19A: Idea Napkin No. 2

1. Me

1. I am a Journalism major at the University of Florida with a Marketing minor who’s currently focused on community wellbeing. I love surrounding myself with people, especially at church, small groups, community events and indoor/outdoor gatherings, so the social distancing measures associated with COVID-19 are something I’m keenly interested in. As an Asian American, I’m aware of the stigma associated with us wearing masks and the perceived threat that we hold, especially after the coronavirus was nicknamed the “Chinese virus” since its beginning. All of this has prompted me to form a way in which masks can become normalized and effective and protect all of its users in an inconspicuous way. 

2. What Am I Offering To Customers?

1. My product is a range of skin-colored masks that will camouflage into people’s face colors to offer natural-looking protection for everyday use. These masks will line up with CDC guidelines to offer breathable features. Ultimately, I want to form masks that are as safe as possible, unlike cloth coverings that are said to be less effective, and also visually appealing so as not to thwart potential customers with flashy patterns and noticeable designs. 

3. Who Am I Offering It To?

1. Ideally, everyone would wear masks to further prevent unnecessary infections, but I’m aware that this isn’t the case and many individuals have their own reasons as to why they don’t want to cover their faces. These groups will be my target because it’s my goal to get the widespread use of face masks. I also realize that healthcare and essential workers are at the frontlines of the pandemic, so I’m focusing on distributing it to them first and targeting high-risk groups to receive adequate protection promptly. 

4. Why Do They Care?

1. The coronavirus has been a global catastrophe and the focus of everyone’s attention for the past several months. Deaths are occurring left and right, infections are soaring and danger is prevalent in what seems to be every corner. I believe that coming up with a solution is all of our main hopes right now, but until a vaccine is patented and distributed, forms of prevention like facial coverings are key. Health authorities are suggesting that COVID-19 could become a seasonal illness that’s never really eradicated--which should force us to focus even more on safety. 

5. What Are My Core Competencies? 

1. I like to think that empathy is one characteristic that I hold, and have heard so from my closest friends and family members. With empathy, one is able to understand the needs of others while sharing hurt and burdens of those around them. The severity of this pandemic has sparked my empathy as I helplessly watch millions of innocent lives suffer. With health that I’m increasingly seeing as extremely valuable, I want to use all of my assets to help those around me while I can. What sets my product apart from everything else is the distinctive factor of color. I have yet to find a mask that blends in with the color of one’s face and the mission is to provide a less conspicuous facial covering in order to get people more willing to walk out with them. 

Overall, I feel as though the elements of my Idea Napkin are congruent with one another. I realize that I have no background in science or medicine, which can be a weak business point. However, I’d like to use my core competencies and experience in journalism and marketing to engage with individuals, receive feedback through listening and asking, and promote the idea of my business plan. 

If there are any business concepts that fall out of joint with the others, it would be the target audience or “who I’m offering it to.” Because it’s my goal for everyone to cover their faces, I need to realize that this is an impossible task to fulfill because of the sheer amount of people in our nation and differences in opinion among everyone. Therefore, I need to tune in to a narrower demographic, which is a harder task than expected. 

In my first Idea Napkin, I received feedback from my peers regarding my target audience and the necessity of my product after the pandemic. One peer asked whether healthcare workers were included in my target audience because my first Idea Napkin primarily focused on everyday individuals. I augmented my second Idea Napkin to reflect healthcare and essential workers who are on the frontlines of the pandemic. Secondly, another peer pointed out that while this is a good idea, once the pandemic is over my product may not have demand. To respond to this logical point, I wrote that many experts are saying that COVID-19 will return in waves annually--much like the flu.