Branding Essay

Case Study 1: Transaction pricing in a recessionary economy Our client is an FMCG major that sells its products across many large and small retailers. The client is facing pressure from one such large retailer to cut prices across brands and categories. The client is therefore losing money on several products. Our client would like to use analytics to bring in some science into the pricing decision. Our analysis should help the client decide what pricing strategies should be applied to each product. How would you approach this analysis? The data available is weekly price and volume data for all client brands at the retailer for a period of 2 years. Case Study 2: Managing extreme seasonality Our brand is a high end lifestyle brand, famous globally. They however, face an issue of seasonal sales, with over 60% of their sales coming in the holiday period. They would like to understand how best to ensure sales in non seasonal periods as well and make the sales curve more even. Data available includes volume and values sales and usage and attitude studies. Case Study 3: NPD (own label) at a supermarket chain A leading supermarket chain wants to expand its limited portfolio of RTE food products. Transaction data for the past 1 year is available. How would you go about understanding the type of products to be introduced? What is the launch strategy for the products chosen? Case Study 4: Acquisition vs New product development A food major in the market with no chips brand in its portfolio. A decision has been made at the board level to either acquire an existing brand or launch a new one in this space. You are in charge of implementing this. 1. How will you take the decision on acquisition vs. new product development? Which metrics would you evaluate, what analysis would you perform & what data would you require? 2. If you decide to acquire a brand, how would you choose among the existing brands? What info do you require on each brand to make this call? a. Any intangible factors that would influence your valuation of existing brands? In case you decide to launch a new brand, how would you go about it? How would you decide the desired new brand characteristics and the associated marketing mix? Case Study 5: Analyzing brand performance A chips brand has recently been launched, but its performance has not been too good. The large promotional investments put in have not yielded lasting returns. You are told to investigate what’s wrong with the brand. 1. What data would you request to complete your investigation in this case? 2. Can you talk about your analysis roadmap in this scenario? What possible corrective actions would you suggest (you are free to make relevant assumptions on the diagnosis)? Case Study 6: Heritage brand with stagnating growth A very old chips brand (kind of like a heritage brand) is faced with stagnating growth. It continues to perform reasonably well on key equity parameters, and there is no decline compared to previous years. 1. How do you read the situation? What data would you require to make an accurate diagnosis of the issue? What are the potential corrective actions you would suggest? How would you decide between the various options?

Marketing in the business world.

IntroductionWith competition so intense, many businesses is forced to find innovative ways to increase the quality and sales of their products, from manufacturing to inventory to marketing, using advance technology that is now readily available for anyone willing to adopt it. This is exactly why over the last few years’ information technology has taken a firm grasp and continues to gain momentum. The business world is competitive and everyday presents new and difficult challenges.   Companies must rely on the most effective marketing and sales strategy in order to remain in front of their competition.   In the business world, most companies nowadays use the web technology and Internet to ensure these goals are both surpassed and met. This paper discusses in detail the approach of companies to marketing in the business world.Marketing in the Business WorldIn the business world, effective marketing becomes increasingly tied up with the Internet and other electronic media, ma king the most of the Internet and other new technologies is important to a business success — from the brand image portrayed on its Web site to the development, maintenance and enhancement of customer relationships. In these increasingly uncertain and cynical times, marketing in the business world unpicks the challenges of e-marketing for many types of business.The Web is very information concentrated environment. Extensive amounts of information can be integrated, collected, presented, processed, and accessed through the Web by both consumers and marketers. Marketers now can track comprehensive information for all consumer interactions, not just select examples. On the other hand, soft market qualities, such as reliability and reputation, maybe more difficult to evaluate and gather.Consumers can increase more market information for criteria evaluation; however possible problems of information excess may increase recognised searching costs (Head et al. 2000). Marketers may pr ovide tools to facilitate consumer information collection, but may have to restructure their marketing strategies since competitors can also gather market information and match price differences.Peterson et al. (1997) argues that the Web will have major effect on communication, will influence transactions, but will have no effect on distribution unless the good is based on digital assets. Businesses, which consider the Web as a marketing instrument, primarily utilise it as a communication means to take advantage of its benefits in lower costs, personalisation, interactivity, digitisation, automation, and constant communication. Most businesses who do not currently sell their products/services through their web sites hold this view. Many businesses create their site to foster better communication and public relations. Consumers can obtain corporate information, and may be encouraged to subscribe to customised electronic flyers/newsletters.Mahajan and Wind (1989) explained that Web is a market discontinuity. Companies, which deal with the Web channel as a promising new marketplace that helps a complete range of interaction, may find that it co competes and -exists with traditional markets. New importance must be identified and valued by consumers to compete and participate with existing market channels. For instance, customers must value the ease and flexibility of using Web. Companies need to deal with market positions/boundaries to fit the new value with customers' needs, and look for proper business models in order to achieve these needs. Customer base will be new and existing groups with unique value principle, which may be difficult to attain through traditional channels.In addition to using the Web as a marketing tool and for information searching, consumers can increase their market power through high involvement in business processes and virtual communities. These are new Web-centered strategies, which are restricted in traditional markets by fixed physi cal assets and slow transfer of information (Werbach 2000). Some researchers have noted the commercial effects of Web groups (Kozinets 1999). Communication convenience allows consumers to form communities outside their traditional work or family groups.Such communities accumulate information or knowledge by learning from the experiences of individual community members. Information collection costs and times are often reduced for individuals within a community. Opinions from other consumers are often more valued than messages from marketers, especially in a Web market, where trust is critical and more difficult to build. Not only do groups have a strong effect on purchasers' decision-making, but they may also affect market variables such as products and prices.For example, stocks that capture the attention of participants in chat rooms can move noticeably in price (Bruce 1997). The Web, as an interactive marketplace, also gives the consumer data selection and personalisation power. C ustomers can select information of interest and personalise presentation forms for their own use. Personalized Web pages, which can be constructed fairly easily, increase customer power. Customers on the Web have greater control over what they view and examine. They can select their own path through the information network, process the data, or initiate communication with marketers.There is a general consensus that the industrial organisational impacts of using e-commerce as marketing tool will reflect two developments: 1) the expansion of relevant geographical markets, and 2) increased competition in those markets. The two changes are related (Globerman et al. 2001). However, E-commerce businesses are characterised by high market capitalisations, which are reflected in the perception of their business models by investors (Venkatraman 2000). Primarily, businesses in the Internet carry a 30% marketing budget in order to reach more customers.Specifically, as electronic commerce makes it less costly to identify beneficial transactions across a wider range of potential transactors, it should lead to an increased integration of markets that are currently segmented by high transactions costs across geographical space. In addition, geographically larger markets are ordinarily more contestable than smaller markets. In this perspective, one well-known international business professional stated that electronic commerce implies the end of borders and geography as industrial organisation constructs (Kobrin, 1995).Decision to include international buyers as part of the customer base for a business's Web site, changes must be made to the site in order to promote global consumers to buy products. Internationalising the Web site will aid in the attraction and retention of foreign users by allowing them easier access to the information and functions it presents in a standardised, more simplified manner.Most businesses lack the expertise and resources to create separate Web sit es along with the independent channels of marketing, distribution and production facilities needed for each target market they intend to enter. As a result, these businesses are expected to enter into the business world on a smaller scale, sticking to stages one and two when redesigning their Web sites with a global focus.ConclusionThe Internet has made an outstanding impact within its first decade of business use. Marketing professionals have been quick to realise the opportunities provided by the Internet. Particularly, they recognised that business could be improved by integrating the Internet with direct marketing practices such as database marketing. The challenge for information systems practitioners and professionals is to understand these opportunities with the accessible technologies in the relative constraints of an organisation.It is included that e-commerce which is driven by the exponential growth of the Web is the most common marketing practices taking advantage of the Web by utilising information technology to sell large quantities of products and to become more responsive to the individual. The role of the Internet, in particular, of the electronic commerce web sites, has been recognised as a marketing tool for attracting and maintaining customers.ReferenceBruce, C. (1997). Welcome to my parlor. Marketing Management, 5 (4), 11-24.Globerman, S., Roehl, T. and Standfird. (2001) Globalization and Electronic Commerce: Inferences from Retail Brokering. Journal of International Business Studies. Volume: 32. Issue: 4.Head, M., Archer, N.P., & Yuan, Y. (2000). World wide web navigation aid. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 53 (2), 301-330.Kobrin, S.J. 1995. Regional Integration in a Globally Networked Economy. Transnational Corporations, 4 (2): 15-33.Kozinets, R.V. (1999). E-tribalized marketing?: The strategic implications of virtual communities of consumption. European Management Journal, 17 (3), 252-264.Mahajan, V., & Wind, J. (1989) . Market discontinuities and strategic planning: A research agenda. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 36 (August), 185-199.Peterson, R., Balasubramanian, S., & Bronnenberg, B.J. (1997). Exploring the implications of the internet for consumer marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 25 (4), 329-346.Venkatraman, N. (2000) Five steps to a dot.com strategy: How to find your footing on the Web, Sloan Management Review, 41(3), 15-28.Werbach, K. (2000). Syndication: The emerging model for business in the Internet era. Harvard Business Review 78 (3), 85-93.

Credit crunch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Credit crunch - Essay Example At this point, credit rationing takes place. In most times, a credit crunch is followed by a shift to quality by the lenders and owners of capital as they look out for investments which are less risky normally at the expense of the medium and small sized enterprises (Hull 2). The credit crunch has had an influence on small and medium sized business in various adverse ways. Despite its significant and largely powerful impact, the credit crunch might not be the sole reason for the inadequate success of some selected small and medium sized business enterprises. The growth of the credit crisis will also be taken into consideration as it is crucial in evaluating the way and the manner in which it has influenced the small and medium sized businesses in the dimension it has. As the credit crunch is a very much late feature in the current economy, its growth is frequently varying. Nevertheless, its growth since its inception in the global perspective has been put into consideration. The world economic crunch which started in 2007 was perhaps the most phenomenon shock to ever affect the economy of the United Kingdom to be ever remembered. Ever since the onset of this predicament, so much has taken place that might initially have been assumed to be impossible: The implicit nationalization of two of the largest banks in UK, a state deficit which came in double digits, a depressing grading on the AAA credit rating of the UK, a decline in Bank of England’s base rate which went down to 150 basic points lower than its previous all time low and a programme quantitative easing of  £ 200,000 (Heine 27). These phenomenon occurrences have called for essential reforms of the conventional evaluation of the UK economy. As it is a contemporary feature in the current economy it is frequently growing and thus regularly having an impact on all forms of business including small and medium sized enterprises. Small

The Concept of Globalisation and its Effect on International Businesse Assignment - 1

The Concept of Globalisation and its Effect on International Businesses - Assignment Example Starting off with the complex aspect of culture, the essay will then delve into further studies on globalization and international business with the help of relevant literature and applicable real-time cases. It is evident that globalization has and is constantly resulting in increased amounts of inter-cultural contact, increased pressure on organizations to exploit opportunities abroad and expand accordingly, and the consequent challenges of managing a culturally diverse workforce. Culture itself is an intangible but volatile entity that is constantly evolving and is manifested through shared values that are propagated between individuals in any particular society, thus forming group dynamics. Schein (2004) refers to these shared values as collective solutions that a group has reached, to align their internal abilities to be able to contend with external forces, and that have worked and have been passed on to newcomers into the group. These values are expressed in the group’s behavior, in terms of the way they do things, the clothes they wear – referred to as symbols, language(s) they speak etc (Buchanan and Huczynsky, 2004; Mullins, 2007; Schein, 2004). All of the above though is the collective representation of a group’s thinking process. Hofstede, however, distinguishes between collective and individual thinking, referring to these processes as ‘mental programming’ (1997; 2001), and argues that each individual member in a society has a personality influenced by the culture of his/her social environment apart from their own family. And as each individual develops their mental program determined by these factors, the collective programming of all these individuals put together distinguishes their group from others. This is evident when we discuss national cultures and associate people of certain nationalities with values and symbols unique to their culture(s).

Compare and contrast Schnitzlers and Freuds interpretations of Essay

Compare and contrast Schnitzlers and Freuds interpretations of character - Essay Example At one point, Freud believed that the psychoanalysis brought an opening for the horizons of understanding characters of art; while on the other hand it has been observed that Schnitzler was more concerned about the experiences of protagonists. Many written works by both Arthur Schnitzler and Sigmund Freud brought in-depth assessment of protagonists or characters in the art work. This paper also presents differing viewpoints that further back up the statement regarding interpretation of characters. Arthur Schnitzler and Sigmund Freud have both contributed their respective assessment and understanding regarding character in fin de sià ¨cle in Vienna. Herein, it is extremely significant to understand the change that was noted during fin de sià ¨cle in Vienna. It will not be incorrect to state that fin de sià ¨cle in Vienna (a French title for the turn of century), social degeneration where new thoughts regarding subject matters were being introduced. These new concepts had direct impact on associations between members of the society1. Critics and writers of fin de sià ¨cle in Vienna pointed out that Schnitzler has been curious about his characters that he created in his different literary works. It was due to this reason that presented a great deal of his art work to bring his abstract view regarding characters into a proper definition. In the same fashion, one can easily notice that Sigmund Freud has also presented an in-depth assessment of character by coming up with major psychoanalytical study of his characters through psychoanalysis2. As per various critics, it has been noted that there are vast similarities between the work of Sigmund Freud and Arthur Schnitzler. The reason behind such a claim is that both the assessors of characters were from the same city who merely acknowledges each other’s work through the help of letters3. The major difference at this point between the works of Freud and Schnitzler which was peculiar is none other

Supply Chain Managmet Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Supply Chain Managmet Case Study - Essay Example and Jill, a representative of Success Inc. Company. Mike Vanne’s company was a supplier to Success Inc. Time context Based on the conversation, Mike Vanne’s company started experiencing management problems from 1998 soon after its establishment. In 1999, the company also changed its fiscal year. This change in fiscal years twice in a row is an indication of short sighted and indecisive leadership. Viewpoint Mike Vanne’s viewpoint is that the company is fast growing. He defends this viewpoint with the fact that they made eleven acquisitions in a time span of two years. He links the company’s prosperity with the acquisitions. In addition to this, Mr. Vanne believes his company is in good shape since he has good employees. However, Jill is of a different viewpoint. She questions the nature of leadership in Mr. Vanne’s company. This indicates that she believes the company’s leadership is the cause of the potential problems. Central problem The ce ntral problem in this case is poor leadership. Mr. Mike Vanne has little knowledge of the business yet he is the owner. In addition to this, he is complacent in taking radical steps to ensure the company does not get under problems in the future. He chooses to ignore the fact that his company has been faced with several lawsuits. As if that is not enough, he brushes off the idea as bad publicity of the company. Out of a series of ten meetings, Ari Villa happens to have attended one or two board meetings yet he is the chairman to the board. Mike Vanne justifies Villa’s actions in proposing that villa is a busy man. Another leader, Sandra Chia fails to attend a meeting with one of their business associates yet she is the Chief financial Officer to the company. As a CFO, it is important for her to attend meetings concerning their business associates since the impression she gives could either work for or against the company. From these illustrations, one concludes that the leade rship in X Inc. is in shambles. The leaders are allowed to run the company as they wish and are not accountable to anyone. According to Jones (p.1), lack of collaboration amongst the company leadership is one of the signs of a dysfunctional leadership. Statement Objectives Statement objectives form the backbone of any business. They relate what the business plans to achieve (Complete Business start up p.1). X Inc.’s objectives are as follows: To provide quality service in the technologic business field. To ensure continuous growth of the business through establishing a wider market base and capturing profitable business opportunities. To create a strong leadership team that will channel the company towards growth. Areas of Consideration In solving the problem at hand, a SWOT analysis will reveal the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of X inc. business venture. SWOT analysis analyses external and internal factors that are key to the attainment of a companyâ€⠄¢s objectives (Hill & Westbrook pp.12) External Environment The external environment assesses threats and opportunities. One takes into consideration macroeconomic matters, technological advancement, changes in the market, competition and legislation. In looking at X Inc., it has several opportunities. X Inc., is one of the leading technological companies. This opportunity helps them to wade off unnecessary competition. In addition to that, its ability to form mergers and acquisitions opens it up to a larger

Gendered Communications and Relationships Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gendered Communications and Relationships - Essay Example We are experiencing both physical and emotional intimacy, as long as being characterized by some levels of passionate attachment. In this relationship, the gendered nature is always dominating in our daily life activities. They are specific roles that me as the man I do play, such as security during outings and spearheading in different actions we want to participate in. When clearing our bills, I have to come in fully, or I have to chip in some cash so as to protect the image of my manhood. There are other roles that my partner, particularly plays in this relationship. She does laundry, prepare our meals, cleaning and preparing some items ready for my different daily functions that I attend to. Nevertheless, the roles are not too fixed and in case anything we allow flexibility in undertaking this role. For example, when she is unwell, I step in and perform her roles, such as cooking and laundry. The same also applies when am unwell, and she is around. The gender and sex characteristics have always played a part in the communication taking place between us. When it comes to launching an event or activity that always require some level of masculinity, am the one who starts the communication. For example, when we want to install some electric equipment in our room, am the one who raises the issue first, and the dialogue picks up. There are some of the most feminine issues that she is the one who dominate in when making decisions (Guru, 2014). She is the one who always communicates more with the kitchen and another dining activity. She brings a lot of her ideas when it comes to different types of utensils and cooking materials that we should put in place. This is mainly because all the activities in the kitchen lie under her roles. In this relationship, the feminine characteristics have been enjoying some benefits. She always enjoys the benefits that I offer to her as the man. When it comes to