way I can get a specific focus on the approach I will take on my research for Finisterre as well as specific questions to ask Ernie and the team.

Desk-based research project Avon/ Finisterre

I am not going on a placement this term. I thought it was a good idea to concentrate on other work as well during my placement time so decided to take the option of a desk-based project. It will be interesting to find out if this puts me at a disadvantage. In fact I think it already has because I really can't make my mind up on who to base the research on. I am hoping that writing this first blog may actually help me focus my mind. Originally I was going to base it on Finisterre a technical apparel company based in St Agnes in Cornwall. I choose this company because its close enough to visit for a cuppa and a chat, is a company whose work interest me, and because Jon said it would be a good idea and its always good to do as your tutor suggests isn't it? Then I started thinking about my dissertation and the work I want to carry out on the topic of the beauty industry and thought of...Ding Dong Avon calling. I started to look at the way Avon, as a direct- to- consumer company connect to their audiences and thought that I could kill two birds with one stone so to speak; information for a report and information for my dissertation. But I just can't get enthusiastic about what I am reading regarding the company. Probably cause I know I am not actually doing a placement and just writing remotely about them. Although I have found out quite a lot of information about Avon, general emails I have sent so far have drawn a blank. Jon has given me the details of someone who may be of some help but until I have definite questions to ask her I don't want to be sending waffle in her direction, especially when she is a friend of my tutor. So I have decided I am going to work doubly hard this week and come to a decision on Friday about my final report topic. I know my question will be to look at how they are using web 2.0 tools. I guess my first task therefore is to find out what web 2.0 tools actually are. That way I can hope to find an interesting angle for the report. Watch this space

From

Indecisive Ellie