Week 9: Breaking out and Bittersweet Endings

This past Thursday marked my last week working at the Bravo booth. And while it was bittersweet, I am grateful to have worked with an intelligent and creative group of people - all while having fun. 

Through my experiences working with Bravo and advertising the app to college students, I have learned not to be afraid of approaching and interacting with students - even if I have to be a little annoying at times! I'll admit that when I first started helping out and advertising, I was intimidated by the students and would not approach them unless they seemed interested or came to me first. However, over time, I finally broke out of my shell and found the courage to bring out my cheerful but professional personality. As soon as I started, I was able to recruit more interested students! :)

Love the Bravo family!

Week 8: Bikes and Brainstorming

Now that Pot of Gold is over, Bravo is currently attracting ASU students by raffling off a bike sponsored by Pedal Haus Brewery! Look forward to pictures in this weeks blog!

This past week, I also started planning my final presentation and deliverable for my project. With the factual resources I have from my on-site advisor, I am sifting through the information and designating what I want to present. While I won't reveal everything that will be in my presentation, my idea is to have multiple sections that will first showcase my experiences then relay my thoughts on how Bravo can improve and expand.

When it comes to presentations, I always ask myself these two questions: Can an audience that knows nothing about my topic understand what I am saying? Is my content boring? While the second question involves my own personal preference of being engaging, I find it necessary to always keep the audience periodically engaged. I'll admit that I'm struggling to devise a deliverable that is creative, yet still able to maintain the gravity of Bravo's success. The company's - and the app's - mission is clear to understand. However, because there are so many avenues that the company is planning to take, I have to determine which initiatives are most relatable to an audience that knows nothing about Bravo. My goal with this project is to present my experiences but, more importantly, to spread awareness about the company.

As I start this week, I hope to gain novel, and hopefully inventive, perspectives after working with my school advisor.

Week 7: Research and Reporting

This week, I learned the unexpected nature of startups! On Thursday, I received a phone call from my on-site advisor to come in early to help at the weekly Bravo booth at ASU. I was about to turn into the I-10 when I received another call notifying me that the booth was cancelled. I later found out that the Bravo team was working with potential investors. Now I know to always be prepared for a little craziness in business and entrepreneurship!

Because I wasn't able to work with the Bravo team directly, I decided to do some soul searching on these past seven weeks, and reflect on my thoughts of Bravo:

What I love about Bravo:

• Classic, adult-friendly surface: I consider an app to be "easy to use" if my mom knows how to use it. And when my mom used Bravo for the first time, she thought it was quick and simple. While Bravo's reach is primarily a younger audience, older generations are capable of utilizing the app - a quality I don't often find in other apps. 
• Grand appeal to college students specifically: Although I have been exposed primarily to Bravo within the collegiate environment, I truly see college students as the ideal market. The majority of these students, unlike me, are not old fashioned, and chiefly use credit cards. Whether students need to pay their peers, pay a service professional, or even have their parents give money to their accounts, Bravo has a multitude of use and convenience at this stage. 

What I think can be improved and where I see Bravo in the future:

• Highlight the perks of Bravo on its website and advertisements: Low convenience fee (2%). Direct transfer of money from accounts (no money ever sits in the app). These are just a few of the benefits that make Bravo stand out from its competitors; but I have noticed that not many people realize unless they are told the facts. If Bravo advertised these qualities in a concise yet effective and engaging way in its advertisements, it could appeal to potential customers who are concerned with personal and monetary security. 
• Working with churches: Although this idea may be tricky with many churches' goal to remain private, Bravo could work with churches and simplify the process of donating and tithing. As someone who attends Cornerstone, a rather large church with multiple campuses in Arizona, I've witnessed firsthand the transition of tithing from cash to online payments. As more and more churches - especially megachurches - adopt this method, Bravo would serve as a secure and reliable donation platform for churches at a low fee. Along with this, Bravo can also create a safer environment for smaller churches by alleviating the process of counting and tracking cash-in-bucket donations. 

Week 6: MARCH MAYHEM!

March Mayhem was a success! The crowd had a blast, and the winners of the 4-4 tournament were none other than the team with the varsity boys basketball MVP!

Here's a recap of my accomplishments at the Bravo booth:

• 20 new users
• 4 successful donations 
• $35 dollar donation through Bravo for the Measles and Rubella Initiative

I'll admit that these numbers seemed small to me at first. But after considering the number of people that attended the event and the demographics - primarily 100 high school freshman and sophomores - I realize that the results are not bad. 

Of the four donors, three were adults and the other was a high school senior who had an established personal credit card. Every other student I asked to donate had the same two reasonings for not contributing: "I don't have money" or "I don't have a credit card." In most students' cases, it was both reasons. 

Approaching high school students is drastically different from approaching college students because of the disparity in their independency. College students, even in the midst of the stereotypical struggling to afford groceries and eating ramen every day, are simply more autonomous than high school students. The older students have established credit cards and debit cards to use Bravo; the majority of high school are not at that level. 

Despite the inability for many students to contribute, I was still able to get a lot of buzz amongst the crowd about Bravo and raise awareness for the Measles and Rubella Initiative. I was even surprised to find that one parent already uses the app to tip valets! March Mayhem was definitely a great experience for me, and I would undoubtedly love to plan another event like it!

Week 5: Roadblocks and Rearrangements

This week is a continuation of last week's planning for March Mayhem. Because it is spring break for BASIS students, I will have to compensate for a lost week of advertising for the event - especially through word of mouth. This past week, I have been communicating with Bravo, creating event flyers, and finalizing prizes for the winners of the tournament.

Along with March Mayhem, I am still continuing my Instagram project. Previously, my task was to create a brand new Instagram page to promote Bravo's social responsibility ambitions and my PawsUp initiative. However, instead of creating a separate page, I will be developing the initiative on the existing account. Same concept! But on the current Bravo page :). So follow bravotipping on Instagram and look for #PawsUp!

Week 4: Planning and Prepping

Step aside March Madness because it's time for... March Mayhem!

This past week, I have been working with the American Red Cross and Bravo to finalize the details of my case study for this senior research project. Each March, the American Red Cross Club at my school participates in the Measles and Rubella Initiative - a campaign through which members sell pins to raise money for the Initiative. This year, along with raising pins, the club is hosting a four-on-four basketball tournament in which proceeds will go towards the Initiative as well.

I am incorporating Bravo by having the app serve as the means for donating at the March Mayhem event. Much like what Bravo does at its booth at ASU, students and parents who donate to the Measles and Rubella Initiative using Bravo will be entered into a raffle for three prizes at the end of the night. Here's how the raffle system works:

• Download Bravo = 1 raffle ticket
• Donate $1 = 1 additional ticket
• Donate $2 = 2 additional tickets
• Donate $3 = 5 additional tickets
• Donate $10 = 10 additional tickets

My goal for this project is to experiment if and how teenagers and adults perceive Bravo differently from college students, as well as how incentives motivate different age groups to utilize the app. I am currently in the process of creating flyers and advertisements for the event that will showcase how to use Bravo. At the actual event, I will be hosting a booth so I can facilitate those who are donating and answer any questions that people may have.

Here is a flyer with details for the event. I hope to see you there!

Week 3: Marketing and Meetings

In my previous post, I ended with a lead into the results to my marketing survey. But after everything I have learned through my experiences this week, I realize that my results will be more effectively explained if I describe my week first. The highlights of my week included a marketing event at Arizona State University and my very first formal business meeting.

Marketing to ASU Students
On Thursday, I had the opportunity to work at Bravo's booth in front of the Memorial Union at ASU. Each week, ASU hosts various vendors to advertise and showcase their products. Bravo attracted users by raffling off tickets to Pot of Gold - a well-known concert amongst ASU students. The raffle worked as such: a download equaled one raffle; a donation to the Pat Tillman Foundation equaled ten raffles; a recruitment of a friend to download equaled ten additional raffles. My role at the booth was to attract students to come to the booth as they walked by. What I learned:

1. College students (well, basically anyone) love the word FREE: As soon as students saw the "Free Pot of Gold Tickets" sign they flocked to the booth. Yet, contrary to what I expected, many interested students were not weary to additional steps of downloading them app and donating because they saw value in the incentive. 
2. I need to explain Bravo's concept quickly and concisely: I forgot that young adults like myself have short attention spans. I must be able to relay Bravo and its mission in a way that is succinct, yet still get the idea across to students.

Bravo Board Meeting
My first business meeting was not what I expected - in a good way! Bravo creates the atmosphere in which the board is easygoing and fun, yet it can still accomplish what it needs to. I enjoyed listening to the discussions that the board had on various topics within the business, whether they were current concerns or future innovations. What I learned:

1. The majority of business meetings are all conversation based: While the meeting began with a presentation, over half was conversation. I've had group projects at school, but I truly felt the significance of teamwork at this meeting. In a start-up, along with any business, multiple perspectives are what create successful ideas. 
2. Bravo is innovating: While I cannot say what was discussed, I know that Bravo is going in a great direction! The plans that the company has in terms of its technological innovations and its target market are going to differentiate itself from competitors and truly reach an wide-spread audience. 

After my experiences and looking at the results of the survey from last week, I realized a few ideas:

1. College students have a greater use for Bravo than high-school students: The majority of high-school students either use their parents' money or use cash, whereas more college students have jobs and utilize credit cards - making them a larger target for an app like Bravo.
2. My survey was catered to the wrong audience: The ad that I gave to the juniors last week was meant for people who have already used Bravo - something I did not realize until I helped at the booth this week. While the juniors understood the purpose of Bravo based on the ad, they didn't have a complete understanding of the purpose of the ad itself. Now I know that advertising Bravo to high-school students and college students differs based on the true need.
3. High-school students will eventually become the target market: As teenagers matriculate into college and become independent, they will become the users who find convenience in Bravo. My role now is to use word of mouth to spread the company's message.