Money Talks: How to price your work

• Amount of time it takes to do the job
• £50 day rate? Work out outgoings
• To accurately calculate the minimum day rate we need to work out our outgoings 
• Divide monthly outgoings by 4 to get weekly overheads 
• Your rate.co is an example of a rate calculator website 
• You set your rate no one else does
• A lot of it comes down to confidence 
• Setting an hourly rate is perhaps not always ideal
• Consider the scale of the job 
• Project-based fee - assess the job and quote based on the agreed work and deadlines 
• You sign a contract then you deliver
• Can charge upfront 50% deposit 50% upon completion 
• Have rules on amendments
• Value based pricing - assess the business, what the project stands to add value and quote based on that
• Opportunity to benefit from business upturn through the value of work
• Share in clients success
• Difficult to propose this typically large firms
• The size of the business should reflect the pricing 
• Consider the value to client instead of time
• Price the client not the job 
• Inform the client of the value they are getting 
• The client gets value from designers years experience and money spent on education 
• Charging by the hour punishes you for being good
• Symmetry of logic - care about the end product and its effectiveness 
• What’s the business printing budget?
• Is a logo important to you business and what’s the risk?
• Believe in projects worth
• Be confident in negotiations 
• Value based never sell your time
• The right approach may depend on the project, you preferences or the client 
• Get the client to justify value by asking questions 

Case Study: Billie Razors

• Razor brand Billie launched a summer campaign to normalise pubic hair, per news shared with Marketing Dive.
• The campaign, timed to coincide with 4th of July weekend, follows the brand's Project Body Hair effort a year ago to directly address the subject of women's body hair, includes a new video. 
• Directed by photographer and director Ashley Armitage, who also directed Project Body Hair, the video shows women sporting all kinds of body hair styles at the beach, ranging from what the brand describes as "bushy, bare, or anything in-between."

The Insight:

• The female-oriented razor brand Billie is tackling the expectations of traditional razor ads, as much as pitching its own product. 
• In traditional marketing for female razors, for instance, women are always  shaving hairless legs. 
• By celebrating female body hair, and declaring that what parts women shave is a choice up to them, Billie is directly confronting traditional depictions of femininity in order to forge a bond with its customers. 
• Like other direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, Billie's main brand goal is to create a personality, around which it can assemble a tribe of customers who feel the brand speaks for them, according to Forrester VP and analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee.
• In an age when a competitor's products are only a click away, the creation of a brand personality may be marketing's central role. Personalities among brands, like personalities among people, creates a distinguishing identity that helps a brand stand out and become part of a person's collection of value statements. 
• Billie is not alone in its efforts against unrealistic body images for women. CVS Pharmacy announced last year that it would no longer alter images in its beauty ads, and would use only unaltered images by next year.
• Also in 2018, Dove introduced its "No Digital Distortion Mark" indicator to show that an image has not been digitally modified. Similarly, Swedish feminine-care brand Libresse has undertaken provocative campaigns that have emphasised real women's bodies. 
• The efforts of Billie and others are in line with industry-wide initiatives to improve marketing. 
• Unilever asked content creators to remove any outdated stereotypes in its marketing, part of a previously launched un-stereotype effort.
• Venerable razor brand Gillette has also challenged gender stereotypes.
• Some of these efforts by CPG giants has come to be better in line with DTC brands like Billie.
• Gillette's market share, for example, dropped from 70% in 2010 to 54% in 2016. Most of the difference went to DTC razor brands Dollar Shave Club, Harry's and others, said research firm J.D. Power.

Source: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/razor-brand-billie-wants-to-normalize-womens-pubic-hair-at-the-beach/557763/

Greta Thunberg

• Greta is a teenage environmental activist on climate change whose campaigning gained international recognition.
• She began at 15, spending her school days outside Parliament holding up a sign 'School strike for climate."
• She is known for her blunt straightforward speaking manner.
• Hunberg convinced her parents to adopt several lifestyle choices to reduce their own carbon footprint, including giving up air travel and not eating meat. 
• When Thunberg began her protest outside the Swedish Parliament in 2018 at age 15, she sat next to a wooden sign that was painted white with "Skolstrejk för Klimatet" written in black lettering. She also had leaflets available for people who passed by explaining why she was protesting: "I am doing this because you adults are shitting on my future."
• As her protest gained momentum, she was invited to give speeches at a variety of forums which enabled her to expand on her concerns. So far, she has stated four interwoven themes: that humanity is facing an existential crisis due to climate change, that the current generation of adults is responsible for climate change, that climate change will have a disproportionate effect on young people, and that too little is being done about the situation.She has also stated that politicians and decision-makers need to listen to the scientists. 
• Thunberg and her campaign has had negative reactions from some politicians – notably the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, U.S. President Trump, French president Emmanuel Macron, OPEC, and some media commentators. The criticism ranges from claiming she oversimplifies the complex issues involved to climate change denial.

Reflection:

Greta is a key example on how campaigns can aim to resolve a political or social issue and how campaigns can connect with an audience to gain international recognition. 

Extended Practice: Proposed Briefs

COP 3: First Tutorial Feedback

Dissertation

• Focus the main purpose is to sell 
• Is Femvertising good?
• Look into Billie Razors campaign - aims to present real advertising over fake.
• Billie razor advertisement shaves actual hair whereas, Veet advertisements show shaving already hairless legs 
• Commodification should be the focus and there are arguments both for and against it
• Focus the question around commodification gender and feminism too broad
• Is Femvertising fake e.g. shaving already hairless legs 
• Look into 'Pink-washing' using issues to sell products
• E.g. Uber and Skittles during gay pride 
• Briefly outline Gender Roles?
• Essay Structured by Commodification, Femvertising and the fourth wave and Corporate social responsibility.
• Look into Greta Thunberg 
• Companies rely mainly on selling rather than a message or social concern

Practical Work:

• What is the craziest thing you can commodify
• How can you challenge the position of feminism?
• How can I challenge my own views
• Can I use this as a personal project 
• Can this project translate my own views on feminism. 

To Do: 

• Research Billie Razors - case study within dissertation
• Research Greta Thunberg - an environmental activist who's campaigns gained international recognition
• Re structure and re-phrase the question to make it more focused around commodification. 

Reflection:

Feedback received was really helpful not only did this help me to focus my essay and research but it also gave my inspiration and direction for my practical work. The idea that the commodification of feminism refers to the way in which feminist ideas are used for commercial purposes. This gave me the idea that the practical work could focus on commodifying harsh beauty standards in relation to the female body but also reveal the opposite. Could it focus on the ideal women and represent commodity visually through a barcode. E.g. Face with and without make up, nails and no nails, shaved non shaved legs, heels and flats.  

Analysis & Interpretation: The Representation of Women

Although ‘femvertising’ does aim to empower women and girls by representing them in natural, healthy and complex ways. Throughout history advertisers have created narrow and dangerous beauty standards which are unrealistic. ‘Femvertising’ aims to complicate these standards with honest representations of women to capture the female experience. Advertisers can do so by presenting the female body and its entirety; featuring and casting diverse models. In addition, women should be shown in active positions rather than passive and should not be over-sexualised or objectified. However, it is important to understand the core motivation of ‘femvertising’ like advertising is to sell a product. Visual and rhetorical research suggests that the campaigns explored for Always, Dove and L’Oréal reflect realistic, complex and empowering representations of women and girls.

A stipulation of ‘femvertising’ is that the advertisement features real women, this questions what advertisers used before. Models underwent high levels of editing to produce an inauthentic unrealistic outcome. An example of this can be seen in Dove’s 2006 campaign “Evolution,” where a young woman who was pretty, even by narrow traditional standards is made-up for a photo-shoot, only to be completely edited and altered in post-production. Because the nature of this advertisement is to reveal the flaws in media’s standard creative practices, the advertisement still relies heavily on representation. The model who is tall and thin, white, with blonde hair and blue eyes is not pushing the limits of what is beautiful and is not a profound casting choice in an effort to increase minority representations in the media and yet, Dove claims to be critiquing the very standards they are perpetuating. Essentially, “Evolution” separates Dove from their contemporaries and acts as a pledge of transparency to their customers. Dove’s later advertisements allow them to execute the agenda set forth by “Evolution” by diversifying their casting and highlighting women’s natural beauty rather than relying on post-production retouching.

In 2013 the “Real Beauty Sketches” were released this aimed to show women and a female audience they are more beautiful than they may think. A sketch artist drew portraits of a diverse group of women, of varying race, age, ethnicity and body types. The first was based on a description of themselves the other on a description of them given by another. The results revealed portraits based on another person’s perspective were brighter accurate and less critical. These were real average women which allows the audience to relate directly to the women on screen rather than as their unrealistic standard. Arguably despite the strength of the advertisement the video strays from female empowerment, toward the end the advertisement narrator reads “We spend a lot of time as women analysing and trying to fix the things that aren’t right and should spend more time appreciating the things we do like.” This is an empowering quote however; it is paired with a woman in the arms of a man implying romantic relationships deserve more focus than self-love. Overall the message, “You are more beautiful than you think,” is recognisable although the diversion from the empowerment of women by bringing a man into focus is reflective of advertisers reverting back to classic representations of male-female relationships.

Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign featuring an ensemble cast allows for apparent racial diversity as well as visual representation of female support and companionship. All the women are in white clothing highlighting diverse skin tones but also redefining what it means to be sexy in an advertisement. These women are nearly but not quite nude and staring directly into the camera smiling confronting the ‘male gaze’ by shifting the intended purpose of their sexuality. Their existence is not validated by the pleasure experience of the male viewer. This allows Dove as a brand to remain in the idea that “sex sells,” however also as a brand Dove present themselves to champion ‘real women’ and female agency as it relates to body confidence and sexuality. However, irony lies in Dove’s assertation that every woman is beautiful in their own right but are also continuing to assign women’s worth based on superficial beauty and nearly nude bodies. Dove as a brand have sought to question harsh beauty standards and the casting of diverse models was essential to do so. However, ‘femvertising’ can focus on female behaviour and not just appearance.  

Always’ first attempt at ‘femvertising came in 2013 with the release of ‘Like A Girl’ aiming to re-appropriate the phrase. The phrase has been used in conjunction to connote incapability, a non-competitive nature, weakness and preoccupation on aesthetics like nails and hair.  This advertisement was produced and based on a social experiment they asked mostly women of all ages but also one man and a boy to throw, fight and run ‘like a girl’. This experiment also highlighted the drop-in self-esteem that occurs around puberty. When a little girl was asked, “What does it mean to run like a girl?” she replied, “It means run as fast as you can.” This provokes consideration amongst the audience regarding the sudden drop in confidence most girls face during puberty, prompting a shift in behaviours but also evolves the representation of women in the media. This advertisement alongside their follow up video “Unstoppable” features women who represent the average view as opposed to an unrealistic retouched standard of beauty.

The women in this campaign are not actresses or models, instead they are of diverse backgrounds and body types. They are also shown as their full selves, whole bodies are shown and not sexualised in any way. Women are also displayed in active positions, running, throwing or punching etc and have the opportunity to look directly into the camera. The advertisement promotes a sense of community from women drawing upon a collective narrative whilst providing them agency. There is no doubting ‘femvertising’ has created a shift in female representation within mainstream media.

Brands are either attempting to broaden the representations of women in media because they recognise narrow unrealistic beauty standards are damaging to women’s self-confidence and mental health. On the other hand, broadened representations of women in media may be an approach to increase brand loyalty among consumers and to commodify popularity and engagement of third and fourth wave movement. Although the ambiguity of a brand utilising motive ‘femvertising’ does not necessarily detract from the campaigns’ contribution to diversifying female representation.

Brand Identity & Personality

In order to effectively analyse existing Femvertising campaigns accurately and objectively there is an importance to understand what brand identity entails including how the selected brands use Femvertising to shape their brands in specific ways. Everything that relates to a brand represents a brand identity. A brand is reminiscent of the relationship between an organisation and audience due to the audience being a key factor in the company success. A brand identity is made in order to shape and sway customer perceptions. The process of building a brand identity is important must consider the following questions, who are we and what do we stand for? Visual representations of a brand such as logos colour schemes and fonts are all important and necessary to engage their audience. A brand identity is also inclusive of a tone of voice utilising internal and external communication, the quality and reputation of their products or service. Brand advertising, whether it be through the format of print television or social media, has a significant role in shaping consumer perceptions and brand messages greatly depend on the consumer’s exposer to brand advertising. (Sheinin, 1998)

The advertising industry once bent on selling us sex is now selling us its disgust with sexism. Experts in the field might point to Virginia Slims, the godmother of allegedly feminist brands, selling female empowerment as far back as 1968. (Iqbal, 2015)

"All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarise that society. We can brutalise it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level." 
- Bill Bernbach. (Imseng, 2016)  "The supernova of advertising was the campaign for Volkswagen Beetle, created by Doyle Dane Bernbach in the 1960s. From that moment on, advertising became a different game. All of a sudden, creativity in marketing and communications could not only seduce people in an intelligent way, but also move them and have an impact on society, art, music design and everything else." - Amir Kassaei  (Imseng, 2016)

Some brands are actively trying to sell selling empowerment to women and promote a more feminist image. Examples can include, Selfridges — a major UK department store — announced a genderless pop-up store this year, at which there was no marked difference between the male or female clothing. Then Moncler Gamme Rouge came out with an androgynous Fall/Winter campaign, where models wore a medley of the same clothes with no real distinction between which was meant to be male or female. By creating this kind of ambiguity, we begin to deconstruct our traditional ideas of what's feminine and what's masculine. 

Designer houses like Gucci are trying to balance the differences between genders by erasing the line of what is feminine. By outfitting the men's 2015 fall collection in a parade of pussy bows, sheer blouses, lace overlays, and feminine cuts, Gucci addressed the fluidity of gender. Women can adopt suits, sure. But men and masculine individuals can also adopt dresses.

Whilst in September, H&M released a video entitled "Close the Loop" to shed light on its recycling efforts, but it also proved to be a giant leap for feminism and inclusivity in fashion. Sharing a series of previously thought fashion faux pas, the campaign urged viewers to break any sartorial rules that'll help them express and love themselves. Some novel ideas were to wear a short, flirty skirt after age 40, to dress "masculine" if you want to, to feel A-OK about panty lines, to not hide behind "slimming" colours if you're plus size, and to not give a damn if you love your armpit hair and want to flaunt it. (Komar, 2015)

Brand identity is also inclusive of characteristics such as gender. (Grohmann, 2009) Research suggests consumers want their own brand concept reflected in their brand choices. Therefore, they attribute gender characteristics to brands in order to reflect their own masculinity and femininity. (Grohmann, 2009) However, some brands are crafted to target a specific gender, for example Olay, also a Procter & Gamble brand, creates products for women. It is associated with being gentle, beautiful, soft - even a colour association of pink maps Olay as a feminine brand. Though mapping self-characteristics onto brand representations is a natural process, Grohmann does not extend her findings to consider the implications of gendered advertising and how it perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes.