DECA Idea Challenge2013

5+ Sessions

What if...

The DECA Challenge

The Idea Challenge 2013 is a fast-paced competition that challenges K-12 and college student teams around the globe to find a new use for a common, everyday item in eight days. Student teams of three/four will present their innovative new use for the common, everyday item and share their results in a three-minute video posted on YouTube.

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• A market is a group of potential customers—people or businesses—who are willing and able to purchase a particular product or service.

• To determine the target market of a business, businesses conduct market research. Market research is an organized way to gather and analyze information needed to make business decisions.

• One of the goals of market research is to develop a customer profile, which is a detailed description of your target market’s characteristics.

TARGET MARKET

The limited number of customers who are most likely to buy the product or service represents your target market.

Selecting your target market

Whom will you try to reach?

This should be a market to which you have easy access so that you can get feedback on your product.

User interviewsLooking for feelings and stories.

Some example interview questions…

•Tell me about your typical day.•What do you enjoy most about school/your work?•With whom do you like spending time. Why?•Tell me about a day on which you felt particularly excited to go someplace (school, working, an outing?)•Tell me about a day on which you felt frustrated.•Who do you admire. Why?•Imagine a newspaper article written about something you’ve done. What would you want the first line be?•If a movie were made about you, who would the heroes be?•What would be your mission? What obstacles would you face? What would you like the ending to be?•Tell us about something you own that means a lot to you.•Tell us about something on your wish list (for your birthday, a holiday, etc).

User mappingSays Thinks

Does Feels

User statement

We met ________________, a ____________ who feels ___________________________.

We were surprised to learn ___________________________________.

It would be great to _____________________.

Example user statements

We met Navid, a curious seven year old boy who feels excited when he thinks he’s a scientist.

We were surprised to learn he is more excited about making things when he is with his friends than alone.

It would be great to use our item to create a way for Navid to make new things with his friends.

Ideating

A few ideas

• Add three ideas that you think would be great, but you don’t think you could do.

• Add at least one idea that’s impossible.• Add two ideas that you don’t think your user

would like, but you would.• Frankenstein two ideas – put them together

to make something new.• Add about something the person could use

while travelling.• Add something the user might give as a gift.

Prototyping

Testing 1

Iterating

What do you need to change based on the feedback you collected?

It might be your user needs statement; it might be your prototype. Make any changes you need to make now.

Testing 2

Bring your prototype back to your user and collect additional feedback.

Iterating

What changes do you need to make to the prototype or to the user needs statement?

Advertising

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DESCRIBING YOUR TARGET MARKET

DemographicsObjective social and

economic facts about people. (age, gender,

race, occupation, income, etc.).

PsychographicsPsychological

characteristics of consumers (attitudes,

opinions, interests, personality, lifestyle, and

personal preferences etc.)

GeographicsBasing market segments on

where consumers live or where businesses are

located

Buying PattersPatterns and behavior of

your customers (rate of use, repetition of purchases, benefits sought, brand preferences, and brand

loyalty etc.).

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• Team up with another group of students (groups of 4-6 students)

• Each group will be given a different magazine

• Your group will have 10 minutes to explore the ads and articles in each magazine. As you look at the ads think to yourself WHO would want to buy this? When you read the articles or look at the headlines/titles think WHO would want to read this article?

• Based on your best guess create a consumer profile for the person who would read the magazine you have been given. Identify the demographics, psychographics, geographics and buying patters.

• Be prepared to present!

MAGAZINE GAME

Objective: Create a consumer profile for a magazine.

Story telling game

Tell a story about a typical user in order to engage your customers.

Once upon a time, there was a __________.

Who was _____________.Until one day _________________.And because of this _________________.Until finally _______________.And now ______________________.

Storyboarding your ad

Characters:Narration:

Characters:Narration:

Characters:Narration:

Characters:Narration:

Characters:Narration:

Characters:Narration:

Characters:Narration:

Characters:Narration:

Props:Additional preparation:

Taping and editing

Thanks to the following for slides...and inspiration for slidesThe National Federation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NTFE)

The Hasso Platner Institute of Design at Stanford University

Professor Karl Ulrich, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania