rhombus & co.
Individual
Reflections
I. Bong Siew Mun (0326345)
First of all, I would like to express how happy and grateful I am for achieving one of my milestones. I would like to thank my teammates, Jen and Hannah, for going through this difficult time with me. Also, thanks to my lecturer, Ms Leila who always support us no matter what. Last but not least, thanks to our client, Ms Tee for giving us an opportunity to learn even though we have a rush timeline.
It was a love-hate relationship with the project. I love it because it was fun and challenging, especially when our “babies” come out and people like it. At the same time, I hate it because it was so hectic and I couldn’t sleep well for the past three months. With completing the final year project, I was able to benefit from a variety of new things from this project.
As the executive producer for the team, I have learned that time management is really important. Good time management allows you to accomplish more in a shorter period of time, which leads to more free time and lowers your stress. I would say I am not very good at time management as my team and I suffered a lot on completing the task on time. We have to stay up all night to finish the executions. If I was given a chance again, I would arrange the time properly for the team and make sure everyone will follow the timeline so that we will not suffer again.
Moreover, communication is one of the main roles in this project. Because lack of communication, we lost our first client in the 5th week. However, I gained a lot of experience on how to communicate with the clients. Hence, when we got the chance to collaborate with The Tapping Tapir, even though we do not meet up often but we made sure both sides are on the same page by talking on the phone and Whatsapp. Throughout the project, I also need to learn how to deal with member that’s not cooperative. It was tiring but thankfully my other team members and lecturer are very supportive. At the end, we managed to overcome it!
Overall, it was a fun and meaningful project. I believe that I would be able to apply the skills and experience I gained to my future career. Now, it’s time to move on to my next step - internship.
II. Chua Jien Fern (0326593)
Before beginning this campaign, I had no idea what to expect. However, I was certainly not expecting to encounter so many challenges right from the beginning. Losing a client during the first few weeks was difficult as we had already done the necessary research for their products. But thankfully, we were able to secure another one in time. Ms Tee, our new client under The Tapping Tapir, was incredibly supportive and gave us the chance to explore the ideas we had.
Another challenge that I was not expecting was having a member on the team that was not putting effort in the overall campaign. It has taught me to focus on what exactly I should be giving priority to, which was teamwork. Without it, there would be no foundation to the entire group. At the end of the campaign, I am pleased to say that the relationship I have with my team members Bong and Hannah have strengthened considerably and I know that they will have my back whenever.
For me, perseverance was the key that was needed. There were many times where I felt like we will not be able to achieve what was planned. However, by focusing on the end goal and fuelling my desire to see the planned ideas executed well, we managed to successfully finish the campaign. Being the creative strategist, it took a lot of confidence in backing up and supporting the suggestions that I provided among the team. On showcase day, it was a joy to be able to see the executions come to life and to have people appreciate our efforts and countless sleepless nights that we put into.
Throughout this campaign, I was able to find myself surrounded with people who have been incredibly supportive. My lecturer, Ms Leila gave her all in support whenever we had hiccups during the executions. The team members who gave their all, Bong and Hannah, were right there as well every step of the way. Overall, this project has surely taught me a lot- both in skills and life lessons. In the future, I should not expect things to always be smooth-sailing and I should be prepared for the unexpected.
III. Wee Ying-Qi Hannah (0326429)
The journey I took to complete this project has been a fun and a great learning experience for me. Although it’s tough at times, I think it’s worth it because I get to go through it along with my team members. This module has been the most challenging compared to all of my previous assignments, other than the hectic schedules we had to follow and the numerous edits we put into each execution to make it reach its ultimate perfection, I believe I have learned more than what I have learned from previous semesters combined.
Working with my team members had been great because I got to learn a lot from them, their working attitude and persistence had inspired me to do my best in every little detail of the assignment. When in doubt, my group members still remained optimistic, so I learned to view things in a more positive light. I had to do a lot of things that I’m not used to doing, like sacrificing my sleep and rearranging my sleeping schedule throughout the day, I learned to adapt myself to this hectic working schedule.
I was doubtful about my skills in designing at first, but our creative strategist, Jienfern, had constantly guided me through editing and I have learned quite a few pointers from her which I can apply to my future career in design. Bong, the executive producer had also taught me a few hacks that I could use especially when it comes to using short-cuts on a Mac.
Last but not least, I had the chance to explore the copywriting field more because our copywriter did not meet up to the standards. So I got the chance to do the copies for the team even though I am not the official copywriter of the team. So I have learned bits and pieces from each area, hence, I believe the time I spent working on this challenging assignment has been worth it.
IV. Danzel Samuel Purantoro (0327296)
Doing this module was one of my most challenging things that I have done as my project. The scope and stakes was bigger than the previous projects that I have done. Compared to advertising design and execution and newspaper production, this advertising campaign project was the biggest project that I have done. While it was challenging, it gives me a hands on experience on the works of advertising and the advertising world. Suggesting ideas, creative strategies, and themes to members were parts that I got hands on experience with the team.
Working as a team, i get to understand what it’s like for an agency to interact with a client, understand them and carry out the campaign that they desire. Communication is very important between client and agency, as well as between members to get things going. Our agency’s advertising campaign didn’t go smoothly. Our first client withdrew from us, mostly due to lack of face to face communication between them and us. Our second client, The Tapping Tapir fortunately agreed to meet us to discuss our proposal for the advertising campaign, in which they agreed.
As a copywriter, working with in-line with the creative direction and theme allowed me to apply my skills as a writer. I have a hobby of writing stories, and working as a copywriter further enhanced my writing experience and creativity. The thing that stuck to me when doing it is we are writing words that move, inspire, play with the emotions, and called people to take action. The team worked hard to make sure that the campaign was a success, right to the BMC Showcase. And it was a success.
Doing advertising campaign was one of the most challenging, yet fun, exciting projects that I have done with the team. The experience from this really benefited me on what doing advertising campaign is like in the real world, except that it’s more grueling out there. Although I had shortcomings, the experience that I had in the project was great, and exposed me to the workings of the advertising world, doing it hands on. From this, I will learn from my experience and improve when I enter advertising.