Gardopia Gardens Marketing Research 1Ga.docx

Gardopia Gardens Marketing Research
1
Gardopia Gardens Marketing Research
4
Marketing Research
CAPSTONE II
Dr. Scott
Abdullah Bin Jadid
Joe Brown
Nawaf Bakri
Table of Contents
Mission Statement-----------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------0
Vision-------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------0
Introduction------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------0
Farms Comparison-----------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------0
· Dates of incorporation-----------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0
· Strong attendance in the social media-----------------------------
--------------------------------0
SWOT analysis and Strategies----------------------------------------
---------------------------------------0
· City Slicker Farms---------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0
· Planting Justice-------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0
· The edible Schoolyard-----------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0
· Victory Gardens------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0
· Grow NYC------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0
· Fleet Farming---------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0
· Gardopia Gardens----------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0
Comparing SWOT analysis and Strategies--------------------------
----------------------------------0
Gardopia Gardens Strategic Analysis--------------------------------
-------------------------------------00
· Internal Analysis-----------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------00
· External Analysis----------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------00
1. Customer Analysis--------------------------------------------------
-----------------------00
2. Competitor Analysis------------------------------------------------

-----------------------00
3. Market Analysis-----------------------------------------------------
-----------------------00
4. Environmental Analysis--------------------------------------------
----------------------00
· Remote Environment-------------------------------------------------
-------------------------00
· PESTEL analysis-----------------------------------------------------
--------------------------00
The Logo and design in marketing-----------------------------------
-------------------------------------00
· The logo Comparison------------------------------------------------
--------------------------00
· Logo Survey----------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------00
· Potential New Design------------------------------------------------
--------------------------00
Strategies to Gardopia Gardens--------------------------------------
--------------------------------------00
Marketing Development Strategy------------------------------------
-------------------------------------00
A- Social media marketing strategy plan----------------------------
--------------------------------00
· Facebook--------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------00
· Instagram-------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------00
· The Cost and The benefit--------------------------------------------
-----------------00
· Twitter----------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------00
-----------------00
· Google-----------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------00

-----------------00
· YouTube--------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------00
-----------------00
B- Direct Mail such as USPS-----------------------------------------
--------------------------------00
--------------------------00
C- Partnership with a gardening supplier (Home-Depot or
Lowe's) ----------------------------00
· Affiliate Program----------------------------------------------------
---------------------------00
------------00
References--------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------00
Mission Statement
Gardopia Gardens’ mission “is to educate communities about
the importance of practicing wellness in their daily lives
through gardening, in-turn creating a healthier, more educated,
and environmentally sustainable society (gardopiagardens.org).”
The mission is very clear and precise as to what they aim to do
with the non-profit organization showing how they want to
generate a greater importance on health and wellness through
gardening all around San Antonio. Through the passion and
commitment to this cause, CEO Stephen Lucke believes
strongly that by putting a larger importance on gardening will
create a healthier lifestyle for all in the future. As the mission
statement is so clear and easy for people to understand, if
people were to go onto the website people will immediately see
their goals and people may be more entitled to donate to the
cause.
Vision

Stephen Lucke has a vision for Gardopia Gardens which is that
“one day every school, house, restaurant, grocery store, etc. will
have edible gardens. Providing access to fresh produce,
decreasing food insecurity, and encouraging environmental
stewardship. (gardopiagardens.org)”. He feels that if he can
gain more exposure into schools by creating gardens and
educating the youth of San Antonio about the importance of
healthy eating and wellness, it will in turn create a healthier
population of San Antonio. This is what Gardopia aims to
achieve by having a larger amount of people having access to
fresh fruits and vegetables with increased volunteers and
participation in their garden clubs at their local schools.
Introduction
Gardopia Gardens was founded by Stephen Lucke in 2012 after
graduating from the University of the Incarnate Word. His main
idea was to educate people about their health and to find ways
they could improve that. During his time at the university he
recognized the huge problem of obesity and wanted to address
this problem in his own way. Stephen started by creating a
garden at the university, the main focus was on diet and
nutrition and wanted to educate people on how easy it can be to
grow and consume fresh fruits and vegetables.
As a company, they serve to build communities, preserve the
environment, educate and promote nature and well-being and
reduce obesity by planting edible gardens across the city.
Stephen Lucke would like to conduct market research to find
out how many schools, businesses and households have a garden
planted, if they have someone to fund and take care of it too.
Gardopia are also interested in finding out how similar
organizations like theirs run their business and what makes
them successful. Our capstone group will be assisting in
conducting the research for the survey that will be sent out to
schools, businesses and household. While also conducting
research into similar companies.

The main objective is to conduct market research for Gardopia
Gardens by distributing out the already created surveys to as
many schools as we can in the San Antonio district, we will also
create our own surveys that will be handed out to the businesses
and households to determine information on if they have a
garden or not. This research provided will be used for Gardopia
for their future projects. Along with this, another objective will
be to find similar garden businesses and find what is their most
successful practice and try to put in a plan of action which may
be able to help Gardopia Gardens.
Gardopia Gardens is a non-profit organization that focuses on
the wellness and good of all people, as a company they focus on
the development of wellness and providing a healthier lifestyle
that people can follow. The purpose of this strategic analysis is
to conduct research on their practices internally and externally.
Farms Comparison
Talk briefly about:
Dates of incorporation/
· Grow NYC: 1970
· The Edible Schoolyard: 1995
· City Slicker Farms: 2001
· Planting Justice: 2009
· Victory Gardens: 2012
· Fleet Farming: 2014
· Gardopia Gardens: 2015
Strong attendance in the social media.
· Grow NYC

Facebook: 30,577 followers, Instagram: 14,400 followers,
Twitter: 17,800 followers.
· The Edible Schoolyard
Facebook: 43,880 followers, Twitter: 18,300 followers.
· City Slicker Farms
· Facebook: 5,483 followers, Instagram: 4,216 followers,
· Planting Justice
· Facebook: 8,654 followers, Instagram: 1,476 followers,
· Victory Gardens
Facebook: 3,347 followers, Instagram: 7,196 followers, Twitter:
3,503 followers.
· Fleet Farming
Facebook: 17,850 followers, Instagram: 5,227 followers.
· Gardopia Gardens
Facebook: 1,427 followers, Instagram: 930 followers, Twitter:
85 followers.
SWOT analysis and Strategies
City Slicker Farms
Strength
City Slicker Farms offers unique and low-cost resources to the
members of the West Oakland community towards meeting their
need; delivering healthy food for both themselves as well as

their families through creation of organic, high-yield and
sustainable backyard gardens and urban farms. The agricultural
program assays at attending to all the residents of West Oakland
in addition to prioritizing people who have the lowest degree
access to farming by offering urban farming education, garden
products, community markets among others (Leal, 2011).
Despite offering unique and low-cost resources, City Slicker
Farms has the vantage of the youthful population who offer a
larger workforce population of both volunteers and workers as a
majority of these youths are in a direful need for workforce
development opportunities. Furthermore, City Slicker Farms
provide opportunities that hence cater for affordable, healthy
food besides plying for improving the environment.
Weakness
Prior to its strengths, City Slicker Farms are subjected to
gentrification. This relates to the restoration of run-down urban
areas by the middle class resulting in the displacement of low-
income residents. The demographic changes within the
neighborhood serve a deterring factor to the emergence and
growth of farming activities, an initial intended purpose.
City Slicker Farms are also faced with lack of resources such as
equipment and funding. This is a critical factor regarding
selection as there exist a rigid competition for funding among
other programs hence these resources are necessary for making
the project possible.
Opportunities
City Slicker Farms offer locally grown foods that are cultivated
within a particular locality of the community. Gardens and
farms demonstrate the practicality of offering local food-
production systems that serves the community, offers
empowerment to both adults and children who endeavor into

learning about the relationship between farming, urban
environment, and ecology. This gives the people of West
Oakland community a vital tool for self-sufficiency and
personal independence.
In addition to providing locally grown food, City Slicker Farms
offers workforce development, peculiarly the youth. Through
the involvement in urban agriculture, the West Oakland
community project has successfully enabled the proposition of
building job skills that tend to engage youth development.
Threats
One of the major obstacles City Slicker Farms face is lack of
infrastructure due to lack of finances. Farmers within the West
Oakland community are deprived of credit services that limit
financial aid. Lack of credit services therefore hinders most of
these farmers and deters them towards building proper storage
facilities as well as viable infrastructure that ought to enable
them to have access to markets and essentially develop credible
farming equipment.
Planting Justice
Strength
In accordant with the website information, Planting Justice
offers a unique proposition for nursery and aquaponics farms,
an extensive farmland, food justice education, grassroots
canvass, holistic re-entry, farmer training program and yard
transformation. Through its nursery collection, Planting Justice
has 1,100 different varieties of organic tree-crops. On the other
hand, the food justice education program prompts people who
are directly affected by food injustice and poverty towards
creating a sustainable and more local food system through skills
development in nutritional education, permaculture design and
multimedia arts that serves the purpose of connecting urban

gardens with the local and international movements and
struggles for social justice.
Weakness
Lack of volunteers bears a constraining factor to Planting
Justice. Its five-acre plantation grove and farm located in El
Sobrante constitutes a place to an extremely diverse
accumulation of shrubs and fruiting trees that currently house
seven hundred varieties over hundreds of different plant
families. The large garden farm rigorously needs attention as
volunteers offer a supporting hand in managing these fields.
Opportunities
Planting Justice is favored with community health experts and
advocates who are adequately trained and devoted to
administering farmer training programs to the community of the
specified locality. Consequently, the farming program hires
staff directly without deviation from the communities they
serve, and hence develop mentorship opportunities and close
relationships with students through the consistent and
reproducible weekly programming. Moreover, the Planting
Justice has partnered with allies and educators towards evolving
the “Plant! Cook! Organize!” curriculum that is to be availed
online in the near future.
Threats
Planting Justice is presented with lack of resources and
competition for funding respectively hence deterring
diversification. Regarding agriculture, diversification involves
purchasing and obtaining more machinery, increasing the
amount of both capital and labor demanded in managing a more
composite operation. With the limited resources as such, lack of
resources tends to limit food production and resultantly hinders
various development programs involved within the system and
therefore inhibiting gradual improvement and general progress.

The Edible Schoolyard
Strength
According to the Edible Schoolyard website, the program
inclines at sharing and building an edible education curriculum
for pre-kindergarten students through to high school. The
establishment envisions kitchens and gardens as interactive
classrooms intended for entire academic subjects, and a free and
delicious lunch that caters for every student with an aim of
transforming the values and health of each and every child in
the United States.
In essence, the Edible Schoolyard offers a unique proposition
that involves an extensive curriculum, garden and kitchen
classroom, family nights out and professional development. For
the most part, the Edible Schoolyard trains educators across the
world in creating sustainable and powerful edible education
programs among their communities and schools. The program
seeks towards backing and supporting communities while they
develop sustainable and strong programs.
Weakness
Curriculum differentiation stands a weakness to the Edible
Schoolyard program. By the fact that the system intends to
serve an interchangeable curriculum to students within the
United States and all over the world, it is out of the question as
different regions of the world share different curriculum
programs. This can only be realistic for the existence of a
differentiated curriculum.
Opportunities

Contrastingly, an opportunity that best serve the Edible
Schoolyard program is the differentiated curriculum as prior
stated. In essence, a differentiated curriculum constitutes a
curriculum that is individualized in order to meet a diverse
needs and concerns of all students supposedly within one class.
The system lies under equality, which implies giving each and
every student equal opportunities of learning and not
necessarily teaching every student in the exact same way as
taught.
Threats
The Edible Schoolyard faces multicultural difference. Initially,
the intent of the curriculum serves to engage all individuals
with different cultural stands. This subjects different
individuals into losing a little of personal identity prior to
acquiring another curriculum. This is supposedly because; a
majority multicultural education programs only focus on
different cultures in the absence of providing an education that
is within the constraints of the student’s culture. Nevertheless,
it is important to acknowledge oneself fairly as it is crucial to
know about the concerns of others at a cultural level.
Victory Gardens
Strength
In accordant to the Victory Gardens website, the urban farming
program extends a unique selection of gardening basics that
entails preservation workshops and container gardening besides
pocket markets. The intended purpose to this program is to offer
a wider selection of agricultural segments in order to facilitate
the beginner gardeners and the advanced gardener as well as
allowing individuals to grow what they eat.
The fundamental proposition to this program is to help people
grow their food through availing education, infrastructure

development, and maintenance. Additionally, Victory Gardens
successfully engage urban agriculture including front and
backyards, rooftops, and apartment balconies aside from public
and commercial space respectively.
Weakness
Victory Gardens lacks extensive agricultural expansion in terms
of surface area due to the confined spaces they tend to spot and
exploit. In such a situation, there exist only low farming areas
and hence low investment.
Opportunities
Victory gardens offers an extensive custom package services
according to an individual’s requirements and specifications.
Their service entails consultation on the available specifications
within a particular garden space as well as assessing the site
characteristics. Upon this, one is given advice on what to grow
best within the particular garden and finally the development of
an electronic “Custom Garden Map and Planting guide” that is
oriented to one’s specific vision.
Threats
Lack of expansion referable to the idea that Victory Gardens
employs the available spaces in front/backyards, rooftops, and
apartment balconies aside from public and commercial space,
there is an insufficiency in expanding upon in size, volume,
quantity, and scope of production and output.
Grow NYC
Strength
With respect to the Grow NYC website, the program has a green
strategy of green market, recycle, garden and teach respectively.

Grow NYC fosters the green market through a broad network of
farmers markets, fresh food box pick-ups, youth markets, and
Greenmarket Co. that ensures the entire New York region has
access to the healthiest and freshest local food.
Weakness
Grow NYC faces environmental concerns and soil
contamination. In New York City, the environmental issues are
largely affected by the size of the city, its density, the abundant
and exuberant public transportation infrastructure, and its
location that opens through the Hudson River.
Opportunities
Opportunities within Grow NYC pertains a volunteering
workforce that the population contributes. The availability of
volunteers predominately improves quality of life within New
York City through environmental platforms and programs that
are aimed at transforming the community’s foundations hence
empowering all New Yorkers in order to secure a healthy and
clean environment for the future generations respectively.
Threats
Access to water is a threat to the existence and the sustenance
of Grow NYC program. In New York City, the waste-water
treatment plants, domestic sewage, rain events cause water
runoff, and industrial wastewater that is directed and washed off
to the waterways creating what is termed as the CSOs or the
Combined Sewer Overflows.
Fleet Farming
Strength

Fleet Farming is an agricultural program that transforms the
underutilized land within the regions of Orlando and its
neighborhood into productive small-scale farms so as to impact
the local food systems. The program has a unique proposition as
everything grown is availed and sold at local restaurants and
farmers markets within a three-mile radius and only by
transforming neighborhood lawns into gardens of community-
driven farm plots.
Weakness
Revenue taxation stands a limiting factor to farming persistence
with respect to financial constraints within Fleet Farming.
Besides taxation, underutilization of land structures finds it
limiting for the Fleet Farming program to expand and produce
farm products on a large scale.
Opportunities
Opportunities within Fleet Farming are subjected by the
inclination of transforming front, back, and side lawns within
communal, business and residential land.
Threats
Financial capacity and changes in prices stand a threat to Fleet
Farming.
Gardopia Gardens
Strength
Gardopia Gardens offers garden-based learning programs (GBL)
that mainly caters for evidence-based practices which assays at
teaching the youth on how to grow food. Its unique proposition
plies for the GBL curriculum that has a strong emphasis on

reducing malnutrition and childhood obesity.
Weakness
Market restraints stand a major weakness associated with
Gardopia Gardens.
Opportunities
Higher volunteer turnout and the maximum use of technology in
enhancing better yield hence better production
Threats
Health disparities that are primarily affiliated obesity.
Comparing SWOT analysis and Strategies
Predominately, Gardopia Gardens offers precise interventions in
terms of purpose as compared to the other programs specified.
In essence, Gardopia Gardens strives at attaining the core
values of health, education, and environment. Contrastingly,
other programs mainly focus on realizing agricultural output in
terms of production entirely (Wylde, 2012).
On the other hand, it can ascertain that Gardopia Gardens
emphasizes on addressing the need of a particular purpose
intended towards a particular line of orientation. The program
therefore offers effective interventions that are necessary to
cover the growing eruption of childhood malnutrition and adult
obesity, a missing factor among other programs stipulated.
Gardopia Gardens Strategic Analysis
External Analysis
1. Customer Analysis

The customer analysis segment of Gardopia Gardens is a critical
segment of the community gardening program. The analysis
basically identifies the target customers, determines the needs
of the customers, and then gives a value on how the product
meets these needs. Gardopia Gardens mainly targets the obese
in the society so as to give attention to the obesity epidemic, a
widespread outbreak that is affecting the nation. Obesity has
dramatically increased in the past three decades.
According to the CDC data brief, more than 36.5%, about one-
third of the adult in the United States have obesity. Obesity-
related prevailing conditions include stroke, heart disease, type
2 diabetes and distinct types of cancer, persisting among the
leading causes of preventable death. In the U.S, there is an
estimated obesity medical cost of $147 billion each year as per
the year 2008 having the medical costs obese for people being
$1,429 beyond individuals of normal weight. The data brief
therefore shows prevalence within the unmet needs of the
population as ascertained.
2. Competitor Analysis
Regarding competitor analysis, Gardopia garden has been
strategically working with numerous strategic groups within the
area, having the Resurgence Collaborative as the most widely
esteemed non-profit coalition. Respective partners such as
Eastside Promise Neighborhood (EPN), The San Antonio
Housing Authority (SAHA), City Council District 2 (D2), San
Antonio Police Department (SAPD), San Antonio Independent
School District (SAISD), among several local businesses,
churches and separate ventures have been inherent to the
program. From that fact, the program has seen effective
interventions in terms of performance in peculiarly addressing
the widespread of both childhood and adult obesity respectively.
Through the garden-based learning (GBL) and the recent
establishment of the wellness center, Gardopia gardens aim at

determining performance. The program’s mission is to educate
communities on the importance of exercising wellness in their
day-to-day lives. Through gardening, Gardopia aims at attaining
a healthier, educated and society that is capable of being
sustained with respect to the environment. In addition, the
program’s core values include health, education, and the
environment
3. Market Analysis
Gardopia gardens started out in 2015 fundamentally in order to
address the health disparities within the corridor near the
Eastside of San Antonio that established a high-crime rate. It
was initially funded by the Bryne grant via the SAHA, (San
Antonio Housing Authority). The program implemented crime
prevention strategies through environmental design, forming the
CPTED as a way of reducing crime. Consequently, Gardopia
gardens became the first Garden Utopia within the Eastside
while working with the SAHA, where community members
began farming their own food through the abandoned lot.
The Garden-Based Learning (GBL) Program has enabled the
program to maintain five organic gardens within the bounds of
the Eastside Footprint in only two years. This includes Bowden
Elementary School, Ella Austin Community Center, Sam
Houston High School, Washington Elementary School as well as
the wellness center garden on N. New Braunfels Street. Since
its initiation, Gardopia Gardens has expanded to attend to
Cambridge Elementary, the San Antonio Independent School
District’s Young Men’s Leadership Academy and Alamo
Heights Junior School as a whole, thus assisting a total number
of 413 young persons and 87 adults within the last year. Today,
the program persists on serving at a risk multi-cultural
community that experiences high rates of unemployment,
poverty, obesity, and other non-communicable diseases (NCD),
tobacco use, alcohol, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diets

increase the risk of dying from an NCD. In future prospects,
Gardopia gardens aim at reducing the rates malnutrition and
obesity by increasing the availability of fresh produce,
providing family fitness classes for free and by imposing
strategic intervention of planned events in schools and
community centers altogether.
4. Environmental Analysis
The operating environment within Gardopia consists of the
garden's customers, suppliers and market intercessors that link
the project to its customers. The Gardopia gardens market pool
basically comprises of the gardening beneficiaries as well as the
community as a whole that inclines towards teaching people
about environmental sustainability and wellness through
gardening. Gardopia provides other services such as Buy-A-
Garden with Gardopia gardens that endeavors at obligating
individuals start their own vegetable garden as well as native
landscaping gardening in order to arrest obesity.
The garden supplier segment mainly comprises of the volunteers
and counterparts who engage in making the project a success.
The supplier pool has successfully enabled the garden address
various prospects such as the provision of a wellness center. It
can be ascertained that Gardopia is at present establishing a
wellness center along the Eastside of the city, which throughout
history has been regarded a potential violence spot for criminal
activity. The project hopes to address the situation through
offering programming events that are wellness based, educating
the homeless and individual who are at potent risks to criminal
activity and how to extend a healthier lifestyle.
All the same, market intercessors that subsist within the project
are the distributors of the garden’s essential goods and services.
The gardening distributors carry a variety of contending
products, maintaining close relationships with the garden’s
suppliers and customers respectively. They are of essence to

Gardopia as they cater for a wider distribution channel as well
as constituting as sales and marketing expertise. They
understand and comprehend very well on how best to trade with
their customers. They are in a position to hold new products
and successively promote the gardening products in the most
effective manner that is best for the community and the garden,
so as to achieve the best overall results. However, one of the
most limiting factor with Gardopia gardens distribution channel
is inventory problems. The project faces the disadvantage of
data collection from its diverse centers before attaining an
accurate inventory.
Remote Environment
The remote environment generally involves political factors,
economic factors, social factors, and technological factors.
From this overview, it is hence necessary to determine the
PESTEL analysis for Gardopia Gardens.
PESTEL analysis
With respect to political factors, Gardopia gardens face a high
exposure to changes in regulation. The government occasionally
alters the regulations and rules pertaining the program. This
greatly holds negative effects in achieving most of its
strategies. The gardening program is also subjected to economic
factors. The major economic factor within Gardopia is the
disposable income of buyers. In essence, if there is a decrease
in the disposable income, customers have less to spend in
purchasing Gardopia products and services. This drives
consumers to consume less and hence avoiding waste. The
overall decrease in economic consumption tends to decrease
corporate earnings and corporate sales respectively.
Regarding social factors, Gardopia also faces challenges among
gender and the connected demographics as a whole. A majority
of volunteers within the program consists of the Latin American

origin residents in the United States who occasionally move
from place to place. This largely affects the human population
within the region hence inhibit prolongation.
Gardopia also faces a high rate of technological obsolescence.
The tendency of advancing in terms of technology is generally
low. Technology is ever advancing at any given point. As such,
the program needs to stay afloat with the current changes of
technology and technological inventions respectively. In
addition, legislative changes further have an impact on the
program. Legislative changes fall out from time to time and a
majority of these changes largely have an effect on the business
environment.
The Logo And Design In Marketing
A logo is basically a graphical mark that is used for
identification of a company or a product. A logo holds the value
of the company since it shows its identity. In addition to that,
logos are used for advertising the product and services that a
company offers. A logo can be a mark, flag, symbol and design
among others (Lewis, & Lewis, 2009). Therefore, this means
that logo is a trademark of a company. It is also important for
companies to design their logo in a way that will be easily
understandable since it is a promotional material.
There are five principles that should be followed by companies
when designing their logo. They are; simplicity, memorable,
timeless, versatile and appropriate. When these are followed, a
company will be able to come with an ideal logo (Lewis, &
Lewis, 2009). An ideal logo should be simple so that it can be
easily recognized. The simplicity of a logo makes it versatile
and memorable. Therefore, an ideal logo should be unique and
simple. An ideal logo should also be memorable. This means
that an appropriate logo should be easily remembered maybe
because of its specialty. Therefore, if the logo is simple, then
definitely it will be memorable. An ideal logo should also be
timeless in such a way that it will stay long for many years

without being changed. Basically, longevity is the key to a logo.
An ideal logo should also be versatile.
A logo should be able to work across a diversity of mediums
and applications. Some logos are designed in a versatile format
so that it can be scaled to any size. Therefore, this means that a
logo should be able to work both in vertical and horizontal
formats. An appropriate logo should also be appropriate. A logo
should be positioned in such ways that are appropriate for the
intended purpose. Basically, it is not a must for a logo to show
what a company is offering but rather can be designed in
another way as long as it is appropriate and can be easily
identified. A logo should be self-explanatory such that people
won’t have to ask its meaning but understand by themselves. It
is important to know that a logo’s quality is important since it
gives its meaning and what it symbolizes. An ideal logo should
also be distinct. It should stand out from other industries. It
should not be similar to that of the competitors since it may be
difficult for potential customers to recognize a brand of an
industry. Therefore, the company should ensure that its logo is
unique and easily distinguishable from other brands.
The logos of Victory Gardens, Edible Schoolyard Project,
Planning Justice, Grow NYC, Gardopia Gardens, and Fleet
Farming are used for marketing. Logos are important for
companies since they help in creating corporate identity and
trust, promotes exposure of brands, it helps the customers to
relate with the company, it makes it easier for the advertisement
and marketing of a company and also makes content marketing
plan easier. One of the best logos is the victory gardens. The
mission of this company is to ensure that it builds a community
that grows their own food. The logo is simple and can be easily
understood. It can also be distinguished since it is not similar to
that of its competitors. It also shows that the target group is the
farmers and those who want to venture into farming.
The Logo Comparison
The Edible Schoolyard Project also has a good logo despite the

fact that it is not so appealing and all that has been shown is
words. It has the simplicity feature. Basically, when people see
this logo, they want to know more about The Edible Schoolyard
Project. Edible Schoolyard Program has a mission of creating
and sustaining the organic garden, landscape and kitchen
classroom. Therefore, it would be better for them to design
theirs in such a way that it should be distinct. It may be hard for
potential people to recognize what the Edible Schoolyard
Project is about. As compared to Victory Gardens, the logo of
Edible Schoolyard Project is more plain but simple but for
Victory Gardens, it shows what the company is all about.
However, The Edible Schoolyard Project is easily
distinguishable.
Planning Justice logo is not so appealing to the eye. First, it is
not so visible because of its color. The black and white image is
not visible. As compared to other logos, Planning Justice logo is
not memorable at all. Even though it is unique since many
companies have colored logo, the logo for Planning Justice does
not give a lasting impression. There are emerging trends that
companies use. But in this case, the trend used is that of
decades ago. Planning Justice should design a new logo that
will be outstanding and which will give a clear and a good
impression. In addition to that, the logo is not sizable it is a bit
long. The logo should be versatile but that is not applied to the
logo of Planning Justice logo.
Grow NYC provides free tools and services that any person can
use so as improve New York City and environment. This logo is
very simple and unique. It has included everything that the
company does. The logo is inclusive of the name of the
company, and what they are doing. Its logo is versatile and
memorable as compared to that of Planning Justice logo which
is not memorable and unpleasant color scheme. The color
scheme used for the logo is green which gives an impression of
the environment. Therefore, people can easily relate the

company to its logo.
Gardopia Gardens logo has the principle of simplicity and can
be easily remembered by people. This non-profit organization
deals with crime prevention through environmental design. As
stated above, the green color in most cases represents the
environment. The same applies to Gardopia Gardens since it
promotes the awareness of maintaining the environment and
promoting environmental sustainability. City Slicker farms the
logo of this company is unique but they could have tried to add
some features that could show what they do exactly. The last is
the Fleet Farming. This logo does give a clear impression of
what the company does. Therefore, some of the logos of the
company market itself whereas others do not market it. Some
logos have features that give an impression of what the
company does when others do not. Therefore, companies like
Victory Gardens can be easily identified and give a clear
impression. A logo like that of growing food jobs community, it
does not give a clear impression. In addition to that, it is not
clear and one has to be close so as to read what is in the logo.
There are some features that differentiate good logos from logos
with defects. The design is one of the features that differentiate
a good logo from a logo with a defect. A bad logo is the one
that has an unimaginative design. The second feature is the
typography. A good logo has got some important details that
cannot be easily noticed but makes the logo distinct from
others. A poor logo has got poor typography. Such logo lacks
designer’s experience. A logo with the defect may also have a
poor choice of typeface. Such a logo may be devastating to the
company since it won’t be able to market itself.
A company’s logo gives a recognizable visual symbol. A logo
shows an image of the company. Therefore, if a company does
not have a well-designed logo whereas that of the competitors

has got all the features that a logo should have, a company may
end up losing potential customers to its competitors. For
example, the logo of Gardopia Gardens is not that pleasing and
it may be hard to market itself to potential clients. However, if
it is designed in a different way, it may be able to market itself
as compared to the first logo. Therefore, if it does not change to
a new design, it may lose potential clients to its competitors.
Logo Survey
Talk briefly about how did we create the survey
Potential New Design
Based on the five principles for an ideal logo, we came up with
this result from an expert logo designer.
Talk briefly about this new logo.
Strategies to Gardopia Gardens
Gardopia Gardens endeavors at attaining a social media
marketing plan for interacting with Home-Depot. Social media
marketing pertains the process in which companies gain
attention or engage traffic through various social media sites.
Social media is perceived to be a better means and can reach a
large number of customers in a much quicker way. Gardopia
gardens seek information from customers, and hence, provide a
list what the customers need, one of the necessary tools from
Home-Depot. The intention to this is establishing a form of
partnership in which Gardopia gardens bring more customers to
Home-Depot. In return, the Garden attains profits from this and
customers get coupons or discounts from Home-Depot.
Marketing Development Strategy
A- Social media marketing strategy plan
In the case of Gardopia Gardens and Home-Depot, the garden
assay at providing insights on Home-Depot goods and services
via social media. The various sites include Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube among others. There are

several steps to enhance customer experience via the social
media. Social media marketing is not just about gaining
followers but engaging and obliging customers. It is important
to consider what social media followers are likely to expect and
hence get out of following you. Customers probably want to get
word about the sales and promotions the program is issuing out,
in this case giving insights on the new promotional venture. In
addition, it is prudent when the garden showcases its corporate
culture as well as establishing a conversational environment
where the customers palpate to provide feedback. It is advisable
to ask for their opinions. The fundamental goal of this
partnership is to promote Home-Depot’s goods and services
through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube
respectively. The number of individuals getting news through
social media proceeds to increase.
Facebook
According to the Pew Research Center, 45% of Americans
acquire their news via Facebook with 66% utilizing the site.
Due to its vivid reach, Facebook stands as the most democratic
social platform a vast majority of people in the US who
constantly get news and business trends from social media. For
this reason, Gardopia needs to successfully exploit Facebook as
a main social media marketing site for providing discounts for
consulting/publish them respectively. If Facebook marketing is
selected, Gardopia will attain the lowest marketing costs as well
as a high customer reach. The social media strategy is cost-
effective as sign up on Facebook is free. Not only is Facebook
free, but also provides a platform to millions of the garden’s
targets audience who can ideally be converted to potential
customers.
Instagram
Instagram is one of the most intense social media sites for
online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking

service. For a successful exploitation of Instagram, one
powerful message is required, accompanied by a general visual
perception. If Instagram can successfully be engaged and
connect with the intended customer, there’s a high prevalence in
the long run for a successful communication of the intended
message. If Gardopia engages Instagram Marketing, the garden
will attract engaged traffic, hence build a pool that keeps on
recurring, rather keeps coming back from time to time. As such,
Instagram drives a more occupied traffic when compared to any
other social media channel. According to research, Instagram
crushes all other social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube,
Pinterest, and much more in terms of engagement.
The Cost and The Benefit
Facebook Ad Manager
Includes Facebook and Instagram
Use the information in the pictures to talk briefly about them
Twitter
Twitter is also an important social media marketing tool to
drive brand awareness. Social media marketing can successfully
be performed through the use of Twitter ads. Through data-
driven approaches alongside marketing initiatives, Twitter
serves as a catalyst in reaching individuals where other social
media platforms cannot. This manner of social media exercises
contrast to the manner individuals behave on other social media
platforms. In this case, If Gardopia does twitter marketing; the
garden will increase customer satisfaction with a better
customer service. The existing or potential pool of customers
can conform to the business updates through Twitter in real
time. This gives the client a unique opportunity for tweaking or
adjusting all business activities immediately according to the
customers’ reactions. This ability gives the client an enormous
advantage over competitors.

Twitter for Business
Google
Talk briefly about Google for advertising like others
Google AdWords Marketing
YouTube
YouTube is commercial video sharing website where users can
upload, view and share video clips. YouTube is one of the
essential platforms Gardopia ought to employ towards providing
discounts for customers as well as marketing Home-Depot
altogether. To improve brand safety, the social media company
reviewed 1 million undesirable videos. If Gardopia does
YouTube marketing, an extravagant attention will be attained.
There is no social media platform that beats YouTube video
marketing in capturing the audience. Any company can attain
extraordinary exposure upon YouTube. According to statistics,
viewers watch an infinite number of YouTube videos every day.
An estimate of three hundred hours of YouTube videos is
uploaded each minute.
Google AdWords marketing
Use the information in the picture to talk briefly about it

B- Direct Mail such as USPS
Talk briefly about this strategy using USPS
Use the information in the picture to talk briefly about it
The cost and The benefit
D- Partnership with a gardening supplier such as (Home-Depot
or Lowe's)
Affiliate Program
Talk briefly about the Affiliate Program they both provide:
check the links below
https://www.homedepot.com/c/SF_MS_Affiliate_Program_FAQ
s
https://www.lowes.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentDispl
ayView?langId=-
1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&pg=/AboutLowes/Affiliate
.html
Gardopia gardens can strike a partnership with a gardening
supplier by establishing mutual regulatory requirements using
the services of a qualified and well-respected attorney. Upon
this Gardopia ought to ensure mutual operating agreements are
attained. The garden is actually providing consulting for
customers, so after the consulting, the agent provides a list what
the customer need of necessary tools from the Home-Depot for
example. The garden brings more customers to Home-Depot and
reciprocally, the Garden benefits from that and the customers
get discounts or coupons from Home-Depot.
Gardopia gardens and a gardening supplier must register the

joint venture executed with care and in minute detail in the
applicable state, through the office of the local Secretary of
State. It is, however, authoritative to obtain all pertinent
business licenses, which become different based on the locality,
industry or state. In essence, Gardopia Gardens will bear a low-
cost tendency from the gardening supplier, of which will be
used as coupons or rather discounts for those packages to
customers. Consequently, the gardening supplier acquires more
customers from strategies attained by Gardopia Gardens.
References
Arun. & Meenakshi, N. (2011). Marketing management. Noida:
Vikas Publishing House.
Boswell, V. R., United States., & United States. (1942). Victory
gardens. Washington, D.C: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
Elgersma, E. (2017). The strategic analysis cycle tool book:
How advanced data collection and
analysis underpins winning strategies. Lid Publishing.
In Alkon, A. H., & In Agyeman, J. (2011). Cultivating Food
Justice: Race, Class, and
Sustainability. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Leal, F. W. (2011). The economic, social and political elements
of climate change. Berlin:
Springer Verlag.
Lewis, R. & Lewis, S. (2009). The power of art. United States:
Thomson/Wadsworth.
Martinez, X., & Spizman, J. (2017). We rise. Emmaus,
Pennsylvania: Rodale.
Ramaswamy, V. & Namakumari, S. (2013). Marketing

management: global perspective, Indian context. Delhi:
Macmillan.
Savvides, S. C. (1990). Marketing analysis in project
evaluation. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard
Institute for International Development, Harvard University.
Wang, Y., Cheung. & Liu, H. (2007). Computational
intelligence and security: international conference, CIS 2006,
Guangzhou, China, November 3-6, 2006: revised selected
papers. Berlin New York: Springer.
Wylde, B. (2012). Wylde on health. Toronto: Random House
Canada.
Zarrella, D. (2009). The Social Media Marketing Book.
Sebastopol: O'Reilly Media.
Alsaadi 9
Salim Alsaadi
Peter Lowentrout
R/ST 100
May 10, 2017
Center for Spiritual Living
The Centers for Spiritual Living (CSL) is a religious
organization established in 1949 by Ernest Holmes. The religion
primarily focuses on enhancing philosophical thoughts that
incorporate science and religion together. The organization has
since evolved from the United Centers for Spiritual Living
(UCSL), which was initially recognized as the United Church of
Religious Science (UCRS) to the current name after UCSL and
UCRS were merged. Holmes together with the Fenwicke, his
brother, came to establish the organization as a result of their
learning experience in Boston. The brothers were convinced that
a person's mind has the power or capability to cause a healing
effect or fulfil an individual's life. Therefore, together with
other scholars who shared the same ideology, Holmes

established an institution aimed at promoting their idea.
In 1927, Holmes set an educational centre in Los Angeles
(Institute of Religious Science and Philosophy) where he taught
his principles. The establishment of the institution soon led to
the adoption of his principles by the graduates from the IRSP
leading to the religion's official recognition in 1949. In the
early 1950s, the organization split into two distinctive religions
namely, Religious Science International (RSI) and the United
Church of Religion (UCR). However, in 2011, the two
organizations re-emerged and formed the Centers for Spiritual
Living. Therefore, the incorporation of the two religions has
resulted in its membership growth to over 400 churches in the
Northern America.
Kenn Gordon, a doctorate holder in divinity, was elected in
2011 as the first spiritual leader of the organization. However,
before his appointment, Gordon had served as a member of the
CSL board of directors. Apart from his leadership role at the
CSL, Gordon is also engaged in various activities that promote
the religion such as educating people to understand the science
of the spirit and mind. He also contributes as a writer on
Patheos, one of the leading websites where religious matters are
discussed. Moreover, he is a regular contributor to Science and
Mind Magazine and the author of Mind and Manifestation, a
book used by the members of the CSL as a spiritual tool.
Currently, the organization has seen tremendous growth due to
the population of its members, which has led to the
establishment of 286 CSL centres across the United States,
United Kingdom, Canada, and other 27 states around the globe
(“Find a Center”). Moreover, the expansion has also led to the
inclusion of 400 communities around the world, which
translates to millions of followers. Essentially, the teachings of
the CSL centres are universal and aimed at enhancing new
philosophical thoughts on science and religion through different
spiritual tools. Therefore, the teachings of the religion are
primarily based on the science of spirit and mind, which is also

known as religious science.
The religious science provides an in-depth elaboration on
matters regarding life such as life is sacred and all humans are
made in the image of God. Therefore, the teachings and
doctrines of the CSL acknowledge and utilize the ancient
spiritual knowledge. Moreover, the organization welcomes any
individual from the various religions such as a Christian,
Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish with an objective of
promoting peaceful coexistence among communities. As
witnessed in the growth of the religion since the emergence in
2011, I am anticipating a major growth with an expectation of
more members of its congregations. The current expansion of
238 centres can be utilized to support the projected growth.
The Teachings and the Doctrines of the Religion
The religion's beliefs are derived from Holmes teachings as
illustrated in the book, The Science of Mind, which was
published in 1927. Therefore, Holmes teachings have been
incorporated into the religion's statement, “What we believe.”
Essentially, Holmes teachings acknowledge and borrow some
beliefs from other religions such as Christianity. For instance,
Christians believe in the Supreme God, which is similar to
CSL's belief. Therefore, CLS teachings recognize God as a
Living Spirit Almighty. Moreover, the religion believes in the
cause of God's self-existence and absolute and indestructible
nature. The manifestation of God is through His creations,
which include the human beings. However, the manifests are not
absorbed by the creation.
Incarnation is another belief recognized by the members of
CSL. The religion has a strong faith in the incarnation of human
spirit, which makes people to be incarnated in one spirit.
Therefore, the members' belief in incarnation translates to their
faith in immortality, eternality, and the continuation of an
individual's soul after death (Center for Spiritual Living –
Seattle).
The members of the religion also have a belief that heaven is
within them, which enables them to experience it to a level

where they become conscious of heaven. Human life is also
highly regarded as a precious gift from God. Therefore, the
primary objective of an individual's life is to be emancipated
(set free from all social, legal, and political oppressions) to
ensure that all humans live a free life.
CSL acknowledgement of God as the Supreme Being as per the
teachings makes God a unifying factor of all life. Moreover, the
religion's beliefs separate God into two characters, namely, the
innermost God and highest God with the innermost God as the
guide of human actions due to His indwelling presence (“Our
Beliefs”). On the other part, truth is one of the crucial doctrines
that determines an individual's well-being. Therefore, the
religion has faith in the direct revelation of truth through the
spiritual and intuitive nature of an individual, which makes
everyone to have the capability, to tell the truth through the
guidance of the innermost God.
The state of a person's mind is also primarily linked to the
beliefs of the religion. Therefore, the organization has a belief
that the communication between God and a human being is
through a universal mind, which consists of the law of God and
the human surroundings (thoughts and the reactions on such
thoughts). A universal mind has various capabilities that are
beneficial to humans such as the ability to heal the sick.
Moreover, a universal mind would enable an individual to
believe in the eternal kindness, the goodness of God through
His provision of life to all humans. Therefore, all matters
regarding a person's mind translate to the belief in his or her
spirit, soul, and destiny with the understanding that people’s
lives reflect the life of God.
Through the religion's beliefs, it is evident that the organization
is quite dogmatic since they are inclined to their beliefs, which
are clearly stated in the faith's spiritual tools. The beliefs
translate to the organization's core values (healing, love,
togetherness, spiritual growth, abundance, diversity, and service
to others). Essentially, the beliefs are guided by the spiritual
tools, which are highly regarded as sacred since the tools

contain the guidelines to be followed by the members of CSL.
The spiritual tools acknowledged and utilized by the religion
are meditation, prayer, spiritual practices, and pide oracion.
Spiritual tools are simply the spiritual living programs
established by the organization to help its members enhance
their spiritual understanding. Therefore, an individual who is
interested in such program needs to register on the website of
the organization's particular centre by clicking the "Online Net
Community" tab and fill the form. The centre would then
organize the meeting where the registered members would meet
up and discuss various issues touching spiritual life.
Pide Oracion, which has a meaning for “ask for a prayer,” is an
online platform where the members of CSL can place a prayer
request at any given time (“Pide Oración”). Therefore, to utilize
this method, a member only needs to log into the organization's
official website (Not the centres' web page) and request for a
prayer by typing their various prayer requests (“Pide Oración”).
The purpose of the organization's creation of the platform is the
provision of a healing power through prayers to the members at
any given time and place since the service is operational 24/7.
The Organization's View on Humanity and Society
As indicated in the religion's teachings and doctrines
established by Holmes, it is evident on how it has high regards
for humanity. The lessons regarding human life are similar to
the beliefs of Christianity. Therefore, human life is sacred and
all humans are made in the image of God (“Our Beliefs”).
Moreover, it is against the religion's doctrines for an individual
to cause harm to other people. On the other hand, the
organization's view on society is majorly concerned with the
promotion of peaceful coexistence among the residents of
different communities. Since a community consists of
individuals of various religions such as Christians, Buddhists,
Hindus, Muslims, and the Jewish, therefore, it is critical for
people of a given society to accept and learn to stay peacefully
with others. However, the religion acknowledges that some
individuals in the society are prone to cause harm to others

because of lack of knowledge or convictions on the teachings of
humanity. Therefore, for such people to learn to coexist with
others, they need to have a comprehension on the doctrines of
CSL.
Teachings from One of the CSL Sermons
I once attended one of the programs of the Centers for Spiritual
Living based in Sand Point Way, Seattle. The formal meeting
took place on 30th April 2017 and was spearheaded by Brent
Cunnings (“How to Star a Spiritual Living Circle”). The
meeting was recorded and can also be accessed on the YouTube
(“How to Star a Spiritual Living Circle”). The theme of the talk
was about humility and the spiritual practice of an individual's
willingness. Cunnings majorly dwelt on three questions such as
follows: a person’s willingness to involve God in his or her
relationship, the willingness of not being a victim of
circumstances, and the desire to always tell the truth no matter
the circumstances instead of living in a fantasy world. Cunnings
further gave an example scenario where he was once forced to
tell the truth during a counselling session or face dire
consequences. The elaborations were quite emotional to the
audience, which could be realized by the type of attention given
to the speaker.
From the experience, Cunnings connects the situations he
passed through to what young people are currently undergoing.
Moreover, it is evident that the speaker acknowledged God as
the sole provider for all humans. An example he provided where
his father left them with no financial supports this claim. He
further quotes that at some given point auctioneers came to
auction their belongings to repay their debts. However, all
worked out well, and the situation came to pass. From the
analysis of the people in attendance, it could be ruled that
people from the meeting were of mixed financial background.
After the meeting, I got to have a chance with the speaker for a
brief interview to understand the religion since it was my first
visitation to attend any of the organization's services. I had
earlier set up a meeting with the speaker and provided him with

prior insights and reasons for the interview. The interview with
Cunnings is summarized as follows.
Me: Hi, Mr. Cunnings, I bet your schedule is quite fixed but
kindly allow me to ask about a few questions to enhance my
understanding of the religion.
Mr. Cunnings: It is okay, no problem, I was prepared for this
meeting so take your time.
Me: How long have you headed this spiritual group and how do
you find your audience?
Mr. Cunnings: I have been the spiritual leader of this gathering
for more than four years now. Moreover, the members of the
group are quite cooperative. However, first timers have a little
difficulty in understanding some concepts such as the topic on
the universal mind.
Me: Briefly explain to me the history of the group; its
formation, progress, and growth or decline pattern.
Mr. Cunnings: The group was established in 2012 and has ever
since been operational with a steady growth of members. The
aim of creating the group is to help new members have a better
understanding of the religion's teachings and for spiritual
growth.
Me: Would you briefly provide me with a brief background
information on your members’ social class, education, and
ethnicity.
Mr. Cunnings: Well, this is an interesting question. First and
foremost, I would like to bring to your attention that CSL does
not accept an individual interested in joining the religion in
regards to social class, education, or ethnicity. However, for a
person to join this group, he or she must be 16 years and above
due to the organization's policy. Basically, there are different
groups within the religion, which are differentiated by age.
Therefore, for a better comprehension of the faith's doctrines, it
is a requirement for members to be slotted in suitable groups.
The various programs include spiritual at work, modern
mysticism, and youth programs.
Me: Would you be in a position to provide me with information

such as background information about the religion and the
annual report that might help me complete my project
successfully.
Mr. Cunnings: Sure, just provide me with your email address.
However, I would recommend that you visit the organization's
webpage for more information.
Center for Spiritual Living's teachings is quite essential in
understanding humanity and its incorporation with science. The
religion mainly focuses on enhancing philosophical thoughts
that incorporate science and religion together. Through Holmes
doctrines, the religion has seen major growth, which has
translated to millions of its members. An interview with Mr.
Cunnings provided confirmation to my research, which provided
a bearing for a better understanding of the religion.
Works Cited
Center for Spiritual Living - Seattle. “Apr 30 2017 Power Talk -
Brent Cunnings.” YouTube,
commentary by Brent Cunnings, 30 Apr. 2017,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O38RKoTvAvY.
“Find a Center.” Center for Spiritual Living. (n. d.),
www.csl.thankyou4caring.org/lc-
organizations/location-finder. Accessed 01 May. 2017.
“How to Star a Spiritual Living Cycle.” Center for Spiritual

Living. (n. d.),
www.csl.org/images/spiritual-living-
circles/How_to_Start_a_Spiritual_Living_Circle.pdf. Accessed
01 May. 2017.
“Our Beliefs.” Center for Spiritual Living. (n. d.),
cslkc.org/our-beliefs/. Accessed 01 May.
2017.
“Pide Oración.” World Ministry of Prayer. (n. d.),
www.worldministryofprayer.org/index.php/pide-oracion.
Accessed 01 May. 2017.
Explanation of Study
The field study requires you to study a religious congregation,
social religious phenomenon, or religiously based service
organization. The method of investigation is participant
observation and should include interviews with selected
members and clergy of the group you are studying. Although
you may wish to consult wesites or journal articles and books
written about the group or social religious phenomenon you
have chosen to study, this is primarily a field study and not a
library research paper.
Your immediate task is to identify a particular religious group
or phenomenon to study. You are not to study, for example,
"Methodism" or "The History of Irish Catholics in America."
Instead, you are to study a specific congregation (e.g., Seal
Beach Church of Religious Science), social religious
phenomenon (e.g., street preachers in Long Beach), or

religiously-based service organization (Long Beach Rescue
Mission).
During the semester, you should attend meetings of the group.
You should take notes during the meetings, or afterwards if that
is more appropriate. And you should try to do at least two
interviews as part of this project.
The methodological guide for the field study is Miller and
Selzer’s Research and Field Work in Religious Studies. The
book is optional, but highly recommended.
The Social Scientific Perspective
The primary focus of your research must be upon what the
people you are studying think and feel about religion, and how
religion functions in their lives and in society more generally --
not upon the truth or falsity of their religious beliefs. Debate
over questions of religious truth must be left to philosophers
and theologians -- this field project is a study which must bring
into play the methods and insights of the phenomenology of
religion and the social psychology and sociology of religion
which are presented in class and in your readings.
A social scientific approach to religion "brackets" the truth
claims of religion and inquires into what people believe and
why they believe it, as well as how these beliefs function in the
daily lives of people and in the practice of their religion.
Whether these beliefs have any final correspondence to
"ultimate reality" is a question that lies beyond the province of
an academic course on religion. What scholars acknowledge,
instead, is that even the "craziest" beliefs express and mediate
some human need.
In your field study, you are asked to take a phenomenological
approach to the study of religious beliefs and behavior. The

essence of the phenomenological perspective is to seek to
understand the subjective experience of those you are studying,
to understand how they make sense of the world. To do this, you
must lay aside your own biases about the world and instead step
inside the lived experience of those whom you are observing.
This does not mean that you should convert to their perspective
(or "go native"). It does mean that you should have a respectful
attitude, seeking to understand how and why their religious
commitments make sense to them.
One thing will soon become apparent to you as you do this field
study: not all Mormons, Presbyterians or Jews believe the same
thing. Congregations within the same denomination may have
very different interpretations of the religious life, and within a
single congregation there may also be great diversity of
opinion.
Selecting a Group to Study
It is best to not study a religious group you are formally
associated with unless for reasons of personal religious
principle you may not visit other religious groups. Often, an
"outsider" will notice things that an "insider" will miss because
they seem so ordinary and routine. These ordinary beliefs and
rituals may be among some of the most interesting
characteristics of the group, and if you miss them because of
your prior association with the group, you will be working in
this project with a decided handicap. Too, this course intends to
introduce you to a wide range of religious groups and
phenomena -- for this reason, too, I prefer you choose a
religious group other than your own to study.
There are dozens of religious groups on campus and in the
immediate CSULB neighborhood. A listing of local groups who
have volunteered to be subjects of field projects will be passed
out in class. If none of these groups suit you, consult the

Yellow Pages or the "Religion Page" of the Saturday Long
Beach Press-Telegram. I will be happy to organize an optional
field trip to a group if you'd like. In the past groups from the
class have gone to the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness, for instance.
"Entering" a Group
When you have selected a group, you must attend a worship
service or other meeting. Call in advance of attending to
double-check meeting times and get some initial information
about the group. You will probably not need permission to
attend a religious service. Dress appropriately and arrive ten to
fifteen minutes before the service. This will give you the chance
to walk around the building, pick up some free literature (if it is
available), and perhaps talk to a few of the people who are
gathering (an usher is always a good bet). Many churches,
temples, synagogues and mosques make a special effort to greet
newcomers and you may be asked to wear a ribbon or pin to
identify you as a visitor.
After meeting the group at least once, and having decided this is
the group you wish to study, you should make an appointment to
talk to one of the clergy or staff. This is more easily done than
you might imagine. Simply call the office and say something
like this:
"Hello, I'm a student at CSULB and this semester I am taking a
religious studies course in which one of my assignments is to
visit a religious group and find out as much as possible about it.
I visited your church/temple/synagogue/mosque last week and
found it very interesting. Would it be possible to set up an
appointment to talk with someone on your staff about your
group? If possible, I'd like to talk to the
priest/rabbi/minister/mullah/swami, although I realize she/he
may be very busy."

If time is short for the staff person you would like to talk to,
mention that you won't need more than half an hour. In response
to an inquiry like this, you will almost always be granted an
interview. Try to complete the interview as soon as possible
after your first visit.
Arrive at the interview with a list of questions that you would
like to ask. Questions should be geared to the particular group
you visit, but here are a few suggestions for more general
questions:
1. How long have you been the spiritual leader of this religious
group?
2. Would you give me a brief history of your group? When was
it founded? What pattern of growth or decline has it followed?
What are some of the important events that have occurred
within the recent life of this congregation?
3. How would you describe your congregation? What is its
special character? What makes it distinctive from other groups
in the area?
4. How would you describe your members? Background,
ethnicity, social class, education, employment, commitment to
the religious group? Anything else?
5. How are policy decisions made within your religious
community? What is the means of implementation? What role
do you personally play in the decision-making process?
6. Please describe the various programs and groups that meet
regularly at your church/synagogue/temple/mosque.
7. Do you have any information (especially printed information)

that would be helpful for my project: a history of the
congregation, annual report, orientational brochures?
8. Is your group growing or declining in numbers? Are there any
interesting new directions being taken in the life of the
community?
9. Could you tell me something about yourself? Where did you
receive your religious training? How did you decide to become
a religious leader? What other congregations have you served?
At the beginning of the interview, briefly tell the person you are
interviewing about this class and your assignment. At the end of
the interview, ask if it would be all right for you to attend an
additional meeting, and ask which would be best for you to
attend. If you feel you need an additional interview, you might
also ask if he or she can suggest someone in the congregation
who would be willing to be interviewed by you. (Get the phone
number before you leave, if you can.)
It is easiest for you if you record your interview(s), but you
need to ask permission first and should not insist if there is any
hesitancy on the part of the person you want to interview. Ask,
too, if the interviewee would prefer to be anonymous if quoted
directly in your project write-up.
Structure of the Paper and Research
As you learn more about the group you have chosen, you may
want to focus rather more sharply on a few specific areas or
issues. For example:
Why is everyone in the group over 50 years of age?
What is speaking in tongues?

Why are these teen-agers willing to give up "worldly pleasures"
(dancing, alcohol, movies) in order to be members of this
group?
Why do members of this community spend so much time
ministering to the poor and homeless?
Still, it is important to not focus your research too quickly.
Attention should be given to at least some of the following
questions in your investigation:
1. What is the history of the group? When was it founded?
When did membership peak? What is the current membership?
What have been the most significant shaping moments in the
history of the congregation?
2. What is the social setting of the congregation? What is the
neighborhood like? Do people commute to meetings, or is the
membership of the group drawn from the local area?
3. What does the meeting place look like? What is the
architectural style? How old is the building? How well
maintained is it? How does it make you feel when you walk into
the sanctuary?
4. How does the congregation worship? Formally or informally?
Is there singing, meditation, recitations, a sermon?
5. What are the teachings and beliefs of the group? What is
formally taught by the clergy? Does this differ from what the
people actually believe? How would you describe the "world-
view" of the members? What are their moral commitments?
6. What is the religious experience of the people like? What do
people seem to feel when they worship? Is personal prayer or
meditation stressed, or group worship? Is the group this-worldly

or other-worldly?
7. What is the group's social structure and finances? How are
decisions made? Does the congregation participate in decision-
making? How? How is the group funded? How is money
solicited?
8. What is the make-up of the group: age, gender, ethnicity,
social class, typical employment? Do members seem to know
each other? Is this a close-knit community?
9. What is the "social mission" of the group? What is the
congregation attempting to do for its community? City? World?
Is there some driving moral commitment central to the group?
10. What do you predict for the group in the future? Is the
congregation growing? Aging? Attracting new members? What
is the special character of the congregation in contrast to other
congregations like and unlike it in the same area?
Whatever focus you develop in your paper, it is important to
place that emphasis within the larger context of the three
universal characteristics of any religious community: teaching,
practice and social structure.
Participant Observation
Being a "participant observer" in no way means that you must
convert to the group's religion in order to understand it
(although some religious groups will certainly claim that you
can not really understand them unless you are one of them).
Rather, participant observation is a way of collecting
information by 1) attending meetings at which one takes careful
notes, 2) interviewing "informants" who have special insight
into the life of the community, and 3) consulting the writings of
group members.

Participant observation takes time and it seldom yields any
statistical data. It relies instead on insightful descriptions of
meetings, events and persons, and uses sociological categories
and ideal types to help generalize about what is observed. The
strength of qualitative research (as opposed to quantitative
research based on questionnaires and highly structured
interviewing) is the richly textured data it yields.
Field Notes
Field notes are essential for the participant observer. Jotted
notes may be taken on napkins, church bulletins, on in a field
notebook purchased for the purpose. Notes may be written
during a meeting you are observing, in a rest room during a
break from the meeting, riding a bus home from a meeting or
interview, or at your computer.
Field notes are often written in several stages:
Jotted notes. It may be inappropriate to take detailed notes
during a worship service. Therefore, you might have to rely on
your memory, perhaps aided by an informal note or two jotted
during the meeting. These quick notes remind you of things you
think you might otherwise forget when writing up your full field
notes.
Full Field Notes. Within 24 hours of an observation or
interview, full field notes should be written. Full field notes
include detailed descriptions of:
1. the sequence of events at the meeting,
2. what was said and who said it,
3. a description of the environment,

4. the attitudes of the people involved,
5. and everything else pertinent to your investigation.
You can expect to spend as much or more time writing up your
notes
as that which you will spend observing or interviewing.
Analytical Hunches. You should put into your field notes any
analytical hunches you have about what is going on in the group
or social setting you are observing. This might include such
things as the function of beliefs or rituals for members, the
sociological type of the group (denomination, sect or cult?), an
application of conversion theory (or theories of cult formation)
to an understanding of your group. Develop a way to code
analytical speculations in your text for easy reference later --
use brackets, use different colors of ink, underline, or indent.
Personal Reactions. Field notes should also include your
personal feelings about your experience of observing or
interviewing. It is important not to ignore feelings of attraction
to the group, or disgust, or embarrassing moments. Rather than
pretending that these feelings do not exist, they should be
placed in your field notes as a way of gaining perspective on
them. Again, develop a code for distinguishing observations of
an emotional nature from your running description of the group.
Interviewing
In qualitative research, interviews are conversational, and do
not elicit the structured fixed choice responses of quantitative
questionnaires. Your interview should have a structure, of
course, but keep your eyes open for unexpected, interesting data
on the group. Be willing to deviate from your prepared

questions, if it seems advantageous. Record the interview if you
can, but remember to ask permission first. Ask if your
interviewee minds being quoted by name in your field study: "Is
it okay for me to cite you by name, or would you prefer to be
anonymous? Either way is fine with me."
Your methodological text (the Miller bok) has useful guidelines
for the interviewing process, but several further points should
be kept in mind:
1. Do not try to impress the interviewee with how intelligent
you are, how sophisticated your vocabulary is, or what great
insight you have into his or her group. Avoid using jargon
learned in this class. Be "naive," open and teachable, seeking to
understand how the world appears to those you are studying and
how they make religious sense of it. Do not let your views of
reality intrude into the field setting or you will distort that
setting, making your study results unreliable.
2. Ask direct and easily understood questions. Start with
specific questions to which you are sure the interviewee will
have an answer, and then move to more penetrating and complex
questions toward the end of the interview.
3. Do not be argumentative or judgmental in the interview. You
are there to learn how the person you are interviewing
understands the world. If their answers seem ridiculous and
crazy to you, do not argue with them about the adequacy of
their views; instead, seek to understand how they came to hold
these views and what their teachings and ritual practices mean
to them.
4. Ask follow-up questions to the interviewee's responses. There
are traditional verbal formulas for this. You might ask, "Do you
mean [and repeat in your own words what you believe the
interviewee has said]," or "I heard you saying..." Follow-up

questions and responses elicit further information and
clarification of information already obtained.
5. Relax. Do not be in a hurry to rush on to the next question. A
short silence, especially if coupled with genuine interest on
your part, can be creative. The rhetorical uses of silence are
seldom appreciated in our culture.
Having completed the interview, your work is half done. You
will now need to transcribe the interview or, if you did not tape
it, write up full field notes within 24 hours. Each interview
should be accompanied by a "face sheet" (see Lofland, p. 57)
which includes 1) the interviewee's name, 2) the date of the
interview, 3) the place of the interview, 4) sex, 5) approximate
age, 6) ethnicity, and anything else of particular relevance for
your own study. Once completed, the interview becomes part of
your field notes.
Organizing Field Notes
Even in a short field project, it often happens that field notes
become voluminous. In a longer field project which might
include dozens or even hundreds of interviews, it is extremely
important to have a well defined system of organizing
interviews and field notes.
Here is one possible method for organizing your notes:
1. Each time you observe a meeting or do an interview, place
the notes from it in a separate file folder in a project file on
your desktop.
2. Put any literature or printed material you collect that is
related to your project in separate file folders either digitized on
your desktop, or as hardcopies at your desk.

3. Read through your materials, coding them by topic (e.g.,
history of group, teachings, ritual, religious experience, social
scientific categorical explanation of behavior).
4. Include the material in your write-up of your final reports,
letting these topics shape the report.
Field research is an ongoing process, and so is any system for
organizing field data. Whatever system you use or devise, you
need one to do a good job.
Working with Field Notes
Creative insight concerning your field experiences comes in the
process of going over your material or topic files like those
described in the previous section. As you regularly read over
the notes that are collecting, you should be asking questions
about the importance, significance and function of beliefs, acts,
rituals and social patterns. In the process of reviewing your
notes, and as you factor the course material into you project,
new insights will emerge, and these insights should be written
down and, if you choose the above method of organization, put
into the appropriate thematic file. These insights may include
new things to look for in future observations; or additional
questions to ask in an interview.
Writing the Report
If you have developed files in the manner described above, the
final report will almost write itself. The each major heading for
the paper will be a topic file. Each file will contain descriptive
notes from interviews and observations, while others will be
more theoretical and analytical.
A term project which takes a rather comprehensive approach to
the study of a congregation might have many of the following

sections, although this is only a sample outline:
1. Identify the group. Give its name, location, denominational
affiliation (if it has one), and more generally introduce the
group. The first paragraphs might also introduce a theme which
will run through the entire paper. This could be done by
beginning with an anecdote, or some other device for catching
the reader's attention.
2. The methodology of your study. Tell me why you decided to
study this group, how you collected your information, number
and type of meetings you observed, number of interviews and
with whom they were conducted. Tell me about any problems
you ran into while doing the study.
3. The history of the group. When was the group founded, and
by whom? Where is it in the Weberian growth cycle? Does the
group have a distinctive character?
4. The teachings of the group. What do members believe? What
do clergy preach and teach? What are the most important social
ethical beliefs of the group? What is the world view of
members?
5. What is the practice of the group? Describe a typical worship
service, sermon, ritual or other sacramental rite, including
meditation. What is the "experience" of the worshippers?
6. What are the social psychological and sociological
characteristics of the group? Describe the members: age,
ethnicity, social class, gender. How are decisions made in this
organization? What are typical programs of the congregation?
7. Social outreach and ministry to the community. How does the
congregation relate to community, city, nation and world? Does
the congregation have specific programs that minister to those

outside the group? Or is outreach intended primarily to convert
others to their point of view?
8. What are the unique characteristics of the congregation?
What are the specific problems facing the group? What hot
issues is it currently facing?
9. Concluding observations. Your personal opinions about the
group, including speculations on the group's future.
Proof your papers before you turn them in to me. All papers
should go through more than one draft. You may use the first
person singular ("I visited the church three times..."), and
should follow one of the recognized style guides (e.g., MLA,
APA, Turabian). The final paper (excluding excessive indented
quotations) should be 8-10 pages in length.
The Appendix
Your final paper may have an appendix that can include your
field materials, including notes, tapes of interviews and
literature from the group (do not include books).
If you organize your field notes on your computer, you can print
them out and submit them. You may submit computer disks in
lieu of printouts, or send video via email. The papers
themselves will be available in the department of religious
studies for one full semester after submission.

Gardopia Gardens Marketing Research 1Ga.docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Gardopia Gardens Marketing Research 1Ga.docx

Similar to Gardopia Gardens Marketing Research 1Ga.docx (20)

More from hanneloremccaffery

More from hanneloremccaffery (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Gardopia Gardens Marketing Research 1Ga.docx