4A: Forming an Opportunity Belief

Beginning point

My belief that an opportunity exists: Become the first black woman creative director for Champs Corporate Offices; move up to becoming a creative director for Foot Locker, Inc.

Description

Creative directors plan advertising, oversee the creative process and gives guidance to the creative under them. There is an unmet need for diversity within the company and on the corporate level at Foot Locker, Inc. The need is new in today's society. Foot Locker is becoming a brand who caters to a more urban audience. Having more diversity on the corporate level can lead to strides within the company. Urban and diverse creatives can bring new ideas that ultimately push the brand into a new realm of opportunities. Although companies address diversity and inclusiveness, I do not think they are making strides to fully implement this in their companies. I am 85% sure that this opportunity exists.

Prototypical customer Iteration No. 1
Customer #1 is a 19-year-old male at the University of Florida. He buys shoes regularly for style rather than sport, and he recognizes the need for more diversity in advertisements, especially from brands whose target market is 15 to 19-year-olds in urban cities. He also recognizes the need for more creativity in the branding concepts and ideas for the company. Because he goes to a PWI, he tries to involve himself in social matters.

Prototypical customer Iteration No. 2
Customer #2 is a 9-year-old boy from the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area. He represents the "hype beast" of children. He is not necessarily social conscious but he hears what his parents talk about and he gets his news from social media. He understands there is a gap between people who look like him and what he sees on the media. He likes to follow all the new trends but would like to be able to imagine himself in the ads through people who share a similar cultural background.


Prototypical customer Iteration No. 3 
Customer #3 is a 42-year old nurse at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. She shops for comfort, rather than style, to help her get through the long days at work. She has 2 children and likes to be cost-efficient when making purchases for herself and her family. She likes to think that the brands she buys from support women who look like her and can relate to her experiences.


Reflection
I learned that the lack of diversity within the company turns people away from buying products from their stores. Foot Locker, Inc, has the potential to market to a large group of more urbanized, fashion aware individuals but they come from ethnic backgrounds that are not represented in their advertisements. I wonder if more ethnicities are not represented because the company does not want them or if it is because not enough people from various backgrounds are seeking out opportunities with their company.

Summary 
I believe my opportunity is still there. By talking to a variety of customers, I can tell they want to be represented more by brands who they buy from regularly. Also, by talking to executives from Champs' corporate office, there is a need for more representation from various backgrounds so the company has an insight into how different people think and see their ads. I currently work for Foot Locker, Inc. and have been working there for about 4 years now. People come into our stores wanting to buy the new hottest things. The need and want for the items are there. However, with everything happening in the news in terms of race relations and more ethnically diverse individuals creating big businesses for themselves, there is a need for large corporations to come into compliance with the changes of society.