We've always been told that if you're not sure, just do one anyway to be on the safe side. So, here's a list of the websites I've referenced in my exploration of my interest in becoming a Press Officer.
www.drownedinsound.com
www.drownedinsound.com/community
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com
www.NME.com
www.pitchfork.com
www.popjustice.com
www.popjustice.com/forum
www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/press_officer_job_description.jsp
www.twitter.com
Thursday, 7 May 2009
The Media In Pracitce: So, In Conclusion...
I've enjoyed looking in to the career I hope to have when I leave university, I feel like I've learnt a lot of things about the job that I didn't know before and have a clear idea of the kinds of skills and experience that I will need to go about getting the job I want.
Becoming a Press Officer at a record label won't necessarily be easy; I'll have to start at the bottom and work my way up, making as many contacts along the way as I possibly can and developing skills that will help me when I finally do end up in the job I want (if I even do, the climb up the ladder may open a door to doing something I hadn't even thought of). I must say though, I'm looking forward to the challenge and the chance to experience lots of new things whilst I work towards achieving my goals.
Work experience is going to be as important as my degree (if not more so) when it comes to getting the kind of job I want, and whilst the work experience I've had so far has been really useful I need to make sure I continue to make contacts and gain as much experience as possible.
The lesson we had in public speaking has probably been the most useful to me throughout this module as I think public speaking is something that few people are ever truly comfortable with, and any advice that can help improve your ability to hide the nerves that go along with standing in front of a large group of people will always be appreciated.
I've learnt a lot during my time at university, such as how to write academically and how to research properly, but I've also learnt things individual to me, like the way in which I find I work best and get the best results. I think my degree will form an important backbone to my search for the career I want, and the experience I've had at university has really helped to prepare me for a career and the real world.
Becoming a Press Officer at a record label won't necessarily be easy; I'll have to start at the bottom and work my way up, making as many contacts along the way as I possibly can and developing skills that will help me when I finally do end up in the job I want (if I even do, the climb up the ladder may open a door to doing something I hadn't even thought of). I must say though, I'm looking forward to the challenge and the chance to experience lots of new things whilst I work towards achieving my goals.
Work experience is going to be as important as my degree (if not more so) when it comes to getting the kind of job I want, and whilst the work experience I've had so far has been really useful I need to make sure I continue to make contacts and gain as much experience as possible.
The lesson we had in public speaking has probably been the most useful to me throughout this module as I think public speaking is something that few people are ever truly comfortable with, and any advice that can help improve your ability to hide the nerves that go along with standing in front of a large group of people will always be appreciated.
I've learnt a lot during my time at university, such as how to write academically and how to research properly, but I've also learnt things individual to me, like the way in which I find I work best and get the best results. I think my degree will form an important backbone to my search for the career I want, and the experience I've had at university has really helped to prepare me for a career and the real world.
The Media In Practice: My Time At University (So Far)
Now that I'm approaching the end of my second year and am starting to think about the career I'd like to pursue when I'm finished at university I feel like this is as good a time as ever to look back at what I feel i've learnt and how I've changed since being at university.
I certainly feel like I've grown up a lot since being here. Unlike with college, there isn't someone to always make sure you get the work done outside the classroom, and as assignments mainly come in one big essay at the end of term instead of lots of small assignments throughout the year it is important to make sure I'm attending all the lectures to get the information needed to write good assignments.
I still feel like I could improve on the way I work during term time, in the weeks before assignments are due in. I still have a tendancy to leave all assignments until the last minute which can make it difficult to make sure they are all researched properly. However, I have learnt that this is the way I work best and have decided that, whilst leaving assignments until the day before they're due in probably isn't the best idea, I do find it easiest to complete assignments in a short period of time close to the due date (starting the week before they're due in, for example).
I'm in two minds when it comes to looking at the way in which my time at university may have helped me with my future employment plans.
On one hand, I feel that learning to improve my public speaking and time management have been very useful skills that I will take away from this course. On the other hand, however, I do not feel like my degree itself will be particularly helpful when it comes to getting and performing in the job I hope to one day achieve. When it comes to working in the record industry what's most important is that you have a lot of experience in that field, and having a degree will not necessarily make it any easier to get a job if you have no experience to back it up. This is why I feel it's really important for me to get as much work experience through the contacts I have already made outside of university as possible, as having a degree as well as plenty or work experience will definately help when I'm looking for future employment in the music industry.
The thing I feel I could improve upon the most is my motivation. When I don't particularly enjoy a certain module, or find it very interesting, I find it very difficult to motivate myself to do the work required. This is something I definately need to improve upon, as I probably wont enjoy every aspect of my job once I finish university but will need to make sure I still perform tasks required of me to the best of my ability.
I certainly feel like I've grown up a lot since being here. Unlike with college, there isn't someone to always make sure you get the work done outside the classroom, and as assignments mainly come in one big essay at the end of term instead of lots of small assignments throughout the year it is important to make sure I'm attending all the lectures to get the information needed to write good assignments.
I still feel like I could improve on the way I work during term time, in the weeks before assignments are due in. I still have a tendancy to leave all assignments until the last minute which can make it difficult to make sure they are all researched properly. However, I have learnt that this is the way I work best and have decided that, whilst leaving assignments until the day before they're due in probably isn't the best idea, I do find it easiest to complete assignments in a short period of time close to the due date (starting the week before they're due in, for example).
I'm in two minds when it comes to looking at the way in which my time at university may have helped me with my future employment plans.
On one hand, I feel that learning to improve my public speaking and time management have been very useful skills that I will take away from this course. On the other hand, however, I do not feel like my degree itself will be particularly helpful when it comes to getting and performing in the job I hope to one day achieve. When it comes to working in the record industry what's most important is that you have a lot of experience in that field, and having a degree will not necessarily make it any easier to get a job if you have no experience to back it up. This is why I feel it's really important for me to get as much work experience through the contacts I have already made outside of university as possible, as having a degree as well as plenty or work experience will definately help when I'm looking for future employment in the music industry.
The thing I feel I could improve upon the most is my motivation. When I don't particularly enjoy a certain module, or find it very interesting, I find it very difficult to motivate myself to do the work required. This is something I definately need to improve upon, as I probably wont enjoy every aspect of my job once I finish university but will need to make sure I still perform tasks required of me to the best of my ability.
The Media In Practice: Work Experience
I mentioned earlier that when looking for a career in the music industry it's very important to get as much experience as possible and make contacts along the way, so here I'm going to discuss the work experience I did a couple of years ago for Drowned In Sound (DiS).
Since getting work in the music industry is all about who you know, not what you know, I used the one contact I had at the time to get myself a week of work experience with DiS in London. It was actually a fairly standard 9 to 5 (well, 10 to 6) job in an office, which I really enjoyed. I know a lot of people looking for jobs in the media are after something that involves a lot of travelling or varied hours, but to me a 9 to 5 job in an office in which I get to listen to and analyse music all day is perfect.
As it's a very small business of (at the time) roughly 5 staff I got to work closely with everyone there and see what it was their job entailed. The woman who dealt with press for both the record label and the website was especially helpful and allowed me to observe and help out with her jobs. I got to see how she went about placing adverts in magazines, writing press releases and speaking personally to members of the press to hlp publicise the artists DiS was promoting that week.
I was also given the chance to write several news stories for the website and was helped by the main writer to make sure they were written in a style that would both appeal to their readers and get all the necessary information across.
Spending that week working at a real record label and seeing the way things were run was really useful for me and I'm looking to get some more experience this summer.
Since getting work in the music industry is all about who you know, not what you know, I used the one contact I had at the time to get myself a week of work experience with DiS in London. It was actually a fairly standard 9 to 5 (well, 10 to 6) job in an office, which I really enjoyed. I know a lot of people looking for jobs in the media are after something that involves a lot of travelling or varied hours, but to me a 9 to 5 job in an office in which I get to listen to and analyse music all day is perfect.
As it's a very small business of (at the time) roughly 5 staff I got to work closely with everyone there and see what it was their job entailed. The woman who dealt with press for both the record label and the website was especially helpful and allowed me to observe and help out with her jobs. I got to see how she went about placing adverts in magazines, writing press releases and speaking personally to members of the press to hlp publicise the artists DiS was promoting that week.
I was also given the chance to write several news stories for the website and was helped by the main writer to make sure they were written in a style that would both appeal to their readers and get all the necessary information across.
Spending that week working at a real record label and seeing the way things were run was really useful for me and I'm looking to get some more experience this summer.
The Media In Practice: Learning Public Speaking
I feel that during my time at university I have become a lot better at public speaking, though this was never a particularly big problem for me before coming to university. I have never really been scared of public speaking but this doesn't necessarily mean I've always been good at it. For the presentations we had to give in the first year I never really felt like I prepared properly and as such often found myself missing out things I had wanted to talk about, or talking too much about things that only needed touching on briefly. Since then I have learnt that presentations need to be prepared for a rehearsed thoroughly in order to make sure I get all the information across as clearly as possible. I would also speak far too quickly and fidget whilst talking during those early presentations. Thanks to tips learnt from Kim Marks, a newsreader who came in to talk to the class, I feel like I know a lot more about successful public speaking and find I get less nervous and talk at a much better pace than I used to.
I think that learning these tips about public speaking and correct presentation will be useful for finding employment in the future as they can be applied not just to speaking to a crowd but also in one-on-one circumstances, such as job interviews. Good public speaking skills will also be useful for a career as a Press Officer as it is important to be able to speak to the Press in large groups at press conferences and in other similar situations.
I think that learning these tips about public speaking and correct presentation will be useful for finding employment in the future as they can be applied not just to speaking to a crowd but also in one-on-one circumstances, such as job interviews. Good public speaking skills will also be useful for a career as a Press Officer as it is important to be able to speak to the Press in large groups at press conferences and in other similar situations.
Monday, 4 May 2009
The Media In Practice: How Do Press Officers Contribute To The Organisation?
For this part of my reflection on my chosen career I will look at how Press Officers contribute to the organisation they are a part of. As it is my goal to become a press officer for a record label I will of course be looking at what th role of the Press Officer is within record labels and how they contribute to the running of the label.
Press Officers play a very important role in the music industry as they are partly responsible for organising publicity for bands/artists and making sure that anything that band or artist is trying to sell is properly publicised and in the consciousness of the general public.
Talking to journalists and organising interviews and press conferences is a vital part of the job performed by the Press Officer, and without these things it makes getting publicity difficult. In this way the Press Officer makes a major contribution to the record label, as they are essentially responsible for making sure bands or artists are well publicised so that their products sell as much as possible.
Press Officers play a very important role in the music industry as they are partly responsible for organising publicity for bands/artists and making sure that anything that band or artist is trying to sell is properly publicised and in the consciousness of the general public.
Talking to journalists and organising interviews and press conferences is a vital part of the job performed by the Press Officer, and without these things it makes getting publicity difficult. In this way the Press Officer makes a major contribution to the record label, as they are essentially responsible for making sure bands or artists are well publicised so that their products sell as much as possible.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
The Media In Practice: Stereotypes
As part of this assignment we've been asked to look at what stereotypes may exist surrounding our chosen careers. During the first few weeks of this term we had the university's careers advisor Esyllt Geroge come to the class to talk to us about employment and she spent a lot of time talking to us about stereotypes (including making us walk around the room and pretending we were people working in certain professions. We may have felt silly but it got the point across).
Different careers come with their own set of stereotypes but all careers that in some way involve working with the press seem to have the same set.
To quote another very common, and often overused, saying: "There's no such thing as bad press".
Press Officers, Spokespeople, Press Relations Managers and anyone associated with dealing with and drumming up press for a client are all believed to be very ruthless and opportunistic, taking the above saying and exploiting it. It is a common belief that any event can be exploited by a press team to someones advantage. For example, after Kate Moss was caught snorting cocaine on camera it was her press team who worked the situation to her advantage and turned what could have been a potentially career destroying scandal into something which got her name back in the headlines and made her a hundred times more famous than she had been before.
In some ways this is a stereotype which is based in the truth. It is the job of the press team behind any client, be it a celebrity, a major company or even a small charity, to work any situation to their advantage and make sure the client is kept in the public's consciousness.
Different careers come with their own set of stereotypes but all careers that in some way involve working with the press seem to have the same set.
To quote another very common, and often overused, saying: "There's no such thing as bad press".
Press Officers, Spokespeople, Press Relations Managers and anyone associated with dealing with and drumming up press for a client are all believed to be very ruthless and opportunistic, taking the above saying and exploiting it. It is a common belief that any event can be exploited by a press team to someones advantage. For example, after Kate Moss was caught snorting cocaine on camera it was her press team who worked the situation to her advantage and turned what could have been a potentially career destroying scandal into something which got her name back in the headlines and made her a hundred times more famous than she had been before.
In some ways this is a stereotype which is based in the truth. It is the job of the press team behind any client, be it a celebrity, a major company or even a small charity, to work any situation to their advantage and make sure the client is kept in the public's consciousness.
Sunday, 15 March 2009
The Media In Practice: Becoming A Press Officer
There's a popular saying when talking about getting jobs in the media: "It's not what you know, it's who you know".
This is especially true when talking about jobs in the music industry. Getting a job in the music industry usually involves starting at a low paid, often temporary position and working your way up whilst making as many contacts as possible. Whilst I would ideally like to work as a press officer it is likely that I will have to work in many different areas of the music industry before gaining enough experience and making enough contacts to get the job I want.
The most important thing is to get as much experience as possible. As I mentioned previously I have already had a week of work experience with Drowned In Sound, a music website and record label based in london. As well as this I am in regular contact with a relative who has worked for several record labels in the past and now works for a management company representing several artists, who in turn has contacted several record labels on my behalf to enquire about further work experience.
I have also been in contact with Peter Robinson, founder and editor of pop music website Popjustice as well as journalist for The Guardian and the NME, as well as The Pop Factory, a music and television production company based in the Welsh valleys.
It is important to make sure to familiarise yourself with new technologies and ways of keeping up with news when trying to become a Press Officer, so I do just that. I have accounts on Myspace and Facebook, as well as the newest and currently hugely publicised service Twitter. Using Twitter is a good way to keep incredibly up-to-date, as record labels and artists are able to 'Tweet' things as they happen, which means any new information gets to me straight away.
This is especially true when talking about jobs in the music industry. Getting a job in the music industry usually involves starting at a low paid, often temporary position and working your way up whilst making as many contacts as possible. Whilst I would ideally like to work as a press officer it is likely that I will have to work in many different areas of the music industry before gaining enough experience and making enough contacts to get the job I want.
The most important thing is to get as much experience as possible. As I mentioned previously I have already had a week of work experience with Drowned In Sound, a music website and record label based in london. As well as this I am in regular contact with a relative who has worked for several record labels in the past and now works for a management company representing several artists, who in turn has contacted several record labels on my behalf to enquire about further work experience.
I have also been in contact with Peter Robinson, founder and editor of pop music website Popjustice as well as journalist for The Guardian and the NME, as well as The Pop Factory, a music and television production company based in the Welsh valleys.
It is important to make sure to familiarise yourself with new technologies and ways of keeping up with news when trying to become a Press Officer, so I do just that. I have accounts on Myspace and Facebook, as well as the newest and currently hugely publicised service Twitter. Using Twitter is a good way to keep incredibly up-to-date, as record labels and artists are able to 'Tweet' things as they happen, which means any new information gets to me straight away.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
The Media In Practice: My Chosen Career
For my Media in Practice module at university I have chosen to look in to becoming a Press Officer at a record label as my chosen media career.
I would like to work at a record label in particular as I have a great love of music and have always wanted to work in the record industry in some way. Most work in the media, and in the music industry in particular, requires starting at the bottom and working your way up which I will enjoy as it will hopefully give me a chance to get experience and spend some time working in various different jobs within a record label. The reason I would like to work in the Press department is that I have a keen interest in the way the music press works and the way in which bands/artists are promoted.
Whilst browsing online job sections for information on jobs within press departments at record labels I came across this description of the jobs a Press Officer performs on the website www.prospects.ac.uk:
I would like to work at a record label in particular as I have a great love of music and have always wanted to work in the record industry in some way. Most work in the media, and in the music industry in particular, requires starting at the bottom and working your way up which I will enjoy as it will hopefully give me a chance to get experience and spend some time working in various different jobs within a record label. The reason I would like to work in the Press department is that I have a keen interest in the way the music press works and the way in which bands/artists are promoted.
Whilst browsing online job sections for information on jobs within press departments at record labels I came across this description of the jobs a Press Officer performs on the website www.prospects.ac.uk:
"A Press Officer acts as the official media contact for a specific public or private organisation, handling all media interest.
Typical work activities include:
* Answering journalists' enquiries;
* Writing press releases and news articles;
* Liaising with the press and broadcast media on an everyday basis via telephone, email and networking;
* Monitoring press and broadcast coverage;
* Arranging press conferences, news briefings, media interviews, visits and public events;
* Attending committee meetings and debates;
* Keeping up to date with current issues and public opinions;
* Managing the press and media in a potential crisis situation."
(Job description found at: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/press_officer_job_description.jsp)
I already have a small amount of experience with writing press releases and news articles as these were some of the tasks I was required to do when I spent a week doing work experience with the website and record label Drowned In Sound.
I think becoming a Press Officer is definately something I would be capable of as I already have many of the skills necessary for the job. I make sure to keep up to date with any music news and public information in a number of ways; I check several music websites at regular intervals every day, I am an active member of several music forums and take part in many of the discussions regarding new music and the way it is promoted, and I keep a blog on which I voice my opinions on what's going on in the music world.
Some of the websites I often browse to keep up to date are:
NME.COM
drownedinsound.com
pitchfork.com
popjustice.com
And the main forums on which I participate in music related discussions are:
Popjustice Forums
Drowned In Sound Forums
I think becoming a Press Officer is definately something I would be capable of as I already have many of the skills necessary for the job. I make sure to keep up to date with any music news and public information in a number of ways; I check several music websites at regular intervals every day, I am an active member of several music forums and take part in many of the discussions regarding new music and the way it is promoted, and I keep a blog on which I voice my opinions on what's going on in the music world.
Some of the websites I often browse to keep up to date are:
NME.COM
drownedinsound.com
pitchfork.com
popjustice.com
And the main forums on which I participate in music related discussions are:
Popjustice Forums
Drowned In Sound Forums
Friday, 13 February 2009
The Media In Practice
As part of my course for this year one of the modules I am studying is The Media In Practice. This module involves identifying an area of employment within the media that interests me, then researching in to that career and the skills I might need to gain employment in this area.
As part of this module we also have guest speakers coming in to talk to the class about the areas they work in and answer any questions we might have regarding how they came to gain employment in that particular job and help us to discover what skills we will need if we are interested in that kind of work.
So far I know that I want to work in the music industry in some way, though I have yet to pinpoint a specifc area and will be exploring this more over the coming weeks and hopefully I will eventually have decided on what it is I'd like to do, and will begin to outline how I would go about getting the job I want.
As part of this module we also have guest speakers coming in to talk to the class about the areas they work in and answer any questions we might have regarding how they came to gain employment in that particular job and help us to discover what skills we will need if we are interested in that kind of work.
So far I know that I want to work in the music industry in some way, though I have yet to pinpoint a specifc area and will be exploring this more over the coming weeks and hopefully I will eventually have decided on what it is I'd like to do, and will begin to outline how I would go about getting the job I want.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
2 down, 2 to go
I've handed in 2 essays in the last couple of days: a 5000 word study on fans of My Chemical Romance for the Fandom module, as well as 3000 words on the way in which magazines create desire for the Consumption module.
I really enjoyed the fandom assignment, writing about the kind of thing that really interests me, plus it might of helped that I quite like the band too!
Consumerism wasn't quite as much fun as the fandom module, but it was really interesting to go through a massive pile of loads of magazines (like the issue of GQ up there) and look at them in a different way than I usually would.
Tomorrow is the Race and Ethnicity seen exam, for which I've chosen to answer one question on how 'Whiteness' takes up the position or ordinariness in Western Media, and another on the Blaxploitation genre of the 70's and issues of trans-coding.
After that, term one of year 2 will be over.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
"That's my sister, baby, and she's a whole lotta woman"
I watched the film 'Foxy Brown' today, as research for my 'Race and Ethnicity' assignment, for which I'm looking at Blaxploition films.
This is definately going in my ever increasing list of favourite films, and Pam Grier might just be my new hero.
We're watching 'Coffy' tomorrow, which will probably just push her higher up on my list.
Sunday, 7 December 2008
If you ever felt....
For my MSVC 202 (Subcultures) assignment on fandom I've chosen to write about My Chemical Romance, a band I have a bit of a soft spot for, though wouldn't call myself a massive fan of.
I've joined forums and talked to people who do consider themselves huge fans and they've been really helpful in answering my questions and basically giving me a lot of personal information to help me with this.
I'm now at the stage where I'm analysing the bands songs and videos, which has actually reminded me how much I like them.
I've been a bit lazy when it comes to updating here and putting assignments up, but when it's done this one will almost definately be up here.
Monday, 24 November 2008
MSVC 203: Consumerism Presentation
Item: 2 Pack of Gloves
Price: £1
Store: Primark
Usage of gloves:
* Keep hands warm in cold weather
* Can also be worn for fashion (leather, fingerless etc)
Social location - Primark:
* Place to go for clothes/fashion on a budget
* Accused of 'unethical' production menthods ('Sweat shops' etc)
* Cannot see conditions of production just from looking at the gloves (Marx: Commodity fetishism)
Way in which product was advertised:
* Product was in a basket with price displayed on all 4 sides.
* No advertisement for the actual product, just price
* People being drawn to price, not product
Ways in which you were attracted to the product:
* Need - Winter approaching, gloves essential.
* Brand - Chose Primark as I knew the item would be affordable but do its job
* Price - I'm a student so needed something affordable.
* Location - First floor, not too far in to store, near counter (In contrast to 'Men Buy, Women Shop')
Why you chose the object:
* Aesthetics not a major issue.
* 2 pairs - value for money.
Primark gloves vs Designer gloves:
Left: Chanel - $850 (roughly £425)
Right: Christian Dior - $199 (roughly £100)
* Designer gloves have higher Exchange Value, but the same Use Value
Why designer over Primark?
* Vieblen - Amass goods to portray identity or social status
* Bordieu - Goods demonstrate 'capital' in society: 'I shop for things that make me better than you'.
* Baudrillard - Consumerism creates difference - People with Chanel gloves different to those with Primark gloves.
Monday, 13 October 2008
How different CAN noodles be?
MSVC 203: Consumerism
On the left: Batchelors Super Noodles: 47p
On the right: Tesco Value Instant Noodles: 7p
We were asked to purchase two of what are essentially the same product, but to buy one from a budget range and one from the more expensive range, then compare and analyse the two. For this project I chose to compare Tesco Value Chicken Flavoured Instant Noodles, which cost 7p a packet, to Batchelors Super Noodles, which are sold in Tesco at 47pence a packet.
The Tesco Value noodles come in the very recognisable Tesco Value packaging, which has a red, white and blue colour scheme and minimal frills. The description of the product is the main focus of the packaging, with a picture of the product in the background and the Tesco Value logo in the top left-hand corner. The Tesco Value logo is the same on all products, making it easy to notice from item to item. Also on the front of the packaging is an indication of the cooking times (which are mere minutes), which would appeal to people looking for a food product which can be cooked and eaten quickly.
The packaging of the Bachelors Super Noodles is very different to that of the Tesco Value Noodles. The main colour scheme is blue, making it recognisable to those looking for this particular brand, with the brand logo on the front just above the words 'Super Noodles', which are written in white with a shiny gold trim. The flavour of the noodles is written at the bottom on a gold background, and behind a picture of the noodles in the centre of the packaging is a gold star. The packaging for these noodles is much more attractive than that of the Tesco Value noodles. Also written on the front is "No artificial colours or preservatives", which may also help to create social differences between customers who would buy one brand of noodles as opposed to another. The 'Super Noodles' are more expensive and come with no artificial colours or preservatives, suggesting that the people with more money, who can afford to buy the more expensive noodles, are more likely to be concerned about the quality of the product, whereas those who buy Tesco Value are more concerned with price.
We also decided to conduct a taste test on the products, to see if there was any discernable difference in the taste. The noodles were cooked and presented to our (blindfolded) test subject, who was unaware of which noodles were which.
From the taste test we discovered that the noodles in bowl B had a richer flavour, were less slimy and overall the better noodle, whilst the noodles in bowl A were slimy and had a much duller flavour. The subject guessed that the noodles in bowl B were more expensive.
In fact, bowl B were the Tesco Value noodles. Bowl A were the more expensive noodles.
On the left: Batchelors Super Noodles: 47p
On the right: Tesco Value Instant Noodles: 7p
We were asked to purchase two of what are essentially the same product, but to buy one from a budget range and one from the more expensive range, then compare and analyse the two. For this project I chose to compare Tesco Value Chicken Flavoured Instant Noodles, which cost 7p a packet, to Batchelors Super Noodles, which are sold in Tesco at 47pence a packet.
The Tesco Value noodles come in the very recognisable Tesco Value packaging, which has a red, white and blue colour scheme and minimal frills. The description of the product is the main focus of the packaging, with a picture of the product in the background and the Tesco Value logo in the top left-hand corner. The Tesco Value logo is the same on all products, making it easy to notice from item to item. Also on the front of the packaging is an indication of the cooking times (which are mere minutes), which would appeal to people looking for a food product which can be cooked and eaten quickly.
The packaging of the Bachelors Super Noodles is very different to that of the Tesco Value Noodles. The main colour scheme is blue, making it recognisable to those looking for this particular brand, with the brand logo on the front just above the words 'Super Noodles', which are written in white with a shiny gold trim. The flavour of the noodles is written at the bottom on a gold background, and behind a picture of the noodles in the centre of the packaging is a gold star. The packaging for these noodles is much more attractive than that of the Tesco Value noodles. Also written on the front is "No artificial colours or preservatives", which may also help to create social differences between customers who would buy one brand of noodles as opposed to another. The 'Super Noodles' are more expensive and come with no artificial colours or preservatives, suggesting that the people with more money, who can afford to buy the more expensive noodles, are more likely to be concerned about the quality of the product, whereas those who buy Tesco Value are more concerned with price.
We also decided to conduct a taste test on the products, to see if there was any discernable difference in the taste. The noodles were cooked and presented to our (blindfolded) test subject, who was unaware of which noodles were which.
From the taste test we discovered that the noodles in bowl B had a richer flavour, were less slimy and overall the better noodle, whilst the noodles in bowl A were slimy and had a much duller flavour. The subject guessed that the noodles in bowl B were more expensive.
In fact, bowl B were the Tesco Value noodles. Bowl A were the more expensive noodles.
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